Buying 97 Taco Help!

Okay so i have seen a red taco just sitting infront of my aunts neighbor's house for over a year now and i finally went and knocked on the door the other night to see if they would like to sell it. I just looked at it today and the paint is faded pretty good. its got the 2.7l in it and there is 231k miles on it. (hes got a 40 mile commute to work) the inside is fairly clean (not perfect) and he has owned in since 109k miles. he purchased it from a dealer he said. He put it in a ditch and the front bumper is gone along with the turn signals. the right front fender is bent out a little also and the right front corner light isnt attached to the grill cuz the screw hole is broke. the tires are pretty worn too and theres some rust on the intake and head. engine bay is a little dirty. it drove fine with a little vibration and had a squeak which he says is the shock rubbing against the mount or somethin. there isnt really any rust on the frame either surprisingly for it having sat there for so long here in Washington. Just wondering if i should go for it or wait it out and find something nicer? Also what do you guys think i should offer him? Sorry for no pictures either im going on thursday to look at it some more so ill get some up in a few days hopefully. Any advice? Thanks

 

Around $2000 sounds about right judging by your description.

Pics would really help.

Try to get it for a good deal so you can clean her up and bringer he back to life!

 

well, now is when you wheel and deal! I assume its straight drive, and not 4wd right? well clean dont mean anything at first. check the oil, and see what kind of shape its in. how dark is it.
it runs.. ok, how did it crank? any signs of smoke? check when its cold, fire it up and see if there is any smoke.. tell about engine wear and abuse... with that age and miles a little till it gets warmed up is normal. not smoking a camel...
I would offer him about 1500.00 if you feel confident about doing some work on her, then I feel that 1500.00 should be good for you and him.
with that many miles and the body work needed no car dealer no matter how sleezy is really going to want to deal with it, and they wont give him 5 dollars for the truck anyway. remember to put on your poker face, there is not a line of people to buy it, and you can live without it....
hell as for the paint, my first car needed paint, 72 ford mach 1, the yellow did not last long, me and a buddy stripped the car down, sanded it by hand and then I used about 20 cans of grey primer until I could save enough for a good paint job. (of course the Holley double pumper and headers came first)