What would you pay for a high mile, mechanic-owned, base trim, 4x4 x-cab 1998 Tacoma?

I'm looking at this one specifically.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/4722108841.html

Assumptions (which may or may not be true for this one):

- Mechanic-owned, very well maintained.
- 230k miles (370k kilometers), mostly longish-haul, no traffic highway miles.
- Timing belt replaced before buying.

Now lets assume that's all true, and this is pretty much the ideal case for a 1998 Taco with this many miles.

How much would you pay for it?

What should I look out for?

Dying to join the Taco Club, but want to get the best deal I can.

Thanks!

 

If it's not rusting out everywhere, than that's a fair starting price around the Lower Mainland. Definitely wouldn't go more than 5, imo. I'd also pay the 80-100 bucks and have a thorough inspection done on it, even if he is an actual mechanic. That way you have the peace of mind knowing that it's up to snuff for it's age and that there won't be any immediate regrets/headaches.

Interior looks good, front bumper could use a coat of paint/polish the headlights and she'll look sharp.

 

Seems like a fair price, just make sure that frame's solid and buy it! It's been well taken care of.

 

I'd pay that. I tried to buy a 99 with 220k miles that was 1 owner and all records for $6400 but it was sold before I had a chance to get to it.

 

Seems legit. Looks nice. Timing belt and water pump complete is a bonus. Has it ever been done prior that you know of?
I am looking for the same truck for a project and I would buy that.
The best of luck.

 

Have the frame inspected by someone who's familiar with the Toyota internal frame rust issues....

 

Yeah Man,

If there's no rust, I think that truck is easily a $5K truck.

 

not sure about up there, but down here im thinking like 3k maybe

 

I think it's a fair price. I paid $3,650 for my 1990 with 255k miles on it last year.

 

to me, "mechanic owned" is a major red flag since most mechanics generally don't sell vehicles if they are running good and will last a long time. also the old saying is true, mechanics never fix anything on their own car so they leave problems until they get so serious they are forced to fix them so they leave everything to go far beyond worn out and also are well known for patching things up just enough to make do and usually done with parts from salvage yards to make it run good "just long enough" to sell it to the first sucker who comes along.

I feel a non mechanic owned vehicle is worth more because you get an honest impression of what you see is what you get and your not buying intentionally hidden problems that mechanics know how to "rig" or hide from being seen by the average person.

if you are buying a car from a mechanic (unless you know him personally) assume it has major hidden problems. for this reason any mechanic owned vehicle I buy will have to be thoroughly and fully inspected in great detail by a professional shop.

 

If you can go check it out, go, if you can't, well, its up to you. If all is true, thats a good price. Bought mine with 296k miles on it for about 7k.... yea, too much, but i love it.

 

Very good points.

The story with this guy is as follows (we're not saying its true or not, but the vibe I got from his daughter is that it is true):

Dad only speaks Cantonese, so I've been talking to his daughter. Dad's son drives this back and forth to a town he was going to school in, a couple hours away. Dad is an amateur (or maybe former) mechanic, who kept the truck maintained for his son.

I got a strong vibe that this guy was well vested in his son's safety (Asian Dad stereotype? Maybe.), and didn't cheap out on maintenance time or cost.

All that regardless though, I'm mostly looking for ideas of pricing for a 'pristine' 1998 with this many miles. It may all be a smoke screen, so I'll get it examined, but I want to know my pricing options.

Thanks for your help, all!

I think I'll offer $5000 if the timing belt is replaced and it passes inspection with flying colours.

 

I just bought my 2wd 4 cylinder ext cab with 120k miles for $5000 and I would call it a 7 out of 10 with 10 being perfect.

mine had clear coat peeling on the corner of the roof and dents in the back bumper and tailgate but that's it. it had one bad lower ball joint I fixed and I replaced the dry rot brake hoses and that's all it really needed.

yours has 370k miles so the engine is going to be long past its life and expect to need a replacement for it. that's not to say don't buy it, but I wouldn't pay more then $3k for it knowing it will need an engine and maybe 4wd axle work with that much miles.

the entire drivetrain is just going to be worn out so everything that moves from front bumper to back bumper is going to need replacing or at the very least a full complete recondition and rebuilding at 370k miles so buy it expecting to spend $3k -$4k on all that will be won out on it above and beyond the purchase price. and if you cant do all this work yourself then walk away, its just too much work to pay a shop to do.

 

It's a scam. Owner's name is Tracie?? Tracie's a mechanic?? come on.

 

As I mentioned above, Tracie's dad is a mechanic, but doesn't speak English, so she's handling the transaction.

I got a strong vibe off her that everything's legit, but I will be taking it in to be inspected anyway.

Regardless of whether it's legit or not, I'm looking for pricing advice as if it were legit, to help make my decision.

 

Pricing seems a little bit high but if rust is not an issue at all and there is nothing major upon inspection it's probably a good deal. IMO a mechanic owner is not a big deal. I would prefer to see an elderly owner who gets everything serviced by a pro, on time. There could be major components that are ready to go. The owner being a mechanic, is going to be able to do the work himself but that does;t mean the parts on his truck are going to last forever. Elderly vehicle owners with money for vehicle servicing FTW.

 

The only other item I would mention is that the V6 4x4's don't get good gas mileage (contrary to what the listing says). My '99 extended cab V6 4x4 Taco got around 14-15 around town. Maybe 18-20 highway.

 

I get 18-21 consistently in mine, city or highway, as long as I'm not pulling a trailer. For an older 4x4 truck I wouldn't say that's bad at all

 

I like the 10" wiper blades. I guess they wouldn't need the 22" I hope that savings was put into changing the rear diff oil at one point.

 

I agree with keakar in that you should be prepared to drop some money on repairs, simply considering the mileage. I would buy it for 5k, but would not pay more than that as I would figure I would be dropping a good 2k in the next year or so doing maintenance on it.