Friend selling his wrecked taco. Good deal or no?

[dentedvw]

My friend had his 1st gen taco TRD rammed in an intersection. I tried to convince him to let me buy it from insurance, because I was looking for a project at the time. It's now winter, and I don't have a proper shop or even driveway space so I am a little less inclined to purchase it at this point. But, I am still tempted, because I remember how fun it was to go on off roading trips with friends. I have a 4x4 van currently, but it is rather utilitarian. I don't join trips because it's a van, and not terrifically capable. And I've damaged it on some trails already, oops. If I had a trail ready vehicle, I wouldn't be so tempted to take the van places it doesn't belong.

I know that it needs a replacement rear axle, and possibly even the cab. I haven't inspected it in person yet, but from the pictures, it appears that the drivers door may not open and close very well any longer.
He contacted me and asked if I was still interested, and offered it to me for 2.5k, which is what the insurance company was going to offer him for it. I told him I'd consider it. At this point, I can't build a trail only vehicle, because I haven't got a place to store a trailer. I don't have a particularly large shop, either. It's an average garage. I could clear it out for vehicle work though. It would get used a lot for runs up and down the mountain by our house, where we paraglide. Would save a lot of wear on our van. And I do kind of miss off roading trips and even just fooling around at 5 mile.
Searching car-part.com turns up axle assemblies for about $900. Fender for about $100. Cab for about $500, if I go that far.
What says the collective?

 

[Kevin B.]

The collective says you need to get with Hans J here on the forum. Dude takes his Synchro places it you'd think it had absolutely no business being.

I think if you're looking for a cheap beater to thrash around, you should look for an older Toyota or an XJ or something. $2500 seems like a lot for a busted 25 year old truck with a salvage title.

 

[Bart]

It doesn't sound like too bad of a deal if you don't mind the work and the commitment to do it right.

 

[dentedvw]

As for doing it right, I would probably only do the minimum to get it on the road, and drive it around. It looks like the frame might be slightly bent, too. I wouldn't be taking it back to 100%. It would not be a looker. It would be a runner, a desert play thing. Wife might drive it to work on really snowy days. We'd drive it up and down the mountain roads near home when paragliding. With the frame slightly bent, I wonder if it would track weird. Might be able to pull it out?

As for my van, I have done plenty of stupid things with it, but even with a 3" lift it's barely off the ground. Nothing is made for this, everything is custom fab. It gets expensive, and it's primarily a weekend trip vehicle, and it was stupid expensive. To get another few inches would be more custom fab and I can't even find anyone that does real custom work with any history of doing said work. Aside from Advanced 4x4, but they've said in order to get the next few inches is another few thousand, to include a different transfer case. But that's another thread. It is a great trip vehicle, and gets farther back than a stock unit does, so that's fine. Would tow a tacoma pretty great, as well. Heh!

 

[Spork]

I'm going to vote with tweak it enough to get the door to open and close, if you just need an axle to get by while you source another I've got a 8.4 with 4.10 gears you can have while you source one with an elocker.

 

[Greg]

I'm going to disgree with Kevin on this one, primarily because that truck (from that pic) doesn't look all that bad, damage-wise, and used trucks (even salvaged titles and especially Toyotas) seem to bring more money than they used to. Plus, if you truly do intend to use it as a beater/wheeling rig you could just keep the body as is. If it were for fixing up and flipping, I'd say pass because you don't have the space and the price puts you at a point where you likely wouldn't make all that much. But... there is something nice about having a vehicle that's already banged up.

Edit: if the frame is tweaked, you'd be foolish (for a number of reasons) not to straighten it.

x2!

I would suggest getting a rough estimate to get the frame straightened before you commit to buying. The sheetmetal damage is easy to either leave or semi-fix over time. But know what you're getting into before hand, cost wise. I think the $2500 price isn't bad for what it is and the amount of damage. For your needs, that would be a great truck!

 

[comingdown]

Is the 2500 what the insurance was paying? Or is that the buyback? Because he could take the 2500 and then buy it back for 700-900 typically and that's a screaming deal.