Is this frame too rotted?

Have been looking at first gens around me (Northeast) and found this one. One owner 200k miles - interior and exterior all look very clean and original. Owner has maintenance records and claims the frame was replaced 7 years ago. It looks ok, better than some I've seen but is definitely a little rusty. Is it too rusty? Seems like it's getting to the point where its more than just surface rust and don't want to deal with the headache later on. Seller wants 12.5k which seems steep - post has been up for 6 months too so likely room for negotiation. Any expertise is greatly appreciated! New to the forum so if the screenshots aren't attached please let me know.

 

They rot from the inside out, run over it with a hammer and a screwdriver. Common places are by the leaf spring perches and where the frame bends down

 

Private seller or one them dealers??

 

Do the hammer check
But honestly it don’t look too bad . You can clean it up and put fluid film

 

Frame is toast. Look close along the frame rail in the bottom picture and you can see some of the steel separating. I can only imagine how bad the inside channels of the frame look.

 

Take a peeky at the squareish drain hole
Zoom in onit

 

Yea didnt even notice that before. Thanks for that.
Guess I got to keep looking

 

Also I have never seen such a crusty fuel filter
I bet it ready to start leaking taco juice at any moment

 

It's pretty good for the northeast. I've had three rot out. Now doing well with annual treatments. There is plenty of life in it but you'll want to treat it asap which will slow the tin worm but not kill it.

Honestly, if you want better frame condition than this you need to look in the south or west. You're not going to find better than this in northeast unless it is a non-winter truck, or someone treated it regularly. Both are long shots and if they do come up will exceed $12k. If $12k feels expensive, then expect a south or west rust-free truck at that price to have 250k mi, or ripped seats, etc. A decent condition truck with 150k mi and rust free underside is going to be in the teens.

There are plenty of points of negotiation on this truck and if you got it under 10k you might be doing all right. Clean it up nice and you might flip it for more $.

 

Pfff never mind all the rust and the fuel tank skid plate is about to depart. The fuel filter is a regular maintenance item and easy to replace on this model, does that look like its been changed…..ever? how about diff and trany fluid drops, brake fluid flush, coolant drops, maintenance has been ignored on this truck, what parts would you want from this truck?…HARD pass.

 

How's the front - under the radiator, - and back near the rear bumper look?
If you're willing to put some effort, and have means to do some welding, it's not bad.

Plenty of aftermarket options for the fuel tank skid plate, so not sure why some make it a big deal.

 

I didn’t notice that aLso , you are right . I wonder why the person who owned it and got a free frame why they didn’t treat it

 

@tacotruckman1234 i made a post like this documenting my results here's the link read through it. The only catch is i did the rear part of the frame not the front, that will be a project for the future if ever hope it answers some of your questions. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/frame-how-bad-is-it-actually.756972/#post-26985991

 

Hard to believe that a fuel filter can get that bad. You'd have to be blind not to see it. If that's any indication on how well the previous owner took care of this Tacoma, then Run Away, and never look back.

 

Seller will be lucky to get half that

 

Looks like the running boards that were cut off were too rusty to unbolt. I would say hard pass. If its this rusty at first look, the inside of the frame is likely much worse.

 

OP
You might check this one. Western truck in NYS. No affiliation, just caught my eye.
Good luck on your search.