Please help me figure out if this is a good deal and worth a 3 hour drive

Hello everyone this is gonna be a lot to ask but in search of my first tacoma and don't want to make a bad purchase https://www.willistonmotors.com/inventory/view/13191974/2007-Toyota-Tacoma-Access-Cab-SR5-4WD/ it'll bring you to a tacoma i'm thinking of purchasing, it has a fishy Carfax though with the last owner not driving it more than 25 miles in a year and looks like was imported from Canada I haven't been able to see the truck in person but from the phone conversation with the dealer the frame is sprayed not replaced and the pictures of the truck looks like a possible smoker truck please help me make the right decision

 

Only has 74k miles seems fishy...

 

That's the first thing l thought too...
It could be legit,.but 74,000 on a 2007 seems crazy low. I'd investigate that fact further.

Do they have pictures of the undercarriage?

 

just seems to be one looking at the side

 

Ask for a few undercarriage photos. Could look good, or it could look nasty.

 

Nothing wrong with an 07 with 70k miles. Nothing wrong with it being 25 miles in 1 year, cars do sit on lots sometimes. I would see if your local Toyota dealer can pull the VIN and see all maintenance history of the vehicle that was logged. I would not drive 3 hours unless you got pics of the undercarriage.

It was at another dealer and driven 44 miles before being listed at this dealer, so I would call this dealer and ask them how they obtained it. If they cannot be honest with you, then stay away from it.

 

At 74k miles that truck has driven around the planet 3 times. How is that a concern?

 

Likely because on the mainland, 75k in a 2007 is incredibly low mileage. I average something like 45k a year. .

nice first name by the way

 

I just bought a 2010 with 30k miles on the clock this year. Like others said, cover the deal breakers before making the drive and afterwards do the in-person inspection. Seems like a good deal to me but i'm used to California tacoma tax. It has clearly been stored outdoors by the paint/chrome/headlights.

What's weird to me is that they took the time to vacuum the inside but not the time to clean the water streaks down the passenger side of the bed.... Also did the SR5 come with steelies?

 

Not sure why you think it’s from Canada. The Toyota vin check site shows it was from Heritage Toyota which matches the car fax. The service record looks great.

I was contemplating flying to buy a car and then I decided the (non-Toyota) dealer would really have the upper hand since they knew I flew. A 6 hour drive is a lot of your time if you don’t buy. Don’t be afraid to walk away. There will be another local deal if you wait. Regarding the mileage: I bought a 5 year old truck with 30000 miles and CPO warranty/1.9% Toyota financing for 2000.00 less than a 1 year newer truck with no warranty. Be patient. The more you look, you will know when the deal is right. Smoke smell is not easy to Eliminate.

 

I’m in HI temporarily. My truck (2006) has driven through 40’ish states coast to coast. It’s been in Seattle, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Key West, Philidelphia, Chicago, Denver, Houston, and all those other places in the middle. It’s been to every corner of Oahu. It has 106k miles. I drive the shit outta it. 74k on an ‘07 is not a concern

it’s even been through your backyard. Drove through Milwaukee and Madison a few years back visiting my brother.

 

Considering nothing is wrong with it I think it’s a good price I would be hesitant because usually dealers wouldn’t sell a truck like that for that good of a price if it was in perfect condition so that’s the only red flag for me but if you’ve got the time I would say do it worst case you waste some gas and time but on the upside you could end up with a steal of a truck

 

Verify if the frame was sprayed with something like fluid film or a more permanent undercoating. A lot of those undercoating are bad news for frames.

 

Hey! Watch out...

 

Zoom in on those side images and it looks like the frame may have some serious flaking going on.

I would def get better pictures of the frame before going that far.

 

74k is possible. I sold my first gen had 89k and own it for 17 yrs. I also had a work truck.