Purchasing Advice Please and Thank you

Hello everyone,

I am new here and am looking into purchasing my first Tacoma!

I have found a 2012 Double Cab TRD in Grey that I am quite fond of with ~71,000 miles on it, that I am considering purchasing.

I have been researching Tacoma's for a while, though I still have some questions and was hoping that maybe some of you would be able to provide some answers or point me in the right direction.

So, my questions are:

1. What would you consider to be a reasonable price? (Truck has a leveling kit and BF Goodrich AT tires - not sure on size)

2. Is this a reasonable amount of miles to purchase a Tacoma with as I would like to be able to keep it for the next 5-7 years and not have to spend a fortune on maintenance.

3. What kind of maintenance should I expect to have to do within the next 2 years? I only expect to put around 6500 miles on it a year - (mountain and some forest roads in the Avon Colorado area)

4. I would like to do some modifications if I do end up purchasing the truck, such as a light bar, new front bumper, and a grille insert along these lines of this one but less expensive.
(http://puretacoma.com/grille-insert...6.html?zenid=c7f578c67a0165773e4755d8cd684fa8)

Any and all recommendations for parts are welcome and would be very much appreciated.

Edits:
- Clean CarFax - one owner, no accidents
- Inspection will be done in the next ~10 days depending on how busy I am

 

1) Pricing seems to vary by region. Check out postings on Craigslist, dealer sites, and KBB/Edmunds to get a feel for asking price in your area. Get the CarFax report but be aware it might not tell the entire story. How much you'll be able to negotiate also seems to vary by region and how reasonable the asking price is to begin with.

2) Average mileage tends to be 12k annually. The rig you're looking at exceeds that figure by a couple thousand miles annually.

3) How much you'll need to put into immediate maintenance depends on how well the truck has been maintained. Get service records if you can. Spend the ~$100 at hour trusted mechanic to get a used vehicle inspection.

4) Get immediate maintenance items completed first before mods empty your wallet.

Good luck,
Steve

 

Thank you very much for your response!

I realize now that I should have mentioned that the CarFax is clean. How may I go about getting more information about the vehicle other than through CarFax?

I do plan on having an inspection done at my local Toyota dealership this week, so here is to hoping that everything goes well!

I definitely will. I am in no rush to modify the truck, my primary concern lies in purchasing a reliable truck that will not break the bank to buy, once any maintenance is completed is when I would begin to make modifications

 

Ignore any options/mods truck already has. Those shouldnt matter in the price when buying a truck. Honestly, since you plan on keeping the truck awhile, what do you feel you're willing to pay for it. Slight variation in price really only matters if you plan on selling the truck within a year or so. These trucks hold their value well, so even if you overpay a bit, in the long term it'll be fine.

Also those carfax reports can be very misleading. Not everything is on their in terms of accidents and such.

If you buy it, I'd change the battery, and do all the fluid changes ( power steering, brake, transmission, oil, etc.) right away since you really can't be sure they were done or done correctly.

 

Since you're bringing it to a Toyota dealer for an inspection ask them for a printout of its maintenance history. Anything which has been serviced by any Toyota dealership will be listed in detail.

 

1. What would you consider to be a reasonable price? (Truck has a leveling kit and BF Goodrich AT tires - not sure on size)

Price between $20-23K. Mods don't add much value IMO

2. Is this a reasonable amount of miles to purchase a Tacoma with as I would like to be able to keep it for the next 5-7 years and not have to spend a fortune on maintenance.

A 2012 is ~6 years old. Anything under 100K is good for a preowned vehicle granted all service has been done

3. What kind of maintenance should I expect to have to do within the next 2 years? I only expect to put around 6500 miles on it a year - (mountain and some forest roads in the Avon Colorado area)

• ATF Fluid drain and fill
• Spark Plugs at 90K (that might be 4 years down the line for you)
• Oil change at 75K
• rear differential drain and fill at 90K
  
• brake flush every 2 years or so
• All other fluids Coolant and power steering check for proper level
• Tire rotation every 5k miles

This is just normal maintenance

 

Welcome to the forum. Not to dissuade you in any form but 2012 models seem to have an issue with the Secondary Air Injection system which is typically not covered and is expensive for the dealer to repair. Here's one of several posts for reading: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/secondary-air-injection-system-p2440-and-p2442.370792/
Would this prevent me from buying? No but knowing this, I'd try to get the dealer to warranty any issue with the system in writing for a period of time & mileage. Can't hurt to see if they would do it...

 

Not positive but are remembering reading something about the air pump system being problematic. I think Toyota made improvements in newer years. Research that issue because I think the fix was expensive. Be due diligent and good luck

 

Jinx buy me a coke.