Looking for first truck

Hi there,

I have been looking for my first car for about a month now. I first started looking at corollas and camries and after not being satisfied with their capacity to haul gear (I go outdoors a lot, biking, snowboarding, etc) I am now looking at a small truck. It will be used as a daily commuter, going about 40k each way to university and back, but also double up as a get away vehicle on the weekends. This being said I am looking more favorably towards a 2WD automatic 1st gen. with a smaller engine due to cost of purchasing, as well as it will give better mileage.

Recently I came across an offer to purchase a '99 tacoma, 2WD, V4, automatic, king cab I believe, and it appears to be the perfect fit as to what I am looking however there is one small problem. The truck has 314k on it. The owner isn't actively looking to sell it and I know he always does his maintenance at the Toyota dealership. His daily commute was trekking from Chilliwack to Port Coquitlam and back. Each way is about 85k, which explains the high mileage. I have not had a chance to do any kind of mechanical inspection on the vehicle, but I do not believe there to be any issues whatsoever with the truck.

I am looking towards the expert advice of the community as to if this is a good value for 5 grand. My biggest concern is the mileage and if perhaps the engine will need to be replaced all together (engine swap). However I know some trucks can easily go to the 500k mark without problem, I am just not sure if this small tacoma is one of them.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!