Looking for a few some input on a few trucks.

Hey all I am looking to get a tacoma and I am leaning toward the 02 or 03 models however
this 05 seems great
https://maine.craigslist.org/ctd/5668694998.html.
and this 03 seems solid:
https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/5619105312.html
any input would be amazing. Thanks everyone.
Jeremy

 

Ideally I would want a crew cab so my kids can fit better however I cant stand the short bed.

 

It's strange that the 05 had its frame replaced. There wasn't a frame recall for 2nd gens. (yet )

Also the first gen seems decent. Not many pictures and it's been there for sale for a month. Either the seller dipped or there might be something wrong with it and nobody wants to deal with it.

 

Gen 1 double cab or xtra cab is my vote. I like the size and look of the Gen 1 truck compared to that 05.

 

Depending on how old your kids are and if they're easy, test drive the trucks with them in the back seats. See if they have enough room.

Side note, I've sat in the rear of my extra cab a few times. Not roomy, but not back breaking either. I haven't sat behind in a 2nd gen extra cab, but I've sat behind in a new Fronteir extra cab and man was it so uncomfortable. I had less room in the mid sized believe it or not.

 

Thanks everyone. I looked at the 1st Gen and things are nice on it. Been dealing with title issues though. Trying to get from rmv. Shop I've been light elsewhere

 

I would take the first gen out of the two, but honestly I would keep looking I believe you can find a better deal for your money just depends on how far you are willing to travel.

 

2nd gens do have the frames replaced

 

By Toyota?

 

Yes by Toyota. My friends 05 has been at his dealership near Columbia SC since March 31. He said as of the beginning of July they still don't have all of the parts in to do the swap. Drive behind your local dealer. Mine has a pile of frames with people's names on them behind it. At least 6 sitting there. We use a different dealership for our FJ and it has the same thing. Until my friend told me about his I never knew why the dealerships would have so many new frames.

He found a large hole in his frame while servicing. He has 150+k on his and it was driven hard so I don't know that failure has been an issue.

 

If you want to put the kids in there get a double cab. My extra cab is tiny to be honest. I don't have kids but just the dog on the back is cramped. For what it's worth I bought a 95.5 w 113k miles for 8500 in California where prices are high. I thought I saw a different xtra cab on Craigslist recently for only 6k. I look at all the New England Craigslist's so check around.

 

what years have the double cab with long bed? It seems to a mix and difficult to determine through search engine.
Thanks

 

I was considering this one as well. Higher milage but it seems like the guy knows the history and has taken care of it.
https://vermont.craigslist.org/cto/5666618853.html

 

My daughter is 8 and I think it might be tight but the short bed is a real turn off for me unfortunately. I want to like but is seems like its not a great fit.

 

https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/5674470081.html

 

Look for a 2005+ doublecab long bed. Lots of room in the back seat for kids and adults.

Also try some other websites like Cars.com, Autotrader ect. Imo I find that people use craigslist to sell their trash.

 

Only 05+ come with a double cab long bed option.

 

I wrote this in another thread discussing double cab vs. extracab.

Originally, I wanted the double cab because of my 2 daughters. They were 7 and 3 at the time. We were coming from an '89 regular cab Toyota 2wd, and only 3 of us can be in it. So we needed a bigger truck so that all 4 of us could be in it. The things that stopped me from getting the double cab:
- not a manual (the main reason)
- short bed
- the wife (She hated the way the short bed looked.)

The extracab was bigger than what we were replacing, so any more space was a bonus. Plus, we had my wife's car for more room. As the kids got bigger, they adjusted to the space. No big deal. They'll still get in the back without saying anything as they know that that's just the way it is. And they're 23 (5'6") & 19 (5'3") yrs old with their own truck/car. Hell...even my younger one's 6'1" boyfriend gets in the back.

 

Also...if you're forcing yourself to like the shorter bed, you're probably going to hate looking at it every time you walk out to your truck. And you're going to pissed off even more when you have to haul long items.
However, I know that many with the shorter bed use bed extenders, and will suggest them. So that could be an option for you as well.