Buying used racer tacoma or not?

Hello. After having had frustrating reliability experiences with domestic trucks in the past I've been looking for a used Tacoma as my next vehicle.

I have come across this truck but am not familiar enough with Tacoma's or engines generally to pick apart what I'm looking at. Could anyone please tell me what is aftermarket from what you can see here? I am aware of the Volant aftermarket air intake but am unfamiliar with the Underdog Racing Development "control box" seen attached to the firewall, or anything else in the engine that is aftermarket.

All this is to say that I am trying to get a picture of what the vehicle was previously used for given that its being sold from a dealer and I cannot talk to the prev owner. Also, there are no service history reports and therefore I can't refer to those to figure it out. I appreciate immensely how this community has helped in my buying decision so far and would appreciate any help that can be provided on this matter.

2013
100,000 miles
Double Cab
In-line 4
Pre-runner
2 wheel drive

 

Looks like this, maybe:
https://urdusa.com/urd-maf-sensor-calibrator-pnp-2005-2015-tacoma-2-7l-2tr-fe-i4/

 

No. There are 100 other used Tacos out there that are stock & unmodified. Also -- think about it. Why does anyone mod their engine to get more power out of it? So they can go faster and harder. Do you want an engine that has purposely & probably frequently been driven harder than an average daily-driver stock vehicle? And on top of that, one with no service records at all?

 

Devils advocate: the additions may be good signs the owner actually gave a crap about the truck between the intake, URD kit and odyssey battery. Unless someone is taking a truck in to a dealer or the vehicle is private sale and you are directly dealing with the owner, there won’t be any service records. Imo every used vehicle is a gamble regardless of records. I weigh how the truck looks inside and out just as much. Some low mileage tacos with good record keeping look like ragged out beaters.

However, don’t think I’d want a 4cyl double cab regardless.

 

I... take it you've never driven a 4 cylinder Tacoma?

This ain't exactly a 4.0 with an underdrive pulley on a blower.

My guess would be person who bought a 4-popper, and didn't get the memo that without forced induction, engine mods just look shiny while you still go slow. (Although I still wouldn't buy it personally, because... I don't want to go slow)

 

I have a 1999 2.4L 2WD auto as a backup / beater vehicle, along with my main 2014 AC 4.0L manual, so I know what slow-but-gets-you-there feels like.

Yours is a fair interpretation of the available data, but even so, zero service records would kill it for me unless the dealer was open to me at least doing a cold compression test. As for checking fluids -- oil, ATF, coolant, etc. -- with a dealer in the mix I would almost count on them having replaced those. Hard to draw any conclusions from apparently-clean-looking fluids.

 

A couple ways to look at it.

There’s a small possibility even though it has a couple bolt on mods, it wasn’t abused.

The more likely scenario is it’s been beat to crap. Signs of abuse like racing slicks, neglected maintenance like original plugs, dirty motor oil, gear oil that was never changed could all be masked by a clever dealer.

You could have it inspected by a mechanic who doesn’t work there, perhaps a mobile mechanic so it doesn’t have to leave their lot.

If you get a positive inspection report, know what you’re getting into. Every bit of research I did prior to buying one all said 6cyl manual transmission is the way to go.

I’d pass on this one and keep looking.

 

Thank you, I was considering (and the dealer suggested) taking it to a mechanic for inspection but as others have mentioned much of the signs of abuse would be masked at this point. I don't know how you look at an engine with clean oil and determine if it was serviced every 6,000 or 12,000 miles over the course of its life.

 

Thank you to all who replied. My number one priority is reliability, and I am unsure of which of the camps this prev owner falls into, so I think I'm going to take a pass on this one. Thanks again.

 

Would not buy a 4 banger 2nd gen! 1st gen MAYBE, but the 2nd gen got a lot heavier and the ole 4banger is just too weak. It’s a total joke, and doesn’t even get better mpg than the ultra reliable 4.0! Pretty much only sold as cheap fleet vehicles to pest control companies and the like.

 

Keep looking, there are zillions of used Tacos for sale. Any owner who takes regular maintenance will have service records available. If they claim they did good routine maintenance but don't have records to back it up, forget it.

It took me 3 or 4 weeks of searching on FB marketplace to find a first-owner private party seller who had a folder w/ complete paper invoices of regular 5K-interval dealer maintenance from the time he bought the truck. And yeah, as it turned out there were a couple of major issues, including a bad power steering pump at 14K miles, and later a serious oil leak from the front crank seal at 46K miles with the owner reporting "smoke & steam coming from under the hood". Both repaired by dealer under original 60K warranty. I bought it from him at 61K miles. The problems & fixes were all spelled out clearly on the dealer service invoices.

I think the first owner must've caught the crank-seal failure / low-oil issue soon enough to prevent serious engine damage. The engine continues to sound fine, doesn't burn oil or coolant, & a recent compression test showed high & uniform compression. I recently did a thorough 2-angle borescoping (piston tops + cylinderwalls/head gaskets/valves) & everything looks normal inside the combustion chambers.