I need help please. Badly. IYO: biggest factors in Tacoma resale values?

Sorry my truck has been on a sort of downward spiral cosmetically and we've been through a ton together. Break ins, tickets and accidents. Good times. But I've developed epilepsy and have knee problems from wrestling so I need to part amicably with my baby. She's taken her fair share of beatings cosmetically, scratches and dents (sigh- from the insurance repair person not fixing a detached mudflap, slammed and dinged the hell out of my fender and he argued it was rocks. In orange county. On the road. Right -_- ) And the tailight is busted and the seats are worn to hell as well and just all this minor stuff that adds up. And I suck with cars and almost destroyed my engine recently during an oil change (Why, why can't they just label one reservoir as oil and one as transmission. Yep I drained the latter and drove around for several days before getting it checked and watching my friend refill the fluid in horror. And tell our best friends who are all tacoma and mechanically gifted savants. Sweet.) I guess what I am trying to ask is whats the most important things you think people and dealers look at immediately and are cheap to fix or easy to repair or maintain that boost the resale value as much as possible. I mean my truck hasn't broken 84,000 miles and I drive very little (its an 07) and I've gotten solicitations for selling it without even mentioning it. But I want to get my babe dolled up before our last hurray I suppose. That sounded lame. But any tips or advice would be sorely appreciated and frankly needed. Thank you so much for your time and potential help.

- Shawn

 

God I sound frenetic. Im really sorry. Just the point is I need your guys and gals' advice and guidance on what to do to fix up my truck and get it in tip top shape so I can afford a car that isn't hard to climb into and has decent mileage as well. Don't even know where to begin with that. I've been a tacoma person since I've gotten my license to freedom. But change is good sometimes. They say.. Any help again would be great. Plus I am sure I am not the only person who could benefit from this discussion and advice as well. So keep it going and bumping it up to help newbs like me. Im still not even sure how the pistons revolve around and how the electricity starts it. Its kinda fascinating really. Crap my thoughts are scattershot lately. Thanks again.

 

Really nobody. Well I got pictures. Let me see how to do this

 

Is it a bad idea to post a picture with my license plate on it?

 

Let me get this straight. So you drained your tranny fluid and refilled the engine oil....thus over filling the engine oil and running with no transmission oil? Did you not bother to check the engine oil dipstick? Did you change the oil filter? Also, when in doubt, you can always refer to google owners manual. A lot of your problems seem to be due to some neglect on your part. If you are that clueless when it comes cars, you should not be attempting to do the maintenence. Research...research....research. It will go a long way and save you from potential issues or problems.
Expect to get some heat from some of the members on this forum. I personally would be very weary about purchasing your truck and to be honest...your truck is probably the epitome of what not to buy when shopping for a used car. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it is the truth.

With that aside, I still think your truck still has some value. Cosmetic defect will always hurt the value but that is visual and some people can deal with that at the right price. What I am most concerned with is not necessarily the lack of maintenance but worse....which is improper maintenance.
The sooner you fixed your engine-tranny oil issue, the better.

To better assess/help you. I would recommend that you post pics of your truck. Please take better care of your vehicles in the future....if you do not know what you are doing.....DO NOT DO IT.

 

You might could consider doing a phone a friend kind of thing and pony up some beer as a trade to get him to help you or best show you step by step how to maintain your vehicle. Also, you can spend some time on you tube and learn all about this type stuff. good luck with your vehicle.