Why should I buy a '09 Tacoma?

yikes, as long as he's happy with it. maybe he'll have withdrawals and trade in the Fit for the Taco eventually when he realizes it's useless.

 

Okay...There still may be hope... I had to work my way from the bottom up...(more like the depths of hell of micro cars...) And finally got him to take some test drives today.

Our first stop was Nissan where he wanted to test drive the Versa. He said it had good mileage and was cheap with the $3000 cash back bonuses. On the test drive I kept pointing out the weaker 1.8L the Versa used in comparison to Toyota's 9th Gen Rolla's 1ZZ-FE 1.8L engines. The Versa lagged badly from a stop to highway speeds and struggled for life on medium grade inclines... The body roll was horrific as each corner prompted the entire chassis to roll and result in drastic understeer. The Versa rocked in the crosswinds as we drove on the small stretch of highway we were allowed on.

Result: Versa=No Go


Next up was the Frontier.

We went for the 5 Spd manual, Frontier King Cab XE with no AC. There was little room in the King cab for the salesman so he hopped in the bed as we took the same route. On a muggy Maui day of about 90 degrees, the hot air blowing from the vents made an already uncomfortable ride...even worse. The roll up windows were loosely fitted as we tried to get some fresh air in the cabin. The shifter seemed very loose in gear and felt...cheap. The thin plastic found in the Versa was plentiful in the Frontier as well. At the end of the test drive, I was fairly pleased as I was able to get out of that horrid truck.

Result: Frontier=That's a big negative...10-16

Finally, we ended up at the Toyota dealership. (conveniently located across the street from the Nissan dealership) The salesman gladly showed us the Tacoma Access and Standard cab trucks. There was a 4 spd auto Access cab and 4 spd auto Standard cab. There was also a 5 spd manual Access cab. We took the 5 spd for the test drive. The gearbox felt "Tonka-tough" and resulted in crisp, clean shifts. The Taco had a noticeably stronger engine as well as a more torque-y 1st and 2nd gear. The ride was smooth and quiet while solid and sticky to the road. I had the nerve to ask the Toyota salesman what sets the Tacoma apart from the Frontier and he replied quickly with, "The Nissan Frontier is a decent truck that is rated similarly with the Tacoma...But where after 2 years the Frontier will feel worn, the Tacoma will still feel new."

That couldn't have summed it up any better...

Result: Tacoma= Serious consideration if the Regular cab with a/c (MTX) is offered under $17,600.00.

I think the odds look pretty good that we'll get a basic Taco with decent options. The 2.7L I4 was adequate enough for our basic utilitarian, non-offroading needs. It would compliment our tree hugger (Prius), eco-car (Corolla S), and my compact sport (Mazda3 w/intake-catback exhaust).

I was actually even more impressed with the quality and ride of the most basic of Tacos... I honestly wasn't expecting much from a non-prerunner Tacoma, but instead was treated with a solid truck with the name to back it up.


Hold on guys... I think there is still hope... And yeah, Maui has about 80% Tacomas on the road when it comes to Class 1 (small to midsize) trucks...

 

well good luck man!! get it!!

 

It's a truck, Want leg room. Buy a four runner.

 

double cab resale value will be better. And you can always move the seat back

 

We're not looking to sell this truck once we buy it. We're the type that will run and repair the vehicle until the cost outweighs the practicality. And with a family that has everyone out of the house, he won't need a truck with 4 seats.

 

I know what your going through, I just purchased a Tacoma PreRunner SR5. Sorry, I wish I could give you reference web sites, but I found the cost to run the Tacoma was 51 cent a mile, compared to 71 cents for the Frontier. Comparing the two was close race. The Tacoma has a little bit larger engine 2.7 compared to 2.5, yet the Tacoma gets better gas mileage. The only thing I liked better with the Frontier was that it had rear disc brakes, and the Tacoma has drum, however believe it or not there is an advantage to the drum, more parking brake surface for safer parking on a hill, however I still would like the disc. Next is SAFETY, the Tacoma has a better safety package, with side air bags that are standard, and the STAR system (check that out). Tacoma offers much more options and goodies, where the Frontier is really limited. Tacoma has better resale, and this isn't really that important, however to some it's everything, the Tacoma is just better looking, and the PreRunner will give you a better truck feel. I just got back Asia, and believe me they believe in the Toyota. When it comes to cost, I hope you can take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers, and also if you buy this year there is a tax credit on your income tax. Take it from me I have done a lot of research here on the web, and the Taco is KING hands down, no more discussion---I wish you luck. Oh yeah, one last thing you said he didn't want to pay more than 20K, you can get all the bells and whistles within 18K.

 

Fly a few of us out to Maui for a week or two; we can talk him into it. That's a great little, basic pick-up. If you guys are the type to hold on to things for a time, the Toyota should be a no brainer. If you really want it, get someone to dump 300 lbs of horse crap in your yard. "Dang Dad, if we only had a pick-up..."

 

Haha, thanks guys for all the help. In regards to the price, our Toyota dealership on the island adds about a $3000 mark-up to the MSRP... And all of the additional upgrades are significantly inflated as well.

As for the truck, it looks like he's going with the Regular cab...the step now is to look for dealerships on the main island of Oahu to look for better deals. We haven't purchased a single Toyota from the dealership on our island...and with good reason. The salesman was very objective about people coming to their dealership to test drive cars and buy off-island. My dad responded with, "I've tried to buy from you guys but you never give me the price I want. The outer-island dealerships give me the price I want so I buy from them. Believe me, I want to buy from you guys, but you just can't match the price I want". He persistently asked my dad to give him a chance.

Yep...I'll keep you guys updated. Again, thanks!

 

Yes, keep us posted. Although it is the perfect time to buy, but you are the boss and it is your money......you should be treated with the utmost respect. However my best advise is KNOW the vehicle you want, you will come to learn and be surprised just how much they the Sales People DON"T know.
The good thing is a Tacoma can sell itself. Wishing you and your Dad the best of luck.

 

Alrighty folks! We went in to the dealership today to take another test drive in the Regular cab, Pyrite Mica color.

They only had two manual transmission trucks in the Regular cab and both were in Pyrite Mica. After the predictable drive, we sat down with the salesman and he told us that he understands that we know the game. He promised us the lowest price in the state and presented us with $15,700.00 for a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 4x2 2.7L I4 Regular cab in manual transmission. The package included A/C, locking rear divider window and 15" styled steel wheels. He also threw in those high rubber bladed floormats and the T-shaped track ties for free.

My dad pushed him to lower it to $15,500.00 and we had a deal. We're also bringing in our clunker Previa for a total of $4,500.00 trade-in value with the gov't clunker bill, plus $6,000.00 from the sale of one of our older cars a few weeks ago. Bringing our grand total for the Regular cab to roughly about $5,000.00 for a brand new 2009 Tacoma Regular Cab.

All that's left is to bring in the clunker and sign over the papers and the truck is ours. I'd expect to have it in our driveway by Thursday or Friday of next week. I'll take the first pictures with my Nikon D40 dSLR...

Thanks guys! All of the advice paid off. Mahalo.

--ihonzawa

 

sweet man!

 

Congrats on the purchase!

 

CONGRATS! Itried a std. cab and 2 access cabs, 1 the v6 I was 50/50 for the v6 or the std with the 4cyl.... i bought the standard and no regrets.

 

Sounds like a real good deal, esp for on the island. Congrats

 

Just when I thought things were final, we have yet another change. We went back...again...the next day and managed to negotiate a 2009 Tacoma Regular Cab in Automatic transmission with the same features as our last quoted truck. The dealer markup for the ATX was about $1200 and we got the final price to $16,500.00 before taxes.

Before:
$15,500 for MTX

After:
$16,500 for ATX

So, the truck we are picking up on Thursday will be a 2009 Toyota Tacoma Regular Cab Silver Streak Mica in ATX.

Yep, this is final guys. Papers have been signed and insurance set for the new truck. Whew...

 

Latest update... THE CLUNKER BILL RAN OUT OF MONEY.

Yep, in 4 short days, the American public managed to grab 1 BILLION dollars worth of rebates... Hopefully the Senate will vote in favor of the additional 2 billion proposed for this cash for clunkers deal...

Our deal has been signed and we are waiting for the dealership to let us bring in our Previa... Here are some pictures of the clunker...
































Previa, you have served us well...

 

I believe you may still be able to receive your credit as the news stated that all purchases up to tomm should be processed. They stopped the program based on perceived volume so you should be ok... Best of luck!

Rob

 

Yep, we are hoping so... Although you know how Maui Toyota can be... They are waiting until they have that $3500 from the govt in their hand before giving us the truck...

 

Okayyy... It has been a while since I've updated here... Apparently, Maui Toyota is holding our truck until they receive the $3,500 reimbursement from the government. This however, is in violation of the terms of the Car Allowance Rebate System. The CARS.gov site has specified as follows.



We don't know what to do since we've been waiting over 2 weeks now and our truck is just sitting in the lot... We don't want to use the van in fear that it could break down and we'd lose the eligibility to trade it in...