what should I pay?

I'm new to trucks in general but I've done some homework and 2nd gen Tacos look like a decent deal. Test drove a 2005 with 117k miles, new hood/front bumper/fenders from an undisclosed accident, cupping on front tires and front shocks that need replacing, a vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds that I assume is due to the tires (maybe tie rods), and a decent amount of frame rust. Transmission shifts smoothly, she drives straight, no out of place sounds, no obvious leaks, mechanic says there's no codes and structurally and mechanically it looks pretty good. They're asking $18.8 - what should I reasonably expect to pay? TIA

 

Keep looking. I paid $24000 a month ago for a 2013 with 88000 miles and zero issues. Keep looking. Frame rust is a no go for me.

 

Dont. 2005 has inherent head gasket issues.
I bought a 2008 access cab three years ago with 171k on it. Paid $12000.
Wait and find a better deal.

 

What years between 2005 and 2012 are best to look at?

 

Keep in mind you're on your own as far as frame rust issues. '05 would be outside the replacement campaign window.
Keep looking, too high for an '05, even with no issues as stated, IMO.

 

In my opinion, 2009-2015.
Bought my 09 with 157000 miles for $12,000.

 

Where are some good places to look?

 

You're going to get all different answers. When I was looking my window was 2008 to 2011.

Why not 2005 to 2007? In 2008 Toyota reinforced the frame behind the engine mounts and had solved the head gasket issues. I wanted a vacuum brake booster and not the electronic master cylinder, traction control nonsense, which was only available on 2005 to 2008 trucks.

Why only up to 2011? In 2012 the V6 got the secondary air injection system.

That was my logic in 2015 anyway and 2008 was my target. At this point the main determiner would probably be any 2008 or newer and frame condition would be primary.

 

Honestly, I got mine from a little mom and pop dealership here in the Phoenix area. Right place, right time kinda thing...it had just been traded in.
I had been looking on Craigslist, a lot of dealerships advertise there.

As others have said, I'd stay away from the older ones 2005-2007. Yeah you'll pay more, but I think you'll get a better truck.
Good luck with your search.

 

What am I looking for on the frame? The 05 I took to my mechanic had a decent amount of rust, at least to my eyes, but he said it was no big deal, especially for something that's dealt with a lot of road salt over the winters. Are there other things on the frame to watch out for?

 

Almost $19K for a 2005 with rust issues? Ooof. I lucked out on my 2009, it was at a Toyota dealer at the time 128K miles and I managed to snag it for a little over 13K in April 2019. Has some minor rust scaling, but not too bad. Definitely look around, you can do better.

 

I don't mind trying to talk him down. Research I've done says fair retail is about $14.5, and for the miles and general condition I would be OK with that.

Maybe I don't understand what constitutes minor vs. major rust issues. Thoughts?

 

Most common rot would be on the box frame rails right at the catalytic converters, but there are several other areas that will perforate.

 

A LOT less than that!

Did he beat the frame with a hammer, probe points of attachment like the rear spring hangers or make the effort to look inside the closed areas with a borescope? If not, he doesn't know enough about Tacoma frame issues.

2012-'15, '13 being a great year.

I'd have no problem looking at older models too, but the older they are the tougher it becomes to find primo conditioned ones.

 

I didn't look extremely closely but I didn't see any perforation along the rails, just flaking.

 

That's not a good sign sometimes. There's been several cases where they scrape the flakes off to reveal a hole...

 

Unfortunately my price point is well below what those years are going for.

 

. I wouldn't pay $18.8k for that 2005 even without issues or rust. That's an insane of a price regardless of model/trim or 4WD.

 

1. Prices and value vary by regional market. People responding will be all over the place, literally, on what they paid if you and they are not in the same market region. That said, I live in an expensive area and would not touch that truck for that price, especially in that condition.
2. Front end damage and wobble, cupped tires. Fuck that. You have no idea what might actually be going on there unless you have good tires and alignment on a test drive. It could be an expensive can of worms. This indicates the previous owner didn't really give a crap about the truck.
3. Frame rust. Others have already covered that. Pics would help, but you said flaking. Fuck that.

If you can't afford more, you certainly can't afford to fix a can of worms and try fixing it, or end up selling it at a big loss.

Be patient and keep looking.

 

Walk or pay 1OK to 12K. But I would walk and find something rust free 2010 or newer.