Oppo, please school me on:

"daender" (daender) 01/17/2019 at 18:15 • Filed to: Toyota, Tacoma, Old

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A 2000 model-year Toyota Tacoma regular cab 4-cylinder 2WD automatic with 252,535 miles.

Yeah...something collided with the front bumper at one point.

The company pops and I work for has an old work truck that’s having battery drain problems (among other small maintenance issues like dead shocks and REALLY FUCKING NEEDING A WASH INSIDE AND OUT ) and it’s going up for sale soon. Assuming I can score this truck for under $2,000, what is there to know about this truck? I’m going to bid $1,800 on it and hope I’m not outbid. Is it higher than KBB for a fair-condition Tacoma of its age and miles, maybe, but I’m willing to pay slightly more because of nostalgic reasons.

Rare, not-rusted original Tacoma frame.

I’m aware of the frame recall for this generation but considering this truck has lived its whole life in low-lands South Carolina where it snows maybe once every few years, and it’s never driven on the road in those events, the frame is remarkably intact and rust-free. Also, I think it’s too late to get the frame recalled since it’s been over 15 years since it’s original purchase.

I’m unsure of it’s life before I joined the company 3 years ago, but since I’ve been here it’s done nothing but shuttle the guard dogs from their pens to the main property at night. It was probably a parts-runner years ago judging by the beating the bed has taken. The interior is nasty but salvageable/replaceable.

My initial goals if I buy this Tacoma is to have it start out as a simple, humble, reliable, economic pickup truck. My future goals is to convert this in a RWD pre-Runner-style pickup truck that can tackle Sand Blast Rally stages. So I’ll either rock the stock 2.4L or swap to a strong V6, couple it up to a manual transmission, give it a factory tachometer, raise it slightly (probably using OEM 4x4 springs), put a locking rear differential in it, give it more off-road-oriented tires, and a roll bar hoop in the bed with KC lights.

...I could buy a better Tacoma to start with but I want to badly modify my company’s truck because I will refuse to remove our company’s old logo from the doors.

Here are some other pictures:

Locking gas cap is neat and appreciated!

Odometer still works! No tach which is disappointing but I’ll find a way to swap clusters!

708,129th Tacoma built and it was assembled in Fremont, CA.

How bad of a purchase is this for $1,800?

Nothing > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:19

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I’d take it in a heartbeat for $1800, I wouldn’t even ask my wife first. Ha.

MM54 > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:19

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Looks good to me, $1800 is a good price

Nibby > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:21

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RIP

vondon302 > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:22

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Buy it.

Signed guy in rust belt

BeaterGT > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:22

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1800 would be my max bid, I'd start lower. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:23

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1800 seems about right, you will still be replacing most of the wear items like shocks, suspension bushings etc.. but for a running driving little truck I’d go for it.

Future next gen S2000 owner > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:29

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You could do all that or you could swap 4x4 parts under it and sell it for like 10K out here in CO.

vicali > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:30

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Looks like a good little 2wd. Your price seems fair.

My only concern is your plan to change it up into a ‘prerunner’. By the time you’ve swapped the engine, transmission, suspension, tires, barwork, bodywork, and everything else, you are probably better off to start with a real white Prerunner and swap doors with the new owner..

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:33

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As other have said, 1800 is fair if not a bit high (I’d go in at 12 00). Just be ready to replace every single consumable item including but not limited to: alternator, hoses, brakes, springs, bushings, tires, and apparently seats.

daender > BeaterGT 01/17/2019 at 18:42

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It’s a blind bidding process, employees submit their bids to purchasing and the highest bid wins.

daender > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 01/17/2019 at 18:46

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It’s a blind bidding process, employees submit their bids to purchasing and the highest bid wins.

I’m fully aware it needs lots of replacement parts, but it’s a pretty basic truck so whatever goes wrong (short of the timing belt ) should be easy to get to. Tires are actually pretty dang new! I’m not too worried about the seats.

daender > vicali 01/17/2019 at 18:47

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And it may not get to that point! Honestly, if I could get 50 % of the BTTF look minus the 4x4, then I’d be a happy owner for life.

daender > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/17/2019 at 18:47

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Noted~!

daender > Nibby 01/17/2019 at 18:48

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This month’s theme for is setting money on fire. I just bought new RE-71Rs for the Miata .

BeaterGT > daender 01/17/2019 at 18:55

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Ah, interesting. Time to start spreading rumors it has a bunch of issues then!

daender > BeaterGT 01/17/2019 at 19:05

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I wish but I shouldn’t.  Also, it wouldn’t deter some of my fellow employees as we have a lot of shade-tree mechanics.

BeaterGT > daender 01/17/2019 at 19:10

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Yeah, I was just kidding. Gotta let us know how it turns out. I’d go with 1500 personally but e ither way you’re hoping someone doesn’t bid 2,000.

Captain of the Enterprise > daender 01/17/2019 at 19:29

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Please clean it if you win cause that’s pretty bad on the inside. 

dogisbadob > daender 01/17/2019 at 19:29

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Good luck!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > daender 01/17/2019 at 19:33

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I drove a green 2000 base Taco RWD automatic for two years for work before I got my current work Taco. AMA.

The bed doesn’t look great, but the interior and everything will clean up with some elbow grease.

Fuel economy is middling. I got 20, 21. It’s slow, but not dangerously so. Throw some weight in the bed if it rains or ices a lot, mine was pretty awful in the rain without weight. I recommend getting fatter tires. I wouldn’t put anything too heavy in the back for long hauls. Maybe move a washer or dryer once a year. Definitely felt much less durable than my ‘80 pickup.

Reliability: steering column and stalks had to be replaced at 215k miles, but it lived a hard life hauling more than it ought to, probably never properly maintained based on the last owner who is a damned chain-smoking hurricane. All I ever did with when I had it was move levels and some metal. Engine burned no oil.

I’d buy it if it ran, drove, and stopped fine. I would not do the build, though.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Nothing 01/17/2019 at 19:39

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Heck,  my wife be happy just because it's an auto.

daender > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/17/2019 at 20:04

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I was eagerly awaiting your response!  It does rain a lot down here, and when it does it’s typically a downpour so I’ll keep in mind to leave some ballast out back.  I’ll keep the steering column and stalks in-mind!  The lady at work who drives it does smoke but I don’t know if she ever smoked inside of it.  Despite her being a near-chain-smoker, she loves dogs too much to smoke while being inside a vehicle with them.

The build is a future dream so there’s a 80% I probably won’ t go through with it . I’m going to source the factory locking rear diff and a cluster with a tach at the very least.

daender > Captain of the Enterprise 01/17/2019 at 20:41

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Oh, it’s gonna be ripped out and cleaned-out!  I’m looking around on Craiglist for suitable bucket seats out of a 4Runner!  Darn thing is that I want to keep the blue interior because blue interiors are awesome...even in boring Toyotas!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > daender 01/17/2019 at 22:56

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With that kind of mileage, I personally would only be willing to pay $1000 for this. 

Dangerous Dave > daender 01/17/2019 at 23:09

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Ok bro, I’ve been a Toyota master tech for 35 years. I’m a Tacoma guy, having owned a supercharged TRD 4x since new in y2k. I’ve replaced a lot of taco frames and have done other recalls on them as well, so let me give a little voice of experience. Not wanting to burst your bubble, but knowledge is power. First of all, that’s one of the old small- framed 2X s with 5-lug wheels. Totally different frame and suspension than 4X, or Prerunner. There was a totally separate recall on those frames for front coilover mounts cracking. Wiring it for a factory locking rear diff will require a bunch of work also. So making this an off -road beast isn’t gonna go quite the way you think. The parasitic draw is small potatoes IMO. If I were a betting man, I’d look for aftermarket alternator or trailer wiring as prime suspects. Not trying to discourage your project, I’d just hate for you to not know what you’re getting into. If you really want to build an off road er, look for a 6-lug framed truck.   Happy trails bubba.

daender > Dangerous Dave 01/17/2019 at 23:12

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Much appreciated for sharing your knowledge ! Well then, I’ll just keep it stock and reliable. T hank you!