Hi everyone,
My scenario is, my mother is going to give me (if I want it) her 2000 Toyota Tacoma 4x4. The engine was replaced with a JDM engine with 30,000 miles in 2015, the transmission is original, best estimates would put it at around 200,000 miles. It has been garaged since 2018. The reasons for being garaged are unclear, as my mother has a form of dementia and is unsure on the details. I have to get a second vehicle coming up fairly soon, my budget for a car payment is extremely tight, about $300 a month, and with my credit, that $300 gets me something with fairly high mileage almost any way I slice it and doesn't include a warranty (at least not on supercritical items).
I'd be going into the Toyota completely blind. Imediately I'll have to pay $1000 to the DMV for back registration. I also have no clue how well my mother kept up on regular maintenance like oil changes, knowing her, very little has been done in terms of maintenance. I would be getting a personal loan for the general repairs in the amount of $7500.
If I go with a used but running truck, as I said above, my budget would be $300 per month max, no warranty. With no real dough left over for repairs, minor or major.
In both cases, I'm not scared of getting my hands dirty and making some repairs on my own, within the limits of my space, time and tools.
Any advice?
Thanks,
Evan
Boy you live in some screwed up stage. You have to pay back registration. It's a vehicle wasn't used. That's ridiculous. But be that as it may they are well made vehicles so I would have to personally look at one to give you an idea of what shape it's in and whether it actually is worth fixing or not. I couldn't do that just without seeing the vehicle
California is very unforgiving with registration issues as I'm sure you're aware of. I'm gonna do more investigating in the next month. I'm gonna buy a new battery, give it an oil change, drain the old gas, and fire it up. I have to buy a code reader too. Is there anything that I should be looking or listening for, given the truck has sat this long? Thank you for the response Scotty, big fan of your channel.
See if you can have a mechanically inclined person to come down and look at the vehicle and tell you if he thinks it's worth it to fix up .those are great trucks
I'm gonna have to. I have to convince the wife that it's worth at least giving it a good college try. The scenario isn't necessarily favorable either way but its a Toyota right? It's worth a deeper dig I think.
Agreed
Yes. Accept this gift from your mom, pay all necessary taxes and transfer fees to make it a clean and clear title. Local and state laws vary- you could buy a temporary tag so you can drive it around for a short time. But you don't have to drive it or even fix it. Tow it to a reputable Toyota mechanic, not necessarily a dealer, pay to have it inspected in detail, and ask what parts and labor it would take to make it street legal and road worthy. It may be worth keeping and tagging to drive yourself. I think it would be worth about $5000 or more as is- without doing anything to it. Toyota trucks have a reputation of longevity and durability. It wouldn't take long to find someone to take it off your hands for a fair price if you ultimately decide to do so.
