I need some input and opinions

Hey guys I really need some help deciding and would love to hear some feedback. My 02 taco has 268,000 miles on it and I love this truck. My truck means a lot to me because I rode in a car seat in it off the lot when my dad brought her brand new and now it's mine. There are a lot of good memories this truck has but ultimately my question is, do I keep this truck with it being high mileage and put money into it and do what I want with it or save up and buy a newer tacoma and put money into that truck? Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

 

I assume you're < 18 given what you wrote, I'd say keep it assuming it was handed down to you by your pops. 268k miles is high but it's not unheard of for these trucks to go well into the 300k-500k with regular maintenance. Save up while you drive this around for a couple years or so and see where you're at then.

 

Keep the truck it's a family heirloom.

 

Keep the truck and take care of it. When you get settled in your life direction then buy a new one but keep that old one in the garage to play with.

 

How is the engine? Drive train?? Compression, burning oil at all?
At that mileage, if your truck is still in good mechanical condition it could be worth $6000.
I would wait until a major system breakdown before making that decision.
Piecemeal upkeep should not be too pricey, especially if you can do some of it yourself.

I have had the same question regarding my 2003 with 180k.
I love the truck with all her dents.
I have always used Mobile 1, the engine is like a rock.
I have decided to keep mine even if I do ever get a new vehicle.
She will always be fun to drive and at my age and with my driving record its not much to keep her insured.

 

Thanks guys all great info, will definitely be keeping it if it's still in great shape and means a lot to me, it definitely will be more wise to keep it and save for the future

 

Buying a new one consist of taking on a 500 to 700 dollar a month payment 200 a month on insurance, gas etc.. So if you have extra 1000 a month laying around. Go get the new one. I am guessing that isn't the case.

 

Yup I'm already paying almost 300 a month for insurance so I'm in no rush lol

 

damn, and I thought California was bad...

 

It might fall in to a sink hole or be parked in the path of an on coming hurricane!

 

sell it to me.

 

This is a hard call to make .

It comes down to just how much work you can do yourself .

Just what has been done or not.

A truck this old is going to take work .

There are times when a vehicle payment would have been much cheaper then my parts bill for the month add labor to the cost

 

Being the truck you grew up in, your dad's old truck, AND it's a 1st gen...I'd keep it. Now if it's costing more than a monthly car payment to keep it running every month, then you need to decide if it's worth it. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't.

 

If the truck is still in good condition, keep driving it, but in the mean time, start "making payments" on the new one. In other words start to put the amount of a payment into a savings account every month. When you get to the point that you do want to buy new, you have a bunch of money down.

 

HOW COOL YOU ASKED FOR ADVISE:

Here it's mine IMHO ( I wish someone told me this at late 90"s )

1. Don't get scare of milage.... it's a Tacoma see what this can get up to 1'000,000 miles with proper care

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/highest-mileage-first-gen.197187/

2. What's the best car \ truck ?
Answer : The one that is paid off !
3. Do you know the history of this truck ? It's been abused or neglected ?
Answer: No, It's your DAD'S , you know what it means.
4. Do not compare what you have with others, ( just believe you have the best
Comparations guide us to assumption and we start chasing our shadows for happiness, be happy with the one you got , it's a Tacoma
Many of the new drivers for new models will wish to have one LITTLE, SOLID , CUTE truck like ours.
5. Does the frame has any rust?
Take care of it , clean it inside out and protect it in case you close to ocean and\or you move eventually to a RUST BELT states.
( you can see what I did with mine , a lot of work )
6. Do you have more financial priorities like education , housing , etc ?
Answer: If yes, then why you go deeper in the hole of a debt CAR Loan ( oopps i'm in)
7. It's Tacoma fixable for whatever breaks?
A: Except Frame and major components , are expensive YES but fixable.
Regular maintenance is standar even for newer cars\ trucks, find a reasonable honest mechanic shop and you're set .

Finally..... If I was you , I will hold into this one as my 1st and last vehicle, there is too much waste of money changing car.

I walked the road of waste, 95 nissan pick up, 08 yaris 02 Tundra, then 00 green Tacoma XC, then now DC 02 Tacoma, without counting and listing the waste of what she had changed vehicles too.... it's a lot of waste of money, Yesterday I said to my wife , I should kept my 95 nissan USD$5K , that is still running strong at el paso TX, but I can't change the past..... If you listen , you can change your future $$$

Now with my 02 $22K dropped , once I get it pay off , I hope, I wish , I will not need to change car\ truck again , I will spend whatever is necessary to keep it running but NO MORE CAR LOANS point ! After this loan get paid 09/2020 , I Start directing the money to go out of debt ( )

Hope I was somehow helpful today ....

 

300 a month in insurance ? !!

holy balls that is insane

 

Not to turn this into an insurance thread but I thought we had it bad here...I'm paying $125/month for very basic full coverage and a $1,000 deductible. No accident history, only one traffic violation on record. Cheapest I could find. But being that the OP is so young I'm sure that's the biggest factor in it being so high

 

Same reason why I keep my truck, I grew up in it. I could easily turn around and sell it for a pretty good profit and get a new car but the truck is more valuable to me sentimentally.

Just keep up on the maintenance and you'll be fine.

 

should have kept my 95 Nissan .... I say the same for my 86 and 87 hardbody. Had to ship them to mexico... couldnt find smog parts. Both still going 300k + miles. They look like hell but they start, stop and do it at 25+ mpg.