Need help with first tacoma purchase

New member here, looking to buy a first gen. I've never owned one before, but have always wanted one for years. I'm going to take a look at one close to where I live here in NC. The biggest concern I have is the truck has a salvage title. The current owner sounds like he probably flips cars for a living. It's a 2003 3.4L 4x4 TRD with 186k miles on it. Very clean looking. The owner said it had some damage to the rear I believe. He's asking $7900. First off, is the price high given the salvage title? What kind of things should I be on the look out for mechanically, weather it be routine type of work, or anything related to the previous damage. Lastly, everyone talks about how reliable these trucks are..is 186k miles considered high for a first gen? Just looking for some good input from those of you who know these trucks well. Thanks in advance!

Link for reference: https://www.laautosnc.com/mobile/mdetails.aspx?vid=31846773

 

if its been a well maintained truck i would say 186k miles is not very high at all, plenty of tacomas these days on TW making it to and over 300k claiming very little major stuff wrong

I do see this is an AT and I cannot comment on that type of transmission but perhaps somebody whom has had an AT around this mileage can give a better experience description
... definitely additional pictures of the truck would be more beneficial for an online evaluation of what you are looking at

 

I personally stay away from those professional car flippers. They make everything sound and look great, until you drive away. The mileage could be a made up number, and the price is high.

 

I wouldn’t pay that for a truck with a salvaged title. That’s just me. It does look like a clean truck at first. But look at those hood gaps. It’s def been wrecked in the front

 

I got my truck from near where you are (High Point) for $10,500 with approximately 150K on it.

It had some worn out stuff (steering rack and associated moving parts, suspension and a bad heater core).

But is has a good frame, no dents, good paint, and the inside isn't ragged out.

The big thing to look at is your frame - rust eats these trucks when exposed to winter salt. And "your" truck
has the double-frame-whammy of you need to make sure that whatever caused it to have a salvage title
didn't mess up your frame.

I'm happy with my truck. I've spent way too much money on it, but that is more a function of being
a member of tacomaworld than anything else ...

-Mike

 

i did not notice the hood gaps at first! definitely need more pictures and see what else is possibly wrong

 

The images didn't show up for me at first... the hood-gap thing seems bad...

-Mike

 

I doubt that he has a dime over $2,700 in it -- bear that in mind. He's looking to make a killing from somebody.

He's not even taking time to cleanse the title by registering it in Vermont then re-registering it in his state.

 

did you know your heater core was not good when you bought it or found out after?
how does that item go bad at the little of mileage?

 

From what I see, he had the hood in the popped position so he could take shots of the engine bay. I don't think it has a panel gap issue up front.

 

This is my theory too. I am going to check it out after work today.

 

Good catch. I’m working and looking at pics on an iPhone 8 in wide open sunlight so it’s hard to tell

 

i need more coffee i guess

 

Also please make damn sure youcheck the frame really good for rust. I’d also check how the airbags fit really thoroughly. Also when you turn the key to the “on” position check all the dash lights to make sure they illuminate and go off as they should once it’s started

 

Nope... and even though me and my wife looked under the truck at the steering components,
I didn't see obvious stuff about them being worn out. My last (and current) car is a 2005
mini cooper I bought new and get serviced at the dealer. At the time I bought my truck
I hadn't worked on anything but my motorcycles since the 90s... now that I have learned
a bunch from being here, watching timmy-the-toolman vidoes and screwing around with
my truck, I realize I'm just lucky that the frame/motor/body/insides of my truck are sound and it is
pretty sweet now with just $ome new part$...





Start hanging out here for a while *before* you buy if you need to get a clue about all the stuff to look for...
I don't have any problem rebuilding the forks on my Valkyrie, but I didn't know an inner from an
outer tie-rod when I bought my truck...

-Mike "lbj? wasn't he a president?"

 

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything with a salvage title unless it was realllyyyyy cheap or you're building an off-road rig. The issue is that no matter how talented the person is who put it back together after an accident, the truck is never, ever the same. Even if it's mechanically reliable, it'll likely have odd shakes, rattles, squeaks, and other little quirks just from things being minutely out of factory spec. It's hard enough chasing those things down on a truck that hasn't been in an accident. $7900 is damn near what you could buy a clean title one for.

 

A friend of mine ran the VIN through Carfax. Gonna be a hard pass for me. Report shows structural damage from impact on both the right rear and front of the vehicle. Total loss. No thanks!

 

Quick update. Found another potential. 2004 SR5 V6 4x4 TRD off road package. 109k miles. Asking price is around $8500. Carfax shows that it spent 10 years initially in New Jersey before being sold down into the southern GA area. Title is otherwise clean. Very well maintained. Timing belt replaced at 45k, exhaust replaced at 51k, alternator at 72k. Rust is my number 1 concern. In the photos, the truck looks CLEAN. What are yall's thoughts. https://www.arlingtontoyota.com/inventory/2004-toyota-tacoma-base-4wd-xtra-cab-4x4-5tewn72n14z342950

 

What are yall's thoughts.

Looks good. Check for rust, like you said, I'm pretty sure it is from a salty place.

I'd skip on auto, but that's just personal preference. I've had hard core off-roaders
tell me about advantages to having auto when you're stopped on a tight rock-strewn
hill with a ton of stuff to think about besides coordinating the brake and clutch...

-Mike "and I've never driven an auto Tacoma..."

 

Who cares what the body looks like (as far as rust is concerned), you need to inspect the frame. There have been plenty of Tacomas that have traveled the halls of TacomaWorld with perfectly clean bodies, but have swiss cheese frames.

If the frame is rusty, act on it immediately, being a 2004 you would still have a chance to have the frame replaced by Toyota, but there are certain requirements that need to be met. 2004 is the last year they are eligible since the warranty is only good for a MAX of 15 years after in service date (date it was first sold).


If you haven't read thru the buyers guide yet. Do so, there's a lot of really helpful info in there about our trucks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-tacoma-buyers-guide.156943/