People on the street are begging me to sell my '99 POS Taco... do I give in?

I got a '99 Taco about 3.5 yrs ago, currently has 226K miles on it. It has a lot of issues, the engine is totally gutless, the tranny feels like it has torque converter issues, alignment and suspension are a mess, literally dangerous to drive down the freeway in a tight turn over 45 mph (back-end fishtails). Interior is CRAP (Arizona sun). Yet I have people offering me money on the spot for it (around 2K). I paid only a little over 2600 for it.
What's so special about them?
Would I be better off getting someone to help me fix it? or should I let it go?

 

How much do you like your truck?

 

Well to be honest it needs some serious work to be able to do what I need it to do: go offroad and it's way too small for our family (our kids are a lot bigger now, very tight back there). It's more of a issue of $. How much would I end up having to pay for a slightly newer, bigger but not huge truck that would accomodate my family and have enough clearance to let me explore some back roads in the desert (nothing too major, we're not talking rock hopping or anything)
My tendency is to want to just keep it and drive it until the wheels fall off, but I've already busted a ball joint twice on it, the thing is a POS. it shakes like a demon unless the road is really smooth... definitely not ok for dirt roads.

 

I’d get rid of it. Let someone who wants it drive it and love it.

 

I appreciate the input. I am sure someone willing to put some time into it and a little money could have some fun with it.

 

the real question is what can you do by yourself (or with family/friends). If you and/or fam/friend are handy you could fix it up. Sounds like you need some maintenance items, suspension, and an alignment to keep it rolling down the road safely.

If you are not handy or mechanically inclined you may be better off letting it go and getting one that is ready to go.

 

If you sell it, just keep in mind that there are regional differences in what they're worth to someone else.

Here in CO, even busted up tacos command a pretty decent premium over what either KBB or (shit, what's the other one?) will tell you they're worth.

KBB said my '98 was worth about $4500 in decent shape, which it was. I sold it for $6250, and actually had 2 guys competing for it at that price.

 

I'm going to guess this is a 2.4 motor, 2wd, 5 lug?

If I'm right, and your described condition, the higher prices folks here are throwing out are out of line.

And since you seem to neither know, or care to know about maintaining the truck (3.5 years ownership and nothing done?) it might be best to let it go.

When you get one of these unsolicited $2k offers, tell them $4,500, let them beat you down as far as $3,250 and wrap it up.

At a price $650 over what you paid 3.5 years ago, it will be the cheapest transportation you'll ever own.

BTW, complete your transaction at the bank of your choice, cash deal, so you know you're getting legit bills.

 

This, definitely.

Mine was a 2.7, 4x4 SR5 - so yeah it definitely depends on the model you have too.

EDIT: It seems someone thinks I'm bullshitting, so here's my FS thread from 2 years ago:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-1998-tacoma-4x4-xcab-2-7-mt-6250-214k.479205/

 

Think deep. I did this same thing 2 years ago. I had a 99 2.7 reg cab 4x4. Fully optioned, buckets, gages, trailer and chrome pkges. Cherry except for miles. Even with 325k I'd get stopped and asked to sell. I paid $1200 for back in 2007. Finally with a couple of my grandkids bugging me to hang out with them, which wouldn't fit into my truck, I sold it for $5k. Got a dbcd. Boy do I miss that old truck. I find myself crusing CL periodically looking for another.

 

I bought someone's daily beater 96 Tacoma for $2200 on the spot after I flipped my last Taco. It was an easy way to get a decent shell to put all my suspension and drivetrain into. I sold the old drivetrain and broke even on the cost of the truck haha. AZ vehicles aren't too bad, usually just paint and maybe a dash pad too.

 

You’d be surprised how well these trucks hold their value.

If you want more room, get a 4Runner. 1st Gens will never be a true “family” vehicle because of space constraints. Maaaybeee Double Cabs but I wouldn’t trust it to fit my whole family in. They are also shockingly expensive for a 20 year old truck.

Depending on the type of truck, I’d probably sell it. If you have a 4x4 it might be worth it to fix it.

 

It can be a slippery slope fixing some thing like this up if it needs the work you claim. I bought my 97 4x4 for $1100 knowing full well it had seen a hard life and needed some work, but knowing how well these trucks hold value I figured I had alot of room to go before I was upside down. Well, I was wrong, everytime I'd get one thing fixed and start driving it something else would pop up. This went on and on. I shoulda cut my losses early on and sold it while there was still a profit in it, but I kept telling myself this will be the last thing I fix, I was wrong. Now I have a basically new, mechanically speaking, 97 2.7 4x4 with 315k on it that I've dumped more money into than its worth so can't even sell it without losing my ass. So now, it's became a longterm project that I'll slowly turn into a dedicated offroad rig over time.

You'll have to decide if this is worth the risk to you to put money into, or just cut your losses and sell it.