Ontario - Sorry aboot the B.S. eh!

Hey Brothers! I have a question for you: why are there not more Tacos in Ontario?

I grew up in Kingston; lived in Ottawa for a couple decades; now I live in the SF Bay area of CA. It seems like every third truck I see is a Taco. (There's 3 on my block, and it's a really short block!) When I visit, I see maybe 1 in 20 trucks being a Taco.

(I sorta glanced lazily at sales figures, and overall it seems like 4% of trucks are Tacomas in Canada, versus around 8% in the US... you should understand that urban California is maybe a special case for Toyota consumption.)

Are prices insane? Toyota dealers jerks? T4Rs more attractive for weather? Alliston a bad influence? I'm totally baffled.

 

I'm here! At my local dealer there is more tacos than anything else. Especially the 2016's. Locations in gta.

 

I'm in Ottawa and I see quite a few tacomas here, but we may have different opinions on what, ''quite a bit'' is hahaha its nothing compared to the amount of f150 or rams I see driving about but do see '' quite a bit'' of tacomas. not to many TW members in the Ottawa area tho, doesn't really seem like the taco owners are as enthusiastic about it as we are haha they are pretty damn expensive. I bought my 09 DCLB Sport just recently with 210k km's on it and I picked it up for 18+ tax and that's actually a reasonable price based off months of keeping my eye on listings. saw a taco same as mine but an 05' and they wanted 15k. in the pictures it looked decent, went and has a look and there were dents and scratches all over it, holes in the tonneau and the inside panels on the back doors were all scratched up by what I assume was a dog. I laughed and walked away. seen quite a few used ones for sale that had aftermarket rims that were 3-4yrs old that were going for the same price as a new at the time 15'

 

that's funny, the dealers ive seen here have only but a handful of tacos. I see more pass thru the used dealership down the street from me where I got mine, they buy them at auction and usually have them sold within a month of it arriving to their lot. and their prices are kinda high like I mentioned above haha I was dead set on a black DCLB sport and they were all selling from 18-22 depending on year and km's. I almost got one for 12.5 a couple years ago but my financials were not the greatest and the bank wanted something like 13% interest with 550$/month, told them were to go, as much as I hated passing up on a deal like that haha

 

Lol oh snap.
Didn't check prices but they did have a crazy line up of 16's and 17's.

 

dad sent me a picture of a brand new 15, base sr5 model, asking was something like 42.5. that was while they were in the process of introducing the new 16

 

I went to Toyota dealer in 2014 to get a quote on a new 4cyl, 4x4 SR5. They asked 35k for it... walked away and looked on the internet to find my 2010 with 116000km for 16900$. Glad to have waited!

Brand new full load DCLB start price is like 40-42k... wich is really close to the price of a full size truck, and people around here want a TRUCK! Me, I wanted a Taco, as much as the people want a subaru or a jeep. So that's why, market here is good for trucks, and for someone who want a truck, even if they are almost set on a taco, they will change their mind to get the biggest, more loaded, more powerful and more black truck for the less money they can. They also don't really mind about reliability and resale value since they already don't plan to keep it for more 5 years... cars are easy to buy, easy to stretch the paiement, and easy to swap for another...

 

preach brother preach! haha you hit the nail on the head with that one. do I think I over paid, for a normal 7 year old vehicle with 200 plus k on it, yup. for a taco, I don't feel I did. its the truck I wanted, and have wanted for a while, worth every penny. I was going for reliable. I bought a used Jimmy, put more into it then what I paid and it was one thing after another, non stop for the year and a half I owned it. Couldn't afford the price tag of a brand new truck. so I figured if I was going to buy used, I would pay a little more for a truck I knew was reliable and a truck I know I can keep for the rest of my life without dishing out a fortune on repairs. a fortune on mods maybe haha but that's besides the point haha

 

Fortune on Mods is not the same fortune as the one for repairs haha

The worst in buying a 200k+ km truck for whatever the price is other's judgement about your purchase... but if you don't care and let them talk and showoff in their cheap broke ride, you are the winner lol! But seriously, if you trust your ride, and maintain it well, km's should not be the thing to worry about

 

Truth.

 

yeah man I always get the, ''you could have bought a full size'' answer hahaha

 

Lol I thought I was the only one.

In all seriousness though, the Tacoma (at the time I bought it) was really the only real mid size truck. The canyon, ranger, and Colorado were very tiny compared to a full size. Essentially a car with a bed. The Tacoma was a very good option for a decent size truck that wasn't a full size.

Now there are more options since the Colorado and canyon have been revamped, but the aftermarket is so strong for the Tacoma you can literally take endless route possibilities for your build. My brother in law has a ranger and even lifting his truck he really only has a few options (torsion bars, body lift, fabricated long travel, or solid axle swap). Lifts aside, even just having better replacement parts at competive prices instead of simply "just the dealer" parts makes things way better. Even though are trucks are very reliable shit eventually starts to go, and it's nice to have the options for parts.

 

I do too... why didn't you get a real truck... lol but my taco tows my boat, my atv, bring me on the jobsite, carry my gf and dog. And I am not really sure I could get a full size for the same price as my Taco with the same reliability... would have to pay more and didn't wanted to.

 

Went to Canadian Tire today with an old defect mastercraft ratchet to have it replace... They gave me a Maximum in exchange! I'm a really happy customer!

 

Only good thing about buying their hand tools. You can easily exchange it for the most part. Broke a socket undoing the front diff drain bolt. Got a new one for free.

 

I've always had basic vehicles - not necessarily smaller, but basic. GMC Safari, Ford F150, Datsun 720D, etc. All shared commonality of basic utility.
Bigger isn't necessarily better. There is a balance between economy, utility, and affordability. What you save in the 'Domestic Dealer' showroom, my experience has been that the parts-counter more than makes up for the sales-erosional difference of cost of 'Toyota', vs perceived value and size of full-sized 'Domestic'.

I've watched friends, relatives etc buy those big-arse present day RAM's and F-150's.. and just commute in the damn things. No functional use for them whatsoever .. and they pay through the nose for higher maintenance costs. No thanks. A few of them have since sold them on, at massive depreciation rates, simply because they couldn't afford to keep them maintained properly.

I'm happy to throw $ at my stripper-special Tacoma as a matter of aftermarket parts preference - not as a routine necessity.

 

What's ur tacos stripper name haha I feel like that should be a complete thread of its own hahaha I what's ur trucks stripper name

 

Sooo you guys got snow? Heard you received around 30cm? Here it was 28

 

yup, finally gave in and shoveled the lovely mountain left over from the plow haha I cant complain since its the first time I have had to shovel all winter. was debating just driving over it like ive been doing thus far, cuz well 4x4 but am I ever glad I shoveled haha I probably would have made it but chances are I would have damaged something in the process, its snowing again now, what are they calling for this time? 10-20?

 

Lucky you! I am glad to have a reliable snow blower! I'm just back home right now, was headding east on the QC50 and visibility was crap. Supposed to have another +-10 from tonight to tomorrow afternoon I think but by the way it goes we will have more than that... blower is ready for another round! But starting to need more room to put the snow lol