1996 Toyota Tacoma Extended Cab 4 cyl 5 spd

[oilpsi2high]

I found a 96 Tacoma 4x4 2.7L 5 speed that's been stored in a barn for it's entire life. Never been driven in winter. It has 141,000 miles on the clock.

My plan is to talk to the owner as they are interested in selling. Right now they are asking 5k. From what I can tell, it needs a good cleaning and 4 new tires. I do want to have it inspected by a Toyota dealer to make sure it doesn't need anything major.

I also plan on using this truck to tow a 18' bowrider a couple miles up the road to the boat launch and back. Right now it has a bumper hitch, but I'd probably spend the money to buy a frame-mounted hitch instead.

Thanks,
oilpsi2high

 

[mehullica]

Listen the the exhaust valves for any ticking. If they've never been adjusted sometimes they get real tight & burn valves

 

[CT8]

Knock $500.00 to $1000.00 off the price if it has been properly maintained.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: mehullica
Listen the the exhaust valves for any ticking. If they've never been adjusted sometimes they get real tight & burn valves


I will have to listen to them.

Originally Posted By: CT8
Knock $500.00 to $1000.00 off the price if it has been properly maintained.


It's been maintained, but it has also been sitting for a while (one of the tires is flat) and I know that isn't good for any type of vehicle.

 

[oilpsi2high]

They won't accept any less than 5 grand. Bummer.

 

[01rangerxl]

Too much for a straight out of the barn truck.

They should find some tires and get to scrubbing at that price.

 

[Nick1994]

141k miles is a lot of miles for being in a barn all of its life. That price might be fine if it had 14k miles.

 

[dareo]

Tacomas of this vintage are worth the money if the condition is good. They are solid gold in regards to reliability. They are not making any more of them and your fiat dollar is getting weaker by the day. I couldn't say buy it without seeing the truck just saying its a legendary design.

 

[oilpsi2high]

I think it was just parked in the barn when it wasn't being used, and supposedly wasn't driven in the snow. Definitely not a low mileage barn find like you guys are thinking.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I think it was just parked in the barn when it wasn't being used, and supposedly wasn't driven in the snow. Definitely not a low mileage barn find like you guys are thinking.



Even if it's not a case of "it done set up a while," who tries to sell a 20 year old small pickup for $5K with a flat tire?! It's hard to find an excuse for that, and it makes me wonder about how the truck was cared for in general. Some people's idea of "did all maintenance" is being able to remember getting an oil change more than once.

Also, barns vary. If their barn is more of a workshop/garage on a slab, no big deal. If this is a pigeon poop, bat poop, rodent nest kind of barn, you need to check every single electrical feature on the truck and look for signs of chewing. If it sat long enough for a tire to go flat, it sat long enough for someone to have a wire insulation feast and then go nest in the air filter housing.

I know some people are just lazy about selling cars, but if you're going to ask $5K for an old pickup, even a Tacoma, clean the thing up and make sure it has tires that hold air.

Despite the claims that it wasn't driven in snow, I'd be looking at every inch of the frame. Again, there might be a disconnect between this owner's idea of "good condition" and actual good condition.

Not saying it's definitely a bad buy, we haven't even seen pics, but again, why doesn't this truck have four good tires on it at that price? I think flat tire, pigeon poop price should be a little lower. Or it can just stay up for sale...

 

[dareo]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
141k miles is a lot of miles for being in a barn all of its life. That price might be fine if it had 14k miles.


Lol, the price might be fine if 14k miles? Check out this one that is way older, the 3.slow V6, 95k miles but very clean pulling a really high price:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Pickup-Base-/182173697703?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2a6a6606a7:g:s94AAOSw-4BXYyyL&item=182173697703

If you have watched ebay, sometimes a really low mileage Tacoma comes up, and it goes for a stupidly high price. A 1996 4x4 excab manual 2.7L truck with 14k miles would be a 5 digit price easily.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
141k miles is a lot of miles for being in a barn all of its life. That price might be fine if it had 14k miles.


Lol, the price might be fine if 14k miles? Check out this one that is way older, the 3.slow V6, 95k miles but very clean pulling a really high price:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Pickup-Base-/182173697703?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2a6a6606a7:g:s94AAOSw-4BXYyyL&item=182173697703

If you have watched ebay, sometimes a really low mileage Tacoma comes up, and it goes for a stupidly high price. A 1996 4x4 excab manual 2.7L truck with 14k miles would be a 5 digit price easily.


Man is that thing ugly. No AC? It is very clean, someone took care of it.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: dareo
Check out this one that is way older, the 3.slow V6, 95k miles but very clean pulling a really high price:


To some people the older "Pickup" is actually more desirable than a Tacoma. The Pickup was a Hilux without the Hilux name on it. That one has horrible options, but is super clean, so I'm not too surprised by the price. It is a little high for no A/C though.