Is this truck worth it? New guy needs advice.

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and have pretty much finalized my deal on a pre-owned Tacoma. I'm driving down this weekend to pick it up if everything else checks out.

The truck is a 1998 4x4 v6 Xtra-Cab SR5 Automatic with 173,000 miles on it. Power windows, power door locks, working A/C.

The truck has had two owners. The previous owner is an employee of the current owner. And although they don't have maintenance records, they swear by every single maintenance.

Concerns

They mentioned the last thing they had to replace was the power steering pump, and it was replaced with OEM pump.

They also said that mention that the truck has a minor oil leak from the valve cover. It is barely noticeable, and the truck doesn’t lose any oil in between changes. They are included the valve cover gasket, so I can do the replacement if I wish.

Also, the ABS light is on. They said that the light came on after they had to suddenly break one day, and the ABS engaged. Shortly after, they replaced the brake pads and the light turned off. Since then the light has come on and off, but hit has mostly stayed on.

173,000 miles, over 13 years

Positives

The body is in excellent condition. No accidents.

The frame is rust free, from the Southeast U.S. Little to no snow or salt ever.

The interior is immaculate. The seat have had seat covers on them since the day the truck was purchased. The interior looks as close to new as is possible for any truck.

MODS: Rhino sprayed bed liner, rhino sprayed OEM wheels, 31" Mud Grabber tires, 2.5" Skyjacker lift with Skyjacker shocks/struts, front grill guard, tubes side steps, almost new tool box on the rear, towing package with hitch, blacked out rear tail lights, bug/rock shield on the hood, Pioneer aftermarket radio.

It's a Toyota.

The Price

$6500, down from $7500 which he felt was a steal since he had $9000 into it.

I commute to work using public transportation, So I rarely drive into work (62 miles round trip), maybe once a week.

I want the truck for more please than anything. Tow the mountain bikes, two the snowboards, tow the dog. And occasionally drive into work on days I don't commute or trade off with my primary vehicle, Infiniti M45.

SO...

I'm sorry for the long email. I just wanted to get it all out there. My question is...

Is this truck worth the price with mileage and age? Or should I be looking at a truck with fewer miles on it? How long do you guys think this puppy will last me.

I am pretty OCD about my vehicles. My Infiniti has run Mobil-1 everything since day 1. Whatever maintenance I can't do myself, it's done at the Infiniti dealer.

I would really appreciate your thoughts?

I will post pics this evening if anyone's interested.

Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me

 

I would get to the bottom of the ABS light, they can be bad news. Most things related to ABS are expensive.

 

He says that the ABS still works fine, just that the light is on.

I've read on here for some time that a lot of Tacomas had a light issue after engaging the ABS, because of low brake fluid. Either that or the fuse is bad (I Hope).

 

i dont have ABS either, seriously, who needs driving aids anyway

 

I would definitely replace the gasket but other than that sounds like a good deal as far as I can tell and have the light checked out but if it still works don't worry too much about it

 

We have to get a "safety inspection" in VA before we can register the vehicle.

I know I should probably check with VA, but do you guys think that they can fail me for the ABS thing?

 

pics don't work for me...

 

Does it work now?

 

super clean truck, seems like a lot of cash for that many miles, but a tacomas price is dependant on the area. I'd get him to get it saftied before I bought it and if it needs repairs haggle the price more

 

thats at 2.5" lift? it almost looks like its lowered

 

I think it looks like a good deal and pretty clean.

 

We'll they were asking $7500, and I got it down to $6500. I found another one for that I got down to $5500. But, considering the cost of the bed liner, lift, tool box, grill guard, and other mods. I thought the $1000 difference was worth it, no?

2.5" skyjacker. You can see the spacer on the one pic of the wheel, and obviously the shocks were changed to skyjackers as well.

They way I saw it. Anyone that puts this much money into mods and upgrades, has taken pretty good care of the truck. Especially since the interior is super clean.

 

i know its lifted but it just looks like it isnt..... but still nice looking truck

 

good lookin, engine included... sounds like a decent deal. I wanna Linex my wheels too, but I have the lame spiral ones. Might as well get some new black wheels with my next set of tires... $$$ouch$$$

 

I know the Linex/Rhino bed liner run about $500. How much does it cost to do the wheels typically?

 

Thanks! It's in Montgomery, Alabama. I have wedding to go to in Orlando, so I would just be flying in to Orlando, and driving it back form Montgomery.


Does anyone think the mileage is excessive? Or 173,000 on a Taco is no big deal?

 

Do you trust the seller has done the timing belt change at 90K, in the absence of receipts? Could be an expensive maintenance item if it wasn't done, and an even more expensive repair if the belt breaks.

The critical fluids (transmission, differential oil, transfer case oil) are all replaced "on condition". So the truck could be running on original fluids for the last 173K and still be compliant with the minimum required maintenance. Something to think about if you are OCD...

 

We'll, that brings up a good point. I am planning on taking it to the local Toyota dealer and having all the fluids and belts and hoses inspected.

But are there some things that I should do regardless?

Spark plugs?
Timing belt?
Differential Fluid?
Transmission Fluid?

It's only 7k miles from it's second 90k full service at 180k. So isn't there things I should plan on doing right away anyways?

How much does the timing belt cost to replace by the way?