HELP!! SHOULD I BUY THIS 06 TACOMA TRD 4x4 ACCESS W/TOW PACKAGE??

After scouring the United States classifieds I came across a possible good deal. The truck is a white 2006 Tacoma 4x4 TRD Access cab with 96k miles, it has the tow package. The truck has a clear car fax with no accidents listed. The car was being used by an Electrician company. The company has all of the service records. The bad part is the truck has a big dent on the tailgate and a dent on the bumper , a missing gas access door ($45-90), a scrape on the rear of the truck, cracked front windshield ($200), various dings and a dirty interior with some stains on the seats but with no damage or tears (nothing a good shampoo and stain remover won't remedy). The guy said all of the work has been performed at the local dealership (The dealership confirmed this). The truck was listed for sale for $13,600, I offered $11,500, he said someone else had offered $12k, I so I said I would match that and pay cash within 2 days.

I had him take the truck to the local Toyota dealership and I'm paying to have a full inspection ($100) on the truck. He took it there and the toyota mechanic confirmed the tailgate dent and dings, and told me the truck has no rust problems, fluids/belts/hoses/etc are ok, drive shaft was replaced by them and all maintenance was done at that toyota dealership. The mechanic said they did not get a chance to pull the tires and check the brakes yet or do a test drive. He said the airbag light is on and the low pressure light is on which could be due to bad sensors ($250 fix). He also said the truck needed the sticking pedal recall work done on it which they are going to do. He said they made an error and broke the ECU and will be replacing it courtesy of Toyota. So far everything checks out. I told him as long as it checks out I will buy it.

What do you guys think? Should I pull the trigger if everything checks out? I called a body shop and they I said I could probably get the body fixed up for $1k. I can clean the interior up myself and if the stains on the seat are stubborn I could just get seat covers or do leather.

This truck in good condition has been commanding $18k at the dealerships, so $13k fixed up is a big bargain. Also, I could sell that topper and make a little extra cash (How much could I sell the topper for?)

UPDATE:I've made a final decision to buy the new 2012 tacoma at the end of this year. I'm not going to waste my money on a shit bucket or someone else's problems. I'm just going to save up some more and pay cash for the new truck. I normally don't believe in buying a new car and usually buy a car that is two years old to avoid a loss but these trucks hold their value so well and highly sought after that I will buy the new 2012 tacoma. At the end of the year I should get a deal or I may even get a 2013 at the end of this year. Also, the great part about it I can get my fav color black so I can murder the truck out.
Here are the pics of the (I'm still waiting on the front pics):

 

The only issue i see it probably had a bunch of different drivers on it. But if it mechanically checks out and you can clean it up, its a good buy. Take the extra 1k out and get the dents fixed.

 

Imho I'd keep looking. I know what happens to work trucks and just cause it checks iy would not give me peace of mind

 

@tALOHAma -What happens to work trucks? I know they get worn pretty bad b/c the workers don't care about the truck. The toyota mechanic still has to test drive it along further checks, so I'll see what they say. As far as the interior I feel I can restore it pretty good. My main concern is if it is mechanically sound and the engine and tranny is good, if not forget it.

I don't want a tacoma with more than 100k miles to start off with so my price max at $14k does not yield many choices across the country. I spent a whole day scouring classifieds of every kind throughout the country and only came up with about 3 - 4x4 2005+ access trucks that are under 110k miles for less than $14k..

I found a clean-lookling 2 owner 2006 red tacoma 4x4 access sr5 where the dealer would give it to me for $13,500 (Listed for $15k) but the truck had 1 accident and the owner WOULD NOT ALLOW me to have an independent mechanic check out the car which raises a red flag in my mind. The dealer stated that he already had the truck thoroughly checked so there is no need to check the truck. Sound like BS to me. I NEVER BUY A USED CAR/TRUCK WITHOUT A COMPLETE DEALER CHECK. I've been successful with every car I've bought when I had it checked out prior to buying, imo it's the only way to buy a used vehicle.

I'm thinking I should just go ahead and save up a bit more and put down a $20k down payment on a brand new truck that will probably cost about $30k with all of the features I want. I want a black access cab v6, 4x4, and TRD package. These trucks hold their value so well I think buying a brand new truck is well worth it. Or I could just get a sweet two or three year old one in the low 20's for cash. I really don't want any car payments.

 

Should i?

 

i'd get what you really want, so you won't regret it if that whit access cab breaks, and I've driven work trucks and worked on work trucks for an electrical contracting company, they don't give two sh*ts about their trucks. save up and get the new truck IMHO

 

first off the owner pulled a fast one on you, he didnt actually have another buyer at 12k or he would have just gone with that..

its been used as a work truck which means its hit its redline pretty often, looks like its hit a few offroad job sites as well, but you would need good undercarriag epics for that to confirm

and the topper is maybe worth 500-750

 

Why not?

Everything is easily fixable and it checks out at the dealership.

The only concern I have is the airbag light. I didn't think a simple sensor could fix that one. I thought if the airbag light popped, without the airbag, something was wrong with the unit that controls the airbag, not just a sensor.

 

If it checks out, you like the color and not too conserned about driving a truck with a few dents for awhile. Id sell the topper right away and buy the gas door, some trd seatcovers, floor mats, get sensor fixed and then shampoo and deatil everything. You could find a tailgate at a wrecker too.

The only other thing you could ask would be for the owner to pay for the windshield. Here you woundnt be able to insure it til its fixed. They could claim it on insurance. 12k isnt a bad deal.

 

Yeah I agree but they keep meticulous records on their maintenance and all major maintenance was done at the dealership.

The only drawback I have with getting a new truck is I would be hesitant to off-road it, which is something I plan to do on a rare occasion. With a new one I'm going to baby it and not have fun with it.

 

So selling the topper will bring me down to $11,500. Yeah, I hear you about the wear on the engine. The truck is going to be at the dealer till probably wednesday, so I have time to really make a proper decision. Thanks for your input.

 

I don't know anything about the airbag light, I will have to research on here. The dealership said it should be a $250 fix. The low pressure light is about a $300 fix, so about $550 to fix both, selling the topper will pretty much pay for that.

 

White is probably one of my least favorite colors but adding black wheels could spruce it up. I will get the dings and dents fixed up, the truck will look like new when I get done with it.

I will you that as a tactic to get the price down or have them replace the windshield. Thanks for the input, just probably saved me $200 if I decide to buy the truck.

 

Most likely the airbag light is due to the clockspring and I don't think it's a $250 fix unless you do it yourself.

2nd gens haven't had the rust issues that the first gens incurred so that shouldn't be a problem. I would have a tough time buying a truck without driving it so if you need to save up more to make that an option I would go that route.

 

The last truck I was interested was a 2006 and ended up having rust issues, the truck was in NY.

How much does the airbag light fix usually run?

If I buy the truck I will fly there and drive it myself before buying it. Until then I'm relying on the toyota technician to check everything out for me and then bargain with owner if necessary.

 

Keep looking...get a one owner that's been well taken care of. If the owner of the truck your looking at gave a shit about it it wouldn't look so trashed.

 

true. these 2nd gen trucks are ridiculously hard to find under $15k that are accident-free and 1 owner. Maybe I should put an ad out and state what I"m looking for.

 

You won't.

When I bought my '09 at the end of 2008 I had to go back to trucks from 2001 with 150k to get below 15k out the door...

Took the plunge and bought brand new... I wanted a 2nd gen, and didn't want to buy used for only 2-3k saving.

 

That's my thinking too. Better to go brand new.

 

Im in PA...State over. I did a search by my house. Found a nice 4 banger access cab for 14995. I found this for 16999.. Might be able to haggle down a grand.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=309395647&dealer_id=56928233&car_year=2005&systime=&doors=&model=TACOMA&search_lang=en&start_year=2005&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&search_type=both&distance=50&min_price=&rdm=1327697597375&drive=&marketZipError=false&advanced=&fuel=&keywords_display=&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2013&showZipError=y&make2=&certified=&engine=&dma=WILKES_BARRE-SCRANTON&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&body_code=0&isFlashPlugin=true&transmission=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&color=&address=18706&sort_type=priceDESC&max_price=18000&make=TOYOTA&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=45&standard=false