I'm about to buy my first tundra..

I literally just subscribed to the forum to get an educated opinion on buying a tundra.. I'm looking at two trucks for light towing and daily use as a work vehicle but also a personal vehicle as well.

Here are the two options I'm looking at..

2002 with the 5vzfe, 150k miles for $6500

2002 2uzfe with 130k for $10k

Both trucks are 4x2. The 6 is more of a beater farm truck with 2 owners, the 8 belongs to the original owner with maintenance receipts and is in great condition.

Should I pursue?

EDIT: I ended up purchasing the 3.4 for $4800

 

They both sound terribly expensive, especially for 2wd. I'd probably keep looking.

 

I've been looking for a solid 2 months and this is the best I've been able to find now-a-days at least.. I'm in central florida.. Not sure if that changes anything.

 

What if I could get the 2uz for 8k?

 

Where they were owned before is a huge deal. If the two owner truck was ever in the rust belt, I'd pass.

 

The v8 sounds promising. That price doesn’t scare me off. I paid more for my ‘05 2wd Tacoma and I feel no regret.

 

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I thought 10k for a well maintained v8 sounds promising as well.. Fat stacks of cash can be pretty convincing.. 8k sounds like a steal.. especially here in central florida.

 

The well maintained clean 8 cyl trk with one owner is the deal. Prices are only going up and when the economy starts relaxing is unknown. Trks aren't cheap around here in FL. If it has a good reputation like these, one will be forced to pay. Gave 6 grand in 2018 for the 2002 4 wheel drive outside. It had 110,000 miles on it, but was clean. The guy asked if it would be flipped for quick cash. He would only sell it to someone that would keep it. Had to travel to central FL for the trk. The few 1st gen tundra's for sale in S FL were to much and reason for going to central FL. The FJ Cruisers are sill rare to find and cost more than their worth. But those trks look good.

Good luck. Send a pic or two if you buy it.

 

Welcome from NY.
Good luck with your decision.

 

Welcome

 

This is a good deal as described, considering what clean used cars and trucks are selling for currently. The one caveat is, there is no frame rust. Check that out thoroughly, best done on a lift if the seller is willing. Cheers.

 

I guess I am shocked the market is that high. If it is relatively rust free and well maintained, it should go to 300k miles without issue.

They are great trucks, both engines are pretty bullet proof too.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Good luck with your search and decisions. . .

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

The v8 with 1 owner was snatched up last night for $9500. I ended up purchasing the 3.4 for $4800.
It needs valve cover gasket and seals and oil pan needs resealed. It also needs tires and could use new wheels. All of the fluids looked good plus,
oil pressure and temp checked out and starts right up with no suspicious knocking or ticking. New timing belt, water pump, and thermostat.
Absolutely no rust to frame or body and barely any surface rust which is pretty typical for vehicles that have spent their life in central Florida.
I drove it for about 20 minutes. Hopped on the highway. Got it up to 85 with no problems, shifted smoothly. It has a slight pull to the right.

Few things I raised my eyebrow about.
The center console had some loose bolts and wiring plugs that were cut. No idea what was cut or where they go.
Old man told me that his grandson just tightens the valve cover bolts to get it to stop leaking so I'm not sure if more extensive damage was done but I took the chance on it.
DIY paint job.. but I've seen worse.

I have a 98 4runner with the 3.4 5vz fe 275k miles strong. If I can get another 100k out of this truck I'll be a happy guy.

 

Show us pics of the cut wiring. We can potentially tell you what it was.

 

This is all I've been able to find so far, there could be a mess behind the dash. The stereo makes a high pitched buzzing sound when turned on directly at the head unit.

 

Not fully sure what this is... maybe they had a light bar installed at one point?

Note sure on this one. The half-moon shaped connector doesn't look familiar to me.

One or more of these looks like lighting receptacles. The square box with pins looks like a relay. Maybe more lighting hacks from the previous owner?

Those are RCA jacks with a single amp turn-on lead, and the likely source of your buzzing. Previous owner likely didn't unwire things he should've before selling. Typical Florida BS. I hope they at least pulled the power wire, and/or had it fused from the battery and removed the fuse. Holy crap!

You should really pull the door sills, lift up the carpet and see what he had tucked under there, pull it all out. A lot of guys will run the amp power wire separate from the RCAs, like, power down the center of the vehicle and RCAs down the door sills. You should be able to lift the carpet enough to check w/o removing the driver seat.

My guess is, if they pulled this out that sloppily they probably:

• Had aftermarket amplifier stuffed in the under-rear-driver-seat storage.
• Possibly you'll find the end of the power wire via that compartment, towards center of the vehicle.
• RCA cables probably follow the door sill, through the lower dash below the steering wheel, then into the back of the radio (or to a converter)
• The OEM radio wires are potentially cut/hacked, they may've run new speaker wires into the door if so

As a former FL resident, who worked at an audio/tint shop in my younger years down there, I've seen all kinds of garbage install stuff like this.

 

I'm going to pull it apart and see what's going under there when I get the time. I've got gaskets on the way and then I'm working out the electrical issues. I'll take pictures of anything I might be unsure of.

 

Totally, tag me when you get to the stereo part of it. Happy to give advice. Seeing how bad the spaghetti is behind the dash will really outline how you need to proceed.

 

Same here. I've done a few 1st gen radios. Don't mind to lend a hand.

@JimenEazy that looks like a Scosche brand wiring kit usually sold at Walmart. Actually not a bad kit. As shifty` said you may want to make sure the power wire isn't still hooked up with a fuse intact as that could cause an issue/fire. Should be a large fuse holder near the battery. Snap a pic of your battery terminals.

 

Just start clean with a new radio. I can send connectors if you need. Simple 10 and 6 in these trucks. Happy to make pigtails if needed.

 

Thanks guys I'm looking forward to getting this squared away. Realized I have a coolant leak on a few hoses. I'll probably just replace all of the heater hoses and probably order a new radiator. Any suggestion on radiators for stock tundra daily driver? Not doing any performance upgrades other than tires and brakes.. and possibly suspension but nothing crazy.

I'm an absolute noob when it comes to anything electrical on cars.. replacing a fuse is probably the extent of my knowledge. I'd like to replace speakers in door panels, possibly mount addition speakers in back of cab and install a box with 8s. The more I drive the truck the more issues I'm finding.. Horn doesn't work which makes me weary of the airbag not working as well. The cargo lamp turns on whenever I open the door and remains on, I have to manually turn it off every time I shut off the truck. The overhead lights don't turn on whenever the doors are open.. I know that's not easily diagnosed over forum without more information, just some of the problems I'm going to work out. If you have any instructional wiring diagrams or tutorials that could help me whenever I get started on this please send them my way!

 

Maybe for a siren from an alarm system? If it had a aftermarket stereo system like that it wouldn’t surprise me if they put an aftermarket alarm in too.

 

Seeing this- do you see a horn present? Perhaps this was for the factory horn…

 

As of matter of fact.. You might be right. I'll have to put a meter on it tomorrow and test that!

 

Welcome and greetings from Minnesota. Nice looking truck, congrats.

 

Thank you. And yeah it's better than my 2.4 ecotech!

 

Just glanced at mine, I have one of the two factory horns mounted in that location, the other being on the opposite side of the radiator basically.

 

horns usually in front. cargo staying on might be door trigger / sensor. I did a mishimoto aluminum radiator but cheaper OEM if you just want plastic, these trucks need a new one there. Starter is worth checking, I have my OG if you wanna try to rebuild but Florida is way far to ship, probably can find something closer. Work one piece at a time and iterate. Every problem is totally solvable but sounds like you've got a few things to do. I'm about a year into my own rehab, it takes time.