2008 tacoma yes or no

Found a 2008 tacoma 4wd dcsb base with 192000 miles for $7000. New frame owner said he never had to do a thing to it. That kinda scares me. Am I gonna get all the break downs. Anything to watch out for. It ran good on the test ride.

 

When says he never had to do anything, he didn’t do any of the services? Or does he have all the service records? If no service records I’d offer 5k cash and drive straight to the shop and plan on doing all services and repairs needed. You’ll spend at least 2-3k doing that.

 

If the frame rotted out it's likely most things attached to it were not too healthy either

Proceed with caution and through exam

 

If he "never had to do anything to it".
It's likely time for wheel bearings, idler pullies, and possibly an alternator.
Check the trans cooler hard lines and brake lines. If the frame was toast, those line probably are too.

I hope "never" didn't mean he "never" did maintenance either?

 

The lines looked clean and bearing and things of that nature don't scare me. Transfer cases, rear ends trannys do scare me. It ran fine. No odd noise. Just want to be careful

 

Is this a pink milkshake machine. I can't remember

 

No.

 

I guess the other question is the motor with just basic oil changes what kind of life can you get.

 

price is 2~3 times lower than what most go for, got to ask why
not saying I wouldn't but I don't believe in super deals

 

Red flags are waving.

Maybe it’s a killer deal. Id definitely pay for a pre purchase inspection at s trusted shop or dealer.

 

I bought a 2006 access cab 4cyl with 135000 for 3300 about a year ago. Never any problems. I'm old and I got sick of shifting so I sold it. I'm not afraid to swap a motor if I have to but really don't want to.

 

I feel like if its that far below cost maybe gamble. I don't have alot to compare it to cost wise in our area

 

1. you do have to do things to them, he just failed to. And perhaps now needs to and doesn't want to
2. why so cheap. What's the catch. What is it missing. What is he not telling you. What's wrong with it.
3. nothing special about the miles

 

Well I went to buy it and wanted to make sure it didn't have a head gasket leak. I pulled the dip stick and low and behold there was no oil on the dip stick. I get that it probably burns a little oil over time but how the fuck couldn't check it before trying to sell it.

 

That solves that, wait for a better one that you can really look at before you buy.

 

I looked at a Buick regal and both me and the lady seller were horrified it had zero engine coolant. Not today and probably not tomorrow.

 

I'm super bummed out about the truck so I keep thinking about it. If I had to guess I'd say it was a quart and a half low. If it was loosing pressure would the idiot light come on and what other than a leak would cause it to loose oil. Bad rings,head gasket, unseen leak and at 7k would it be worth putting an engine in if I had to later down the road.

 

Hard to say, if there’s no visible leaks it’s either burning it or mixing with coolant. Unless someone at a jiffy lube under filled it on the last change.

offer him 5k if the rest of the truck checks out good, be worth the gamble at that point.

 

Personally, if the rest of the truck checks out(4WD, no tub rust, etc...) I would've bought it with the mindset of future engine replacement later down the road. $7K is way below market value for a 4WD 2nd gen and a new frame is a bonus. Maybe the PO never checked or change the oil often enough to cause the low oil level, which a little over a quart is not a big deal. Buy it, drive it, then scour for a wreck Tacoma to buy the engine for future swap that may not happen for another 70K miles. The 4.0 are reliable engines.

 

Don't worry, another truck will come along.
192K is getting close to the 250K miles I would personally expect from the engine. You could easily get more.
If the rest of the truck was good, I'd have bought it, spend probably about $6K for a good used engine swap at the same time. I like major issues in the rear view mirror.