Should I buy 2017 Taco with 250K miles?

They’re getting rid of because it’s very likely, that it will soon need repairs that will exceed the cost of buying new.
As mentioned; if you were a tech or moderately skilled shadtree mechanic with more than basic tools and a shop,,, and not paying a shop for repairs,,,, that’s a different story.
A couple other reasons to get; it’s a second vehicle and one you wouldn’t rely solely on, or a toy to fix up,, knowing damn well you’ll have more time and money in to, than the market/insurance would ever pay.

 

I would say my budget is NOT $25k, but, rather 10-12k. I guess being an ignoramous in respect to the cult thing here, this is the first I've heard of the TRD=TURD, which is making me think twice. This is a purchase of opportunity really. I wasn't looking that hard but with some cursory searching, and my need for a truck, it seemed like a good deal, aside from the potential pitfalls of a high mileage vehicle.
Maybe this opportunity that fell into my lap isn't as good as I thought and I should begin an actual search for a good deal. Just seems like there aren't any of those to be had anywhere. Perhaps I'll just pass altogether. I do respect my friend, the mechanic's opinion, and will most likely lean towards what he says tomorrow but I do appreciate all of the feedback here for someone like me who is not clued into the nuances of these vehicles aside from basic google searches around it. The high mileage though throws off my results though so hard to pin down a solid answer. The bulk of the responses here though either don't give justifications or just say pass.

 

250k is approaching end of life?

https://youtu.be/4DKF3RR559E?si=jbkoN4xVTnT0__1E

 

I hear you, but, not everyone was of that mind, some were more foregiving. I do hear you and the other 20+. The company is downsizing, it's not really due to the health of the truck.
They will offer it to the public for $12500 and they will likely get that in a heartbeat, so I was thinking I would get a good deal. I'm second thinking that though. Likely they will even sell it internally for less to another employee aside from me. Maybe I let them.
I do appreciate your time and input though. Definitely not so sure anymore (nor was I ever really).

 

turd gen means 3rd gen 16-23, not TRD

as many say,
"1st gen best gen
2nd gen second-best gen
3rd gen turd gen"

speaking of 1st gens, couple years ago they were like $7-10k. IDK what they are now.
Or, SUV counterpart basically the same thing with enclosed rear, power window, on truck frame; half the price
even V8 option in 4runner and GX470

here's another one
Audi B5 A4, good
B6, good
B7, good
B8, garbage
B9, same garbage but more angular

it's kind of like telling a guy hit a baseball 5 times
he misses number 4
it doesn't matter that it was the latest newest swing
he missed
tried a new technique on one foot and it didn't work

There are two cults.

Camp A. Understands old Toyotas are reliable. This is true. They are.

Camp B. a dumb person that would eat dog shit if you put a Toyota emblem on it. Doesn't understand or use vehicles. Toyota started taking itself downhill in 2005. Often has a vehicle from post that period, and one of the worst Toyota models. Excited by being stock, and proud of their stock vehicle. Often adds worse mods rather than good mods. Thinks the emblem is magic and means neglect it.

Probably not. If the tires spun too many times worn down, you put new ones, dictated by driving not model.
If the brakes braked too many times pads are thin, you put new ones.
If the frame is dirty, you wash it.
If your engine needs good oil to provide a thin film for metal parts to ride on to prevent wear, you do that.
schedule to change the fluids, etc.

if OP wants actual data
compression test

 

You mean a jeep?

 

Nah. This is what you want.

 

That's more miles/year than my 2016 has total.
I think it's a decent price only, any vehicle with that many miles is a roll of the dice.

 

The way I'm thinking, 12k is about 1/3 of the original purchase price even when accounting for inflation. The truck has already reached the average lifespan of Tacoma, by most estimates that's 250k (and even then that's in the top 3 longest lived of trucks). The problem with vehicles is that the standard deviation of lifespan is almost as large as the median, so it becomes anyone's guess.

...I really don't think that the truck has 1/3 of life left in it, however. I personally would not be willing to gamble $12k on the bet that there's 125000 miles remaining. (My grandad used to say that odometers and birthdays are nothing but countdown timers, except nobody knows what they're counting to.)

I don't know. With the promulgation of the recent "should I buy it" threads, I've honestly had a bit of an existential crisis lately. Maybe I'm no longer in touch with reality and that everyone but me seems to have so much money they don't mind wasting 30 grand on a rusted to death 2014 Tacoma sport.


I could be wrong. But if your managers actually manage to sell that for 12k, then color me surprised, because the world is far crazier than I had thought.

 

average lifespan? General population does not take care of vehicles, nor choose to keep them
nor has enough years passed, factoring in average miles driven, to elapse those miles

a properly designed and maintained vehicle will last over 1M miles with odo being a reminder of what to change when
a poorly designed vehicle, taken care of, won't last 100k

 

So you have a corporate vehicle being driven in a state famous for rust by people who don’t give a shit for 250,000 miles. I would argue that by your metric it should have expired 150,000 miles ago.

 

Rust isn’t really an issue here in the Denver area on a truck that’s only 6 years old.

 

says there you live in San Francisco

I worked in CO as a mechanic
they use mag chloride which is less corrosive than salt, and have underbody car washes
rust is not known to be a problem
my truck did not rust
nor were the significantly older vehicles I worked on every day

there is a part of the US called the rust belt, because of rust
due to salt
CO is not on that list

I must be missing something

 

No. 3rd gen has been rife with quality issues. Can’t go a day without seeing the same stuff pop up

 

I live here and can back up your point of view, it’s not much of a problem here on a vehicle that new. It’s so dry it takes a long while for things to rust out.

 

not to mention, it's intermittent
which is why they call CO land of 300 sunny days a year
it is a high desert
different areas and different altitudes get different snow

the weather has a reputation for being bipolar
the plows are not there when you need them, and are when you don't
and they may not even be out a lot

whatever's dumped probably melts and runs off the curvature of the road

IDK though I don't have a view from ground zero San Francisco
they got snow there too but it's brown

 

You do realize this forum is a very small percentage of 3rd Gen owners. And what stuff you see pop up daily?

 

Bruh, I lived in Monument and the Springs for over a decade. Mag Chloride will eat your shit up. It’s also really good at eating up rubber and plastic. Plus they like to spray it from trucks so it mists up and gets into places road salt normally wouldn’t.

Plus they like to throw gravel on the roads so you have a double whammy of rock chips and salt getting in there.

And Toyotas are rust prone.

And even if you have a subscription to one of those underbody car washes and you go religiously with every snowfall you’re not gonna get it off.

 

Any word on if the company used pre-filtered oil in the engine?

 

i wouldnt buy it for 12k but i would be in for under 10k. i havent driven a vehicle much past 265k before i traded it in but it was 12 years old. I do think years do more to a vehicle vs miles if maintenance is kept up. Are you handy? can you do alot of the work? Do you want to? If the answer is Yes to all of those then go for it. Make it into a weekend trail truck