Used Truck Buying Guide. What To Do, and What Not To Do! 

How to buy a truck the Taylor Ray way: -Buy truck on 24" wheels because it looks good -proceed to discover that it isn't in the greatest shape and don't trust it -sell truck on 24" and replace it with 3 other trucks

Damn. All those silverado's are priced reasonably. For some reason where I live everyone that owns a Silverado seems to think it's worth $15,000 with 300,000 miles and rusted out. Its ridiculous.

Just another tip: NEVER buy a pickup if the owner has put "Truck Nutz" on it.

Hate that I will end up with a Facebook account simply to access marketplace. Been holding out but Craigslist is just so bad now.

Not having items in the vehicle isn't always a red flag. Some are nest freaks and some just want a good picture. I would remove personal items from view to take a picture. A jacket over the seat could be normal or covering damage. Taking a friend that knows vehicles is a great idea. You need someone who will pick the vehicle apart. If you don't have someone like that available, take someone that likes to talk. Let them talk up the owner while you pick it apart. Research prices and coming problems for that vehicle before going. Look at the body panels at different angles to look for inconsistencies in the paint. Paint should look pretty much the same all the way around for the most part. Look in the wheel wells, inside the doors, under truck and hood and along the trim for overspray or hard paint lines from repainting. If the milage is really low but the rubber is wore off the pedals, worn steering wheel and wreaked drivers seat, something might not be right. The amount of wear should match the milage for the most part. Put down all of the windows, turn on the heat, ac, wipers, stereo (make sure the speakers are not blown), basically anything that matters to you that will cost you later. If it doesn't work but everything is good, you can make your offer based on that. Always remember that all vehicles break. Even new ones. Chances are even higher with a used vehicle. So look at everything you can so you know your costs up front. Then make sure you still have some money set aside for the things you can't easily inspect.

The driver rear door looks like it has been replaced

You can never go wrong with a Chevy truck! I’ve owned ford and dodge and Chevy has never left me stranded!

Peep me in the back at the end🙈

The section about checking the seller on FB was good. I was looking at a set of rims once and checking the seller feed I saw her asking for advice on repairing rims.. Good info overall thanks.

Let’s get started on the dually. Can’t wait for that content. Love your vids!!!!

Great vid bud, definitely going to think about all of this on my next on-line vehicle purchase. 🍻

a very useful tip to buyers that lives in cold areas, a lot of sellers put fender flares to hide wheel well rust.

Good vid. Always appreciate seeing people take care of others. Market place is king and an addiction.

I bought one too ( 2000 z71 4x4) Stock with a lot of maintenance done and cats where replaced! Daily driving everyday and even took it to the beach :) passed the one month test!

Check the Dot on the tires to see how old they are, 1 for safety, 2 for negotiation, and 3 it can possibly tell you how much the care was cared for and or how much the car was driven through out the years

I see you with the obs, I will definitely reference this when I eventually look for a truck.

You provided some good information on what to look for in the adds. Thanks. Hope your girlfriend is still enjoying her truck.

Wanted to add something when I heard what he said at 15:25. There are some cars you want to hear start up when they are completely cold. For example: Mazdaspeed3's around 100k-ish miles need to have the VVT's swapped (very involved, not for the faint of heart), the only way you can tell if the VVT is bad is if you hear the rattle on a cold start. If the car has been started and driven around you may never notice (without pulling the valve cover), if you ask the seller not to start the car and they do prior to you arriving, walk away. Something to keep in mind, always know the common issues with car you are trying to buy

Make sure you always use every feature on the truck/car when you are test driving it to make sure everything is in working condition, and start the vehicle up at least twice. If you don't, any cleared engine codes will not show up on the first start up right after clearing them. It takes 2 engine cycles for the engine ECU to recognize a problem, unless something really bad is happening. This happened when buying my 2006 sti, I had to bring it back to the dealer and complain so they would put a new catalytic converter into it for me cause after buying it the engine light came on while on my drive home.

It is very important to have someone who knows cars and what to look for if you don't have the knowledge your self! That's kind of my opinion! I love your videos and keep up the good work @Taylor Ray

Look at the color of panels very closely! Mix matched doors or fenders is a good chance of a wreck

I spent a year looking for my LBZ so I know this process all too well. Looks like you found a solid truck that should last a long time.

I bring a scan tool with me when I go used car shopping. And don’t forget to make sure it has a clear and clean title!!!!

+1000 on not letting your emotions get the better of you. I made that mistake and let my excitement better my judgement and waaaay overpaid for a car that looked clean but ended up having major rust issues and an engine on its way out. Got lucky and was able to get rid of it without completely losing my ass. Won't let that happen again

Missed a lot of videos recently but I really enjoyed this one ☝️

Tip for you Taylor. Always take a good look at the paint, it will tell you all. Past damage, repainted, or even body panels being changed.

Love these types of videos man

♨️ Thank you for this video it quality information. I'm going to buy my truck tomorrow & this will help me .

Not a bad find. I busted out laughing when Taylor nit picked that teenie tiny amount of rust under the hood. That truck is what we call rust free, mint condition in Pennsylvania lol and it would be priced twice as much.

I cant begin to say how much this helps

Nice truck and Happy New Year!!!

Having coolant, oil jugs etc. isn't always bad. I maintain my cars and make sure they're always good on things. I have those in my cars for a just in case something happens. I also have a floor jack in each one of them with at least one jack stand. I'm just making sure if something happens while driving I can try and fix it or to a point to get home. I even get rid of the spare and trade it for another oem true to size wheel and tire for if I get a flat I'm not on the wheel barrel wheel. Just saying that doesn't mean it's bad.

Good video. I agree with most of what you said. I’ve flipped a lot of cars and even had a car dealership for a few years. I just hate selling cars, lol

Thank you for this. helped me buy my first truck

Thank you good video and awesome info

Just one thing keep an eye out for paint discrepancies as they may reveal a hidden story that may not have been marked on a car fax. The Metamerism is way off on a few different body panels on the new truck you just bought. It’s definitely been painted in some areas. Obviously that truck is clean but it’s definitely something to look for. I learned about metamerism when I worked at a body shop and now I can’t unsee color differences 🤣 it’s a blessing and a curse for sure

Taylor you can purchase a brand new truck strait from the dealer and it be as bad as a truck with 200,000 miles on it that has been abused by a quarry. it is always a gamble.

Grandpa gold is the best colour. It hides dirt the best meaning in the summer (or in your case all year round) you can push the washes to every 2 weeks instead of weekly

Very nice truck for Chrissy! Got a nice tip for you guys; treat your rubber trims with 303 Aerospace Protectant, 3 times a year. They will last forever, trust me. My 26yo rubber trims on the 325i vert are still oke, thanks to the 303!!! Dutch regards, Nico

Congrats on that awesome truck Crissy. Hey Taylor I love that green truck I do wish it was an extra cab. 2wd big block such a keeper.

Whenever you start negotiating, point out the flaws in the vehicle if the owner doesn't want to budge on the price. If not on to the next one

Yo man just found out that we are kinda related. Your grandma Anne is my great aunt. Respond and we can talk more about it.

No BS I just picked one of these up same color to use a daily/fishing truck.

Nice 4.8 ext cab silverado good find

Facebook marketplace is the king these days for sure. It is easy to see why though as everyone is on facebook and on it everyday so it is quick and easy to look for a vehicle. Then when you message the seller (Yes, many people prefer to message rather than call) you can see if and when they have read your message and also they will be on facebook everyday just like you so chances are they will reply quick. A lot of people put up their exact location too so this saves time also asking where exactly they are etc. I recently bought a motorcycle that I found on facebook marketplace and it was so quick and easy to organise to meet the guy and buy the bike. Now I look on marketplace every day even when I am not looking to buy. I like to browse.

I like the 99-02 Silverados. I would put a Z71 Tahoe or Suburban front bumper on it.

Fantastic information I LOVE you taylor ray

Bring a person that knows about trucks and cars to look under the hood, under the chasis, check A/C and Heat Check the title and check ID, see if match, see if oil spot under the car, check the hoses make sure they arefirm, the belts shouldn't be crack or tiny cracks, Check oil before taken the truck for a run and check it again when return after cooling.

You want a truck that someone didn't use as a truck. Plenty to pick from these days.

Don't forget to drive it before you buy it. getting it to run through all the gears can tell you a lot about the condition of the truck.

Also think of the context of where the vehicle is coming from I work out in sand mines I do carry tools and jumper cables for anything that could happen in the middle of nowhere.

I had my vehicle on OfferUp for 4 weeks, got a ton of low balls. Put it on craigslist, sold in 5 days for asking. Craigslist is the place to buy and sell private vehicles. I sell PC's and other stuff on offerup and marketplace with better success.

Some words are key, "There is nothing wrong with this car" is something they have confidence in. "I know of nothing wrong" can mean that they "don't know" about some issue.

a little tip bud... buy a big roll of stainless brake line and all the fittings ur gonna need to redo the whole truck... those are well known to rust right through the brake lines and fail right when u need them (ask me how i know)... just better off to put her on the lift and do it now and keep an eye on the plastic trim and seal around the back window the plastic gets brittle and the seals start leaking and u wont even notice and im sure u already know about the wheel speed sensor problems those style of gm trucks have... if u hit the brake and the abs kicks on for no reason and u almost rear end someone just pull the abs fuse until u can replace the all in one bearing and speed sensor theyre pretty cheap to fix if ur doin it urself

I bought a 02 1500 4*4 that's a ranger boat ed power everything heated leather ext cab 4 door 5.3 I've tried to find one on line not to buy just to get the origin story no luck

So I carry coolant, oil, jumper cables and even an actual jack and ratchet in my car because I've stopped to help people that needed that stuff.

If while test drive the engine lite comes up, stop the nearest O'Reilly auto parts and the would help by using the Diagnosis to show what cause the engine lite comes up. And there is no charge, at all

Needed this thanks man I’m looking for a truck like obs specially stepside and I just can’t find a good platform to look em up here in michigan

Truck shopping was frustrating for me. I refuse to use Facebook for anything, so most of my searching was Craigslist. And because I specifically wanted a mid-size pickup with 4wd and (preferably) a manual transmission, that limited my options. In addition, things of that nature tend to sell REALLY quick around here, as in listing removed by the Lister within hours. I ended up having to concede on the mileage, but what I ended up with was still very well maintained by the previous owner. Definitely need to replace the rear leaves since I don't carry heavy loads though, haha.

Dude! You NEED to get your merch back up and running....even if it's just the Garage Built t shirt and key tags. Do it!

Hey Taylor, how about a quick video on the status/experience on Chrissy's truck..? Miles, oil changes, any repairs, etc.

You can cat eye swap it just need a cat eye front clip it all bolts up to a round eye

Yeah I seen some trucks on Facebook some look like they are modded but also look good I’m interested in owning a 1999 to 2006 Chevy or GMC but if the truck is well cleaned and maintained I will buy it.

That thing looks brand new compared to the rust on Canadian trucks. I'm jealous

Forgot to mention if one headlights clearer than the other indicator has been replaced same thing with body molding etc. If a window has tent and other one doesn't or if there's a body stripe that offender doesn't have.

Trucks currently cost more because gas prices are low enough. For people to daily trucks. If gas goes up by say a dollar. Cars that get better fuel mileage will once again be king.

I inherited my grandfather's 2001 ford ranger after my mom past away and been fixing since. Plans to diesel , LS or maybe eco boost maybe lol rather have s10.

Was the driver rear door replaced? Or was the trim replaced?

On that year and newer chevy/gmc trucks I always look for broken exhaust manifold bolts.they are notorious for this and to someone that can’t fix that kind of issue on there own it could be a pricey fix right off the bat haveing a shop remove those out of the heads.

I would worry about under those fender covers they are black and would've came the same color of the truck almost. My guess is they are covering something maybe some surface rust

Found a CUCV that someone didn't list correctly and was gonna buy it, was a decent price but still sold fast. Was only listed for an hour haha.

how much odometre reading is good like there are car and trucks with 200000 miles. how to determine the health of the engine how long it can last or what is good to buy car according to KM

This is great , informative....also market place you can see the person selling the vehicle, there personal page to weed out the crazy people , thanks for the red flags. You can tell by there posts if they are nuts.

one of the first videos i watched on ur channel was u and marco looking at g35's and dude was trying to scam yous

I'm fairly new to sales and have literally NO CLUE what people are asking for when it refers to the specs on a truck. I can't seem to find a single video online explaining this and need help ASAP. What's the best place to study for the next time this happens?

I had this I bought a Subaru Justy and while looking through Facebook groups for parts found a video of it being driven up a river 😅

Sometimes the add is only in a local area buy and sell group so look through those also

Hey taylor, if it's possible can you look into possibly doing a coil over conversion on the green truck? I've been curious about it but I'm still on the fense.

I'm trying to find a 90s single cab short bed/side step silverado but folks be pricing them ultra high with rust and 300k miles or so

Do you mind me asking what you ended up giving for it?

You should delete or paint the trim on the doors to match. It would drive me nuts to leave it with different colored trim.

can you find me a rust free well running chevy ? the salt here in Canada had destroyed them all lol

last time Ive seen that body style on the road in Ontario was probably 5+ years ago. The rust you see in this video would have surfaced in the first winter in Canada

Truck buying tip. Buy a crap bucket with a good frame and title then buy a wreck with all the new good bits you want and build a new truck that suits the purpose, you will have a sorted vehicle for a fraction of the cost of what a stealer will sell you a crap bucket that’s been prettied up for sale. And if you want it for business forget warranty.

Toyota trucks keep their value amazing for my clean 1998 Tacoma I use not so much for daily anymore but on the weekends and going to the deer lease it's manual has 298k miles just did a clutch job and changed a throwout bearing as well very easy and I'm not even that mechanically talented I turbo charged the Tacoma about 50k miles ago still running hard running on about 7 psi it's crazy that thing if you wanted to buy the same truck you're still going to pay around 5K even with that many miles

You should definitely take that trim off the sides of the truck for her make it look a bit better since they don't match each other at all

What kind of deal did you get? Mileage?

is it just me or is the trim on the drivers door and box a different color ?

Lol your scared of rust. I live in the salt belt... anything older than 2019 has rust up here. Its the “almost fully rotted” that i worry about. Miss my Florida cars though.

Me: wow I wish I had that Friend: that truck? Me: no a girlfriend 🥺

A lot of times they put fender flares on the wheel wells to hide the rust.

Somethings up those molding on driver side rear door look new hmmm

Do you try to stay under a certain mileage ?

Pause @ 14:52 screenshot it and zoom in. They oversprayed and didn't mask properly along the bottom of the door seam. Why noth just take them off? They've obviously replaced the drivers jumper door. Looks like they forgot to do the 2nd and 3rd pass before topcoat on the rocker after working it. it's a shade or 2 lighter and and it looks like plug welds on the underside. I'd put money on that being the reason for the good looking seals, they're newer because of the repaint.

What's with the trim moldings being different colors? Rear door been replaced????

Looks good 💪🏾

the only thing i talk to the owner about is what i find wrong with it and I'm looking for things wrong with it,I will buy vehicles with things wrong as long as I know I can fix them and get it cheap enough to make it worth my time.you don't need 4 wheel drive in Florida?they were out faster and have more parts to break.

What about buying a vehicle that had multiple previous owners, should that be a red flag?

Man I've been waiting for a Taylor vid, this and speed academy is the only thing on youtube worth watching.

I bought a 2003 chevy 1500 regular cab short bed with a v6 manual and only 20k miles. deal of a lifetime