Guidance on buying first Tacoma...

Let me know if this isn’t the right place to post but I’ve been lurking around this forum for some time now and finally in the market to purchase my first Tacoma. I was just curious if any of you could tell me what you think of this deal on one I’m going to look at this week. It’s a 2011 TRD Sport DCLB with 189k miles and some mods done. Asking price is $20k. Posted pic of the upgrades and the truck.

any advice/insight would be much appreciated!

 

Well 20k is really high for the year and mileage but it does come with some nice accessories. KBB lists it at 13k. This is not always indicative of the market though.

I am assuming it’s a v6 automatic? 4wd? You need a qualified Toyota mechanic to give it A thorough prepurchase inspection to see if the frame is solid, the wheel bearings are good etc. check the vin on car fax to make sure there is no accident history.

 

No, I wouldn't pay that.

 

If it had 100k maybe for that price. You could find a sub 100k truck for around $20k. Don’t pay top dollar for someone else’s Mods

 

It's a good looking truck, but almost 10 years old with 200k, 20 grand is a lot. Typically, mods to the truck dont hold a lot of value. One poster said it KBB'd at 13k. Not sure if that was on the high side or average, but are the mods alone worth 7k to you? Also, if you are trying to finance, you may have a tough time getting it for that price point.

 

Nope to high. And the mods add 0 value.

 

Shit, I should have posted it’s a v6 auto 4x4. I haven’t pulled any Carfax on it but it’s a California truck and he bought it brand new. Says he has all the service records from the same dealership he bought it at. Was a daily driver until 2018, then he started putting the mods on it but never really used it to do any off roading. I figured it was high for that kind of mileage. What do you guys think a fair price is? KBB value?

 

IMO you need to take any opinions from guys out of the area with a big grain of salt. No offense to them, but they don't understand the insane premium we pay here in CA (and to an extent a large part of the entire west coast) for these Tacomas. Overlanding and Offroading has gotten very popular and there has been a surge of sportscar people getting into these new activities. Tacomas are the hot trucks to have and are in high demand.

With that said, I don't think that price is crazy. Yes, you may be able to find a better deal and yes it may take you a long time. Back in Oct I paid $16k for my 2010 DCLB Sport w/ JBL system and 190k miles. After 6+ months of searching I knew this wasn't a steal but that it was "market" price for the area. I would typically agree "mods don't add value" (and sometimes reduce value) but I think in the case of some of this overlanding/offroading stuff that's not the case. Part of the reason is because it's popular and partly because some of the parts are so expensive and expensive to ship.

I don't know if you like those mods or if you even planned to buy that kinda thing. But that truck is nearly identical to mine (sans mods and maybe in better condition) and there's no way I could buy all that stuff to outfit it for only $4k. If you want much of a better price than that you're likely going to have to scour the net for quite a long time until you stumble on the right deal and then you also need to be poised to jump because those deals sell in hours or a few days at the longest.

Best of luck!

 

The fact he listed the fire extinguisher means you are overpaying for all the mods.... cant sell labor

 

Seriously! It’s been the hardest job finding a truck out here in SoCal. Especially a 4x4. I went to a dealership yesterday and they had a 2015 with 90k TRD Sport 4x4 everything stock (with some shitty H/T tires) and been in an accident. Wanted just over 32k!
I am definitely looking to get into overlanding. My wife and I want to travel around the western US with our dogs.

 

If the add-ons are installed correctly, work correctly and you plan on using them then absolutely there is some value there. If the drivetrain is in good shape then you'll get plenty of fun use out of the truck

And as stated above, you're in CA, that price is not outrageous for your area..

 

Looks like quality mods, and you are in a high demand market. If you like the truck and the mods, make an offer, worse they can say is no!

 

“Travel camping” — overlanding is a keyword to make you pay more.

Personally, the mods have a bit of value but imo not 7k. Maybe 3k. 15-16k is more appropriate.

it would be cheaper to fly somewhere, buy a truck, then camp your way back to CA

 

that's not to say you shouldn't try to talk him down on the price though. If you are trying to get a loan from the bank they're only going to loan you the KBB value, and they might find that price kind of high

Good luck

 

Granted... a pack of double bubble costs 3k in CA

 

Very quickly after starting my search I expanded the area and was looking all up and down the west coast, Colorado, Arizona... Mainly trying to focus on anywhere I knew someone so they could maybe look at the truck for me or I could fly up and stay with them. But, obviously that adds to the cost and especially right now when flying may not be the best thing. I found a couple better deals up in the PNW but lost out to local buyers in every instance before I could get up there. Ended up finding mine in Norcal, had my dad look at it for me and buy it on the spot as it would have been gone within a day or two. It's tough out there, prices are high and lots of beat up trucks people are trying to pass off as great.

I'd also recommend getting a pre-purchase inspection if possible. It didn't work out for me to get one but I had planned on it and most of the Toyota dealerships I called wanted <$200 for this service which I felt was well worth it for these high mileage trucks that are in our budget.

 

Daaaaaang! In 2018 paid $33k for a '17 DCLB SR5 4x4 w/ 17k on the odometer in Maine

 

and it came with a free lob roll too!

 

you’re not wrong.... I’m from the Midwest just here because of my work. It’s insane the markup on EVERYTHING.

 

Holy sheet thats basically what I paid for my 15 brand new

Aren't these trucks great! They hold their value very well and everybody wants one... and everybody wants one because they hold their value very well..