Help on Research for buying older Tacoma

Hello! I live in western Montana and am looking at buying in the future (a year or two down the road) a Tacoma. Would anyone suggest a thread to read through on this site, or give some areas to point to for my research? I'm looking at getting a quad cab, automatic, V6, awd or 4wd (see how much I know) that has a bit of "monster" to it. I'm just unsure what older model is best for the mileage the previous owner might have on it, reliability, etc.

I'm completely new to this as I own a 21 year old Honda Accord, that runs like a dream, but is starting to wear down. Any help is welcome and I'm glad I found this site! Thank you!

 

Welcome!

 

Thank you for the welcome!

 

welcome from Ga !! There are many car/truck websites online with all kinds of info.
Autotrader.com, Cars.com, cargurus.com, Ebay motors, NADA.com, Edmunds.com, KBB.com, Car and driver etc etc etc
I own a 2004 Tacoma Prerunner Dbl cab TRD with sr5 pkge.. has 138k miles... i bot it new back in May 2004 along with my wife's 2004 Rav 4.. Still have the RAV. My Tacoma is the last year of the 1st generation Tacomas. Never had a problem at all and I just love it !! Do a lotta lookin before you buy ...

 

her som pix new wheels new bfg tires everything else is orig...

 

If that truck was 4wd and in Western MT it would sell in a few days for 13,000-14,000. Its a hot market for Yota's. I would be willing to travel to find the right truck. Even if you have to buy a one way ticket somewhere you might be able to save some money. Good luck.

 

How old are you looking at going? Depending on how far down the road you will be buying, 1st gens could be pretty scarce. Whether they will still have such an inflated price isn't known for sure but i would imagine that as they are sturdy little trucks they would likely go up in price as there are fewer and fewer of them available for purchase.

I feel where you are coming from right now, as I just spent the past year searching for mine. Had it less than a month, but have to say it was well worth the wait. Whatever you do, be patient. I purchased a couple of vehicles i had to sell and went to see a few tacomas before settling on one, it certainly takes time to find one in great shape that can also be purchased for a fair price. Above all, have a trusted mechanic you can take the trucks to before you even consider buying them. You need to know exactly how much you will be spending on maintenance and repairs before you can come up with a price you are willing to pay. DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS.

Also, don't lose hope. Keep searching and searching and searching some more, doesn't matter how long it takes 'cuz the more you search, the more money you can make, ergo the nicer the truck/ mods you can afford!

Cheers (and welcome)