New guy in Ohio, looking in the Tampa area for a used Tacoma.

Well, like I said, I live in Ohio (Land of the Salty Roads) all the way up by that large lake (the North Coast) and do not yet own a Tacoma. I will be going to the Greater Tampa area in Florida next week to spend a couple of my days with the in-laws, with the express purpose of finding a used Tacoma.
Does anyone have any leads on one or a couple I could look at? Any members down there that might be willing to spend a little time with me and show me on their own trucks things I should specifically look for, or rather look OUT for?
Any advice (other than to run away before the addiction starts) will be appreciated. Thanks. Lazarus

 

Give us more details about the truck that you want.

 

might want to give a few more details.

Price range, year or milage concerns?

I have a 2014 that is going up for sale

 

Once you get your Taco make sure to stop by and talk to us in the Ohio meetup thread!

Best of luck with your search Lazarus.

 

Ripper- that would just make sense, right? Well, I have up to $6500 to spend. I really have no expectations of the cab or drive train configuration. I haven't had an automatic transmission as a daily driver in over 20 years, but I am open to either option. Don't care which engine but given the CHOICE, I don't know the benefits that each would offer enough to make a wise choice without asking for more advice. 2WD, or 4WD? If I had two trucks in front of me to choose from that were otherwise similar... Of course I would take the 4WD. Ultimately, I want a mid-size pickup and in that category, Toyota is the front runner by a long shot. I like to keep my vehicles for a long time and try to take care of them.

So, I know that means I am most likely looking at a first generation. I'm ok with that. I AM looking for a mechanically solid truck to be my daily driver with some light trailer pulling duty included. By light, I mean mostly a light trailer with a couple of motorcycles on it.

not sure how much concern I need to have over mileage. I currently drive a 2003 saturn vue with a 2.2 ecotec engine with 216,800 miles on it. Still going fairly well. I replace wheel bearings on it every couple of years. It's due this year, and will also need a CV joint replacement. I change oil regularly and address issues as they arise.


WheelInTheSky- Thanks for the invite. I will take you up on that! Lazarus

 

I am using Craigslist, and Autotrader websites to browse available trucks. Are there any other search tools I might try to get some more trucks to look at?

 

Southbend Indiana seems to have a healthy supply of tacoma's

http://southbend.craigslist.org/cto/5166478150.html

http://southbend.craigslist.org/cto/5174732546.html

http://southbend.craigslist.org/cto/5172782498.html

 

Do they use salt on the roads over there in Indiana? They salt the daylights out of them here in Ohio. I can't check craigslist from work, but I will take a look at those when I get a lunch break. Thanks for looking there.

 

Keep in mind that the state you buy a truck in isn't necessarily the state the truck comes from. Just like you look at trucks from other states, dealerships go to auctions in other states, so if you aren't buying from a private seller don't assume you know where the truck is coming from. I bought my truck in Ohio but I'm guessing that it came from Pennsylvania.

 

Yes we use road salt and liquid de-icers. But like anywhere else, it's going to come down to who owned the vehicle and how they took care of it. None, none of my new vehicles from living in the Midwest ever developed rust. I make a point to wash and flush any road residue off on a regular basis. It's the corossive material that's allowed to sit in one spot and fester that causes issues

 

Both of those answers make a lot of sense. I have generally purchased from private owners, but even that isn't a guarentee that the car has lived in the same place it's whole life. Good call. I will have to familiarize myself with what "acceptable surface rust" looks like compared to "cancer" on the frames. As I have been reading, the frame rust tends to start out on the inside of the tube and work it's way to full thickness from there. I will have to search and see if there are any threads with good pictures.

 

Good luck shopping. what region of Ohio do you call home? Dayton, here.

 

Rusty Blue- About 35 miles west of Cleveland and 8 miles south of the lake. WAY out in the 'burbs. live across the street from a big cornfield.

Ripper- Wide selections of trucks you found up there. That '97 sounds like the ticket, but is truly $1900 outside of my range. I only have what I have in my pocket, with no option to pull any more out of the lint. The '99 would certainly fit the bill too, and is right at my upper limit, but WOW, only 108k miles, 4WD, Auto... That's a lot of truck. Gonna have to look closer into that one! Bad work schedule might not let me get there anytime soon. GGGRRRR. Anyway, good eye, and good advice.