Why is it so hard to find a nice 1st for a decent price?

what kind of camper is this? are they still available?

 

tacomas are so valuable and rare enough here that we have people that import them from the us at a premium.

 

I ended up flying and doing a 20 hour drive to pick mine up. Saved me about 3-4k from what I could find locally.

 

I bought my '01 Xtra Cab V6 4x4 Manual w/ 180k, new frame for $6k.

Took me about 6 months. It was originally $7k, but he dropped the price so I snagged it when he did. New England.

Check out Craigslist, used car dealerships, and Toyota dealerships; most have wicked prices, but my guy didn't.
Found a good deal on a low mileage one at a Toyota dealership the day they got it. Some guy beat me to it though and paid cash.

 

I got one for sale if anyone is looking ...
1999 Tacoma Sr5 2.4 l - 5 speed . 148500 miles - 2nd owner - $6000
Clean - Daily driver .
You will have to come to Cajun Land - Lafayette ,La.

 

I bought my current truck in Maine for $3k last month. regular cab 4x4 stick and it had 226k on it. New frame in 2012. But I admit it was pretty neglected. Nasty dirty and hardly any brakes, original shocks, bald tires, dent in the fender, bad exhaust leak, check engine light on.... Granted I've gone a little overboard but after all new brakes, exhaust, 02 sensors, most of the evap system and a gas tank (chasing an evap code), all new fluids, new wheels/tires, a nice stereo, Bilstein 5100's, AAL in the back, new coils up front, and a bunch of other little crap I'm in it for maybe $6k and I have something I really like. Not bad.

I sold my mildly lifted 05 double cab a week before I bought this one. 186k and CLEAN. Sold it for $10,500 and it took MONTHS to sell. Had it on ebay a bunch of times, craigslist.... Just nobody seemed to want it. Guy that bought it fell in love as soon as he saw it.

 

I paid $7200 for mine locally from a dealer. Since then I've invested about $4000 into it. Still needs a little more. Probably shouldn't have but i kind of like driving it. Every once in a while people see me at gas stations and ask if I'm selling it. lol Happens quite a bit. Had an offer for $10K on it once and passed up on it. I thought - dang - have to get a different pickup. Probably a 2nd gen and have to put some money into it as well. I'm not at 200K miles yet but I'll end up just keeping it and fixing things that break. Which - BTW I think I need a new battery soon. Dang TACO likes the moneys

 

Utah has some pretty good deals on tacomas. Still the same boat, high price for low miles or sacrifice the miles for the price..

https://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3908395?ad_cid=18

 

I bought a double cab 4x4 TRD, supercharged on coilovers and 33s with 168k in Colorado for 9100 about 3 years ago. Then I just bought nearly the same truck but a exta cab for 7800 in LA a few months back. The deals are out there

 

Here is a Unicorn:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/2004-toyota-tacoma-4x4-with/6276118426.html

 

The license plate "MUDRN8R" suggests it is not that clean

 

Same story down here in Texas. I found mine in Brownsville (basically South Padre Island) for 5K after 6 months of looking on Craigslist. 174K 2.7 5-speed 4x4. It's about an hour away from where I live so I drove out there on a Thursday to check her out with a buddy. Everything looked great, ran perfect, no problems. Told the guy I would come back on Saturday with the money. Saturday comes, I drive back out there with my dad to pick it up. I pull up and the truck is gone and I'm like F*CK!!!! I ask the dealer where's it was and he says a guy was test driving it right now. I almost literally threw the money at him and got all the paperwork done before the guy came back. I legit had to tell him to get out of my truck when he drove back lol here's my baby the day I got her(my dad inside.)

Fast forward one week, it's a Saturday I'm driving around In my new to me 1st gen and I see ANOTHER taco in a neighborhood close to my house. It was this blue 96 3.4 5-speed 4x4 lifted monster. They guy was literally putting the for sale sign on it as I was driving by. I was like screw it im just gonna ask how much for it. I checked it out and it was no where near as mint as my red and it had some issues. Right away I could see a blown gasket and some rust down below. The guy says his wife was forcing him to sell it because they needed a bigger car for a kid and that he would take whatever I had. I thought, meh he won't bite and offered him $1.5K the guy said screw it I'll take it and I was like OHH F*Ck! So I ran home, got my dad and BAM, I own 2 trucks now lol

 

Yeah I saw that and thought the same thing. But this is in a wealthy area of Berkeley with lots of aging environmentalists/yuppies. I actually think the person might be a trail runner (exercise). Worth a look for sure

 

I feel the price is a little high, but seems decent enough to look at. Your thoughts? I've only had one Tacoma and its my current 2nd gen.
https://annarbor.craigslist.org/ctd/d/2003-toyota-tacoma-v6/6273787135.html

 

I'd got "MUDRN8R" ten times over that "2003 Toyota Tacoma V6 Sedan". You can see rusted frame even they tried not to show it.

 

I've seen that one. I work in Berkeley

 

I flew to Las Vegas to pick up my 03 4x4 V6 Manual. Drove it back and have never been happier. Yep, paid a lot for it and don't care. 1st gens are the best gens.

 

That's awesome. My 02 is sitting at 66k right now!

 

+1

Looked for almost a year for a (OT) 1st Gen Scion xB for my daughter. She was very specific with her requirements, I.e. low miles, white, 5 speed, maintenance records, etc. I finally found THE car in San Jose CA.

Worked the deal with the seller and had the girl buy me a plane ticket to go pick it up. Drove it 900 miles home the next day.

Well worth the trip.

 

What are you driving currently? They often cost more because of their ability to be driven beyond 300k miles. Then, they look at how many are offered for their year and model within a specific distance range they choose and the pricing, so if there are fewer Toyota 4x4's in their area then they raise the price because of supply and demand. Ever hear a Toyota salesperson tell you that "100k miles...the truck is not a quarter won out." I hear it is not worn out often, and then I say "But can you tell me how it was driven during that time?" How many of them offer a free compression test? Even private owner's choose not to.

Assuming it will be your daily driver with legal modifications. Look up the MSRP on a 91' Toyota 4x4 pickup because it was around $11,368 for a DX model (http://www.nadaguides.com/classic-cars/1991/toyota/pickup/dx-4x4/values), so $255 is the yearly depreciation for the cost you mentioned ($11,368/26 years). The problem with a 1991 costing $5,000 is that once you begin to restore it, then you can easily meet and exceed the MSRP cost it was when new. I'm not certain I would buy that specific truck for the price offered until the overall prices lower to 2k for a 1991 4x4. For the price of $5,000, I would expect the current owner to provide me with a leak-down test and compression test. Without the leak-down test and compression test, then I have no understanding about the health of the motor. The very least, a compression test should be included and would have to be completed less than 100 miles ago for me to consider spending $5,000.

A new Toyota Tacoma costs $24,575 starting MSRP (https://www.toyota.com/tacoma/). $24,575 - $5,000 = $19,575. $19,575 - $11,368 = $8,207. Will you spend $8,207 on modifications, labor and for maintenance for the time you will own it? If your answer is yes, then you would spend enough money to have bought a new 91' 4x4 Toyota without 220k miles ($8,207 + $5,000 = $13,207). Would your truck be restored to the point of being new again (to you) for $13,207? 28,000 - 13,207 = $14,279. Over 26 years, a payment of 14279 would be cheaper to me because I have a new truck and will add 260k + miles to the motor. It would not be new again to me because I cannot complete work for lower costs. As a result, I would finance a new Toyota Tacoma for $24,575. I would likely finance a new Tacoma costing 28k, rather than buy a used 4x4 for 5k because I would own that new Tacoma until retirement or unless I become rich.

To conclude my analysis, the value of spending 5k on a 220k vehicle save money if you will not modify it to the point of reaching the original MSRP. As you own the vehicle, then you will be adding more miles which increases the risks of experiencing an expensive motor rebuild or repair of the transmission, drive-line, etc.

On the other hand, if you are the type of person capable of completing work on your own or has friends who can help you install a new wiring harness, engine, motor mounts, transmission, headliners and most everything else. Then you could save thousands.