2002 Tacoma...bad news...what's it worth

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. I'm going to get it fixed! Can't get rid of it. It will be my designated work truck in the orchard and will gradually look for a new truck for traveling places. Thanks again!

 

The forum and YouTube are your greatest resources! Get to it!

 

Great that you are keeping it, but have your mechanic bang around the frame with a welding hammer or something similar to confirm you've got a good frame. I'd hate to see you pay for repairs and discover you have bigger problems. My frame has spent it's entire life in the SF bay area and I have surface rust but it seems like it doesn't go any further than that. I need to spend some time cleaning up the frame this summer. It rusts from inside out in certain areas. Your mechanic should have some knowledge of that fact if he works on these trucks and 4runners. I never met anybody from this area with serious frame problems but I'm sure there's some out there. Depends on the truck history and care.

Also, at 195k you might want to expect some regular repairs each year but they shouldn't be excessive (maybe $1k/yr on average, with some years higher than others). Other big things to watch for are steering rack and front-end/lower ball joints issues. Again, the mechanic should be able to do a relatively quick review when it's on the lift.

And a little unrequested advice that others have mentioned. Labor costs in the bay area are high. Mechanics have to have a living wage too. It can be expensive to own an older vehicle around here and each time you have to lay out big money to have somebody work on the truck you will probably mentally revisit the sell/keep decision. Learn to do a few basics on your own and you might have more confidence about making that decision. And it will pay you many dividends in the future regardless of what vehicle you own.

 

@storytyme: I saw your posting. I had the original clutch in my '99 Tacoma go out last year in September after 19 years. My repair bill including clutch replacement, carrier bearing replacement, and front & rear differentials being serviced came out to $1,600. You may want to shop around for a mechanic or pay once, cry once for the repair and drive your awesome, newly repaired truck for what it is. If you decide to sell it, just up your sale price to offset the repair costs, and get yourself a bigger truck that you wanted.

 

I have an '03 that's not 4x4 with around 210k miles. I had the clutch replaced for roughly $700. I replaced the radiator, shocks, injectors, spark plugs, belts, brakes and 02 sensors myself. On several occasions I've been offered at least 5k to sell. If you're on the fence about selling I say decide what you're willing to pay to have done and what you can do yourself. A Tacoma with 4x4 that needs a clutch is a steal at $2400.

 

Thank you Jesus!

 

You’d be wise to keep it. I replaced my clutch 2 years ago myself at 200k, didn’t need to but the throw out bearing was making all kinds of noise.
This year I had a complete timing belt job done and paid a mechanic to do since it’s my daily and can’t afford for my truck to be down for more than a day.
I’m at 250k now, it runs excellent but still needs some work done, CEL P0430 code has been on for 5 years and passes inspection with no issues while the CEL is off, needing UCAs and front end bushings but it’s been paid off since I bought it and had given me zero issues other than expected wear and tear.

 

It's pretty much always best to sell a vehicle in good working order. So even if you were going to sell it (I see you said you're keeping it), I'd fix it first. Easy way to calculate is to take a look on CL, autotrader, KBB etc and look for trucks like yours, and what they're listed for. Then take that price, and subtract cost of repairs. So in essence, yours is worth about $2500 less than regular value based on mileage. You would also inevitably get low balled based on needed repairs.

Now if you fix it beforehand, you can maybe sell for a bit higher than book. For example, see it like this:

Truck A) $5000. 195k, needs a new clutch, rear main seal, u-joints, and water pump. Blue book says $7500, my mechanic says repairs are $2500, so $5000 takes it.

Truck B) $8500. 195k. Vehicle has new clutch, rear main seal, u-joints, and water pump in the last 1000 miles.

More buyers are inclined to buy truck B because it sounds like its much better taken care of, and had a lot of new goodies.

Just food for thought.

 

Says who??? Lol

 

keep it. personally I just got rid of my 2002 1st gen. for the 2015 2nd. put 400k miles on the 02 was very mechanically sound got 6k for it. so if you really like it fix and drive it another 200k.

 

God speed little Yota and

 

Yaaaaay you’re keeping it. Love to see it. I could never give up on mine!