2003 Toyota Tacoma Buying Advice

[0xera]

Strongly considering purchasing this 2003 tacoma as my first 4x4. It has 145K miles. It will be my primary vehicle, but I only drive a couple times per week to run some errands, and hiking camping in northern California 1-2 times per month. The truck seems to be in good condition, and I asked the seller if I can go check it out in person.

My only concerns are rust, since the truck spent a lot of time in New York and Colorado and whether it was ever inspected/documented under Toyota’s frame replacement campaign.

Assuming the frame looks good, and I budget for a timing belt replacement, what would be a fair price for this?

What should I be looking for if I'm able to see it in person and test drive it?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[0xera]

Some more photos

 

[0xera]

A few more photos

 

[jaewastooshort]

I would think $10k would be a great price for that... I just picked up my '01 crew cab prerunner (2wd) v6 with 142k for $8,500... AISIN timing belt kit ran me about $250, probably spent another $1k on random minor stuff (evap pressure sensor, lower ball joints (preventative), new exterior door handle, window motor/actuator, shifter bushings, steering rack bushings, fluids).

dealer prices seem to be really high on these, but I'd think $10-12k for a 4x4 without major rust issues.

ETA, I missed the link the first time I looked at this and didn't pull it up until now, but the more I was thinking about it (and looking through salvage tacoma auctions) the more I was thinking about coming back to add that I wouldn't be surprised to see this listed closer to $15k... then noticed the link and saw the current bid at 15k with almost an hour left. Not surprising, but way more than I'd be willing to pay unless you were just after that very specific color spec, but I'm apparently cheap. That Tacoma's already bid to more than I paid for my manual 2008 c6 convertible last year by quite a bit, and with considerably more miles on it. I personally don't see the value at that price.