Searching for 1st Gen.... too high mileage?

Cali truck its whole life until the guy moved here and essentially parked it for a year or so. It had sat for some time though before that even because there were mud dauber nest all up in the engine bay and under the intake manifold.

 

Nice! They 118s are fun; sporty really! I like my Tacoma now for it's off road manners and the fact that it is capable off road. Wayyyy cheaper than converting the 118 to a 4x4 - though I considered it!!

 

Two thoughts here:

1. Mileage indicates more than just mechanical wear/tear--the shape the body and interior is in is likely more valuable in these trucks because it's harder to repair. A new clutch, a new wheel bearing, a new water pump--consequences of higher mileage like these can all be resolved pretty painlessly. But the cosmetic impact of higher miles--the classic dents in the back corners or in the cab/bed joint at about knee height, or the cracked dash, or the soiled upholstery--these issues I think are more of a pain to resolve than the mechanical wear that accompanies high mileage. Once the looks start to go, I feel like it's hard to bring back.

2. My experience: 2000 TRD EXT v6 MT (white) bought from the sole owner in Vegas at 182K, now at 188K. Bought it for the looks--desert car that had been garaged and cared for, original paint was still in amazing shape. Has required mechanical work, nothing major, but things to be expected at around the 200K mark.

First, valve cover gasket, which is way more involved (and costly) than doing the same job on a little 4-cylinder 22RE. Probably could wait for it to actually leak instead of just seeping, but what I hear is the 5VZ-FE is always going to require this maintenance at some point. Few hundred bucks.

Second, lower control arm (LCA) bushings. Not a real safety threat, but annoying as hell to hear it squeak every time you brake hard. Only the driver side has gone out on mine, I suspect this is because that's the side where the oil filter is and the oil filter seems impossible to remove without dropping at least some oil down on the LCA and other things downstream of the filter housing. Years of oil changes soak the bushings and they eventually wear out and break etc. People appear to have ways to replace the bushings (as opposed to just replacing the entire control arm), but I went the replace wholesale route with an OEM LCA. Few hundred bucks.

Third, clutch and shifter bushings. This depends on how prior owner shifted (and is irrelevant on an AT), but my sense from talking to Toyota mechanics is this is a common maintenance item. You can replace just the bushings, but I did the entire clutch and it drives like a race car now--jumps right into first. Thousand plus bucks. Also, race car is a palindrome fwiw. Saw that scrawled inside a portapotty back in my construction days.

Fourth, clutch pedal squeak. There seems to be no way to avoid this as the return spring deteriorates over time. It's annoying to listen to and what's more it requires manually returning the pedal with your toes if you want to engage the cruise control. There is a DIY hack for replacing the return spring, but I opted to replace the entire pedal bracket just to be sure (you can re-use the actual pedal though). Few hundred bucks.

Fifth, airbag dash rattle. You can expect a rattle especially during colder weather in the thin part of dash that goes between the airbag and the windshield. Two DIY fixes that are well documented here: zip ties going in through the glove box or just simple clear plastic tubing to shove in the crack to hold it. Folded towel, gym shorts or business card works too.

TLDR: higher mileage will require more mechanical work, but the common mechanical issues for this flavor of Tacoma are inevitable and it's just a matter of time. So, shop for a body that looks like it will last another 5+ years and then worry about the other details. I would still stay below 250K because at that point I think truly major mechanical issues are only a few years down the road. Obviously, different analysis required for any salt-state trucks (stay away imho); lots of these trucks in CO that are used you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure out whether the chemical solution they use in CO (not technically salt) is corrosive enough to deter you as a buyer.

Still worth it to buy a nice 1st gen and fix it up IMHO--they are beautiful trucks, truly compact trucks, and they are straightforward to maintain (mostly still analog). Mechanics that I talk to (across several states) seem to trust them more than the second and third gens (though that may just be familiarity because they've been around longer). '98-'00 have the nice overlap between airbags and what I think is the better grille, those three years have the horizontal lines in the grille before things got vertical in '01 and the hood started having weird wavy undulations and the over-wheel trim pieces got too wide (IMHO).

 

Here is the truck you should buy, it’s at auction. The rear has been hit but doesn’t look to bad.
It has 11,000 miles and looks unbelievably clean. Someone will make some good money after fixing this truck up.

Your better doing some body work and have a Tacoma with 11,000 miles I would say.
https://www.ridesafely.com/en/salva...pg=50&q=tacoma&soid=5&pg=1&isct=2&vtdesc=auto

 

300k is nothing on these. Maintenance is key, if it’s been kept up and you keep it up they will last.

 

Okay so I shouldn’t be scared of high mileage.
What about this one...
2001 v6 4wd manual with shell and roof rack and a beautiful green.

https://boone.craigslist.org/cto/d/west-jefferson-2001-toyota-tacoma-extra/6922520927.html

Here are rust photos...




Does the rust look bad?
Any thoughts?

 

Now that rust is scary. Right by that hanger mount is a known rust spot. It will fail soon. Stay away from that dumpster fire.

 

I will never buy an old low mileage vehicle again. The seals dry rot and cylinders get scoured since they sit and all the oil drains to the bottom of the engine. It can be really costly to fix all these seals that go bad.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about mileage. My '03 DC V6 4x4 just ticked over 347K yesterday. Never had issues out of it. With any high mileage vehicle, just keep it maintained and regularly serviced and you should be good to go. Rust issues would be the only issue I would be looking for if I was buying a 1st gen Tacoma right now.

 

I thought this was really funny.

 

i would have to question WHY did insurance not pay to fix this???
could be many reasons, i.e. uninsured owner who was at fault?
may even have various troubles going forward with a salvage title?

 

i approve of this! ... not sure why they 'seem' to get high dollar though? the interior is probably why?

 

Insurance might have just paid it out and called it a day and the owner was ok with it,
It will sell for over 10,000 I’m sure.
4 hours to go at auction

 

that means the damage to it is probably over $10k ??
did the pickup box get damaged?

 

Don’t know, but if I was looking for a Tacoma I would be all over this one.

 

no you wouldn't lol

 

who the heck is bidding $9600 for a salvage title
i have heard the salvage title designation is a slippery slope with the legalities

 

No, it has to pass an inspection,
They sell for less on the resell market.

But that’s if your going to resell it.

I don’t ever have plans to sell my tacoma.

So if it was my truck with a salvage title and the repairs were minimal I
would buy it for a truck with 11,000 miles

 

The bumper in the rear on these mounts to the frame to where if you are rear ended you essentially bend the frame. Well it looks like the frame is bent. I am sure the adjuster saw the bends and just wrote it as a complete loss

 

you can also NEVER insure it I also heard?