Is this the one? Need some vehicle advice.

[jhndlntylr]

Over the last 6 months or so I've been searching for for a clean and lightly used 2nd gen tacoma or 3rd gen 4runner, and I think I've found the one.

The rig I've landed on and that's currently being shipped out to Colorado via Carmax (for free, for me to look at) from Virginia (originally the truck is from Maryland) is a 2011 Double Cab Base Model 4x4 with 108k miles. They are asking $22k, which might be a bit high but for a single owner commercial vehicle with no accidents and excellent maintenance records, I'm probably going to go for it. This will be my first Toyota and the main thing I'm skeptical about is buying a truck with 108k miles. With everything I've read about people buying Tacoma's with 100k + miles in a heartbeat, convince me that I'm not making a bad decision.

The direction I'm planning on taking this truck is to build it into a light overlanding rig: ARB bumper, SCS wheels, larger AT tires, and a few extra goodies.

Looking for thoughts and advice from the great community here.







Thanks in advance.

 

[AaronK]

108k? Shoot it's just getting warmed up!

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

 

[andrew61987]

I bought a 2008 last year with 130k miles for $14.2k. CA car, still looks new underneath. I daily drive it and wheel the snot ouf of it, and have put 22k trouble free miles on it in a year. It also has a 2TR-FE (I'm assuming yours does too?) I was HAPPY with those miles! 2TR-FE is slowly earning legendary status, I'm a huge proponent of it.

Just watch for frame rust!

 

[jhndlntylr]

108k? Shoot it's just getting warmed up!

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

Good to know!

I bought a 2008 last year with 130k miles for $14.2k. CA car, still looks new underneath. I daily drive it and wheel the snot ouf of it, and have put 22k trouble free miles on it in a year. It also has a 2TR-FE (I'm assuming yours does too?) I was HAPPY with those miles! 2TR-FE is slowly earning legendary status, I'm a huge proponent of it.

Just watch for frame rust!

Nice! This one's from Maryland so I am definitely a little worried about rust. And actually, this truck has the 1GR-FE! I did test drive a 2TR-FE Tacoma with the wife (I'd be cool with the 5-speed 4 cylinder set-up) but the she wanted something she could drive around town comfortably too. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming that Toyota sorted out the frame rust issues with Dana in the years before this truck came out so hopefully it's a pretty clean one!

 

[JCMatthews]

I must be old, because I can't believe that anyone is willing to $22,000 for a vehicle with 108,000 miles on it. In 2010, I paid $19,000 for a 2005 DC Tundra SR5 with 42,000 miles. I don't know if the 2UZ-FE is nearing "legendary"status, but it is a strong motor and a good truck. I wonder what Dave Ramsey would say. He'd at least tell you to have a lot of the money for the purchased saved. I think I would look a while longer and be patient.

I did a quick search on www.ksl.com and yes that truck is priced high. There were nice 2011 DC Tacomas with 60,000 miles for $24,000. I only looked for about 30 seconds.

 

[dman93]

Another way to look at this, is that you could buy a new SR5 DCSB 4x4 for about $30K. $8K buys a lot of mods. On the other hand, it could buy a new car warranty and get you a 3rd Gen, which is arguably better (I know there are pro's and con's, but I own a 3rd Gen and it's a darn nice truck). Either way, welcome to Taco land!

 

[p nut]

Another way to look at this, is that you could buy a new SR5 DCSB 4x4 for about $30K. $8K buys a lot of mods. On the other hand, it could buy a new car warranty and get you a 3rd Gen, which is arguably better (I know there are pro's and con's, but I own a 3rd Gen and it's a darn nice truck). Either way, welcome to Taco land!

Seriously. Or get an SR for even cheaper. I would no way pay $22k for a 9 yr old vehicle with over 100k miles.

 

[jhndlntylr]

I must be old, because I can't believe that anyone is willing to $22,000 for a vehicle with 108,000 miles on it. In 2010, I paid $19,000 for a 2005 DC Tundra SR5 with 42,000 miles. I don't know if the 2UZ-FE is nearing "legendary"status, but it is a strong motor and a good truck. I wonder what Dave Ramsey would say. He'd at least tell you to have a lot of the money for the purchased saved. I think I would look a while longer and be patient.

I did a quick search on www.ksl.com and yes that truck is priced high. There were nice 2011 DC Tacomas with 60,000 miles for $24,000. I only looked for about 30 seconds.

I mean, at first I thought that was a ridiculous price but the more I read and the more I search, it convinces me that it's not a half bad deal. Send me that deal and I'll take a look but in my area a truck with a deal like that doesn't even exist.

Another way to look at this, is that you could buy a new SR5 DCSB 4x4 for about $30K. $8K buys a lot of mods. On the other hand, it could buy a new car warranty and get you a 3rd Gen, which is arguably better (I know there are pro's and con's, but I own a 3rd Gen and it's a darn nice truck). Either way, welcome to Taco land!

Unfortunately, I just can't afford the monthly payment of a brand new truck. And to me, buying a brand new vehicle is somewhat wasteful money-wise since there are plenty of good used vehicles out there. Do you guy's feel that the warranty they sell you for 3 years / 5 years is actually worth it? In that I mean have you even used it or is it just piece of mind? Would a certified preowned Toyota be better with the 1 year / 7 year then if I planned on keeping the truck for 10+ years? Sorry for all the questions.

Seriously. Or get an SR for even cheaper. I would no way pay $22k for a 9 yr old vehicle with over 100k miles.

Where'd you get '9 year old vehicle' from? This truck is 5 years old.



And just for reference guys, after doing a 'quick search' for my area these are the prices/mileage I'm seeing.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The asking price is probably about right for Colorado, we pay a pretty serious Toyota Tax here. But just so you know this about what I paid for a 2008 Access Cab, V6, MT, TRD Off Road with 42K and CPO from a dealer just shy of 2 years ago. So try to negotiate the price down a little.

As mentioned, one fleet owner to me is a red flag. That's like a rental car is one owner, although often the maintenance is very good I'd be worried about how many curbs have been driven over and ****************** bouncing the engine off the rev limiter. Finding suspension geometry that's tweaked because the frame is twisted would just tick me off.

Otherwise definitely look at the frame, Tacomas are among the worst for rusting and the east coast is ground zero. If you can have Toyota inspect it as though it was under the frame recall before buying that would be good. I don't think 2011 is covered (yet) but up to 2008 is. Mine was called in for an inspection and passed but Toyota is replacing frames on 2005 to 2008 in the rust belt. Even here I've seen my dealer (Pedersen in Ft. Collins) receiving and replacing 2nd gen frames. If you can't have it done the test is essentially to hit several critical spots with a ball peen hammer. Look for rust behind the catalytic converters on the inside of the frame rails, approximately directly under the front door hinges. Also check up inside by the spare and along the outside from the leaf springs back to the bumper. It will almost definitely have rust on the welds but as long as there's nothing bubbling up elsewhere you'll probably be fine.

I went through the same mildly used vs new comparison as well. At the time I could have spent a few thousand dollars more and been looking at a 2014 or 2015 SR5. However when everything is added up, the tick up on sales tax, the first couple of years of much higher registration and insurance, the total cost of ownership between a $23K used truck and a $29K new was more like $10,000 over the first 5 years. It was pretty easy to not ratchet up when the numbers were all tallied. I agree low mileage Tacomas push the limit but even with them it's hard to justify not buying used.

 

[p nut]

...I went through the same mildly used vs new comparison as well. At the time I could have spent a few thousand dollars more and been looking at a 2014 or 2015 SR5. However when everything is added up, the tick up on sales tax, the first couple of years of much higher registration and insurance, the total cost of ownership between a $23K used truck and a $29K new was more like $10,000 over the first 5 years. It was pretty easy to not ratchet up when the numbers were all tallied. I agree low mileage Tacomas push the limit but even with them it's hard to justify not buying used.

$4k in registration and insurance costs?? Wow, that's crazy. I've bought used and new, and my insurance cost didn't change much. Registration, maybe a little, but maybe $50 at most? No way it'd be even close to $4k. Newer cars also need safey/emissions only every other year, so negates some of the other expenses as well.
_
I went through the same process earlier this year and decided to go new. I wanted to stay below 25k miles on the used truck and the price difference was negligible. Maybe $2-3k. Not worth it.

 

[PirateMcGee]

Use cars.com and fly and drive or have one shipped. I would look outside of Tacomas but I also think they are the worst used car deal out there.

 

[DaveInDenver]

$4k in registration and insurance costs?? Wow, that's crazy. I've bought used and new, and my insurance cost didn't change much. Registration, maybe a little, but maybe $50 at most? No way it'd be even close to $4k. Newer cars also need safey/emissions only every other year, so negates some of the other expenses as well.
_
I went through the same process earlier this year and decided to go new. I wanted to stay below 25k miles on the used truck and the price difference was negligible. Maybe $2-3k. Not worth it.

I pay about twice the registration on the 2008 as what I did for the 1991. Part of that is because Colorado has been gradually punishing old vehicle owners. At one point it was $27 to license my '91 but by the time I sold it in 2015 it was up to about $75 annually. The actual ownership tax hadn't changed much but the tacked on "fees" (called the FASTER fees) were killer.

My first registration was $238 for the 2008 in 2015 and my renewal this year was $149 (actual registration is $93, the rest are fees). The first year on a brand new truck in 2015 would have been approximately $450 and the next couple of years it would have gone down about $50. At 5 years the registration drops quicker but even over the life of the truck the renewals will always be slightly higher because Colorado bases ownership taxes on the original MSRP/taxable value.

My county has an online estimator: http://larimer.org/vehiclelicensing/estimator/

The sales tax margin on the $6K difference was about $560 between the two trucks. Being used I didn't have to pay a destination fee (which is probably negotiable), which was listed as $800. Insurance was a close to a hundred higher, but I would expect that to drop pretty quickly, too.

It really did add up to close to $3.5k over the first few years difference on top of the price. Plus, I didn't have to add fog lights, locker or things like trailer hitch, wiring, floor mats, iPod adapter that were already in the truck that would have pushed the new price up. I know that stuff is optional but I was comparing apples-to-apples. In the case of the iPod adapter, I sold that on Craigslist for $100 so technically pushed the used price down a bit.

In 2015 the emissions exemption in Colorado was extended to 7 years and up to 11 years old get the OBD-only. I'll be doing my first emissions test next year.

 

[BrennMan]

Tried to quote this and failed "Do you guy's feel that the warranty they sell you for 3 years / 5 years is actually worth it?"

I don't think the Carnax warranty would be worth it for a truck as reliable as these tacomas but I have seen a strong case to be made for those carmax bumper to bumper warranty on very unreliable and expensive to repair vehicles (read: Range Rover). Check out this guy https://www.google.com/amp/jalopnik...-half-over-and-i-1733772237/amp?client=safari

I don't really enjoy his perspective on most things but it's a pretty interesting point.

 

[Clutch]

Use cars.com and fly and drive or have one shipped. I would look outside of Tacomas but I also think they are the worst used car deal out there.

Glancing at cars.com $22K, buys you a F150 sub 20K miles...with a V8.

 

[jhndlntylr]

As mentioned, one fle et owner to me is a red flag. That's like a rental car is one owner, although often the maintenance is very good I'd be worried about how many curbs have been driven over and ****************** bouncing the engine off the rev limiter. Finding suspension geometry that's tweaked because the frame is twisted would just tick me off.

Otherwise definitely look at the frame, Tacomas are among the worst for rusting and the east coast is ground zero. If you can have Toyota inspect it as though it was under the frame recall before buying that would be good. I don't think 2011 is covered (yet) but up to 2008 is. Mine was called in for an inspection and passed but Toyota is replacing frames on 2005 to 2008 in the rust belt. Even here I've seen my dealer (Pedersen in Ft. Collins) receiving and replacing 2nd gen frames. If you can't have it done the test is essentially to hit several critical spots with a ball peen hammer. Look for rust behind the catalytic converters on the inside of the frame rails, approximately directly under the front door hinges. Also check up inside by the spare and along the outside from the leaf springs back to the bumper. It will almost definitely have rust on the welds but as long as there's nothing bubbling up elsewhere you'll probably be fine.

Good to know about the commercial vehicle being a potential red flag. I'll be sure to check the truck extensively. And I'm in Fort Collins as well but Pedersen never has anything in my price range that isn't beat to hell. Lol

Glancing at cars.com $22K, buys you a F150 sub 20K miles...with a V8.

... and all the problems that come with it. But all joking aside, I'm in no need of a V8 unless it's the 4.7 L 2UZ-FE. I have no need to tow and probably never will and the gas mileage isn't exciting either.