Buying a 286,000 Mile 1997 Tacoma 4x4 2.7

There is a good chance that I will pull the trigger on this and buy it. The owner of this truck is willing to sell it to me for $9000. Its a 1997 Tacoma 4x4, automatic, and 2.7 engine. Is this a good buy given its condition?

1997 Toyota Tacoma For Sale in Santa Rosa, CA - Tonys Toys and Trucks (hondastoysandtrucks.net)

CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 1997 TOYOTA TACOMA XTRACAB: 4TAWM72N4VZ304883

 

I'd buy it for that price for sure. Used and mid-high miles are always a gamble. Always. Never know. But that thing looks well maintained and has a lot of service records to show it. I've bought two used Toyotas with over 275k-285k miles on them and drove them to well over 350+ with few issues.

Check the lower ball joins (didn't see that on the carfax) and drive on.

 

Hey! That truck is in my neck of the woods, not too far from where I work! Are you local to the Santa Rosa area? Good luck on that truck, Tony is a great guy!

 

I talked to the actual owner of this truck on Facebook and I will see it this sunday.

 

Nice, looks like a real clean truck!
Looks like the PO kept up on the maintenance of that beauty, I may have to drive by and take a look at it.

 

I live in Sacramento.

 

Not too far of a drive, it's getting harder and harder to find these trucks in this condition.

 

Don't see any pictures of the underside... any rust issues?

 

Alan
Given that this is a crazy time and if there is nothing wrong with this truck so far I would want to buy it. My advice to you is get a Toyota mechanic to conduct a preliminary inspection of the engine, transmission, drive line, suspension, electricals and the body. You could very well buy into a truck that could last you until you can no longer drive it due to old age. There are maintenance procedures that you must follow like adjusting the intake and exhaust valve lash when it is due. If you ignore this type of maintenance then you could incur some exhaust valve and valve seat damage and possibly the head.
There is also the Timing chain, timing chain guides, timing chain tensioner, sprockets ect.. It would be good if this gets replaced although I don't know the exact interval.
If you test drive this truck and if it lacks power then you could be looking at excessive carbon build up. This is one of the reasons why I again suggest a Toyota mechanic to look at this stuff for you if you cannot do it yourself. After a serious inspection and if the truck proves to be in excellent shape I would buy it.
If you are a gear head these 1st Gen Tacomas are easy enough to work on.

 

This for sure. There could easy be $2k plus worth of work it needs if not checked out thoroughly.

$9k is too much imo.

Also the 3rz + auto combo is pretty lethargic, I’d hold out for a v6 or an MT.

 

This is an example of carbon buildup in my 1998 Tacoma 4X4 SR5 2.7 engine intake side.

 

If that truck is from around here it should be pretty clean, the undercarriage of my truck looks pretty much like this picture too!

 

CARFAX Vehicle History Report for this 1997 TOYOTA TACOMA XTRACAB: 4TAWM72N4VZ304883

 

Sunday is going to be a long time to wait!

 

I understand the services and the Carfax but Carfax is not a replacement for a quality indepth inspection, yes they are advantageous.

 

I will still have a family mechanic look at it before purchase.

 

Make sure that they do a compression test.

 

Looks good! Times have sure changed... years past there's no way i'd even consider buying a vehicle with over 100,000 miles but with these Toyota's it's a different story.... 200,000 miles is considered "low mileage".

 

I will see it this Sunday. Talked to the owner already