Potential Buy?

Keep in mind OP is in California, which has a price premium on the Tacoma.

Even though you’re in California I’d inspect the frame for rust damage. If there’s fresh paint or undercoating run away.

If it’s parked over a puddle they don’t want you to look underneath.

 

this truck in question is not a tacoma and rust damage (on frame) on older trucks (from my limited knowledge) is very minimal (just a nuisance eye sore) nothing to be overly concerned about (but definitely still debatable)
i literally pounded the krap out of the '95.5 salvaged taco yesterday from where I was able to reach and nothing concerning to me
even whacked the UCAs hard as I could and nothing much even with 25 yrs of midwest corrosion and weathering
still under investigation what exactly happened within a certain time period

Toyota customer care rep not helpful with her limited knowledge base

----
... i must have wrote this half asleep, was looking at the other toyota pickup from early 90s, not this one the OP is interested in ... apologies for any confusion

 

Riiiiight...

 

The older Toyotas were more known for body panel rust than frame rust, though frame rust can and will plague any vehicle...none are immune

 

well i pounded the literal krap out of it and no hammer penetrated (sounded VERY solid pinging)
unfortunately it is being sent to its grave in a day or so
i cannot go back and do further experimentation onit as I would like to!

how many years would you say for the older ones to become problemsome?

the 'newer' 1st gens ('98-2oo4) seem so oversensitive they don't last 10 years naked to the elements
I still don't have a good answer why this seems so

 

I don't think there's a definite answer to that, it really depends on where the truck is and how well it's taken care of.

 

it's been +25yrs for most of the old Toyota's now
there must be a knowledge base/table out there (at least for one's that have not visited the crusher!)

for the Tacoma's all we have to work with is the knowledge base on TW from those that live in Harsh climates and how it has been dealt with and handled?

 

I am going to take a look at it tomorrow or Thursday. However, if they are unwilling to go below 7600 I am not going to buy.

No recent timing replacement, most major service done 90k miles ago, over 170k miles. I realize in California Tacoma’s have a premium price, but it’s not worth getting screwed over.

 

The timing belt can be replaced by you with pretty basic hand tools, so I wouldn't let that kill the deal. Your not likely to ever find a +20 year old truck needing no repairs and get it at a bargain price. I hear you on trying to negotiate, but if you been looking for 2 years,...

BTW, being able to see all those receipts is a big plus. Most of us buy our trucks not really knowing history. It also tells me the owners likely took the PMs seriously. Again, to me worth something.

 

maybe we need a Materials Science expert here to straighten this out, with all the relative known data, graphs,etc.
is there a 'data/spec sheet' somewhere that shows what the metallurgical makeup of the Toyota frames are pre/post the frame redesign (97-98 period)
from the photos I have seen on TW (and some limited personal experience) it looks to me that the 'rate of decay' on frames '98 and above were greatly exacerbated, and for some reason I keep circling back to a change in materials used

 

Frame rust is a really complicated topic, for all car manufacturers, because manufacturing of the frames also plays a part, not just steel quality. For example, some of the issues resulted from lack of coatings on the inside. How many times have you heard people say "the frames rust from the inside out"? Due to coating application method (dunking) and trapped air pockets, there were areas where no coatings got applied.

 

this is good info!
is there a point at which Toyota (or whomever was manufacturing these frames for them) deviated from prior methods

 

This is the reality of the situation. It's already over book value a bit and I'm sure that's because buyers are willing to pay more than book value.
I'd only change the statement above to say will it last another 100k, from possibly to VERY PROBABLE, so stay on top of maintaining them. The drive trains last forever.

 

The plus side of this truck is it is a sub 200k truck and has a new clutch which is big ticket item. The downside is that I can almost bet that when you see it in person it is going to be more beat that it appears in the photos, and it already has some body damage. If this isn't a big deal to you, then this could be a good option, but to me, if I'm spending almost $9k on a truck, I want it to look good. I paid a premium on my first gen because it was really clean with no body damage and minimal scratches.

Speaking frankly, with the way the market is right now in California, that is not a bad deal, but it is not a good deal. What's your budget? If it were me personally, I would pass and continue looking. Not sure if you can travel to get a truck, but SD has some clean ones pop up now and then as well as Arizona. Transfer process is cheap and easy, PM me if you have any questions about it.

 

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/d/san-carlos-1999-toyota-tacoma-sr5-4x4/6899615252.html

Check this one OP