Need advice.. 1st Time Buyer

I am moving to the mountains soon and find myself in the market for a used 4x4. In researching, I have decided a 2nd Gen Tacoma is the way to go. I have never owned a 4x4 truck and no nothing about the Tacoma’s other than their overall reliability so this is a new experience and I have much to learn ... so be gentle.
I have located a 2008 V6 Access Cab Off Road which has had 1 Owner with 131k miles that I really like. I gave it a quick test drive both highway and in town with found no apparent issues, was a very smooth, very tight ride. The interior looks like a brand-new truck. The exterior was in great condition with only a very few minor scratches. Other than the rust issues I’ve been reading about, what else should I be concerned with? The truck is located about 2 hours from home so can’t take it to someone I know locally to check it out so going into this purchase a little at a disadvantage so looking for some tips/advice for this clueless girl! Obviously I don’t want to buy something I shouldn’t.

 

Look up the service manual online and check for major services from 100k-150k. This will tell you what should have been done and what’s coming up. Ask the seller if they have records for the items that should have been done. Generally speaking 131k is baby miles on a Tacoma as long as the rust is good and maintenance has been done.

At least it will help inform your decision.

 

There's some strange things about that truck. It has TRD off road stickers on it. If it's really a TRD OR, it should have color matched fender flares, a chrome grill, and aluminum wheels. I get that some people don't like the chrome grill and swap for color matched, but nobody would put steel wheels and black flares on a TRD OR. It's also missing the fog lights that it should have.

 

If it’s a real TRD off road, it should have these 3 switches. I’m betting it doesn’t.

 

CARFAX, that truck looks very clean, look for rust underneath, service records

 

I did notice the back bumper looked to be a little off.. it wasn’t flush on one side as the other. Are you saying this has been modified?

 

I would get a CARFAX report it will tell you about the complete truck history
https://www.carfax.com/

 

I've seen a few with black fender flares (probably swapped). But the SR steel wheels and lack of fog lights are a dead giveaway.

 

I think that trucks been pieced together from multiple trucks. The rear bumper and grille are off a TRD sport.

 

Just noticed. The "Tacoma" lettering on the tailgate should be on the left, no matter what the truck is.

 

I'm willing to bet this is an SR model and not a TRD Off Road. However, if it has 4x4 that works, it should still be a solid vehicle! Definitely check for frame rust and don't pay TRD prices for something that's not TRD. Check kbb.com and see what they say is fair for that Tacoma as an SR trim.

 

Here’s a pic of the dash.. looks like you are right! So what does this mean!?

 

truck has some sort of suspension lift too

 

Somebody has pieced it together from multiple trucks. Probably because it was wrecked. It's Definitely not a TRD anything. It's a bare bones plain Jane Tacoma. With all the hinky stuff, I would ask a lot of questions about everything I pointed out and then run away.

 

it means that the TRD sticker on the bed side is just a selling point its an SR model truck which is the base model but by no means that its a bad truck at all

 

Someone's being deceptive or has no idea what they actually have. If they're trying to fool you on this, what else are they misleading you on? Definitely check Carfax if you want to consider this. It can still be a solid truck, but it's not a TRD, don't be fooled there.

 

You should be able to get a VIN and decode it. That should tell you what the truck was originally.

 

Out of curiosity, what are they asking for it?

 

It also be someone just put the Trd decals on to look cool and you are not being intentionally lied to. The dealer may not know the difference. But it is worth making sure it wasn’t wrecked before.

 

It looks to be on a dealership lot, so I'm guessing they probably don't have a lot of information on what happened to it from the previous owner. I see a lot of red flags, but mostly with the selling practices. The SR is the base model truck, but it can still be very solid, and in some cases more solid than the upper trims because of fewer bells and whistles.