1999 Toyota Tacoma SR5

I'm looking for thoughts on a truck I am interested in purchasing. The truck is a 1999 Toyota Tacoma SR5, 4wd, manual trans. It has power windows, locks, extended cab with a sliding rear window. It is forest green in color. The body is in decent shape, has some scratches and dents but nothing major. The interior is tan and it obviously was owned by a smoker, a few burns and a faint smell.

The truck will need a set of tires within 5 to 10,000 miles. The mileage on the odometer shows 124,000 however the dealer doesn't know the actual miles. The motor seems to run strong and the transmission engages all gears with no problems.

I'm interested in purchasing this truck but the unknown mileage has me unsure. The dealer is asking $7,9995. After talking to him for 20 mins he was ready to sell for $6500. What are your thoughts on this truck? Is it worth purchasing or would you stay away. With the unknown mileage and how fast he dropped his price I'm concerned. I figured the best place to come to for advice was a toyota forum. Any red flags I should watch for? I've always loved Tacoma's and I am definitely interested in the truck but I don't want a lemon.

Any suggestions and information would be appreciated.

 

Gene,

Is it a V6? It's harder now for dealers to move V6 engine vehicles, especially SUVs. When shopping for my Tacoma a couple of months ago, dealers dropped the prices pretty quickly. It might be that. Get a Carfax and take the VIN to a Toyota Dealer. They might be able to give you some history. For me, I took my 2004 to Toyota and had them do a Used Vehicle Inspection. Cost about $120, but I got the list of issues and the history of the vehicle. It helped me settle on buying the truck. Do your vigilance and mind your inner voice. Buy when you are comfortable.

Good Luck!!

Kevin

 

It does have a V6 in it. Its a small dealer and he purchased the truck from auction. He claims he paid $5k for it plus a delivery fee. I will definitely ask him about running the vehicle history report. It looked clean under the hood other than it could use new belts. The belts wouldn't be an immediate fix but in the near future. Whats your experience on unknown mileage? Is that usually due to an engine swap?

 

The vehicle report and any service history might help you determine if the mileage is indeed correct. With the Toyota UVI report, I took it to my small dealer and he fixed all the mechanical issues no questions asked and kept the offered price (which was $1600 under his list price). Someone could have tampered I suppose, and some folks here might be able to give you tips on how to identify if fraud is taking place. For what it's worth, my engine compartment looked pretty clean, but not to the extent I thought someone was hiding anything; just the usual dirt and grime for an 8 year old vehicle. Clean, Clean might have me wondering a bit.