Absurd values of 1st gens, has it always been this crazy?

Long live overpriced Tacoma's!!!Hell Yea this is great news for all of us here!

 

$8k in 2019 is $10k today adjusted for inflation. The rest of the price increase comes from the continuously shrinking pool of surviving 1st gens.

 

Back last year I was on the hunt for a v6 extra cab 4x4 manual. I finally found one in Reno, NV with 130k miles. Asking price 18k I got it for 17k arguably it feels like I overpaid. But I frigging love it, even though the frame has a ton of surface rust. That's my next project, bead blasting the frame, wire wheeling it and applying rust inhibitor.

Point is the market is what it is. I could have bought various new 4x4 trucks but no one really makes a tech less mini truck these days.

 

There's a mint condition one I just saw listed in Colorado, original owner, 150k.miles, he's asking 14.5. I thought he was crazy, but the more I look it's actually a good deal.

 

In '15 I was looking for a 1G AC basic truck, 2wd. 5 or 6 lug didn't matter to me.

Anything decent *I* felt was over priced. Came across my '13 5 lug with 8k miles and bought it the same day. A smidge higher than I'd been seeking, but now 10 years later, no regrets. More comfy than any 1G I've been in (even 5 lugs) and minimally larger. Like the AC doors (which are now gone again)

Does all I need it to, and could do more. So I feel I didn't overbuy with stuff I didn't need, nor underbuy by not being able to do what I needed.

 

Definitely patience pays off.

 

probably was Not this one that you saw... it has been listed for more than a year

1997 Toyota Tacoma SR5 For Sale in Lakewood, CO

 

I just went through all of this myself - ended up coming back to Taco after having sold my last 98' TRD over 20 years ago. The market for these is likely the most inflated of any vehicle I know of (aside from other 90's Jap sports cars). As I cringed while browsing every week I was worn down: my search perimeter continually expanded, the folks I was dealing with (younger, no understanding of how to actually maintain a rig properly and/or flat out lie) wore me down, the desire to find a clean original frame...etc

I basically gave up until, lo and behold, a super local 1-family owned low miler came up. The price gave me a lot of pause because of the work I know I will have to put into it to set it up correctly. Ultimately, I know I restore and maintain it better than most and certainly to my liking. The idea of either giving up on these 1st gens or just swooping one while a few of these are still around was being weighed heavily. Continuing to deal with the "I know what I got" folks and spending countless hours searching or just plopping down on a legit example but paying for it seemed like an easy way to avoid a headache.

These are the last of the classics. The price point of the 1G and 2G have equalized at this point. Lot of good points brought up here already and the market demands what it demands. Inflation is a big part of it too - I sold my 98' TRD in 2003 for less than I bought my current 2000 TRD for!

 

It's in beautiful condition but 30k seems insane.

 

In today's Market, that's not a bad price. If you're really serious about finding a 1st gen, I'd look in the Texas, Oklahoma, and then the SE states. There are still some good buys out there but you have to be patient and keep looking. Paid 15K for my 03 DC TRD 4x4 Limited Edition in 2010. Thought that was high at the time, but it had everything I was looking for. Good Luck

 

That's just it, you looked for a while and paying the smidge higher made sense given what else was out there. I think the dealer was surprised I wanted my 10 single cab right when it got listed and I didn't tell them until later that I was hoping one came up.

 

yeah, i don't know what kind of game they are playing with that one!
imo, if they honestly have the mindset to sale it at that price they need to do quite a bit more resto to it
there are too many things that are just wrong with that truck (appearance wise)
its like a Frankenstein LoL

 

I’m seeing first gens with low miles and a rear locker go for like 25k…

 

For 30k they could at least put the correct damn grill on it. Thats a 5 lug 95-97 grill....

 

Lol, I wouldn't have noticed that. I think one of the reasons for the inflated prices is because of BAT auctions.

 

Thing's a beauty. I'm not shopping for myself though, so strictly looking for a 2000, but maybe someone here should jump on this.

It's still definitely priced high, but compared to some of the other junk I'm seeing it seems like a deal.

 

Holy Moly

I am guessing that any type of financing will be a problem
$30k for a 28yr old truck
(Unless you’re a rich guy and plop down cash)

Understood why on market for a yr

 

If your looking for insane prices just for fun, check out bring a trailer.

 

I always do, the crazy part is that they always sell.

 

Good eye. But there probably wasn't any new old stock, used ones are trashed and a ripoff, aftermarket ones from Amazon or Rock Auto are usually junk and sometimes don't even fit (like physically won't clip on to the core support).