1995 Toyota Tacoma super-low mileage survivor

1995 Toyota Tacoma Description

I am selling my 1995 Toyota Tacoma pickup. I’ve owned the truck just over two years and am selling because I have six vehicles and need to scale back. I’m a car nut but I have too much to keep up with.

I found this one in 2015 with only 22,000 original miles. It was hard to believe that a vehicle could have so few miles after 20 years, but the Carfax report, as well as the spotless, as-new condition of the truck backed up the odometer reading. There was literally not one single scratch on the truck anywhere.

Unfortunately I discovered that the only way to keep a vehicle cosmetically perfect, as this one was, is to basically keep it under glass and not use it at all. In other words, it has received a few small scratches during my ownership, because I was actually using it, not keeping it under a cover in a garage all the time. But after all, this isn’t a Ferrari, it’s a Toyota Tacoma. These vehicles were meant to be used and enjoyed.

It’s still extremely nice though, and I have not had one single mechanical problem in the two years I’ve owned the truck. That is, typical Toyota reliability. I’ve put 17,000 trouble-free miles on the truck without one hiccup.

I’ve also done some upgrades. First, to get the maintenance up to date, I had the exterior belts and the timing belt replaced at the local Toyota dealership. I replaced all the fluids with synthetic -- engine, transmission, transfer case and differentials. Then I replaced the original shocks with Bilsteins. They should be good for the life of the truck.

I also replaced the wheels and tires. (The original wheels/tires are also pristine and are included if the buyer wants them.) The original rims are identical to the ones on the truck now, but in a 15” version, rather than 16”. Tire selection in 15” tires is getting pretty slim nowadays, plus the larger rims look better on the truck. I bought Michelin tires to go on the new rims, in a size to keep the outside diameter and tread width approximately the same as the original specs. These tires ride much better than the General all-terrain tires that were on the truck, even though those too were nearly brand new when I got it. So the combination of the shock upgrade and the new Michelins really transformed the ride, making it much, much smoother and more comfortable on the road. The truck has very sporty, tight handling and feels very nimble, and now has a decent highway ride as well.

Of course this truck is highly capable off-road too. I’ve driven it off road a few times, but only very light use — nothing like the truck could potentially do. I never wanted to beat on such a nice truck. The capability is there though; with its short wheelbase, compact body, off-road suspension, oversize tires, etc. right from the factory, this truck is pretty much a Jeep Wrangler with a pickup bed.

There is ample power output from the 3.4 liter V6 engine, and the five-speed manual transmission shifts perfectly. The A/C blows cold and the heat hot. In short, the truck is a pleasure to drive.

The frame/chassis are also very clean; no rust, no leaks, etc. No rust on the body except for one small spot of surface rust along the inner bottom edge of the tailgate.

Also, in the pictures there are some "stripes" visible inside the bed. Those are just strips of Velcro, where a previous owner had used carpet padding to line the inner walls of the bed. They really went to great lengths to try to preserve the body of the truck. I just never removed the tape.

Finally, for those who like tonneau covers, this truck had a nice color-matched tonneau cover installed by a previous owner, and it too is in excellent condition. Tonneau covers aren’t really my thing — my car already has a trunk, so I mostly kept the tonneau cover off while I owned the truck. I recently reinstalled it for purposes of selling.

In summary, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a nicer or lower-mileage example of the first-generation Toyota Tacoma. It needs nothing. These are truly some of the most reliable vehicles ever made, and at this mileage, this one is quite literally just getting broken in.

This is a straight auction, no buy-it-now. I do have a reserve set on the auction, but I would prefer not to disclose it. Please feel free to ask any other questions and thanks for looking.

On Jul-16-17 at 19:07:45 PDT, seller added the following information:

I forgot to mention this, but there are no odors in the interior -- this is a non-smoking truck and I feel sure it always has been. This is extremely important to me when looking at a car for sale. I can't stand that "smoked-in" smell and it's an immediate deal-breaker for me, as it is very difficult to remove that odor. So if you're particular about that like I am, you will have no concerns here.

On Jul-18-17 at 18:07:04 PDT, seller added the following information:

I added a couple of shots of the undercarriage. Looks like my wash job could have been a little more thorough, but as you can see, there is no rust.
Also, there is still more that I forgot to mention about the truck. 1995 was the debut model of the Tacoma, which was actually introduced as a mid-year model (1995.5). Even though the federal mandate for OBD-II didn't kick in until model year 1996 for U.S. vehicles, the Tacoma was already compliant. This is a nice bonus for troubleshooting, as it allows you to read any trouble codes with the hand-held OBD scanners. I attached a picture of the diagnostic port under the dash.
Finally, I like to have the factory service manuals for my vehicles if possible, and I have the set for this truck too. So I will also include these with the sale. I literally forgot I had these manuals, as I've never had any repair jobs with this truck! They probably won't be needed for a while yet, but it's a nice thing to have just in case.