Considering a Tacoma TRD or Colorado LT

There you go - just order a Tacoma with the MT. We're happy with ours. Most of the complaints about the 3rd gen seem to come from the auto...

 

I do like nicer and quiet, like the new technology, and especially want a comfortable seat! I guess my wife's Mercedes has me spoiled a bit! I like the comfort of my current Duramax; it has a wonderful seat! Looks, ah yes. I think the Colorado is much better looking (exterior) than the Tacoma and the Canyon, but that's pretty subjective. And costs - Holy Cow - I paid $48k for my fully loaded Duramax new in 2008 - and I have seen several Colorado/Canyon/Tacomas that are close to that price! The warranty means a lot to me also, which is one reason I want to buy new. I know a warranty isn't the final answer, a dealer/mechanic who knows his stuff is MUCH more important. Unfortunately I have little faith in most dealers and mechanics. Luckily my Duramax has only been to the shop one time in 9 years - and that was to fix a leaking brake light cover about 3 years ago - fixed under warranty!

 

I suppose to do that I'd have to order from the factory. Never done that before. I always thought I'd get a much better price on something on the dealer's lot. Anyone here have experience with ordering? Did you get a comparable deal to something on the lot? Of course, I know I'd probably never be able to sell a manual transmission; apparently me and 10 other people in the US are the only ones who like to shift gears!

Also, there is my aging body to considered......using a clutch does take more effort than an auto. I have have spine surgery and sometimes my leg(s) are affected.....Not often a consideration, but when it is, it is. I know my wife would prefer an AT.

Speaking of this, our prior car was a BMW 3 series with auto transmission, but it had that "SporTronic" or whatever it's called where I could shift it manually. That's all I ever did with it; but my wife just left it in auto. I recall the Tacoma has something similar - I wonder if shifting manually would control that pesky "hunting" which occasionally happens with the auto transmission? That would be a great solution for me.

 

Sold my '06 in a week (2.7 5MT). We found a 'used' 2016 tacoma with about 9800 miles. Price was good, local dealer price matched for a new truck. We placed the order, but didn't get it in time (production had stopped on the 2016's). So, dealer got us a 2017 for the same price. Had to wait, but we weren't in a hurry. Paid what I wanted, and didn't have to drive to another state to pick the truck up.

 

My old Tacoma had 165k on it when I sold it and I never touched the rear brakes. Had them checked around 120K and was told they weren't even close to being worn out.

 

If comfortable seats are important skip the tacoma. They are 100% manual in a 2nd gen and very hard on my aging spine, JMHO.
Not familiar with 3gen seats.
Colorado I drove had a shift happy trans, and that 3.6 caddi motor has a IMO suspect Timing chain.
My best advise is ask to drive all vehicles overnight and really get a feel for them.
Good luck

 

Thanks, that sounds encouraging. I'd probably not be in a hurry either. I only rarely use my current vehicle when I need to go somewhere and my wife is in our car.

 

Yeah, unfortunately getting a new vehicle seems to be a crap shoot. We have been happy with my 2008 Duramax, but not so happy with our 2016 Mercedes C300. The later vehicle has been to the shop about once a month.....my Chevy has been to the shop once in 9 years!

I do plan on a long test drive to check out the seat comfort for sure. I don't mind the manual adjust as once I set the seat, it will probably never be changed. I doubt my wife would ever drive the truck.

 

For reference,
16+ equals 3rd Gen
05-15 equals 2nd Gen
Sounds like you want to buy new. My Tacoma only came with a two year 25K warranty. Obviously you could buy an extended warranty if you wanted based on you seem to keep vehicles a while. No idea what the GM warranty is.

 

Roger than on the "Gen info". Yes, I would most likely buy a new truck. I do buy a "certified" vehicle when I can, but there do not seem to be many med-sized truck available that have been certified. All our our last 5 cars or so have been "certified". I've been happy with the extended warranty and found in many cases the typical new-car-bugs have been worked out. Our last car is the one exception, but at least I have about 6 years of warranty on it!

 

GM makes solid V8s, but I'm not sure I'd want a 4 or 6 cylinder from them. It seems like when they try to make anything other than a pushrod V8, it doesn't go well for them.

That said, the jury is still out on Toyota's 3.5, but Toyota in general has made very very few lousy engines in its history. If you need any indication of reliability, this guy has 400,000 miles of tough use on his 2006 with the 4.0 and his repair history isn't bad at all: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/400-000-miles.404359/ I have 111k on my 2011 and the only non-routine repairs I've done are front sway bar links/bushings, a CV axle, and a front axle seal. Really, it should have been just the sway bar links and bushings. I cut a link off and accidentally sliced a boot on the CV axle, so I replaced that. When I replaced it, I think I nicked the seal in the front diff so it didn't take long for that to start leaking. All my fault.

 

I can't even recall seeing any certified tacomas when I was looking for mine at the end of 12 and beginning of 13 to be honest but I bet there are some out there. When I purchased I was looking for something with less than 50k miles and less than 3 years old. I wound up buying new because the difference in price on a 2010 vs 2013 at the time was like 4-5 thousand dollars. It just made more sense in my opinion to buy new. I bet you will notice a bigger difference in price of a used vs new GM than you will on the Tacoma. Tacoma's just hold more value.

 

Is your dura max in good shape?

 

My retirement truck is Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. When first test drive the car I felt like I'm seating inside airplane cockpit it sit too high. For short I made my decision to buy Made in USA Toyota Tacoma.

 

I agree with the Chevy V-8s; I've had several since I started driving. I am pretty much a Chevy Guy, like my father. Funny how that works. However, a full sized truck, Chevy or anybody, is 99% not gonna happen this time. I want to be able to park my vehicle in my garage (limitations posted above), and a mid-sized could be parked without difficult, a full-sized only with a bit of difficulty. The price and options would need to be spectacular for me to consider a full-sized!

 

Yes. Couple of parking lot dings, including a dent in the rear bumper. Low miles and everything works. Going to sell/trade it next spring after we sell our 37ft fifth-wheel trailer.

 

So you got used to the higher seating position? Since about 2009 the Tacomas are built in Texas, right?
Your truck has the proximity entry, right? Where you do not have to use the remote clicker or a key, just touch the door handle? And you don't have to put anything into the ignition? Our car has that, and while I thought it was a no-big-deal, I have gotten to really like that feature. How's it work on your truck?

 

It's not really a higher seating position, it's a high floor. The floor of the truck sits higher than most others, so the seat is close to the floor as a consequence of that.

Most are built in Texas, but some Tacomas are built in Mexico (certain configurations). My 2011 was built in Baja California, Mexico.

Funny you mention you like the looks of the Colorado over the Canyon. I actually like the Canyon a lot better. The front end of the Colorado looks too much like a crossover vehicle to me. The Canyon is more truck-like. My favorite overall though is definitely a cement TRD Pro Tacoma.

 

The truck is awesome truck is comes from factory pretty much ready to rock and roll. The computer tells me that I'm getting approximately 27 to 30 miles to gallon driving at posted highway speed limit.
I'm so happy and calm now that I'm driving the most wanted truck on the road TACOMA.

 

Here she is....