Hey guys,

I have never purchased a vehicle by auction, but the more I look into my eventual 3.4 swap, the more I want to just purchase an entire truck. Found this website that is kind of an intermediary between copart auctions for the general public. Curious what some of you think about this truck as a donor for my 88 3.0 and what a fair price would be to consider. This seems like an ideal candidate, 98 Tacoma with manual transmission. The only downside is the front is a little smashed but doesnt seem too bad. Also, not sure if this vehicle has an EGR or not, ideally I would like to get one without.

http://www.autobidmaster.com/carfind...SACRAMENTO_CA/

As far as I can tell the fees would be around 250$ + 10% of the final auction price. I can pick up the vehicle as long as it rolls on my trailer.

Thanks for taking a read, really curious of your opinions.

 

looks like a good choice, higher mileage than I would like but getting the complete vehicle is the way to go. No searching for random parts that will nickle and dime you to death.
That front end damage looks very light. If I was in the market i would go up to $1k for it

 

It is definitely on the higher side, but my plan is to do a rebuild on the engine before it goes in. Now that I finally have the rest of the truck in great shape, its time to continue that theme under the hood. Funny how you can get used to always having something to do, and with out it the project loses its thrill. Its not enough to just drive it, if your not working on it, its just not the same. I guess that's why they call it a project.

Thanks for the insight dropzone. By the way, just spent the last two hours catching up on your recently departed Trekker, fun read. Cant wait to see whats up with the 4Runner.

 

The 3.4 has several changes from year to year and trying to combine parts from different years can be a head ache if you dont know all the differences. That seems like a great price for the truck in my opinion.

 

How can I tell if this motor has an EGR system on it? Getting very conflicting results as I try to search more about this. Since I will be getting this registered in California, I would love to not have to deal with the EGR.

 

What's it going to cost you in total? I see a quick $1200 part out minimum after you pull the engine and related components you are going to need. I bought an 88 4Runner off a guy without the engine, front seats and fenders for $150 a few years ago just to have spare stuff for my 89 model. I have sold $400 worth of parts from it for way less than market value just to help folks out and I still have 80% of it. I'd go up to around $1200 on it and try to get every bit of that back in a part-out deal.

It may not have an EGR. Some of the T100s had them and I think some of the California models had them. At least up to 96 models. I'm starting to doubt it will have one.

 

With the serial number, the dealer ought to be able to tell if EGR, or not.

 

So your saying just call up a local dealer with the vin and ask them about the egr on that truck?

As for the auction process, looks like the vehicle will go up for auction in about a week. I calculated out the fees, everyone needs their cut i guess.. Pretty expensive process but at the right price it still could work.

If I win the bid at $1,000, the total comes out to $1,683. That will probably be my max. Considering I can make some of that back off parts, and the added benefit of this being a more ideal swap candidate for California reasons I feel that is an ok price in the end. Going to go check it out the day before the auction and get a better idea of what might all be missing if anything.

 

Just curious if you ended up buying from Copart what your opinion was? I'm looking into doing the swap myself and Copart seems like a good option for the reasons discussed here, but I've never bought a car at auction (or done an engine swap) so I'm wary of any "gotchas".