'05 with 203K

My trusty excellent condition '98 2WD with 176K was hit in the parking lot last week. Body shop estimates are in the $3200 to $4000 range and the damage is only cosmetic. I'm afraid their insurance is gonna declare it a total loss, so I'm looking around for a 2nd gen 4x4. I've found a one-owner V6 dual cab with 203K on the clock (Oregon vehicle). They're asking $11,000. I certainly wouldn't be concerned if my '98 had 203K miles, and would bet it to go another 100K. Question is: is it reasonable to feel the same way about this '05 V6? Thanks in advance for helping me out with this one.

 

If all the maintenance is done and you get it checked out by a trustworthy mechanic, I'd say go for it.

 

I'm no expert, but can't you get salvage or totaled and get a check cut and keep it with cosmetic damage you fix yourself to whatever extent with that check?

 

You can do better than that price, if you wait.

 

And I'm no mathematician but I think the way insurance salvage works is they pay me a "total loss" value which will be less than the cost of repair. THEN, I must buy it back from them as a salvaged vehicle. That ends up being money out of my pocket to get my truck back to its condition prior to being hit. Am I missing something? That doesn't add up.

 

I'm thinking like when hail damage totals a car. Cosmetic only is ignored. You get diminished value or something...

 

I bought an old Subaru Brat back after it was totaled for $400. Drove it for years after that. Good luck.

 

Not sure I'd pay that much for a truck with that many miles that I didn't know for sure what it's been through all those years/miles. Too many things could have happened.

Now let say it was from a family member or close friend That knew what the truck has gone through, then I'd be fine, but a stranger? The price would have to be much lower like around $7k, otherwise I'd walk. Also since it's in the northern part of the country, never know with frame rust after all those years

 

For that mileage the price sounds pretty high. Yeh, maybe you'll get another 50-100k but then your back in the jackpot again with $11,000 less in your pocket.

 

At that mileage, are there items that most definitely are close to needing replacement? (it's an auto and has received regular maintenance from the one owner). I realize there are no guarantees when dealing with a 12 year old truck, but are there things that just usually have worn out by 203K?

 

05s had head gasket issues, something to keep in mind

 

Prices vary by region, but here in GA my 07 4X4 DC with 178,000 miles would bring about $11K-$12K. I wouldn't pay that for mine, let alone one 2 years older with 25,000 more miles. Not afraid of the miles, the price just seems too high.

 

This. Plus as you said you're getting a vehicle you know nothing about.

 

We don't salt the roads in Oregon (yet) so frame rust is only as issue of it's lived on the coast. Get a carfax report and look thru it. If it's 1-2 owners and not from a Midwest, North East or coastal area it might be all right. Plus if you're able to figure out where it was serviced you can pull service records. I bought my 06 with 54k on it several years ago from Beaverton Toyota. It was 1 owner and bought and registered in Gresham. I was able to get the service records from Gresham Toyota showing it was serviced every 3k miles on the dot. Worth a shot at least.

 

Got my 05 Prerunner for $12500 mileages was @ 168000 . Came with some MOD and upgraded xd wheels.
One year later odo is @180,000 .

 

Well, I got some good news from the insurance company. They valued my '98 2WD Ext Cab with 176,000 miles at $5475. Frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised! So this opens up some options. Their loss threshold is 80% so I could get it repaired and no cost to me since all the estimates hover around $3900. Or........I could surrender it to them as 'salvage' and take the $5475 and use it toward the cost on a 'newer' truck. Time to sit down with a few beers and come up with a plan of action.