Considering an 05 V6...With High Miles

Recently found a clean title, spotless 2 owner very well maintained 2005 Sport Edition with 280k miles. Absolutely zero rust as it's a AZ truck, no paint fade, looks brand new inside and out. This is the pre-face lift V6 so I'm mostly concerned about Head Gasket issues at 280k miles, but they are asking $6,500.

The first owner owned it until 250k then sold it. Second owner put TRD wheels, new ATs, bilstein lift, tint, and some other creature comforts and drove it for 30k miles. To his knowledge, the headgasket has never been replaced. It does have a CE light for an o2 sensor, which I will verify with scanner during test drive.

How stupid would it be to purchase this for a daily? I've been looking for months for something in my budget and this finally fits. I'm in the rust belt so most here are junked and V8s are hard to come by. I'm very mechanically inclined but I'd rather avoid a potential Head Gasket replacement if that's inevitable... Any insight would be great!

EDIT: Well, the verdict is in. I'll end up passing on this one.

 

Depends on how handy you are, how much money you're willing to toss at it, get it inspected by a professional if you're not up to doing it yourself - you can get a compression test done to see how it's doing. And also see if, to quote some YouTuber, if "someone's been in here!"

Are you set on a 4th gen? If so then you gotta pick from what you got obviously. On a low budget I'd also look at Xterra's or maybe the third-gen Pathfinder too depending on what you're looking for.

 

Funny enough, 4th gen was last on my radar. I was originally looking for a 3rd gen but expanding my search to 500 miles and looking on multiple platforms daily, couldn't find anything reasonable that wasn't rusted or sold before I could meet. I'm at the point now that I need a replacement quick, and this 4th gen is local so it adds to the convenience.

 

Price seems a good starting point for negotiations. But only if runner has good everything: History of all under hood and under vehicle lubes & fluids. Good suspension rubber bushings & boots. No neglected coolant ever-acidic old coolant eats head gaskets.
Perform every exam check and test before purchase.
Still risky for a daily driver due to age and hidden problems.

Just for compairson I sold a well maintained, clean inside & out, 20 year old Honda Pilot 4WD with 240,000 miles for $3500. It was a pre engine VCM year and could run forever.

 

I would consider it but as others have mentioned, get a very detailed inspection done. That 2-300 for the inspection could save you a boatload of money and frustration

 

I 100% get this but don’t let it drive you into buying something you may regret for years to come. I mean that in general, not necessarily the one you asked about.

 

This sounds dumb

20 year plus truck with 280k on the clock with pote tial downtime for a head gasket repair.. like you are putting 6500 expecting another repair.. and trying to consider this as a daily?

Pass please..get something reliable

 

Maintenance history is a huge factor here. If you can't verify it was done on time, I'd personally pass. I found my 4th gen V8 with only 130K on the clock last year for less money with impeccable maintenance, so deals can be found. But sometimes that takes more patience than the time you have available, in which case there may be other vehicles to consider in the same price range.