2000 Tundra Limited buying advice

Hey there! I'm looking to buy my first ever 1st Gen Tundra and I've found a 2000 Tundra Limited with 233,000 for just shy of $7k. The carfax is clean (1 owner, great maintenance record- timing belt changed every 100k). The frame also looks awesome (i think...). I've read on here that these trucks can last forever so I'm just looking for advice/wisdom on if this would be a good purchase. I'm just concerned about the age and mileage.

Thanks for any input!

 

The frame has been recently sprayed.

That is why everything looks nice and black. I usually view this as a red flag. I always wonder what are they trying to hide and will I be able to find it.

You need to inspect closer.

 

Age and mileage don't matter as much as maintenance...and I'm a BIG fan of 1 owner vehicles when buying old vehicles for obvious reasons. That frame looks like it's been coated with something....which is probably a good thing since it's one owner, but sometimes those protective coatings can hide frame rot that started before it was coated. I would just inspect the entire frame very carefully to make sure the latter is not the case. Where was it owned for the first 20 years?

 

Thanks for the sharp eyes. It did look coated to me as well. I'll have to take a closer look.

It spent it's life up in Connecticut.. so potentially dealing with cold, snowy winters.

 

The frame has the bubblys. Recent spray job over bubbles looks freshly done for sale. Good thing is we don’t see holes in the frame like a recent posters friends truck.

Take some pics from under (you lay under center of truck and take a pic inside the C portion of frame just in front of rear wheels. Also, snap a shot looking down boxed frame just behind front tires. Those are the gnar gnar areas.

 

New England trucks are the worst.

 

Be much more worried about the salt. The frame looks like it had rust issues and you can see where it's flaking even after the coating. I'd be really careful of that. These trucks are almost indestructible, but the frames are very susceptible to salt and rust. I'd find somebody very good at rust and have them inspect thoroughly. I can't overstate how bad rust can be a problem on these tucks.

Also, unless you're in California, the price is too high.