Should I keep or sell my 2005 Toyota Tacoma

Hello. I've been browsing this forum ever since I bought my Tacoma so it only makes sense to ask this question here. Should I sell my Toyota Tacoma?

I bought my Toyota Tacoma from a guy around April when he lost his job because of Washington's lockdown measures. I bought the truck for roughly 8.5k after tax because he lost his job and this was before any stimulus check was planned. The truck lasted me alright till around July I noticed misfiring on start up which turned out to be the head gasket, I then found a guy who did a lot of work to make the truck as good as possibly.

The list of work done to it includes (some work done by me, some by the other guy). Some of these didn't need done and I did them anyways to prevent problems in the future.
- Water Pump (Previous owner, it could be a shitty aftermarket water pump. I've been watching my trucks temperature like a hawk just to be safe.)
- Leaf Springs (Previous owner did it right before I bought it. He did it at the Toyota Dealer)
- Head Gasket
- Valve Cover Gasket
- Loads of sensors
- Alternator
- Serpentine Belt and the Pulleys
- Harmonic Balancer
- Radiator
- Compressor (was leaking)
- Timing Chain
- Head Bolts
- Spark Plugs and Coils
Probably a lot more because I forget a lot of it. Basically anything on the top half of the engine I thought was going to go bad, I replaced.

One of the camshaft sensors went bad so I'm getting that fixed too as well as my oil and transmission fluid changed right now.

So here is my question, I've put around 4k-5k into this truck to make it as good as possible, but I'm scared its going to bleed me dry of all my income. At what point should I just trade it in and get a newer Tacoma or 4Runner. The truck only has 160k miles on it but it did sit for a few years (Orange peel on the roof and low miles suggests that). Car Fax report is clean and doesn't seem like anyone lied on the miles.

I'm scared that if I buy a new one the whole process could happen again. I bought this truck when I was 17 and was getting good money from my software development business, but the money is drying up due to other businesses doing worse.

 

I sounds like you have replaced all the major problems typically seen on these trucks.
How is the frame and suspension components?

 

Leaf springs in the back replaced in March-ish. Frame has slight rust as it was originally in New York. The rust honestly isn't even close to making me worried as cars in Washington don't really rust. No holes in the frame. I haven't taken an in-depth look at the front suspension but I don't think anything bad is up with it. I replaced the wheels and nothing stood out to me on the front suspension.

 

It’s a hard call, I don’t like spending money.
So I’d probably keep it until the next major problem, then get rid of it.

With all you say you have done to it so far, I would think it should go a pretty long time before anything else major happens.

 

If the frame is hood, I'd keep it.
You've done all the major stuff already.

Pictures so we can see what your talking about in regards to the condition of the truck.

 

ide keep it, you already did the head gasket which was the only issue with the 05s (mine leaks too lol)

if the frame is good, (surface rust isnt and issue) it can and will run for a hell of a lot more miles.

 

Other common items are a leaking steering rack and bad front wheel bearings, so another ~$700 in potential costs. In your shoes, I'd keep driving it, because newer Tacomas with similar miles cost a LOT more.

 

Wait. Wheel bearings aren't a wearable item?

 

I don't wear my wheel bearings to church. Dunno about you.

On a serious note, effectively they're all wear items. Even the leaking steering rack is from rust on the rack slowly wearing the seals.

 

my steering rack has been a champ, that might change if i go to 35s though

 

The rack on my 2nd gen with 32" tires was leaking after 7 years and ~60,000 miles, but not catastrophically. I just topped up the reservoir at every oil change.

 

dang, mine doesnt leak but now im kinda worried, my rack leaked on my lexus shit was pricy to replace

 

A BBB reman rack is $300 CAD + $300 core charge on Rock Auto. Getting the rack out from the vehicle is a pain, budget a whole day for it if you plan to DIY.

 

not bad, yeah ive watched vids on changing it on a 4wd looks like a bitch

 

My answer to your question would be to keep it unless you find that you can make money selling it. In my experience, all of that money spent in repairs is lost if you sell it for a fair price. I’ve done that to myself a couple of times and the pain takes time to heal lol..

Drive it and stay where you are financially instead of falling farther behind. Probably lots of life left in it if the repairs were done well.

 

I'd check to see if the truck was subject to a frame inspection (don't recall the TSB). My '06 was and I got a new frame (~$14K) on Toyota's tab. It's been 5 years since that was done and all seems good. Seems to me that TSB was regional though so it may not apply to Washington state.

 

Keep it. It’s paid off and will run another 200k miles with no major problems. I’ve seen a 4.0 taco do 620k miles on here somewhere lol.
No point in picking up a car payment during these times. If I was you, I’d drive that thing til the frame rusts out, save money while you’re young!

if I didn’t buy and modify a bunch of cars when I was around your age, and just invested a little- I’d be able to buy a house right now. Lol.

 

OP, you have fixed major repairs on the vehicle such as the head gasket so not sure why you are spending money on items that may or may not fail. With that reasonably low miles for an '05, just save and create a monthly emergency fund for future necessary repairs that may not happen versus going through this with another used vehicle.

 

I love my 05'. They hold their value. I would drive it a bunch and then decide. I have 207,000 miles on mine and it is solid.