Possible purchase of 2006 Tundra limited with 210000 miles

I'm thinking of buying a used Tundra, limited, auto, 4x4, 4.7 liter v8, 2006, with a little over 200,000 miles on it. The description and pics look like it's been well maintained; clean title, no accidents, 2nd owner. This vehicle is in the Pacific northwest. He is asking $9000. I'm a little concerned about the high miles.

Here's what I was going to ask;

Non-smoker vehicle?
All maintenance records?
When was timing belt and water pump replaced?

Are there any other questions you would ask the owner if you were buying it?

 

Rust is the big question. At that price, it would need to be absolutely impeccable with zero rust and all maintenance records. Look around the bolts holding the bed to the frame, it will be a good indicator of the rust below. Must be at a dealership because in "good condition"that would be a $6500 truck around here thru a private sale.

 

Sounds like you have the right questions in mind. Don't just take their word for it, if you can avoid it. If you get the VIN you can put it in Toyota's website and see any maintenance that was done at a Toyota dealership.

Beyond that, make sure you spend some time under the vehicle checking the frame for rust.

It it an access cab or double cab? The price seems to be what a DC would go for. AC's are a little cheaper.

 

From the pictures, it looks like DC. I will definitely check for rust, but out here, we don't salt the roads, so I'm not as concerned about it as the mechanical stuff.

 

Already said but rust, rust and rust would be my top 3 things to look at. Then get under there and look for oil leaks. Check for consistent body panel gaps (could indicate an accident).

Can't speak to price.

 

Have we mentioned rust?

 

Good advice already given.

I paid $5700 almost 2 years ago for a well-maintained but not clean, no rust, 2nd owner, California, 2002 AC. If it had cost more, I probably would have kept looking. But I’m happy with it and would do it over again.

 

Sounds like rust is a big deal. I understand. What about maintenance? As long as the timing belt was replaced, there's nothing else major?

 

Not sure if it’s been mentioned strongly enough.

CHECK FOR RUST

 

At 200,000 miles you're probably nearing the end of the lifespan for most suspension components. A lot of people over look these and only replace when something fails. 200k miles doesn't scare me if the owner can prove maintenance has been done. These trucks are known to run forever.

Some folks debate this, but I would want to see that the transmission has been serviced a few times. That's just me though.

 

Front end rebuild and all the various other errata that goes with older 1st Gen shtuff.

Really depends on how and where it was maintained. Goofy stealers don’t do some things or the prior owner didn’t want to pay for it. At 20 years old the 1st Gen is usually solid if the rust hasn’t gotten it. The 4.7L is build for 3rd Wurrld Conditions so a little abuse on the engine is handled well. Not sure if anyone mentioned rust so maybe check that.

Stick around here and we’ll spend all your money for you and maybe I can give you an engine feather dusting lesson.

 

Front end rebuild often needed.

Make sure 4WD actuator works.

Need for new radiator common.

SAS likely to need attention.

 

I can't believe nobody has mentioned check for rust...

But seriously grab the VIN and see what Toyota has done for maintenance.
https://www.toyota.com/owners/my-vehicle/service-history

Also look around the rear diff cover for oil leaks. Common issue, the rear diff rust and starts bleeding through.

 

RUST...

and rear axle seal leaks

 

Rust.

 

Make sure it doesn't have el cheapo lower ball joints. Always use oem. Check cv boots. Timing belt and... you guessed it, rust. Everything else is fine. 315k on my 00 and not a single issue.

 

I'm actually looking at a 06 dc limited 4x4 with 297k and I must say it's probably the cleanest one I've ever laid eyes on. Doesn't look like anyone ever sat on the leather. It's in central California and I can't see any rust, im trying to get the dealer to send me pics of everything under the truck. They're asking 9900 but I'll try to talk them down. I'll have to fly there and drive it home. I just don't want to waste my time if they seem like they don't want to send me all the info I've asked for. At first they acted like they could accommodate but then they acted like I was asking too much. I mean this truck is immaculate. Not a single scratch. They said timing belt and pump had been done. Thoughts? I'm dead serious about getting it. My wife has a new platinum sequoia And I have a 00 ac but I need a truck to haul the whole family and I want to stick with the first gen.

 

Be careful. Plenty of youtubes out there with people that have taken immaculate care of their trucks, yet suffer the rust issue with under chassis.

No reason why they can’t send pics of the under chassis unless they are playing games. If they are serious, they’ll send you pics. You want pics from laying under and looking into the c-frame and all the cross members tie ins to the side frame. None of these lazy side angle pics from a squat position.

 

Transmission:
-does he tow with it? how often, where, etc....
-ever been serviced?

(Make lots of turns with many many stop and go's during your multiple test drives)

 

@Professional Hand Model yea the salesman that I'm talking to said he was would get me some pics Monday. Originally their in house shop had scheduled for the truck to get put on a lift and take all kinds of pics for me but he never messaged me when they were supposed to so I called and he said it got bumped off the list and they weren't going to do it for me. No explanation at all so it worried me that they were trying to hide something. I made sure to tell the salesman it wasn't nothing for me to fly back home empty handed if it wasn't what it was made to look like. I told him I wanted to see the rear spare tire area and cross members. But the mod list I have will replace almost everything else that moves. Not gonna cheap out on this one at all. But I just want to start with an ultra clean first gen dc. I like gray or red and it needs to be limited with beige leather interior. Miles don't matter as long as it's taken care of.

 

If it helps,

I bought my 04 dc with 280k for $5,500.

original owner. Ran the Carfax and saw that it was dealer maintained.
That’s what sold me.

 

Yea I looked up the vin on my Toyota account and pulled the service records and it doesn't look like he used them for every oil change but he used them for all kinds of other stuff plus a few oil changes here and there. He would get plug changes and new batteries and trans services. He even had power steering and brake fluid replaced. and anything recalled like a air bags etc.

 

I've noticed

Unless you're in the PACNW, I would look in other markets to buy your truck. Back when I was hunting for my truck I noticed several Gen1 Tundras in the PACNW were listed at 10-20% more than anything down here in the south, and sometimes double what they're asking for in the rust belt states. I didn't understand why, with the known frame rot issues I can understand why dry states like SW USA and Cali would fetch a premium on their trucks but PACNW gets plenty of water and some snow to boot. Maybe it's something I'm missing about how popular Toyotas are in the PACNW?

For the truck you're talking about, at 200k miles, that's a premium price unless it's flawless and ample maintenance history. I can't imagine they gave more than $4k-5k at auction or on trade-in. I'd want pics of the frame first and foremost, I'd ask how many owners and if it was ever in an accident. I'd want to see a Carfax - which isn't definitive of accident/loss history - but it's more info to make your decision and most dealers can pull for free. You may find just plugging that truck's VIN into a working Carfax URL from another vehicle posted online will pull up a report if they ran one in the last 30-60 days. Other than that, all the advice you need is up there ^^

 

$9000 seems crazy to me

 

agreed for a 300k mile truck. love my truck, but unless maintained to the T, not a ton of life left there. and thats close to what i paid for an 04 with on 96k on it, 5 years ago.

 

The good/bad is as the inflating cost of new trucks goes up, then so does our used resale value. A reliable older used truck saves on personal property taxes incurred every year, too. The approx $6-7k put back into my truck in 2 years is almost what new taxes over the same time period would cost. In other words, I’m paying to improve my 2002 Tundra versus writing a check on a New Vehicle (just for owning it) to the City ($2k a year).

My third year of ‘Reinvestment’ will have me breaking even just on New Vehicle Tax (my tax strategy started in 2018). An $800 a month New Truck/Insurance Payment is a separate issue not even related to this discussion.

 

Id pass on that price. That is absurd for the miles. Due to the nature of any vehicle anything could go wrong in the near future. Just think about how complex transmissions are and various other things. These 1st gen tundras are no longer being made, but are certainly not rare trucks. Keep your eye out. But if i were you i would also consider buying it cause i have 0 patience for anything lolol

 

I just bought an '04 (in the pic) - 4x4 with 136k miles for $7k. It was owned by a guy that kept all maintenance records. He did tow a Hyperlite 24' trailer a bit. He had all of the front suspension rebuilt last year. There isn't a single rust spot on it (but given where he lives in central California it is no surprise. I looked pretty long and hard before I found it. I don't think I got hosed but you guys may tell me different.

 

That’s a badass truck and I would have paid that without blinking. Never considered a bed cap until I saw yours

 

Great deal. Great. Better deal than me!