To Taco or not to Taco, that is the question?

Same here, could pay cash for one, but just would rather take the 1% loan and put the cash into investments to get 5-7% back. End of the day tally up assets and debts and I'm still in the black, so would rather continue to grow wealth with the investments than just only lose on a depreciating asset like a vehicle.

 

As long as I am ranting.... I am trying to understand the whole rust issue. Are Tacomas inherently more prone to rust than other vehicles? If yes, then why would anyone in a region where rust is a problem buy one? Personally, when I am buying used vehicles I avoid any vehicle from rust prone areas.

 

Regarding having trouble getting in and out of the Titan, is that because it was too cramped for you because you are a large person, or was it too tall, since you are on the small side? Not trying to be a smart ass, but I'm 6'2", and it's a little more cramped getting into my '16 Tacoma compared to my '12 outback I traded in.

You mentioned that you miss a truck, but never listed what you actually need a truck for/or your intended use. Maybe you did in other replies, but I int read through all of the replies.

As far as issues, I think if you have to ask yourself that question, you're probably going to automatically be disappointed. The "issues" most people are having are really not issues, while most of them are just different matters of opinion, or inconveniences that most people could have corrected themselves by not buying the truck instead of complaining. The bigger issues that some are having are, in my opinion, more or less happening to only a small number of vehicles, and being blown way out of proportion by people here. Like the old saying goes (or something like it), have a good experience and you tell one person, have a bad experience, you tell 100 people. People on here love to bitch and moan and complain and tell others "I told you so", because it seems like they have nothing better to do, so most of what you read will probably be negative. Need I remind everyone the 2nd Gens also had people moaning about the shift points on the new truck when it first came out, and that was apparently fixed by a software upgrade. Same thing may happen here with the 3rd Gen's. Maybe it won't. Aside from that, and a FEW other isolated incidents where a few members' vehicles have just flat out quit while driving (where Toyota has fixed ore replaced the truck for these members actually) it really doesn't seem like there's any more issues compared any other car maker who comes out with a first year redesign.

If I were you and I had a wife that would lose her shit if the truck had any sort of issue, major, minor or otherwise, and the fact that the dealership is far away, I'd stay away from the '16 and either go buy a used '15 or earlier, or wait until the '17 or '18 Tacomas come out so all the things people are losing their minds over are worked out.

I have a '16 TRD Sport and have had ZERO issues with mine so far. Seriously. Maybe more is an odd duck or something. I have had no issues with the wobbling hood (yes, I have a Sport with the hood scoop, but also checked the adhesive and mine is fully intact and has not separated), have no wind/noise issues, and just live with the shift points, as I knew it was like that when I bought it because I test drove it. Was fine for me. Others are freaking out over that. I towed 3,000+ miles from Denver to California over mountain passes and used ECT mode and was happy with how the truck performed. I'm only near 5,000 miles, but mo leaks, electrical gremlins, weird things, issues, gripes, warranty issues or concerns so far.

With all that said, I have NEVER bought a first year model of any vehicle in the past, and as added insurance bought the extended warranty (7yrs/100k miles) only because I got a great deal on the warranty from the dealer. It's added insurance in case anything goes wrong with the truck. I figure by the time I reach 7 years or 100k miles Toyota will have worked out the bugs on their end, and if there is anything major, it will be fixed on their dime, and as part of the warranty I get a loaner vehicle. Taking it to and from the dealership if any issues arise is a minor inconvenience I'm willing to put up with. I have no plans to lift, mod, or mess with the truck in any way as far as aftermarket mods that would possibly void the warranty, so, again, no issues there as well.

 

So someone else that is not the "typical market" but willing to pay for the overpriced Tacoma. Glad I'm not alone

 

Inflation is the lowest it's been in a VERY long time. The only thing pushing prices up is creative financing.

 

So, effectively you are saying all vehicles are overpriced because of "creative financing" right? Since creative financing is not limited to Toyota.

 

Absolutely. Longest loan terms in history matched to highest average loan amount.

 

Now I understand. We should all wait to buy a new vehicle until auto financing regulations are changed to limit terms to 48 months.

 

You're right, I used the term incorrectly, the price of goods are increasing, but the inflation rate of currency is currently at a low point. That's an even worse situation though, right? Because the price of what we're buying is going up, but the value of money isn't increasing so it has less purchasing power.

 

You are absolutely right. That is the American way. If you can take advantage of someone.... Do it. Making a fair and reasonable profit is obviously not good enough.

A good part of that is because big business has perfected how to take advantage of the supply and demand. One easy way to do it, if you have a good product, is simply to limit production. You make more money for doing less! Much easier and more profitable than making enough units to meet demand while maintaining a reasonable mark-up. I am not bad mouthing Toyota. They are just doing what is the current accepted, sacred and untouchable economic practice. Someday we need to figure out a better economic model.

 

What a load of crap. There is no more competitive market than cars and trucks. If you think Toyota is overpriced buy something else. Or if you think they have some kind of monopoly buy Toyota stock.

 

That's great and all, but I work for Ford, and at no point do we have discussions about how we can limit production and do things slower. Every single production line is manufacturing 100%, turning out as many vehicles per day as it can, and it's a pretty big deal to try and maximize this as much as possible. If I come up with a fix for a problem, and it requires more welds or assembly then it is a huge problem. Every single line has stages for assembly and only so many robots or people to do necessary actions, and if you add even something that takes 1 or 2 more minutes then you're not able to increase production time (only so much time in day, don't want to make less vehicles). That means adding in a worker/robot at a station, which can be a big problem in and of itself. In general there is literally no discussion about how we can do stuff slower to limit production. I'm pretty sure no one at Toyota is saying, "hey, how can we artificially drive up the value of our vehicles by limiting production numbers?"

 

guys, guys, guys, were drifting off a bit here.

 

LOL. How fitting, with the new movie out.

 

I can understand what you guys are saying. I have worked in business all my life. At the street level the auto business is indeed competitive. Likewise, business always want to maximize whatever production resources that you have. But Toyota sold 147,000 Tacomas in 2000. In 2014 they sold 155,000 units. Every year between they were in high demand and sold virtually every unit they made with little or no carry-over to the following year. I will bet the Toyota production workers would say the same thing about their factories working their butts off, maximizing production within their given capacity, as you do at Ford. But don't tell me Toyota's upper management couldn't have increased production of Tacoma's over the last 15 years if they wanted. They chose not to. It was an intelligent decision based on maximizing profits.

If you think they are overpriced, buy something else.... in all honesty, if I had it to do over again, and I knew the truck as well as I do now, I probably would buy something else.

All I am saying though is our current free enterprise economic system is probably indeed the best system in use these days, but it sure ain't perfect, and it is getting worse as time goes by as smart people get better at manipulating it. And as I already knew, if you say something slightly against it, you are likely to immediately be labeled as an idiot, communist or unpatriotic. None of which has is true.

 

I was thinking the same thing. For a second I thought I had left the Tacoma forum and gotten on a banking forum.

So I picked mine up yesterday, got it covered in mud yesterday and today and have enjoyed, for the most part, reading this thread.

My feeble thoughts:
Obviously into day 2, I'm still loving this truck but I haven't even come close to putting it through it's paces. I've played with the crawl (don't freak out when you put it in Crawl 1 and it herks and jerks and makes all kinds of strange noises that makes you want to jump out and run away!!). I played with the multi-terrain switch, but just watched the display change. I doubt that there is anything that you would probably notice anyway unless you have a lot of history for comparison which I don't.
Only things I'm disappointed in, but I knew when I bought it was
No Auto headlamps unless you want to do a big up-grade in the electronics package
No built in garage door opener unless you do the same electronics package
No auto/dual climate control unless you get the same electronics package
None of these things are a big deal, along with the electric seat controls and it wasn't worth it for me to spend the extra dollars to get those features.
Of course, I'm coming from a 2003 HD 2500 2wd crew cab long bed with vinyl floors and manual windows. At least it still had dual climate control and auto headlights which explains my disappointment that even my mid point truck didn't have these features.
Given the size of the cab do you really need dual climate control? That's how I justify it in my mind. The headlights are still kind of auto. They will turn off if you double click your locks or after you set your timer for a set amount (30 seconds is default). But you will be driving around with headlamps on instead of the day light running lights instead if you just leave the headlights set to on. I'll just have to get used to it is all.
As far as remote start, it is available, you just have to spec it. I'm having the dealership install an aftermarket one for $200 cheaper than the Toyota one and it will still be covered under the Yota warranty.
And my bed mat wasn't in when I picked up the truck, but it will be in next week. I'll put it in when they put in the remote start.
If you want all of the extras, buy the Limited. All of the things I've read about as far as short comings aren't short comings, you just have to determine how badly you want them and buy the package that will give you the features you want. But ALL manufacturers are like that. If you wanted power windows in a chevy, you had to spend more on a stereo package to get it (it's why mine were manual, it wasn't worth that much to me for that year vehicle).

This is my first Taco, but I've always been a fan and I'm looking forward to many years of good use out of this one and I'm looking forward to getting a better value for it many years down the road than I would with ANY other truck out there.

 

Sorry for the hijack but do you have a stock number for the factory remote start? My dealer called Toyota while I was there and they (Toyota) said there isn't one available right now. Thanks

 

That's cool. They are wanting me to take my meds and get in bed anyway.

 

LOL