Not a ton of money but still nervous.

I’m considering a first gen Tacoma. 2002 TRD off road. Has rust hole in bed small and must be on wheel well. I can reach through the wheel well from underneath and touch the plastic liner. Rest of bed is very clean. I would like them to take a 1000off asking (asking 13,500). Help me I’m new. Frame is 5 years old BTW. Was replaced during the infamous recall. Is it worth $12,500?

 

$13,500 for a 20 year old truck
How many miles are on it?
How many owners and is there a known maintenance history on it?

 

3 owners
171,000mi
V6 TRD off road
Frame replaced in 2017
Maintenance kept up obsessively IMO looking at carfax
Carfax values it 13,900 from dealer
Just heard from owner they would accept 12,800

 

It runs awesome and lots of additional work like new tires, alternator, exhaust, radiator, plugs, wires etc

 

Why do you want a truck? Gas is already climbing at insane rate. If you have no reason for a truck I would hold off till the world calms down.

 

Prices are ridiculous right now.
That’s about right in this market.
But the truth is, that’s probably a sub-$10k in reality.

I guess you could compare it this one, and go from there?
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/baa6ec4c-9583-4be1-9f5c-0b1c6861cdc9/?aff=atempest&CMP=atempest

 

Keep looking. You can find Tacoma's in the bay area for the same price, with less miles, less owners, no rust and no frame swaps.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search...o_year=2001&query=tacoma#search=1~gallery~0~0

 

Check the timing belt. If its done. Rust on well means rust somewhere

 

I’m holding my breath till the world calms down. Lol!
I’m not looking for a daily driver and to save on gas. I have a Mini Cooper for that.
I want a 4x4 Toyota Tacoma I don’t have to pay 40K for for the sole purpose of off-roading and hauling my motorcycle(s)

 

You’re 100% correct. In this market in my area it’s hard to get a Tacoma with this many extras that are not snatched up so fast and that have had the frames replaced. I’ve been in the market for a while and I do feel like I should wait till next year, but who knows what it’s going to be like come spring. With my luck I probably will see something as good for less than 10K. It’s a lot less than $40K tho. 2018 are still selling over 40K around here.

 

Not an option for me being in the Iowa/Nebraska area. I wish I could tho!

 

Good recommendation. I did Do that and it looks great! All new belts they really took good care of it. Loads of maintenance reports. Also logged onto Toyota service site put in VIN and was happy with what I saw!

 

Wish I had discovered this forum earlier! Thanks for all the feedback and advice!

BTW: yaa assessment

 

Seems very overpriced but that’s the market these days. I had an 02 for my entire adult life and it was an amazing truck. That year had a throttle cable and felt so good to drive. Check out the rocker panels for rust, and the newly replaced frame for rust as well. Those trucks will drive as long as you want them to, but rust is a death sentence. Inside of the frame rusted before you could see it on the outside as much and when I sold mine it had the frame done 7 yrs prior and it was getting to be a problem. The frame itself is thin and not well coated ​

 

Did you go at that "new" frame with a hammer and pick? If it was in an environment that destroyed it once, no reason it couldn't be at it again to some degree.

I would agree that $40k is nuckin' futz, I spent more than that but really, so is $13k for 20 y/o high mileage pick'em up truck! That's more than 25% of the way to that 40k craziness. I'm trying to figure which option is the craziest?

 

Right on! I look at it like this…if I spend over 40K on a 4x4 I don’t want to take it 4x4 because I don’t want a dent or scratch. I ran a scope in the box part of frame looks really pretty good.

 

The bodies of these trucks rarely rust through, even when the frame is completely gone so that is a red flag. I'd be worried about the overall condition even with an updated frame.

In this market I'd be more inclined to buy a $5k Silverado shitbox to beat the shit out of instead of paying 2x the price for a comparable condition Tacoma

 

I would wait. Im thinking when the 4th gen comes out,hopefully the prices of cars will go down.

 

Way too much for an old truck, I love mine but I wouldn't pay more then 5k for one. Not super realistic but I'm ok with doing an engine swap and minor repairs.

I'd skip it, get something cheap from a towyard lien sale. I've been buying ford rangers for $1000. Almost perfect interiors, minor body damage. They all needed tires, I fix them up and make a bunch of money when I sell them.

 

We’ll, a lot of sound advice. I bought anyways, so now I have to live with it. They came down a little more. I think it’s a great little truck so far. I have some issues to take care of but not a frame, transmission or engine issue! Time will tell, but after this ordeal I don’t know if I will be a life long Tacoma fan. If this all goes south I’ll probably go back to Nissans!