Quick Opinions on a 1998 Tacoma 4x4?

Been searching for quite some time now, and found this yesterday. Going to look at it tomorrow and potentially buy it. Spoke with the guy for quite some time on the phone, he was stand up and gave me a full run down on the history, a surprisingly pleasant and rare craigslist experience. The real teller will be when I see and drive it.

Care and maintenance he told me about all within last 10-20k miles: new timing belt, suspension service and part replacement with OEM parts, starter, had the tranny checked and looks good, brand new tires, regular oil changes with synthetic, only uses premium gas, gaskets (forget which ones, head maybe?).

Anything I should be weary of or look for? Someone else I was talking to mentioned the rack and ball joint replacement if it hasnt been done already? Any info on that?

As for the price, I think its fair with the inflation that comes with purchasing a toyota, but I feel like it is slightly high for the mileage. May try to talk him down if the truck driving doesnt match what he has described.

Would love some opinions! Really excited about this one if it pans out!

Craigslist ad with the info: https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/5400081588.html

 

The "Small Farm truck" would leave me concerned.. Cause all the guys I know with farms beat the hell out of their trucks..

 

He is in the ballpark with price for that amount of miles if all the maintenance checks out. Looks like a clean truck from the pics. You can look at the front suspension components if you see grease or oil on the the CV boots or steering rack boots there are shot and need replaced or rebuild. Also any previous accidents/carfax?

 

Yeah it would've to me also, I asked him about it. It was a small farm he used it for hauling stuff to and from, nothing crazy it sounded like. Who knows though I guess I'll see.

 

Side track question, are those factory seats for the Limited? The bolsters on those are sweet! I want some haha.


Just be sure to check the frame for any rust too.

 

Freaking A I just looked and those are factory. I need to find me some for the crawler lol

 

No accidents reported, and okay great thanks Firstgen Jer I'll take a look and ask him about it. Will take a look for frame rust also, should be clean though been in the PNW for its life I think.

 

The truck looks clean but, as others have said, I'd certainly check it over thoroughly. The maintenance history you describe sounds positive, but I second FirstGen Jer's recommendation on the front end. The biggest concern with 1st Gen Tacomas is frame rust/rot, so you need to check that very carefully. If it has anything more than minor/superficial rust, I'd approach with a lot of caution. (Clues here are also found in the Carfax, that will tell you where it's been titled/registered throughout its life. Most southern and western states are good. The mid-west and northeast are not.)

I agree with OP's assessment that the price is a little high. For the truck's age and mileage, I think somewhere closer to $8K is more appropriate.

 

Truck is super clean especially being a supposive farm truck!Do a throughall inspection!Good luck!

 

Sounds good I'll be thorough on the front end and rust issue. Are the cv boots and steering rack boots visible from underneath the truck? And yeah, I think 8k or under is definitely reasonable.

 

My 98 was my favorite out of the 6 Tacomas I've had! Drove it for 10 years, not one thing done other than oil/filter changes. And she blew a gasket at 160k. Prob cause I pushed her little 4cyl down the interstate at 80mph for 800 miles a week to the cabin, year after year. Loved that truck. Much more than i like the larger 2nd gens. But I like my second gen, too

 

Thanks man ODNAREM ! I'll let you guys know how it turns out

 

One thing to keep in mind is if its truly been run on premium fuel its whole life youll prolly have to do so as well! I have no first hand experience with this but ive seen/ read that going back to a lower octane fuel can result in a bad pinging situation. Im sure someone else here can chime in on this with a lil more know how on the subject!

 

Like anything else it is a used older truck.

Mechanical things do wear out.

Problems could very well surface after the purchase it happens to me every time.

Since I never sell my Toyota`s till they are nothing but scrap why is it for sale ??

Who sells a well maintained Truck??

 

Bry838, that's a good point, I had considered that but didn't think much of it. Good consideration to keep in mind.

Wyoming09, I was wondering that as well. Seller stated he has multiple cars and is in need of a larger truck for towing and hauling which is valid, but I'll definitely question him further about this.

Thanks for the advice guys

 

I don't know what everyone else is smoking, but this is overpriced. You best be haggling the owner down a lot.

 

Duststorm4x4, I hear ya man I kind of felt the same way but listening here made think it wasn't that high, I thought 7-8k would be reasonable if it's as nice as it seems.

 

I agree, I think $7700 would be my max.

 

Think we where all in agreeance with you he was a bit high in price. From my experience people always ask for more than what they think they can get because they know someone is going to talk them down.

 

This is a pic of what you will want to look for the components with the rubber boots/bellows are a cv axel and the steering rack. Those boots get torn or where out Or the components in the rack fail and cuase play and leaks. If you see they look greasy or wet there is an issue. You can see these buy just looking under the truck by each front wheels. Hope this helps give a better idea.