Looking to buy a used tacoma, help me not get ripped off.

In the next month i will be looking to buy a second gen tacoma, and looking now i see a lot of variation in miles for the same price and vise versa. My max on the price is about 16.5-17k, i need 4x4, would prefer a double cab and a trd off road or sport.

1.) what year/mileage should i expect for this price?

2.) how much will a used car dealer come down on the price of a tacoma? i understand this is an extremely situation dependent question but i wanna know if i can shop for trucks in a higher price range. i will be paying cash also.

3.) what puts up an immediate red flag? are their any years i should steer clear of? i see a lot of trucks in the north east for lower prices, is this because they are most likely rusted underneath?i live in new jersey, should i look for a truck down south?

if you have any other advice please let me know.

 

Bumppp....

 

2) When I bought my Tacoma, the list price for a brand new one was 21,000, walked out with the truck for 19,900.....that was new, used should be slightly more forgiving

 

Checking for a rusty frame is the big one. There have been a few posts on here where people bought used trucks without checking the frame and then immediately had to bring it in for a frame replacement. That's more hassle than you wanna deal with when buying a truck IMO

 

Look inside for asnwers in pink

 

For a good condition truck you will probably be looking at 05-08 with around 100-150k miles. Definitely check the frame for excessive rust. For those years Toyota is in the middle of a recall for bad leaf springs, they haven't announced exactly what they are going to do yet, but something to be aware of I suppose.

 

Hello Future Tacoma Owner,
Yes, the first thing you want to check is the frame for rust. Although, rusted frames is much more of a first generation issue than a second generation issue. You also want to check the compression of the engine. Check to make sure the transmission and the transfer case are in good working order. Good Luck!

 

How much rust on the frame would be to much? Like is some scaling normal?