Hopeful Tacoma owner, but am I priced out of the market?!

I've been a Jeep owner my entire life, but after totaling my '01 Cherokee I'm in the market for a used car. My jeep was notoriously unreliable, but I'm not ready to give up having a 4wd/off-road ready vehicle, which is why I started looking into Tacomas.

My biggest hurdle is budget. I'd like to stay at or under $15K, and under 110K miles...aaand I'm not finding anything. I even looked at ones priced in the $18K range, and still, nada. Anything in these ranges have ~180-230K.

A good friend of mine is a long time Tacoma owner, and even he is surprised at the resale values. Am I priced out of the market? Should I look for something else (4Runner? FJ? Jeep?), or are there lower mileage tacos out there in my price range and I just need to be patient?

My ideal set-up is a Tacoma DC, 4x4, TRD Off-Road, $15-18K, < 100K miles.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!

 

Don't be scared to check out of your market and take a little trip to get it

 

For a second gen truck I think you're SOL.

You might find a first gen with those constraints.

 

I was sort of in the same boat in Virginia....wayy out of my price range...so I searched a little further. Found mine in Delaware. A quick train ride up there...met the used dealer and drove it home. Little risky??? but I told him my situation, he knew where I was coming from, appreciated it, face timed me with the truck and went over it with a fine toothed comb.

 

Definitely open to looking outside of the Bay Area. Any regions better than others for tacomas?

 

I honestly don't think you will find a TRD OR with under 100K Miles for that budget. I looked and looked both side of the border and couldnt find anything.

Tacoma resale is sickening.

 

Awesome! This gives me hope Thanks!

 

i think anything around 110k miles will be a min of 20k. Check out of your area but patience for a good deal might be your only hope

 

I got my '06 with 140k miles, pristine condition, bone stock, single owner, older gentleman...13k out the door. As you know....These trucks last forever.

Just check the frame. Mine failed 6 months later, but got a new frame.

 

you're prices out. Way out. Maybe for a 2x4 you can get lucky. But it's not what you want. Most sellers will go near kbb but not much lower.

 

OP.. check out this subforum and see what the market looks like. Trucks are sold all over the US here, and is a good indication of resale value at it's different levels.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/2nd-gen-tacomas-for-sale-2005-2015.168/

If bay area to you means San Francisco bay area like it does to me, then we have a bit more of a price penalty than other states do.

 

Right I think that's why I'm having such a hard time. KBB is giving me values WAY lower than what I'm seeing online. For example, found a 2006 that matched all my criteria and KBB gives me a price around $13K for excellent condition and the seller had it listed at $20K (turns out it wasn't even a legit post. ugh)

 

I bought mine at auction... sometimes you can find really good deals.

 

Yes, SF area. Thanks! Yeah I've been stalking this forum since Thanksgiving. Most everything is in the 20K+ range. Sigh. Maybe it's just not meant to be for me.

 

are you sure you typed in all the fields correctly? I did a similar search as what you want and I'm seeing a lot higher. My 2006 double cab long bed 2x4 was valued at 17k less than a year ago with 69k miles.

 

Keep your eye out, and be patient. If you can secure the loan or cash that is best. When found, you have to jump on it. I found my 04 dbc trd with no damage,inand out. I talked em down to 13,500 with 146k, But i had to hard ball the shit out of em. It took a week of constant haggling. They didnt even have the truck in possesion yet. The next truck avalible had 200k and was 18000!

 

Yeah man, I think you'll have a really hard time. Most trucks in that price range (this is private party, not with dealership mark up) that I've seen personally are first gen Tacoma's with 100-150k, and most of them are 4x2s. Clean condition, but not what you're looking for.

Your mileage limit will have to increase, or you'll likely need to be willing/able to spend closer to $22k and still bend some on the mileage if you want a 4x4 OR.

 

have you looked on Craigslist list I just saw one the other day for about 17 for a 06 trd OR 4x4 with under 100k look in the central Valley. I think I saw it in fresno

 

Yeah, just ran it again and getting the same number :/

Yeah that's a great idea. I should definitely secure my loan and then just look everywhere and be ready to jump. Also will need to work on my bargaining skills haha