need your opinion on buying please!

Hey guys! I am new here I just wanted the opinion of some professional tacoma owners.

After doing a lot of research I have settled on a double cab tacoma with a short bed. I found one in my area that kind of seems like a steal, I checked out the interior today and its in great shape. I was hoping I could get some more opinions on it. I am going to test drive it soon, I didn't want to get ahead of myself and fall in love so I am taking this all pretty slowly.

This link shows the truck and it also has a link to the carfax report which seems pretty clean, the previous owner just did a lot of driving.

http://www.autoxumbrella.net/autoxd...Q==&dlrLoc=&url=http://www.miramartrucks.com/

Thanks for looking hope everyone has a good weekend.

 

Few things...
1) Do you want/need 4x4? I made the mistake first time around of not getting a 4x4... didn't this time and honestly I'll NEVER buy another truck that's 2wd again.

2) It's missing the shift knob?

3) Seats look stained pretty bad. Also the floor mat pass/rear looks pretty jacked up somehow... not a huge deal as you can go (and I'd recommend) aftermarket with something akin to WeatherTech.

4) That's a lot of millage on an 08. That said, I drive about that much, but it's abnormal for most vehicles.

5) The price is a little higher than I'd pay... KBB values below:

Excellent
$18,645
Change condition
Good
$17,495
Fair
$15,595

Bottom line... it doesn't look bad... just be cautious with it, inspect it well, and go from there.

*edit: Maintenance records would go a long way too. Ensure you look at the fluids you can get easy access to.. make sure they're not milky, look clean, ect. Though that doesn't mean much as a lot would probably just quick change it anyway to make it look good for the sale.

 

That is a lot of miles! Hard to beat that price though. One thing .. auto transmission fluid to be flushed / replaced at 60k. It doesn't show anything on the Carfax report that would indicate it was done. I would have a mechanic check the quality of the fluid .. how's it look, how's it smell? Does it seem burnt? Also what about other fluids .. front & rear diffs, transfer case. Any of those been changed?

 

Excellent points. Carfax is far from accurate though in all cases... but it's just a datapoint.

For instance though, I do all the maintenance to my truck myself... so nothing would ever show up...

 

hey thanks so much for looking at it guys! the gear shift knob was there when I went to go look at it the other day lol. and it was detailed too. I guess they should have updated the pics. the seats looked great and it had new floor mats. thats my next step look at the fluids and take it for a drive.

im gonna try and get it down to 16 but we will see.

it is a ton of miles in 2 years which makes me kind of worried but it really seems in great shape. i will definitely have to use that advice and have a mechanic look at it too.

thanks guys!

 

oh and ill be living in dallas, texas and i dont necessarily need the 4x4 for snow and i dont plan on going offroading or anything like that, ever.....

but its a good point, its always good to have 4 wheel drive when just in case. maybe thats why this is a good deal since its 2wd....

 

I understand wanting a loaded up truck but keep in mind at 100k it's going to need pretty much every maintenence item going from tune up and brakes to shocks, suspension items, fuel filter and just on and on. At this mileage you are basically going to start rebuiding the truck.

Definetly have a trusted mechanic look it over. The high mileage indicates the truck probably hasn't spent alot or any time in a body shop but look at body gaps and panels under and over for paint overspray that would indicate previous repair (even though the car fax is clean)


If you really need a DC, fine but you could buy a new base 4x4 4 cyl for the the same $$ and have new truck with full warranty.

Steve

 

Yea I am going to definitely take it to a mechanic before buying it. And I know if its treated right it could last 300k.... but it does seem a little odd that many miles in just two years, kind of worries me.

and yea a double cab is a must for the family. and the tune up will be due for sure but its not that much of an added cost I am already expecting that due to the mileage.

I have been looking and looking on autotrader up to 100 miles away and this is still the best truck in the area I have seen. I really like the blue trucks, those are sharp, but silver is fine with me.

thanks guys!

 

Miramar trucks is known for selling to businesses for commercial uses. My bet is it was used as a delivery truck. Also they did more than a basic detail job if they removed the shifter.

 

How much are putting down on it? Honestly, I'm not too crazy about the truck, If someone can show me regular maint. records, it may be in toyota's database for maint., i might be interested, but like an earlier poster said, it's up for a lot of stuff at 100k of normal driving and you just don't know what the previous owners did to it. If I were you dude, I would skip this one, too many miles. You got a family and expenses, I think I would go look for a DC with lower miles. Look at it this way, you could buy this and dump more money into it or spend a little more on one with lower miles and not dump $ keeping it up.

 

[FONT=&quot]http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/ctd/2462430999.html[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Found this on SD's Craig'slist, I got a better feeling about this one than the one you posted
[/FONT]

 

I paid $20K OTD for the same truck same year with 24K on it in January. ALL dealer maintenance, clean carfax. Although mine was a one year rugged trail Edition without the color matched fender flares. I would not have paid $3000 less plus tax for the same truck with 100K. That said I would bet they would take $2000 less in a heart beat. My dealer was asking $23995 for mine,



Keep in mind right now they are getting and giving more money for all used vehicles since the Toyota dealerships are not getting the inventory, I was recently offered $21,450 cash in writing from the same dealer i bought mine from without having to buy anything. . Auction prices are so high dealers are turning to private sellers for their inventory.

 

I went to this dealership back in mid April. I looked at a couple of his trucks, I didn't buy, but he actually bought mine for a good price.

A few interesting things to note about the place:

• His website, and his place of business are all setup like he has some kind of official affiliation with Toyota, down to those Certified logos (that look an awful lot like Toyota Certified logos, in the window of all his vehicles). I'm guessing that unless Toyota is now somehow alligning themselves with used car lots, he is going to have a cease and desist order coming his way. I really thought that this was a little over the top.
• I didn't pay attention to this truck when I was there, since I was looking for a 4x4, or don't know even know if this one was on the lot then for that matter. However, 2 of the 3 that I looked at then are still showing up on his website now.
• The one I looked at was a 2007 DC TRD Sport 4x4 listed for 19,995 with 90K. The vehicle had a good Carfax, however, I could tell that it had been used pretty hard, (probably in a commercial capacity). The bed had been backed up against something pretty severely, and had what I consider a substandard repair, in addition, the cargo tiedown system, D rings, spare tire and tailgate lettering were all missing. Not to mention the gap between the quarter panel and tail light, hard closing gate, and tweaked bumper.
• After I passed on his, he still offered to buy my 2003 Xtra Cab TRD 4x4 for 12K (Mint condition 67K), which I sold him. He later put that truck up for 16,995 and sold it within 3 weeks, other dealers only offerred me between 9 and 10. My gut feeling is that he buys on the high side and sells on the high side, so there is not a lot of room for negotiation, you are probably good for at least a grand. However, I think that he also ends up with a lot of high mileage stuff, that at first glance makes it look like a deal.
• I didn't have a chance to look into the 6 month warranty that they put on their vehicles to get an opinion of how sound it is. However, the fact that they offer one is a good sign.

At the end of the day I got an Okay impression of this place, I didn't think they are out screw people and would probably swing back by if I was in the market again.

However, I would take it upon yourself to ask the hard questions and look the thing over, as like most dealers it is not in their interest to voulenteer anything that weakens their position . In addition to a mechanical inspection I would open all the doors, hood and gate, compare the VIN sticker on each door, gate, hood, and front fender, to the vehicle VIN to get an idea if all the parts are original.

Also check the glass to make sure it all Toyota glass, and most importantly, look closely at the gaps between all body panels for consistent lineup, and uniformity from side to side. It is pretty much impossible for a vehicle that has been repaired poorly to pass this test.

 

Check this out.

email this posting to a friend buffalo craigslist > for sale / wanted > cars & trucks - by owner
please flag with care: [?]

miscategorized
prohibited
spam/overpost
best of craigslist


Avoid scams and fraud by dealing locally! Beware any deal involving Western Union, Moneygram, wire transfer, cashier check, money order, shipping, escrow, or any promise of transaction protection/certification/guarantee. More info
??? 1997 Toyota 4RUNNER ??? - $2900 (buffalo)

Date: 2011-06-24, 10:58AM EDT
Reply to: sale-4peqa-2459711737@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]


Spacious SUV, good condition, over 100,816 and WAGON/SPORT UTILITY. KBB priced at 2900. Very sporty and convenient.

• Location: buffalo
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 2459711737

• Copyright © 2011 craigslist, inc.
• terms of use
• privacy policy
• feedback forum

 

Every panel has the VIN number on it. check to see that they all match starting with the hood.

 

The millage isn't all that outta wack though. I have 32,000mi on my truck and I've had it a year and a few weeks (bought new). Considering the 08 was probably bought in 07.... almost 4 years... that's about 20k under what my truck will have in that time span... I drive a lot though.