Pricing for a nice 2005-2006 DC 2wd

A newbie and an old fart here. I'm looking to get rid of my Frontier and the 1st generation Tundra seems to tick all the right boxes. Just need more space and a little more towing capacity to occasionally tow my old BMWs around. The newer Tundras are just too big and too expensive. I've done my research and know about the timing belts, frame and air injection pump. Anything else I'm missing?

It seems the pricing for nice low mileage 2005-2005 DC 2wd (up to 130k miles) in Northern California/Nevada are $15-$18k. There is one SR5 for $16k, 93k miles with a camper shell an upgraded wheels (265x70x17 with black aftermarket wheels) and timing belt done at 32k (weird). I don't really need or like either but seems like this is the best deal. Another SR5 with 102k miles is $17k, timing belt history unknown. Yet another 2005 Limited, cloth seats, Off Road package (I like this with the upgraded suspension) with 131k miles (I think timing belt is done) is $16k. I think you get the picture.

When the mileage goes up (150-200k+ miles) the prices don't seem to drop that much. $12-$14k?

So what do you think is proper pricing?

Also, can you tell me about the air injection pump bypass kits? Worthwhile?

 

I've been window-shopping 2005-2005 double cabs for the past 2-years. Your prices sound a 'little high' from what I've seen in So Cal. I realize those are 'asking' prices, and some will negotiate down further than others. Those prices also sound like KBB prices, as in, the owners went on-line and clicked on the 'price my vehicle' tab, and hit every option and chose 'excellent condition'. PFFFTTT . . . I think KBB is garbage, but lots of sellers use it to establish a 'baseline' asking price. I think $12-$13K is an average selling price for a clean 100K 2005-2006 Double Cab . . . still a bit high IMO, but people are getting it right now around here. If you can find one from the original owner with around 120K or less, plus maintenance records and the interior/ exterior is in really good shape, I'd jump on it . . . even if you had to pay an extra $1K or so. The value of a clean one compared to the price of new tundras, let alone used tacomas is a no-brainer to me. I missed out on a 2006 Darrel Waltrip Double Cab last year for $13.5K. . . it had around 65K miles . . . IMMACULATE always garage kept. I was busy at the time and fumbled around, by the time I called the guy, there was already a buyer driving from Utah to pick it up. It was THAT CLEAN.
I have a neighbor who has a 'garage queen' 2006 Double Cab, I said, 'If you ever wanna sell it let me know" . . . he replied, "I'll never sell that truck"! That was a couple years ago . . . last week he called me and said he's buying a big boat and need a 3/4 ton minimum and wanted to know if I was still interested. HELL YEAH . . . it's got 56K miles on it, Snugtop shell, new tires, shocks, and he just had the timing belt done (because of how old the truck is not because of mileage). He said he was gonna list it for $17K and sit on it cause he has a company vehicle (hence the low mileage). He said "I'll sell it to you for $15K, is said, 'Sold'! He's even having it detailed this week before I pick it up!
I called my buddy and his son is gonna buy my 2003 Tundra Access Cab 2wd V6 for $7K with 176K miles on it. It's in killer shape as well, with an ARE shell, paint clear coat is still perfect, interior is in excellent shape, I did timing chain/ maintenance/ synthetic oil etc..
So yeah, long winded story . . . but if you find a good one, just jump on it. You won't regret it.

 

Still sparse listings in the local Schmeggslisss since the hmmm hmmm was sent over here. Used to be quite a few Soccer Mom Sequoias and a regular amount of Tundras breezing through the pages. Barely anything now. I say lets continue to print fake money and deem our debt no longer non-negotiable.

Watch our trucks value go through the roof.

 

Is California its really hard to say right now. Its such a sellers market and trucks aren't appearing for sale as often as in the past. What we have been aware of in recent years just isn't what the market values are today.

 

Funny you mention KBB because when you look at Autotrader, these trucks are a bit over the "fair market range" or "private party range" in pricing. So what you're telling me from the buying perspective is KBB isn't far off with market values.

Both 2006 SR5s are two owner trucks. The 2005 Limited Off Road is a one owner. It seems the ones under 150k will sell at $13 to $15k if the timing belt is not an issue.

 

Yeah . . . I guess so. As others have mentioned here, there are not as many up for sale nowadays, I guess w/ everything going on. Just a guesstimate from browsing CL & Auto Trader, I'd say there averages at least 50% fewer Tundras up for sale, and even fewer of the good ones than before this mess started.
I'm FAR from an expert on these trucks, but from my observations/experience, unless they were obviously neglected, or abused, they are a very dependable platform and stay pretty solid with age. My buddy I work with has a 2006 DC, and he has ABUSED that thing and it still rides nice, no squeaks, or rattles etc. He pulls a pretty large dump trailer, and often fills it with, dirt, gravel, DG, etc. probably pushing the max capacity of the truck. The transmission started acting up . . . and it was just a solenoid that was making it miss-shift . . . he's got 250K miles on it of abusive behavior and it's still solid. . . that tells me a lot.

 

"If it's not love then its the bomb that will keep us together"

 

An update. Went to the dealership (125 miles away) to see the 2006 SR5 and the 2005 Limited. It didn't go so well. The 2006 SR5 with 102k had quite a few scratches on the paint all over the body. Not worth $17k. The 2005 Limited with 131k appeared to be nicer. Good interior and body with one small dent. Then we went to drive it. The car had a vibration on braking. Not sure if it is the ball joints or brakes. Anyways I told the salesman I wasn't comfortable with it because of the vibration. He goes inside and gets the "manager" (another young guy). He tells me they're all that way. I said no, I drove my friend's 2004 Sequoia and it didn't have this problem. Then he tells me Tundras and Sequoias are different. I give him this look like WTF and said "uh, no they're not". So they bring out the big gun (the owner). He shows me the inspection they did on the truck. I said I don't really care what the inspection says, the front end vibrates while braking! Luckily, it was past 4pm and their mechanics were done for the day. So he's going to have the truck looked at Monday.

The other thing I noticed about the truck is there a little clink (not quite a clunk) sound under the truck when I let up on the gas. Not sure if maybe the U-joints are getting worn, something in the driveline, or it's the transmission.

I really wanted to like the 2005 Limited, but I couldn't get past the vibration during braking. Besides the fact they couldn't verify if the timing belt was done. The engine is really nice and smooth, definitely more pickup than my friend's 2004 Sequoia. That Sequoia is a 4x4, but the extra gear and extra horsepower are noticeable (plus lower weight).

 

The first gen is known for having front brake issues. My rotors were constantly warping. It's very likely just that, put on new rotors/pads and vibrations are gone.

 

My rotors do that too . . . especially downhill.
Not sure what to say about the other 'clinking' sound.
And a timing belt replacement isn't 'that' big of a deal, except for the cost.
Maybe they'll be able to come down on the price to offset the cost of repairs somewhat.

 

A 2005 has updated calipers, there is no excuse for vibration under braking with an asking price of 17k. My 04 brakes smooth front and back at 280k, and the rear drums are still original. I doubt I could get 7k for it. For 17k I would not like to have to rebuild a front caliper or dig in to the rear drum.

Even an 02 with the small calipers, should brake smooth. It just warps the disks faster, and has slower response, no vibes allowed when selling for $6k over market.

 

Great, that’s your experience.

My experience with my brand new 06 double cab was that it would develop vibration on the front brakes after about 30000 miles. I never tried to figure it out, I just rolled with it and when I replaced the brakes I also replaced the rotors. I know I wasn’t alone.

Nowhere in my post did I speak to the price or attempt to validate the price.

 

Why not just have the rotors turned ? . . . seems cheaper than throwing a new set on every 30K miles.

 

PAC NW is hard, I know this for sure, I saw these Gen1 going for 20-25% higher than national average back when I was looking. But I dunno about NorCal and whether it's close enough to be impacted.

Just for a price-point, I bought my loaded '06 access cab in the SE USA with all the right options, Limited, V8, 4x4, leather, LSD and towing package, around 65k miles on it, fully serviced over the years, zero rust because it stayed in Birmingham AL most of its life. Two-owner truck where it was a 'business' truck the first owner of 60kish miles, all he did was drive it to the bank he worked at and back, and the 2nd owner added on the extra couple K miles before trading in on a turd gen.

Dealership had it listed for $15.9k, I think, when I found it on TrueCar. I traded in an 8yo 30k mile Camry hybrid that'd already been in two wrecks and repaired. One wreck was $1k away from being totaled due to frame damage after I got hit by a very well known hip hop artist who carried a notably horrible bad driving record while sitting at a stoplight. He was driving a new pickup he bought in cash the night before and hadn't told his insurance company about yet, that was fun, thankful we have USAA, I had a check in-hand with a rental the very next day.

Before hunting for my Gen1, 3rd party appraisal put the Camry valued at $7.5k private sale, so maybe $6k trade-in value? I handed over $5.5k cash plus my trade-in after tax tag title etc. They tried getting me to cough up $2k more - which would've been fair! - but I had records showing all wreck repairs were done by Toyota techs w/OEM parts, then pointed out the many small things wrong with the truck they didn't care to fix, the insanely chalky paint, bolster tear on driver leather, tiny dent and corroded scratch on the rear cab corner, missing tag light and a few other small bits. Mechanically great.

Pics of my truck as it sat on the back of the dealership lot are visible via link in my signature. I'm guessing a similar truck with better paint could sell for $15-17k range anywhere outside the rust belt due to lack of corrosion, low miles, 4x4, V8, etc. I'd be hard pressed personally to pay more than what I did, though. I'm lucky they wanted a quick sale and managed to milk north of 10k on my trade-in, I don't regret my purchase price one bit. I'd just had a lucky sale on other stuff I dabble with and thus had cash on-hand to make a compelling cash sale argument.

Other than the price, stop worrying about the SAI pump. If yours happens to go south, just get a bypass kit. No big deal. Bypass install is a snap, don't need to do any major surgery. A good video on YouTube has been linked here several times.

 

I have looked at the NW and the prices do seem to be higher there. I'm a little worried about rust too, though a quick look under the body will solve that.

The range seems to be $13k to $15k for a nice Double Cab RWD. Still looking at the one owner 2005 Limited. I'll find out Monday if the dealership wants to play.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=562225045&zip=89431&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=89431&city=Sparks&startYear=2005&maxMileage=150000&incremental=all&endYear=2006&modelCodeList=TUNDRA&makeCodeList=TOYOTA&driveGroup=RWD&listingTypes=USED&bodyStyleSubtypeCodes=FULLSIZE_CREW%2BCOMPACT_CREW%2CFULLSIZE_EXTEND%2BCOMPACT_EXTEND&sortBy=distanceASC&location=%5Bobject+Object%5D&maxPrice=20000&state=NV&engineCodes=8CLDR&firstRecord=0&marketExtension=off&searchRadius=500&isNewSearch=false&listingTypes=USED&startYear=2005&numRecords=25&maxPrice=20000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2006&modelCodeList=TUNDRA&makeCodeList=TOYOTA&searchRadius=500&makeCode1=TOYOTA&modelCode1=TUNDRA&clickType=listing

IMHO, turning the rotors is a temporary solution, if the turned rotor is subjected to hard use, it will warp again. One should only turn rotors once if that. With old BMWs, the brand of the rotor makes a difference, some are more likely to warp than others. Not sure if that's the same with Toyota.

 

You may also want to add a couple sites to your search and setup alerts once you drill down to the style you're hunting:

truecar.com
cargurus.com
cars.com

Just note if you select the cab, about 25% of dealerships don't list the cab correctly. But most have the VIN listed and you can run the VIN here to get a full listing of features, info, ported and factory options: https://www.toyota.com/owners/my-vehicle/vehicle-specification

This is ultimately how I found my truck. I was in no rush and it probably took a year to get as close as I could to the ideal truck, checked off nearly every box for me.

 

That VIN lookup is gold! Thanks Shifty!!!

 

LOL . . . agreed . . .but nothing compared to Tacoma's.
Sooooo glad I just scored a super clean one with low miles.

 

Thats true, that's how I decided to buy a Tundra. Long ago I was on the market for an 03-04 Tacoma but they were over double the price of the 03 Tundra that I bought.

 

That one looks clean. Hope things work out . . . they've gotta be somewhat negotiable.

 

Not anymore. Every story (lately) I’ve heard is take or leave it. I think our 1st Gens will start climbing in price and eventually overtake the overpriced bucktoothed Taco as goofy millennials start realizing the V8 pow wa!

 

I'm pretty sure the two Tundras on their lot have been there about a month and a half. The white one they reduced $700 last week. They sold a gray one with just under 100k they were asking $16k. The salesman I spoke with told me the ones they sell fastest are the 4wd ones that are already lifted. Fortunately I'm not looking for that.

 

This is good news.

 

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/d/rancho-cordova-2006-toyota-tundra/7222174836.html

Some ticky tacky issues but worth a look. $10,500 112k.

 

I broke the passenger side door handle off of my '06 in the same way when yanking the door closed from the driver's seat. I think it was around $150 to buy an OEM replacement new.

 

Thanks for the lead. I'm going to drive 3 hours again tomorrow, I think this is the one. $13k, 179k miles. Talked to the owner, very nice person. Answered all my questions. Good test drive will seal the deal. I've even scheduled Carvana to go to his address to pick up my old truck. I'm done with the used car dealerships!!!



-Bilstein leveling kit installed March 2019 -Leer Camper with side windows installed January 2017 $1,600 -Sony XAV-AX1000 with back up camera and steering wheel controls installed march 2019 -New led headlights installed April 2020 -driveshaft U-joints replaced August 2020 -New front tires August 2020 -Custom removable camper carpet kit -Water pump and timing belt replaced at 160k -Sunroof -Clean Title -2 owners -179k miles -rear wheel drive -Maintenance has been kept up on schedule. -Very Reliable! - Drives great, feels great and is very practical. -Towing package. -14-17mpg

P.S. There's a chance I may sell the camper shell so if someone wants a gray Leer shell at a good price and is willing to come to Reno and help take it off they can take it with them...