2001 Tacoma

My father in law is a new truck every ten years or so kinda guy. Right now he is driving a 01 Tacoma Pre-Runner SR-5 Four Door with an automatic. He is offering it to my wife and I for $4000. Truck has 210,000 miles on it, as he says (I trust him) it has never been in a shop for anything other than maintenance, doesn't use oil and starts every time. I've worked on the truck in the past to do a brake job and everything is as it should be. What he is asking is well below the trade in on a vehicle that I know the service history on.

I have the money and a fairly cushy pickup beats my rusty old miata for dd duty. What Would GRM Do? Should I actually be concerned about the mileage?

no

I'd give him about $3.50.

He's wanting $3500 more than I'd ever consider paying for it.

Ehhh.... i'd pay $3000 for it.

If he put it on the market himself, he'd easily get $4000 for it.

SR-5 auto? I agree, too much for that mileage and age.

I've got a 2001 Tacoma 3.4 V6 automatic 2WD w/ SR5 and Pre Runner packages. It's got about 130k miles, is absolutely stone reliable, uses about no oil, and looks essentially like new.

$4k may be a bit of a stretch w/ 200k miles, but if it's in great shape and has been maintained by the schedule it should continue to run.

I always worry about family deals. Too many opportunities for unpleasantness. A gift, OK. Serious coin, not so much. It's not YOUR Dad, it's HER Dad.

I sold my 1999 4Runner SR5 for $4500 a few months ago with 230k on it... never had any major problems(just maintenance and ball joints) with it, but it was 4wd which makes it worth a tad bit more, that's not a terrible deal, but not a steal either.

that truck would bring over $6,000 all day every day around here.

In reply to belteshazzar:

That's what I'm thinking. If I don't buy it, he's going to trade it in and the values I've seen for trade in are around what he is asking for it. Autotrader has a bunch with similar mileage for a lot more money.

I'm almost thinking to ask him to see what he can get on trade in and if it is less than the 4K, offer him 2-300 more. At the same time I don't want to string him on or whatnot.

If it makes any difference, my wife thinks we should buy the truck.

Doing the family math, if you did want it and she didn't and it's her father, you might be able to get away with buying it but you'd probably be better not to.

If you do want it and she thinks you should get it and it's her father, then I think you're getting a new truck, unless something completely unexpected happens, such as a trade-in offer of $5500 or something.

Here in zip code EIEIO you can't pee, spit, or throw a bird out the window without hitting a buttload of Sube's and two buttloads's of Toyotas. I sold my Tacoma for +30% over book. (supercharged and I regret the sale every day).

With the experience of 4 toyota trucks (2 tacomas) - I say you canNOT go wrong. Especially if you know service history and driving habits of the owner. (i.e. - does he rev the snot out of it when cold?)

don't know what to tell you about the family stuff . . . .

good luck! (ps: don't have any auto experience)

when i sold my V6 toyota pickup 9 years ago it had 230,000 miles on it...

i still see the damn thing running around town pretty regularly.

Is it a four banger or a six? If it's a four, I think I'd want a stick in that configuration, might be a bit gutless with the slush.

I'm amazed no one has mentioned the rust recall yet! Get underneath with a hammer and check the rear half of the frame for rot. May not be an issue in KY, but Toyota has an open recall up to 15 years old on these. Enough Tacos have been bought back that they're a bit of a rare sight here in the frozen north. I stopped counting at 90 recalled Tacomas in the back lot at a local Toyota dealer summer before last.

bigbrainonbrad wrote: If it makes any difference, my wife thinks we should buy the truck.

Why didn't you say so in the first place?

Buy the truck and don't haggle with her dad, as long as the price is within reason, and it sounds like it is.

Best case scenario - you drive it another 100k and everyone is happy.

Worst case scenario - you did what your wife wanted and you paid what her dad wanted, so you are INNOCENT of wrongdoing. I know guys that would pay $4 grand for that sort of goodwill even if they didn't get a truck out of the deal.

Enjoy your new Taco