Buying 1st gen questions, opinions.

Found an unreal 1st gen for sale (35k original miles). He is asking 16 grand for it. I havent seen it yet, going after work today. Just pulled the carfax and it said the 1st owner (he's the 2nd), crashed into stationary object and engine damage was reported. Should I be hesitant or what should I look for ?

 

sure, why not go for it.

 

16 grand with front end damage (possible repaired?). Seems a bit high.

Definitely look at it. Look at the tires for unusual wear patterns (speaks to bad alignment from crash).

Look for any obvious signs of bent metal, like paint that's chipped off or pealing. Have an independant mechanic look at it if possible. They usually charge $100 or so for an inspection. Well worth it if you're about to throw $16,000 at it.

 

I dont plan on paying 16 grand if I do. Couldnt get myself to pay that for a 1st gen (no offense). Im guessing it has been repaired as it was quite a few years ago. Was already planning on getting an inspection regardless. I just really don't like the idea of engine damage reported showing on the car fax. Would you stay away??

 

At this point, you do have to kinda wonder why there are so few miles on it, but that wouldn't steer me away from it. 1st gens are pretty sought after, and catch a high price sometimes. 16 grand isn't too far off from what people tend to pay for one in really good condition. The price is regional, too, though. Make sure you know what a typical tacoma in your area goes for. 16k isn't too bad for one in California somewhere (in good condition), but that's probably too high for somewhere out in the midwest or something.

If the work was done correctly, it'd be a great truck and you have nothing to worry about except fighting off all the hot chicks when you drive your new low-mileage pickup.

Ideally, the owner has paperwork showing the repairs (hopefully he got them from the first owner). Engine damage could easily just be the radiator/fan or something. Those reports aren't very detailed, and rarely give you the entire picture.

If the current owner is unaware of the previous damage and still drove it just fine, you are probably ok, too.

The inspection will tell to a lot about it. Make sure you let them know about the carfax, so they know to look for specific things related to a front end collision.

 

Friend of a friend, It was their fathers who passed away from terminal cancer. I have a 2017 sport right now... downgrading is going to be hard.. Im so torn hahah. I'd like to use the extra $$ to buy a house. I just spoke with my insurance agent who pulled a much more detailed report and he said the accident was in 2002, and the ins. payout was $7000, so I'd guess the repairs were done properly.

 

yeah possible, but it was back in 2002 so it's been "driven" for 15 years since

 

Check the frame for rust..... mine had some surface rust , I paid the 16,161 plus TXTL for a 2002 with 55,000 miles , One single Corporation owner, It's still better deal that any TACUNDRA ( Tacoma wanna be with a Tundra body third gen )

 

Yeah, the payout just means that's how much the insurance company paid. Not sure if you can tell if that money was a buyout (like the owner took the cash) or if the money was paid to a repair shop, but that could help you reasonably tell if actual work was done or if the owner just pocketed the money. My insurance paid me $600 after getting rear ended by a BMW. I still have the scratches on my bumper, lol... Can't remember what I used the $600 for, but probably beer...

The mechanic will be able to tell you how good the motor (likely) is from compression tests, etc... You'll still likely want to do the normal maintenance stuff for a vehicle this old: fluids, filters, belts, timing belt (if it's a v6), ball joints, etc...

You'll be happier with a best gen, ditch that turd gen! Sell the '17 and use the money from THAT for the house...

 

Even though it only has 35k miles??? Figured an oil/filter change but it just had its 30k service done.

 

Yes. Rubber and oils degrade over time, not just miles. That's why the manual tells to you change your oil every X number of miles or Y number of months. All the fluids, filters, and belts amount to a whopping few hundred bucks. It's cheap insurance and kind of resets your maintenance clock since you never really know exactly what maintenance the previous owner did do it.

Don't let that scare you off, though. I'd change all the fluids when buying a used car no matter what.

The timing belt on a v6 should be replaced, iirc, every 90k miles or 7 years. The timing belt *probably* doesn't need to be replaced right away, but it's something I'd put on your short list. The thing with the timing belts is that these engines are non-interference (pistons and valves don't occupy the same space) so likely the worst that would happen is that you coast to a stop, but you usually get some sort of warning sign like rough running or poor mileage before the belt really lets go.

If you can turn a wrench, you can buy the parts yourself for a couple hundred (including a new water pump) and do it yourself in a weekend (there are lots of threads on that topic), or pay a mechanic ~700-900 to do it.

 

I paid $20k (after taxes, fees, etc.) for my 04 TRD 4x4 a couple years ago with 24k miles on it. $16k sounds like a good deal to me but the front end damage would have me being a bit leery. If the accident was awhile ago, then it's probably no big deal but if it happened recently (as in, he fixed it and now wants to sell it) I'd be more cautious.

Mine was pretty much stock except for the TRD supercharger when I got it, everything else was all OEM and the same parts from when it was assembled in 04. Everything looked to be as new as it was when it first rolled off the lot, but they did a real good job of detailing it inside and out when it was put up for sale.

I've replaced and repaired quite a bit on my truck since then but most of that was either upgrades or a result of beating the truck up offroad....so it's hard for me to say that anything was due to be replaced strictly because of age. But I don't doubt that rubber and plastics degrade over time and that's definitely something to be aware of...vehicles are designed to be driven, not sit around collecting dust...so sometimes a super low mileage vehicle isn't always that appealing if it's older and been sitting for a long time.

Just be prepared to give it some TLC, have a good shop look it over and they'll be able to tell you what they recommend. If at all possible, do that before the sale...many shops will do 'pre-sale checkups' where you pay them their hourly fee or whatever fee they charge, and they'll send a mechanic to come look at the vehicle with you. Might be worth doing for the added peace of mind.

 

Was planning on doing a prepruchase inspection. Going to look at it in about an hour or so. Will check back and let y'all know.

 

Alright so what all would you want to do/re-do?

 

you say it just had a 30k mile service, so that's pretty good!

It's just a good idea to get those 15 year old fluids/belts out eventually.

I would just figure out what maintenance that would normally have been done by now to a 15 year old truck, and start working down the list, but it's not like (hopefully soon to be) your truck will explode if you don't get to all of it this weekend. It's a Toyota after all...

It's a judgement call. Talk to the mechanic that does the inspection and they can tell you how clean the (engine/trany/diff) oil looked, the condition of the belts, etc...

I would say that unless something freaky comes up during the inspection, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it for the right price.

 

Word thanks man. I'll check back in after I look at it an a few hours.

 

BUY IT!!!!



If for no other reason than to post pics of a beautiful low mileage Tacoma on an enthusiast's forum.

Good luck!

 

If you buy it, don't forget to post up in the "low mileage 1st gens" thread...I think there are a few still below 35k on there but your's will be one of the lowest.

Mine was in the top 3 a couple years ago but I've put almost 50k miles on it since I bought her in 2016...I put twice as many miles on this truck in 2.5 years than it saw in it's first 12 years of existence, lol

 

New bumper, hood, radiator, condenser, grille, radiator support, disassembly, paint, etc that's easily $7k by a competent shop, and not even bad damage.

If it's as clean as 35k miles would hint, go for it.

 

The most important thing to look for would be frame rust. Then you look closely for any signs of the front end damage.

Look at the tires for uneven wear (also if you have access to service history: check for records of abnormally frequent alignments), pop the hood open and look if the straight edge of the fenders is straight, look at radiator support to see if it's misaligned then finish by looking if the hood shuts close correctly everywhere