Buying a 3rd gen with minor accident?

[DDeezenuts]

I am returning to my 3rd gen t4r roots. Been hunting for a 99-02 limited 4wd (white or silver). My search criteria are narrow thus not too many options out there especially when you factor in I want a well maintained, accident free, rust free vehicle among other things. I am not willing to compromise on most my criteria but I am noticing that most vehicles have been involved in some kind of accident because they have been on the road for 16+ years. I would not consider any vehicle with moderate or major damage. However, would you all consider buying a t4r that was involved in one prior "minor accident or minor damage reported"? When I say minor damage I am talking cosmetic...maybe paint damage, maybe cracked bumper, or maybe even so little damage that the original bumper did not have to be replaced. Am I being too strict in my "accident free" criteria?

The benefits to an accident free vehicle are obvious but one other benefit I was thinking was that when I go to sell it down the road how many people will be turned off because it was in an minor accident once upon a time?

 

[4eigner]

Sell it??? You lost me...

 

[4eigner]

Previous owner had a mailbox incident with mine. Didn't deter me much; everything was there, everything was straight & the price was right. Didn't buy it to put it in a museum or show room floor. IF I had to sell it, it wouldn't lose the majority of its value as long as anything bad on record was documented well during the fix. Aside from the toyota tax, these things are approaching rock bottom in price anyway. They've already gone through their greatest depreciation. They're still hot item trucks. I challenge you to find a halfway decently priced 99-02 4x4 t4r without a rust issue or major mechanical problems for sale longer than 1 month. Also, consider that over time they will only get more scarce.

You plan on offroading it at all? Minor damage is bound to occur if you take offroading halfway serious.

 

[jeremyc74]

Damage as minor as you're talking about isn't even going to show up on a Carfax in most cases, and especially not if it happened 15 years ago. If there's accident history it was severe enough to exceed the deductible and then some.

A Carfax is a good way to make sure a vehicle hasn't been severely damaged or totaled. When it comes to something like a 3Rd gen it's not nearly as accurate as it would be for something that's 5 years old and just out of warranty. Your best bet is a good inspection.

As far as resale value goes...who cares? If you keep it 3 or 4 years you're going to be selling a 20 year old vehicle. The hit you'll take for minor accident history is going to be a couple of hundred dollars out of the total value, and overall condition will matter much more.

While a 3rd gen may be a very desirable old truck, they sold tens of thousands of them every year for seven years and they run forever. They're not likely to ever be rare.

 

[dallison]

A car hit our rear bumper and another hit the front end. Both times the truck was parked but damage wasn't expensive for their insurance. I don't think it would be an issue to the new buyer.

 

[DDeezenuts]

Thanks all. I have been running auto check and car fax reports on all potential vehicles which is why I ask the question. Most are "minor accident or minor damage reported." For some of the vehicles they still have all the original body panels but were in some kind of minor incident and it shows up on the reports. I have only found one t4r that was accident free but wasn't necessarily what I was looking for

 

[marshall87]

As long as everything checks out I think you should be fine. Going to be pretty tough to find one squeaky clean no accidents. Minor scratches or taps on the bumper wouldn't be a problem for me.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Hard to find any vehicle that's 13-19 years old, 150K+ miles with no accidents or cosmetic issues. That's a long time to go without even a tap on the bumper.