opinions about a truck I'm interested in

[catfish_hunter01]

It's a 98 Toyota Tacoma. It's imacualte with only 16,000 miles. It was pulled behind a RV. Manual tranny 4wd 4 cylinder new fiberglass topper. 2 dings in the passenger side. 1 is a scratch down to the primer and the other is a small dent and scratch. He wants $5000 for it here is what NADA shows

1998 Toyota Tacoma Standard Equipment, Pricing and Information - NADAguides.com.
What do y'all think?

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[Trapper-steve]

I'd say jump on it.

[apantheon]

If it helps any. I paid not much less then this for my '87 Toyota with 150,000 miles on it. Toyota makes a good dependable vehicle and they run forever. The only downfall to the 4 cylinder is, if you want to 4x4 they just seem to me that they don't have quite enough power, but if that is not an issue, I would see if he would take $4500 and jump on it. Maybe even ask for $4000 and see if he will say $4500.

[223reload]

Buy it if you must,ME ,IMO its not helpin the american economy any even if it is 2nd hand.

[BubbaCat]

$4,000 cash in your hand, I bet would buy it !

[bw69r]

i'll have to disagree with ya there a little bit Richard. they have a good many plants here in the usa. lots of americans making good money working there. as for the truck the older tacomas and tundras seem to be the best up to about '05 or '06. seems like a good price but try to get him down and haggle a bit.

[Fox_River_Kaban]

i'll have to disagree with ya there a little bit Richard. they have a good many plants here in the usa. lots of americans making good money working there. as for the truck the older tacomas and tundras seem to be the best up to about '05 or '06. seems like a good price but try to get him down and haggle a bit.

I agree. Most Toyotas are not build in Japan anymore and it's been that way for a long time. Almost every model Lexus is build in Japan, but Toyotas that are sold here in the states are 9/10 times assembled in the states with only a few exceptions.

Before you do anything, be aware that model-year 1995 to 2000 Tacomas, have excessive corrosion of the frame which has caused perforation of the metal. The reason for this, it appears, is that the frames of some of the 813,000 vehicles built during this time-frame may not have adequate corrosion protection.

My brother worked for Toyota and he said Toyota was literally extending the warranty for Tacoma owners and replacing ENTIRE frames. Very dangerous buy IMO, unless you don't care about it.

[apantheon]

I agree. Most Toyotas are not build in Japan anymore and it's been that way for a long time. Almost every model Lexus is build in Japan, but Toyotas that are sold here in the states are 9/10 times assembled in the states with only a few exceptions.

Before you do anything, be aware that model-year 1995 to 2000 Tacomas, have excessive corrosion of the frame which has caused perforation of the metal. The reason for this, it appears, is that the frames of some of the 813,000 vehicles built during this time-frame may not have adequate corrosion protection.

My brother worked for Toyota and he said Toyota was literally extending the warranty for Tacoma owners and replacing ENTIRE frames. Very dangerous buy IMO, unless you don't care about it.

This corrosion problem extends back farther then 1995. I personally have had this happen to my '87 Toyota. I look at it as lipstick and rouge and all I really use it for is for outing to the lake or river. But, if this truck has been garaged most of the time then there should not be any signs of this. This is easily treatable and can be corrected for a fairly reasonable cost. This could possibly also be negotiated in the cost of the vehicle. Another thing to consider also, is if this truck might have already been treated or corrected under the Toyota warranty that you talked about.
It doesn't hurt to speak to the owner about this. Might consider bringing it upfront with the owner, i.e. (I've done some research on this year of toyota trucks and have found that they are prone to corrosion.) 9 times out of 10 they will let you know if the truck has been corrected or not. With this amount of mileage' I'd also bet that the owner has the original maintenance manual to show if it has or not.

[Rollinunknown]

Ive been a chevy guy since i was 12yrs old plain and simple.

5000. is a steel for that truck with that low miles .

The only major problem is dry rot to the timing belt from low use.

Other then this i would buy the truck .

Those 4x4 Tacoma are Crazy reliable .
I love those trucks.

Ive seen them 300-400 k easy.
We have a 1998 toyota avalon xl with 386k miles . ive done NOTHING but 1 timeing belt and 2 sets of plugs ...

I still own chevys due to i can get them cheap.
My next truck will me a 2011 Toyota Tacoma 4x4. I just talked my dad into the 2x4 he loves the truck .

Try and bargin with cash in had but 5k is STILL A STEAL!

p.s i know im gonna burn some toes here but 1990-2009 Dodge trucks ARE GARBAGE. sorry my fellow brother .I will proudly ride the bus before i ever own a 1990-2009 dodge truck .. The new ones are steeping it up but still... high sticker cheap trucks .Its sad when u replace the transmission more then the headlight bulbs

[apantheon]

p.s i know im gonna burn some toes here but 1990-2009 Dodge trucks ARE GARBAGE. sorry my fellow brother .I will proudly ride the bus before i ever own a 1990-2009 dodge truck .. The new ones are steeping it up but still... high sticker cheap trucks .Its sad when u replace the transmission more then the headlight bulbs

My wife worked in a dealership where they sold GMC, Dodge, and Jeep. The vehicle that made them the most money was the Dodge. The prices ranged in the $30 G to $40 G range and you could pretty much guarantee that they would have the vehicle back at the dealership within a few month's to do repairs. If not on the turbo, it was on the engine from being burned up from having to use the low sulfur diesel or the transmission was going out. They had a few problems with the GMC but no where like the problems from Dodge.
IMO '90-'09 Dodge was way over priced and way over rated.