Buying advice

An older gentleman I know has a 13 trd prerunner double cab for sale, it’s a real cream puff that has been kept under shelter.has 50k miles and with leather seats. Wants 25k for it. Been looking for 4wd but this seems like a good deal. Really only off road I do is driving around edge of ag fields occasionally going hunting. This truck supposedly has a rear locker, going to check it out this week sometime.

 

I'd hold out for 4X4. You don't need it till you need it. Then you really need it.

I started with a 4X4 in 1976. I always had an older beater truck just for when I needed a truck and a better car. In 1983, two months before I was supposed to get married a car crash totaled my car. My future wife had a decent car so I used the insurance money and traded my beater 4X4 on a decent newer truck, but decided I could get by with a 4X2 in order to get a newer truck within my budget.

I hated every minute of driving that truck for almost 2 years before I could afford to get back into a 4X4 truck and have never owned anything but a 4X4 since.

 

OP sounds like that truck would suit you just fine I say go for it if it all checks out!

 

I’m not a 4wd person so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I’ve heard a 2wd with a winch can go more places than 4wd without could.

I did quite a bit of research before buying. I wanted a small truck, single cab, 2wd, strong 4 or 6 cylinder, manual transmission. What I learned is what I wanted didn’t exist unless I bought something really old and worn out. The end of the single cab Tacoma was 2014, I think. Any used that would come up for sale would get immediately snapped up or a bad deal. Compromising to a double or crew cab, a Tacoma was the best choice of a bunch of bad choices. I considered a f150 but they’re too big to fit my driveway, or fits but only 1/4” on each side, too close for me.

Beyond the normal things to look for when buying used, Tacoma’s are plagued with frame rust problems. Driving on salted roads makes it worse. So lay down with a flashlight and look under.

 

OP, it sounds like the truck will suit you fine but if your mind is really set on 4WD, just be patient and get one. Don't have buyer's regret when your off road plans change in the future. A 2WD with rear locker is nice but it is still not 4WD. Besides offroad conditions, driving in winter conditions such as ice and snow is much easier with 4WD.

 

So I just went and checked out the truck, really clean inside and out. Found out it doesn’t have the rear locker like he said.
Just the stability control button. Bummer!
Only thing I found wrong was a shimmy in the steering wheel at highway speeds. Has brand new Michelin tires, maybe just out of balance. Alignment seemed fine not sure what else could cause it. Frame looked fine, just a few minor surface rust spots here and there.
Ball is in my court before he list it.

 

Nice color truck, what state do you live in? There’s only a few states I’d purchase a 2wd truck. Here in PA, I need 4x4 on the roads I travel on in the winter.

 

extreme South Georgia
It has snowed here twice in the last 30 years

 

It’s worth 25k all day right now.

 

My guess, wheel out of balance, maybe a weight came off. Warped discs usually cause it during braking unless it's really bad. Then slow rolling would make a chuut chuut chuut noise.

 

How much have you used four wheel drive in the past? If none and your only “off roading” will be the edges of ag fields, I would buy it and get a good set of tires for it.

 

Too much money

 

So not only it's not a 4WD like you really want, it doesn't even have a rear locker. OP, I do see you having buyer's regret with this potential purchase once the newness wears off and you realize the limitations of it in an off road situation. Not really a smoking deal if you realize that its 2WD prerunner with an SR5 trim and no lockers.

 

If you want 4WD because you need it, wait for one. If you want 4WD because you want it, that's your call.
I've had several 4WD vehicles, but for my use; lots of off-road driving but no "four wheeling", this PreRunner is perfect. Always hated the TRD stickers.
If it is a double cab long bed, that's a bigger truck. Can be good or bad. Low mileage Tacomas are getting hard to find.
Good luck with your decision.

 

I had a 2006 prerunner for eight years. Got around just fine on forest service roads and such. Put chains on a few times for up in the mountains and when it snowed in town.
Prices are crazy but the prerunner is just fine. And, it has a ton of life left in the one you are looking at.

 

I was in the same boat as you earlier this year. After my previous vehicle got totaled I started looking for a Taco. I knew what I wanted: black, 4x4, dual cab, short bed. After a month of searching I started to 'settle' because I really needed a vehicle. One weekend I was set to go look at two Tacos. I was settling for a color I didn't want with one and prerunner was the other one. I was set to come home with one or the other. Then my daughter called me and said she found the exact truck I was looking for. Sure enough it checked all the boxes. I went down the next day and bought it. I got exactly what I wanted.

My point is get what you want. Don't settle. I tried hard to convince myself that I could settle for a prerunner. I don't do much wheeling if any at all. I'm a mall crawler admittedly. But I have gone wheeling once or twice. I found it better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

 

So I passed on this truck, thanks for everyone’s advice. Just bought a new sr 4x4 yesterday. Went to my local dealer to put a deposit on it as it was coming in a few days and it was already in the parking lot. Had just got delivered. Let the mods begin!

 

You reported back! You're not going to regret being patient.

 

Congratulations

She looks great!!! Thanks for the update!!!