Test driving this '08 tomorrow. Does this look right??

Happy Taco Tuesday y'all

dcsb 187k miles on it.

Wants $13K for it

This will be my first Tacoma purchase after researching options for the last 6 weeks.

I would link the listing but he doesn't have photos up on the listing itself which is weird. He's sent me some photos and videos as well. I made sure that he sent me multiple videos of the frame and undercarriage so I could look for rust. (dealer is 90 mins away so I want to see as much as I can before driving out there).

Any tips or advice would be most welcome!

 

Good looking truck. High mileage just a bit. You taking it to a Toyota dealership for a prepurchase inspection? I would & ask about the frame recall when at the dealership cause it’s a 2008. The frame replacement will be expensive if it needs it & miss the window. I think it’s a 12 year window.

 

lmao at your chappelle gif. It's actually at a T dealership

 

Haha you know it! Take some pics & throw them up here for us to see & check the truck out

 

no hood scoop for me.....

 

California truck frame is likely alright if it didn’t move states in its life
Has BFG KO2’s on it

what suspension is on it? Stock?

any pics of the interior? At that price I’d hope the interior is in good shape.

 

looks good, if the previous owner has a logbook of maintainence and repairs I would feel confident at that mileage, these trucks hold resale prices like a mother so $13k for this mileage isn't anything unusual

 

I'll ask about the susp. I don't know.
He sent me a video of the interior but it was a bit rushed. I asked for more, waiting to hear back. Seems to be good condition tho save for some fraying of the driver's seat.

Unfortunately the previous owners didn't keep much of a consistent maintenance log.

Here's a link to the CarFax.

https://www.autonation.com/ebrochur...EE6DB75B49711&Opt_ID=76753525&hid=2675#CARFAX

 

The body appears to be well cared for and the tires have good tread. Hard to tell much else from the pics. I recently bought a 2010 DCLB V6 4x4. It had a bad clock spring, which seems like a common failure. Symptoms are non working horn, air bag light, etc... The window switch on the driver's door was corroded or full of soda, causing the switch to intermittently not work Contact cleaner fixed that. Check the frame as you mentioned - that only seems to be a problem in the rust belt. Look for signs of leaks around the axles. The coolant should be bright red, brake fluid should pale ale color, power steering fluid should be dark red (it's trans fluid). Check for any dash lights (check engine, airbag, etc....). If you can read the codes and the owner permits, I would do that. Is it 4x2 or 4x4?

 

That's all great advice thank you!!

4x4!

 

Tailgate has obvious dent and missing paint in lower left corner. Bumper step missing a cap. Check frame near tow hitch area for damage in case the truck was ever rear-ended.

CarFax shows an aftermarket alarm installed in 2012. See if you can have a visual on the wiring job under the dash. It can cause gremlins to no end (random no starts) if workmanship was poor. At least it's been a California truck all its life, so likely no rust.

Beyond that it's checking all the known problem areas with aging 2nd gens:

Steering rack leak (seepage near the tie rod bellows)
Timing cover leak (near the power steering pump)
Rotted out radiator support bushings
Worn out wheel bearings
Coolant leak near the firewall
A/C leak at the high-pressure line going to the condenser

 

Did they not have smoked headlights on the TRD Sports this year? Those look chrome like the TRD OR models instead.

 

Ah nice yeah I didn't think to ask about it possibly being rear ended.
I'll ask to see photos of that wiring job under dash.

CarFax says it was serviced yesterday. I'm waiting to hear back about a detailed descript of that service.

 

$13K is a COVID19 firesale price if it checks out. At least this is true here in Colorado. It's not uncommon to see a truck like this listed for $18K.

 

One more thing to check, not that this would affect the value much... Check the functionality of the back-up camera in the rear view mirror. The camera is located on the tailgate latch/handle. With the packages on the TRD models, it probably was included.

The tailgates on these trucks are delicate, in my opinion. They are also subject to theft, so if the owner sustained damage, poor repair or swapped with a donor tailgate, the functionality of the camera may be lost. I learned this first hand with my truck.

 

Nice!

That's a good tip I'll ask him that too thanks

 

All good advice here. From what little we can see it looks good for 12 years old. But it has 187,000 miles and no maintenance records. That’s not good. You can check everything out but with 187,000 miles you can expect to experience some problems. Tacoma’s are not bulletproof. Parts fail. So expect to have some mechanical problems. If you are good mechanically then you can save $$$ and repair yourself. If you have to have pro mechanics do the work then it may be an expensive purchase. A lot of people tend to ignore mileage but it should be one of the most important considerations when buying any vehicle.

 

that’s good to consider thank you. Yeah I’m still a total noob. I’m a YouTube-mechanic

 

I believe the backup cameras are only available beginning from 2009. It's not too difficult to add it aftermarket when the stock radio is upgraded.

 

"Black chrome" inlay was on TRDs from 2009 thru 2011.

I'm surprised the headlights aren't all hazy yellow with the turn signal lenses melted, another quirk with 2nd gens (though it affects all vehicle models to various extent).