New Tacoma owner

Hello folks- I have loved Tacomas for years, but never had the right deal come my way.

My neighbor has a 97 I've had my eyes on since moving into my house in 2004. He told me a few months ago he was thinking of selling it, then went back and forth on whether he was just going to give it to his nephew or not. Turns out the kid is a screwup, so he nixed that idea and asked me again if I'd like to buy it.

Sure, always been interested- what do you want?

$2000.

This thing has no rust that I can find, the frame is fine, and has 217k on the odo. The AC blows cold (I will love that, having not had functional AC for about 20 years!). It has a munched left front fender due to a balljoint failure, but that is easily fixed. The roof and hood are oxidized heavily- I am seriously leaning toward smooth Durabak as a solution over the whole truck.

Also, comes with a tool box and a fiberglass topper. I've done some checking and it's easily a $700 topper alone. There is an almost identical truck, 2WD (this one is 4WD), going for $4800 at a local dealers, and that's about what they tend to draw in this market. This deal is just too good to pass up (and I've been needing a truck for household use as well as to get another engine for my 90 XJ, etc.).

A bit about me- I'm 47, so I'll be part of the Old Boys contingent here. I have long been a Chevy and Jeep fan (my DD is an 89 S10 Blazer on Dana 44s, 5.7L V8, 35s, hydroboost brakes, etc) and this is my first Toyota. For now it's going to stay mainly stock (I'll be adding unistrut tiedown rails inside the bed this weekend right after I get it), I'll just be catching up on some of the maintenance needs. I will now be able to take my S10 off the road and do some rework (building leaf spring slider boxes instead of the shackles I am running now, air over leafs, etc), will be able to take care of some of the heavier household projects without bumming a trailer, and so on. I weld, build, and hack on multiple levels. I am just getting into the Raspberry Pi world, with Android as the OS of choice. I am a computer network engineer by trade, and have interests all over the map- all of which I am self-taught in.

For now, this truck will be my DD while I get the other trucks in order (the 90 XJ needs an engine, the 89 S10 is giving me fits with various systems, etc). So it will stay mainly stock. However, within 5 years, I'll be going SAS with a mild lift. I'd like to run a 33, I am presently looking for information on the minimum lift required to clear them. My S10 got a bit out of hand- the sill is now at crotch height so it's not something I could wear dress pants in, for example. That's part of the reason I am going air over leafs- I want to have the ability to "crouch" the truck when parked, in order to ease ingress/egress.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Thank you gents. Please don't give me too much grief for my Jeep ways.

 

Judging by your Avatar, you and I are gonna get along! (I have one on my desk)

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Always good to find a good buy. You cannot go wrong with Toyota. Ford wishes they could be this good.

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome! Can we see it?

 

Welcome to the club! Also:

 

Welcome! I had a first gen xtra cab. Was a great truck. And I won't give you a hard time about the Chevy and jeep. Different vehicles for different purposes and stages in life.

 

I will have pics soonest. First, I have to buy the truck!

I have funds in the bank, just have to go withdraw them today and then get with the neighbor. I am goingto take a half day today to run around making it legal- tags, title transfer, insurance.

 

Ugh. I hate the DMV

 

I used to. What I am about to do used to be a day, day and a half evolution. About 15 years ago they revamped the DMV system and the last time I did this (last year, with my son's 97 XJ bought from another neighbor), I was literally in and out in 10 minutes. It took longer to pay my taxes in Summerville, then go find the closest DMV there (yay for Google), than it did to conduct business.

The best part is, once it's in the system, it can all be done electronically (unless you're transferring ownership, which of course I am). Back in the 80s and 90s, I had to either mail a check or go downtown and pay in person. I've never been a fan of checks, so I would do the cash in hand thing and burn a sick day.

 

If you’re not paying it off in full, can’t the dealer do half of the paperwork anyway?

 

I have no idea. I don't buy from dealers. It's literally in the second word of the second paragraph.. "My neighbor"

Also, it's a $2000 truck. Of course I'm paying it off in full. I don't buy new vehicles- they are *ridiculously* overpriced.

 

I missed that. For some reason I thought you were taking your neighbor with you or something

Post some pics when you’re done with the transaction!