have a craigslist search setup to where any Toyota 4X4 between 1992 and 2002 for less than $3000 shoots me an email when they are posted

maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks I'll get a hit of something thats worth looking at. Mostly 4runners,. Tonight I had an email waiting for me when I got home. Read the ad, sounded like the guy knew what he was talking about

1995 4x4 extended cab pickup. 160K miles, $1700. right off the bat he talks about no rust on the frame and has two pictures of the frame, then he has 22re engine in his meta-tags, so I call him up, he says its his daily driver, doesn't need anything, Its about an hour away, I tell I'm on my way, swing by the bank and grab some cash and head out

when I get there as soon as I pull in I notice the V6 badge on the front (which looking at the pictures again now that I'm back home, I notice) , then I get out. By the time I get to the truck the owner is already out there to meet me, starts selling me on it.

I crawl underneath it and the main frame beam - whatever its called - I reach up to it and it literally crumbles in my hand. Thing has rust eaten thru it everywhere.

I wanted to give him a blast of schit but you know - buyer beware, its craigslist and tearing into him wasn't going to change anything and just make my night longer.

So this night is shot. Took the cash, put it in an envelope and tucked it in the gun safe for the next waste of my time ad. I guess I just needed to vent a bit for wasting my whole night.

Freaking craigslist man. It is frustrating. Good deals are to be had on stuff but you put up with a rash of derelict schitt to get them.

Better to find out before you buy.

Tonight I sold my 1996 Jeep Cherokee on Craigslist.

2 parents and their 17 year old daughter drove 2 1/2 hours from Colorado Springs to Loveland to take a 20 year old, $1950 Jeep for a test drive.

I was 100% transparent in my ad, and actually undersold the condition of the jeep. They told me they made that drive because of the clarity and honesty of my ad.

When I picked up on the fact that the 17 year old daughter was "negotiating" her first ever vehicle purchase with her own cash in hand, I dropped the price $300 even though my phone had blown up all day long and I had more folks on the way.

It's not always a trainwreck, and sometimes there are good folks selling honest vehicles to other good folks.

most of my experiences with Craigslist have been positive

Tonight was just an exception. He knew enough about Toyota trucks that if you said the right buzzwords in the ad, your phone would ring off the hook.

I would love to buy a Tacoma quad cab 6cyl 4wd auto. I find that these damn things don't depreciate on the typical curve. Damn things are basically linear. Makes buying one, used, frustrating.

Is that one of the Tacoma recalls that didn't get fixed or scrapped?

Usually if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

LOL...craigslist for sure..

I drove from here in N NV to Sacramento to buy a pontoon boat. It was "cherry". Got there and it was cherry alright...the pits, and they didn't even have a title for the trailer.

I'm sticking closer to home now.

Sorry the truck didn't turn out. There are millions of them, and a good one will drop into your lap in time.

My buddy tried finding a late model Tundra but the used trucks were so high he ended up buying a new base model Tundra 4x4.

I sold a 1993 a couple years ago on CL. For about 3 months, I just got contacted by tire kickers and no lookers. The first looker bought it at my then asking price.I got my money back out of it. That sucks you had to drive an hour to find out the damn frame was rusted out.

After I do the math I find it's better to buy Toyota trucks new.

Last year, I searched the PNW for a couple months looking for a used Toyota pu. A Toyota as you describe would cost $6K and up in Id, Ut, Wa, and Or. After several weeks of checking every resource I could find, I took a weekend and drove from Boise Id to Spokane Wa to purchase a 92 2 wd w/ 4 cyl and manual trans. It does not even have ac, radio, or power steering. And I had to pay more than your target.

Good luck with your search. There may be good money to be made buying used Toyotas in your locale and transporting them out here for resale.
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keep looking you'll find one, took me 6 months, and a three hour drive to find my current Tacoma.
The wait, and drive was worth it for sure.

Man, that sucks.
Pity you guys east of the Mississippi...I couldn't find a spot of rust on my '95 T100 if I got paid to.
You gotta go West for a decent old Toyota. But even out here you gotta search for a nice one mechanically.

Who the heck wants a rusted fame? Trucks are more expensive here because they are worth owning with solid frames and bodies.

On the East coast there are 2000-2006 Tundras with completely rusted frames being sold for parts. And there are hundreds of them.
Worthless junk that would never be seen around here.

I'm always amazed at how many people expect to find Ribeye on the dollar menu...It's fkin Craigslist!!!
If you want a solid vehicle then get to a CarMax. Yeah, your going to pay more...but your also not going to get run over.
My time is worth more than your I guess. Running up and down the road, dealing with idiots. No thanks.

craigslist is the best place i've ever used to buy and sell.no problems at all. scams are usually very obvious.

Craigslist is what it is. Yeah there is junk and gems. I got my KLR from it.

that's what Craigslist is for

Craigslist is good for urban dwellers. I'm happy they enjoy sheit like CL, Costco, Outback etc etc.

CL has worked out pretty well for me and my friends. It is definitely buyer beware though. My rule of thumb is the better the pictures, the further I'm willing to travel.

for those of us in the intermountain west..........heres a good source

http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/3888839?ad_cid=16

Craigslist is great. Sold several cars and other items with no problems.

Bought a few as well.

It's just a classified board. Just like the news paper 40 years ago, but with (usually) pictures.

I've got family along the gulf coast. I think I'm going to have better luck if I start keeping an eye out for a southern Truck.

I often look at cars in eastern TN, by my folks. Almost always better condition and cheaper priced.

Get one out here. We get 4-7 inches precip/year of all kinds...rain and snow. Our cars fade away in the constant sunshine.

1st of all that isn't a 95 it's an earlier one. 95's had the 2.7 liter 4 cyl. mine has 243k on it and needs a clutch when I do that it will still bring $4500 + good luck, there are a lot of hosers out there. MB

I've decided I'm gonna get me a cherry Toronado instead.

With a white top and don't forget the fancy wheels. lol

I sold my old truck in 5 minutes on Craigslist. 30 minutes till i had cash in my hand. Guy called me 5 minutes after I posted the ad said he knew the truck and lived around the block. Showed up paid me money and was gone in a damn half hour. I think I sold it too cheap. My phone blew up for 3 days till i figured out how to take the ad down.

guy texts me back today. Asks me if I'd buy it if he dropped the price $500

Against my better judgement, I told him I would - If I get burned on a $1200 Toyota Pickup, I won't be too mad.

We make arrangements for me to come by tonight at 6:30PM

Then he tells me about 30 minutes before I am leaving that he won't get home until 8.

I tell him I don't want to be out past 10pm tonight (about an hour drive 1 way), lets wait until tomorrow. He gets mad and quits talking to me.

Strange times.

update to this thread.

Found a 1991 DLX 4X4 with 155K miles for $2K, frame in great shape - I couldn't find any rust to be concerned about. I'll need to put another $1K into it for new tires, a rear bumper, exhaust leak repair and some touch up body work.

Its not a daily driver so just for mulch, bicycles, whatever....I think I'll be happy with it.

Damn, seems like a good deal, on a non-rust bucket.

A/C even works on it. Its not rust free, just the frame isn't rusty - I've looked at a handful of them and this wasn't like any of the others. There is some rust around the wheel wells and the bed had a plastic liner in it. I don't have any reason to believe there is noticeable rust underneath but I'm halfway scared to take it off.

rust protection is priority #1 with it.

Is it too good to be true for $2K? I don't know - I guess I'll find out but I drove it home about 22 miles. Other than the brakes being a bit spongy and 70mph seems to be more of a challenge than it should be (never driving one I have no idea) it did fine on the road.

Its a toy, something I'll play around with. If it leaves me stranded, chances are I won't more than 10 miles from the house.

MB, I believe you're right. I think that is a '92 truck. I've got an early '92 and it doesn't have the 3rd brake lite (located on the top of the cab). Not sure if the late '92's had the 3rd lite or not.

Don't see how you can get hurt for $2K. It might turn out to be a better truck than you think.

I had the same truck in a 93 model. It didn't have the 3rd tail light

for $2K you did just fine.........my daily beater 'Yota is a '98...........

Sounds like a great deal.

The diesel version of that in Australia was a SR5 in 2.8 litre, it was a terrific vehicle and well worth owning.

You just had to go there with the diesel thing.
You know we are not allowed to play with those.😂

Hey Duck 911 you sound like a real nice guy. Im sure you have kids of your own I would have done the same thing. god bless you

I went through the nightmare of Craigslist buying last month. I wanted a full size diesel 4x4 under 10g with an extra cab or crew. I was willing to do some work and overlook some bodywork.

I drove 2 hours to look at a cc 7.3 truck that supposedly had all kinds of extras.....to say it was a clapped out roach would be too nice. I passed. The next day I sent a message to another seller with a 97 cummins with everything that I would like and asked if it was beat, and if he will take 5500 cash to call me. I ended up buying a rust free 600hp truck with a 4700.00 reciept for a full billet transmission. I bought it. It's in the shop right now because it had a blown seal for the od. I talked to my transmission guy and he told me it would cost him over 5 grand in parts alone to build the same thing on his bench.....sometimes you win.