Advice on buying second gen used

Hello,

I originally posted this in the new members forum but realized this fit better here. I have searched through the threads a little bit and still have a few general questions to throw out.

I am the owner of a 2001 2wd 4cyl tacoma with 130,000. It has served me well but I am ready to step up to a 4wd. I will not be doing any real dedicated off roading but my wife and I are very active climbers and that means we are often on road trips and traveling on old roads which are in VERY nasty shape. We need 4wd and higher clearance than what our current tacoma offers. We hope this truck will last us a long time and we also don't want to buy one right as every part starts to wear out.

Our initial budget that we were looking at was $15,000 but a quick search shows that this does not go very far and we may need to adjust the budget to get what we want. So here is the question...

We are looking for a 2005 or newer Tacoma 4WD 6 cylinder, what milage range should we be looking in? Will we be putting in a lot of extra $$ if we buy a 175,000 vehicle?

Also considering the fact that we don't plan on doing any aggressive off roading would we be ok with a regular 4wd or should we try and get a TRD off road? I do not want to have to upgrade the truck after I realize that the stock setup is not good enough. I would rather put the money in upfront and get what I want.

Thanks for all your help.
Eric

 

I would look into an SR5. Put good tires on it and you should be good to go.

 

A regular 4x4 will get you lots of places it has for me even with 4cyl 5spd which by the way are considerably cheaper than the v6 and still do everything the v6 does except tow bigger than a utility trailer. A good set of ats and you'll have no issues.. welcome as well

Truck was stock in this pic beside's tires and sliders
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Bought mine with 119k and a list of oil changes every ~5k miles or so. As long as it's been taken care of you shouldn't have to worry about anything major. A standard 4wd will do anything you want it to do. TRD package isn't that spectacular as far as performance. Rear locker is good for more serious off-roading.

 

I went from my 97 to a 2008 trd sport which had 65k miles on it. Drove fine and checked out by toyota with the exception of a broken rear leaf. 5k miles later my front wheel bearings went out. When I installed new leafs I ugraded the front suspension to add 2" of lift. When I went to get an alignment I was informed that the bottom lower control arm bushing were rusted into the alignment cams. If you're in the market for a 2nd gen, check these areas well. I'd buy from a warm climate to avoid the issues I've had. I'd also look for way lower mileage than what you said you'd settle for. Don't Rush and you'll find the right deal.

 

Make sure the frame has been replaced if it was recalled.

 

This a must if your looking for a used taco that had been recalled. I drove 2hrs from where I live to find the right one. I picked up a 2008 trd sport from a dealer with just under 100,000, before the dealer put it on the lot they replaced the frame, brake lines, leafs, front and rear shocks, lower control arms and bushings. And a great service record from the dealer.

Good luck and don't rush. Welcome to TW!

 

We can't say enough about the frame.....

2005-2008 were the years that have the 'frame warranty'. It's not something that is required but only on a voluntary basis that owners can take the truck to the dealer to have it inspected. It'll either pass or fail. If it fails - Toyota will put a new frame (and other parts). If it passes, they spray it with an undercoating.

Long story short....
You could probably poke your head underneath the truck and find 1 of 3 things - New frame, rusty frame, or undercoating.
Looks can be deceiving. Before you buy ANYTHING....
1) Check with your Toyota dealer and find out if the frame has been inspected.
2) Does the truck have a new frame?? How long ago and can you confirm this?
3) Does it have the undercoating? I would AVOID a truck with the undercoating. Basically, its bandaid.

If the truck has never been inspected - You have until March 2016 to have it inspected and be considered part of the warranty.
If you don't know for sure whether its been inspected or not...have it inspected BEFORE committing to a purchase. Again- If the truck fails, make sure you would get a new frame and negotiate the truck 'as is'. If the truck passes.....don't buy it. You don't want the undercoating.

My truck has a new frame. It failed but just barely. My frame looked absolutely awesome - but they managed to find a 2" soft spot that they poked a hole thru it and it was enough to fail it (inside frame rail in front of driver side door). So..DO NOT trust a visual look at the frame. The rust occurs from the inside out and you won't necessarily see it. HAVE IT INSPECTED before you purhcase.

 

My experience is if you are looking for practically new low mileage one you are probably better off trying find a new one. The resale is pretty strong on these trucks thus I doubt you will save that much. There are still a few new ones out there.

 

I have to disagree on the buying new. I just bought my first Tacoma about a month ago (I love this truck!). Mine isn't 4WD, but it is a 2009 Prerunner SR5 V6 with 50K miles. It came from central Florida and looks like it has never seen so much as a gravel road. I got it for just over half of a 2016 model (although there are no '16 Prerunners). That's a lot of money for traveling. I'm hardly off-roading, but the 2WD has performed admirably on the national/state forest roads here which are often indistinguishable from the swamps they run through. Same ground clearance as a stock 4WD, better mileage, and less weight. And yes, I'll be very grateful when one you 4WDs comes and pulls me out of the jam I'll get myself into one day. ;-)

 

like I said my experience anyway I was talking about 2015 leftovers

 

I also said almost new low miles we are talking like maybe under 20,000 miles. 50000 miles and a 2009

 

I just bought a 2012 TRD sport v6 Double cab four wheel drive, 6 inch procomp lift , bull bars , kc fog light , sitting on 325/60/18 for 28000
It only had 20000 miles.
Look around you can find them.autotrader is a good place to look