Looking for a tacoma...

I'm looking for a Tacoma extra cab or 4 door. Where should I begin my search? I don't know much about the different models but Im looking for the following:

Cost, we are hoping to spend under 6k.
It's a DDer for my girlfriend (about 300 miles a week for work so good mpg, aka no 4x4, and she "needs" an auto).
Room for our 2 dogs in the back (a Husky and a Lab).
And motocross bike hauler (both short and long trips for racing/camping trips).

So any help in figureing out what years/models/options would be the best to look for would be great. Also, what kind of miles do the different engines get out of them before the need to be rebuilt?

Any info would be great as I'm a car guy, this will be my first truck (besides my 83 toyota 4x4 pu that was stolen while being rebuilt!). I never even go to drive it.

Thanks guys!

Tyler

 

imho:

4x4 won't affect/effect mpg too much...you'll be glad your gf has it if she needs it;
Reads like (I read it like) she'll need a long bed -- 2nd Gen's probably your best bet there, if you're considering a DC; but,
At/about $6k...dunno.

Engines are bulletproof -- 6 or 4 should be good (though the 4 may be a little underpowered depending on how she drives/what she's driving through).

Good luck, and welcome!

 

You might have to buy back your '83 to get something under 6K

 

id suggest a 98-00 ext cab because you will have a longer bed, 4x4 won't affect gas mileage but it will make it a bit more expensive and 6k is the right price range.

 

x2

Most Toyota's hold thier value pretty well. My 06 was $16k with 85k miles on it, that was like 4 months ago. So, for under 6k you'll pretty much have to find an early 1st gen Taco.

And if you get a 1st gen it'll possibly have the 3.4 V-6 which will last forever as long as the timing belt has been done at the correct mileage intervals.

 

What's "forever"? I've seen plenty of first gens with 120k miles for 4-6k on Craigslist but it just seems like a lot of miles for motors I know nothing about.

 

tacomas won't stop running honestly, rarely will you find a thread on here that talks about an engine dying. These trucks can easily go for 250k miles

 

Hate to contridict all you guys, but 4x4 does drop the MPG some. Not a whole lot but enough that if it's only going to see city streets and a dirt road every now and then, you won't need it.

Craigs list is the best bet for now I would think, but maybe autotrader.

 

finding a tacoma will be hard for the price range you are looking for. i found my 01 double cab prerunner for around 9k. the 4x4 double cab i couldn't find for under 11k with reasonable miles. keep looking, good luck!

 

you can have mine for 10k as is, all the goodies

 

Yea first gen is your best bet. I'd set aside some cash to perform all major maintenance items when you get it just to ensure it'll last a long long long time. The 3.4L is pretty indestructible, even supercharged. I've heard a lot of good feedback on the 4banger too, and you'd get some better millage there. I only really know about the second gens though as it's all I've personally owned.

Also note, pre 95 it's just "toyota pickup" not tacoma. Hitting the 6k goal might be a bit hard... but even if you do spend over you can have the peace of mind that your chances are about 40x higher than getting a competitors rig (say ranger, s-10, ect) and it'll cost you a hell of a lot less on maintenance and repairs. The bit more upfront is worth the admission imho.

 

Well then what should I look for when I go looking at them if I went and looked at one with say 100-120k miles?

What should I think about replacing if I picked one up with over 100k miles? And when does the T belt need to be changed and how much does that usualy run (again I know nothing about the Tacoma engines)? Also are Toyota parts more expensive than it's US counterparts? I know I have a 96 Mitsu 3000GT (used to dd it back years ago, now it's a project) and my 07 Mustang, and the Ford parts are WAY cheaper than the Mitsu ones.

 

my buddy just sold his 2000 extra cab with 130k miles for 5700. but yeah most trucks 10+ years old are going to have 100k+ miles

 

Forever means "lots" of miles. I had an 89 4Runner with the 22re I4 motor, it had 316,000 miles on it when I finally sold it and upgraded to a newer Toyota. And all those miles were on the original motor, all I ever did to the motor was replace the timing chain once at 220k and of course change the oil regularly. My dad owns an 89 4Runner with the 3.0 V-6 and his has about 289,000 miles on it, but he's had to replace the heads on it 2 times due to burnt valves (which is common to those motors), but really 289,000 miles is alot of miles for a veh that is over 20 years old.

 

Ok so tomorrow I have an appointment to go and take a look at the following:

1999 Toyota Tacoma Truck Short Extended Cab

Bodystyle2 door Truck Short Extended Cab Engine3.4L V-6cyl TransmissionAutomatic Mileage
79,477
$6,887 is the price on it at a dealership.

Does it sound like a decent price? And do you think they might go down a bit if I tried? Haha.

 

buy mine.

 

thats a great price with that kind of mileage, all dealers will go down on prices so im sure you could get them to go down to maybe 6200. post some pics of it if you have any, is it 2wd 4wd?

 

It's just 2wd which is all I really needed to be honest. I have a YZ450F to play in the desert with after all! I don't have any pics or even know the color as they said they just got it in and it's going through the inspection stage. I'll be able to take a look and test drive tomorrow but wouldn't be able to take it home until Monday.

Let me ask you guys, how hard/expensive is it to lift to the trd package height? I don't know what it has but I don't like the look of them when they are low. Also, if it doesn't have cruise control can I add that and again how much?

Thanks guys!

Tyler

 

try something like this
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/1848615748.html

for that price, you more than likely will have high miles

 

Well...I went to the "appt" to look at the truck, and the truck had been sold, and the person I was supposed to meet was gone. So, I was angry to say the least. It's one thing to sell the truck, I understand that but not to call me and let me know not to drive 45 minutes to look at...nothing? So we both left upset but decided to take a look at a bunch more dealerships while we were out.

Our last stop of the day was Avondale Toyota, as nothing else had paned out thus far. They had 2 trucks that we liked. A Tacoma ext cab and a Red 01 Ranger 4x4 Supercab V6 4.0 with a tow package, plastic bed liner, and the whole flooring is rubber matted (no carpet). I'm sorry to say (since I'm on a Tacoma forum) we ended up buying the Ranger. I liked the Tacoma (not so much the price) but she liked the Ranger ($4k less) and she's the one that's going to be paying for it/driving it so what's a guy to do?

I haven't been on here long enough to know, but will I be out casted like somebody with the plague if I continue to post on this forum? I'm not sure if the AZ meets/forum are "open" to a Ranger once in a while haha.

Lastly if you would be so kind, do any of you know some good places to research Camper shells? I'd like to be able to go camping and take the dogs and just don't know much about the things. Also do any of you guys ride dirtbikes in here?

Tyler