Trading 2.7L PreRunner for 4x4

I've had my 2015 PreRunner for 2 years now, and while I love it...it's just not enough for what I find myself wanting to do. I'm heavily considering trading it for, or selling it and buying, a 4x4. I figure I won't get a fair deal trading it in at the dealer, but it would be difficult to privately sell and buy, so trade-in might be my most reasonable option.

Is there anything specific I should be looking out for in this process? I'm willing to go with an older model, but am concerned that I won't know what to keep an eye out for. I found a couple local options on CL:
-a '13 crew cab V6 4x4 (TRD), "low mileage," automatic; $14.5k (private sale)
-a '09 access cab V6 4x4 (SR5), 66k miles, manual; $19k (dealership sale)

The first seems like a great deal, the second seems a bit steep.

More info on my truck:
-'15 crew cab 2.7L PreRunner (SR5), ~40k miles, automatic; KBB says it's worth $20-22k. I owe $16k on the car note.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

The first one seems way too low, even if the truck has 100k miles on it. I'd be leery of someone covering up an accident or some significant damage

 

Yeah that 13 is priced way too low, something fishy with it for sure.

 

Thanks for the input, guys, that one does seem a little suspicious. Thankfully I'm not particularly set on any specific vehicle at this point, just trying to get a feel for how things are priced around me. I'll probably end up going to a bunch of dealerships and looking around until I find the "right" one. I'm just wary of getting screwed by the dealer and not getting anything close to a fair trade, or realizing later that I was tricked into buying a lemon.

How do you decide if the used truck you're looking to buy is a good deal or not?

 

Hoping to find someone out there who's gone through the "upgrading from a 2wd to a 4wd" process. There are so many options to consider, and these trucks are in such high demand, once I find a suitable replacement I'd want to snatch it up quick. But I'm worried I'll make a mistake, overlook something big, etc. Like how old of a model is probably too old for a truck I'd like to be able to drive for 10 more years? How many miles is too many on a used Tacoma? Other info like that would be very helpful. Thanks for any advice/thoughts!

 

Personally I wouldn't write off that '13. The owner may have a very good reason for selling. I'd look at it for sure. You snooze you lose

 

The 09 AC is a good deal but if you can find one with the TRD package you'd be happier.

 

Take it to a dealer and find out. I've never been able to beat dealers trade offers by selling. At least not on anything worth at least $10,000. I assume most states do this, but I pay taxes on the difference between the trade-in and new truck. And dealers have some flexibility as to how much value they can place on the trade in. I'd have to get at least 10-15% more selling outright to break even over what I can get in trade.

Other things to consider are the cost and time of advertising, the additional cost of insuring 2 vehicles while you wait to sell the old one and the costs of 2 tags. I can simply take the tag off my old truck, put it on the new one, pay a $5 fee and transfer it at the tag office. If I try to sell that means several hundred dollars more for a 2nd tag.

An old beater worth $2K-$3K will sell pretty easily for cash. But once you get over $10K most people will be financing through a bank. Those are harder to move and everyone expects to low ball you on price.

 

Either way you're going to take a bath financially. You're really in the worst spot to do a trade in -- you've just eaten the worst of the initial depreciation and now you're going to pay new fees, taxes, and maybe even a larger payment in order to get an older, higher-mileage truck. I'd sleep on this whole situation and think hard about whether it's really worth doing. Personally I'd live with the Pre-Runner for a few more years, pay it off, and enjoy it. Don't dig yourself into a deeper financial hole.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. Steves104x4, I agree with you that it's a good enough deal to look into. However, I'm not really in the position to be pulling the trigger yet, so I'm kinda just doing research on prices in my area.

What's the benefit of the TRD/sport packages over just the "base" V6 4x4? I feel like for my purposes (medium towing/hauling; medium off-roading--mud, sand, etc; work vehicle kinda stuff; camping in remote areas), the base model is probably enough, but I'm open to new information!

Great points that help solidify my intention to just go through a dealer. I feel like my best bet is to just keep an eye out at local dealers, find the "right" truck, and then go to negotiate a trade-in. Does this seem reasonable?

This is an important point, and is the kind of perspective I need, so thank you! I'm definitely worried about the depreciation, but if I find a reasonable deal, I don't think I'll be hurting myself financially any differently than my current loan. I'm definitely aiming to trade for a vehicle worth less than my current one.
Also to clarify, I am doing this thinking and research much in advance; I'm planning to move in 1.5 years to a hillier area, with access to a lot more trails and such, and where I'll be doing more of the above activities/work. So while this doesn't really help much with the depreciation factor, it gives me around a year to make up my mind, and to keep an eye out for the "right deal."

 

TRD has better seats, which is really a good thing. If its a TRD off road it will have a locker on the rear diff. Then comes subtle niceties but the main things are the seats and the locker.

 

And ATRAC

 

Awesome, thanks for the info. I definitely like better seats, and the locker actually seems like a must in some scenarios. I'll have to do more reading on that for sure.

 

I bought a base model so I can build my truck with the parts I want. The stock locker on the off road package is a weak link in the drivetrain.

 

Hmm, interesting, I haven't heard this. Is this a common perspective? I know next to nothing about this, so I have a lot to learn still.

 

The guys who shred their rear diffs are almost always TRD OR. The e locker takes up room that is used for strength/ support in the non e locker. That's why Toyota calls the non e locker an 8.4" even though it's actually an 8" gear - it's significantly stronger than the e locker diff.

 

Wouls you be open to sell your truck?

 

Ok thanks, I'll definitely consider that. What's the cost difference in getting TRD vs base model+locker? What other things would you consider essential to add to the base model?

 

You save a shit load by not buying the off road package.

I've added intermittent wipers, replaced (upgraded) the whole suspension, added 33" tires, a hand throttle, real (3/16" steel) skid plates, sliders, on board air and a bunch of other comfort/ utility features. Feel free to click my build thread link below.

I run in deep snow without a locker, like 3 - 4' deep in the right conditions. Tire size and pressure are key. Lockers will help when I get them, but you'd be amazed where this truck goes without them.

 

Sweet thanks, I'll check out your build. I'm not sure I'm totally mechanically qualified to be doing some of these improvements, but I'm also not trying to drive in feet of snow, so it might all be good. I do encounter a lot of mud and sand, though...