The dying first gens... No more Tacomas for me?

There are fewer and fewer first gens around now. The ones that I do see are high mileage, engine replacements etc...

I love Tacomas because I like a small, light, manual transmission pickup. They are not immortal and wear out like everything mechanical.

I want something now with under 100k miles with 10 years left to go on it and there simply aren't any first gens that fit that bill anymore


Toyota made very few manual transmission 2nd' gens and I have never been as in love with the new generations. I think they are bloated, heavy and ugly.

I'm starting to realize my years of driving Tacomas may be over.



My '96 is wearing out faster than I can replace things on it now and I need a reliable long distance commuter truck that can still do trails.

 

The 'newest' option for a small truck would probably be a 2011 Ranger. They aren't as good as the Tacomas, obviously, but they are very similar in size and it wouldn't be hard to find one in manual with OK miles.
Otherwise save up your nickels, dimes and airmiles, and start scouring every nook and cranny of this country for a low mileage 2004 Tacoma.

 

Dear KayakingGuy,

What the hell do you expect? First generation Tacomas are now older than wholly hell. I already posted this a month ago, but for your sake I am going to do it again.

Here are the problems with purchasing first generation Tacomas. Some of this information I am going to discuss will be redundant for many of you. First generation Tacomas suffer from frame rust. The ones that do not reside on the west coast and the southwest of the United States with the exception of Florida and Texas most likely have frame rust if they are still running at this point in their life. As a result of this dilemma, there are not a hell of a lot of them left. Please note many of these frame rust ridden first generation Tacomas were purchased back by Toyota when frame rust was first detected during the initial Toyota buy back program. Some of them received frame replacements, but that was not very many of them. Even the newest first generations, which are a 2004 model year, are now 13 years old so finding one with relatively low mileage, and that does not have frame rust is going to be quite an extreme up hill chore especially with the options you desire.

First generation Tacomas have an almost cult like following behind them, which is part of the reason why sites like this exist. To clarify this point, this is the same kind of attention and admiration first generation Toyota FJ 40 and first generation Camaros and Mustangs receive. Followers and admirers seem to be very emotionally attached to the body style of first generation Tacomas especially the 4x4 extra-cabs with the 5-speed and the 3.4 liter V6 engine, which is part of the reason why the prices of these old Tacomas are so expensive.

Many of you looking for a long term useful pick-up truck for yourself or your family will have to put in an incredible amount of time and energy in locating a first generation that fits the bill. Unless you are completely emotionally attached to the body style of first generations, your effort will be much better spent seeking out a second generation. You will have many more to choose from, and they are built just as well as the first generations. They have a ton of more options. Their stock seats are also quite a bit more comfortable, and they are a much better balanced truck. First generations are just small trucks with a relatively big engine for their size when equipped with the 3.4, and they ride hard.

Good Luck
Paul

P.S. I am personally a first generation admirer.

 

Old news, thread repeat, nor sure what else to say.

 

How dare you sir?!! Inject logic into an emotional thread! You are absolutely right. There are no assembly lines pumping out brand new 1998 Tacomas... my biggest issue at this point is there are lots of used second gens that fit my needs EXCEPT not in manual transmission, which is hard to wrap my head around. My 96 is a Florida truck, so no frame issues, but like any vehicle it is wearing out exponentially faster as the miles climb up... just like the 43 year old NFL running back... knee surgery one month, out of rehab then 2 months later blows out a disc in their back, out for the season, then torn ACL beginning of next season... wear accumulates...

 

This will ruffle some feathers or back hair, but manual transmissions are highly over rated.

 

http://davisautosports.com/
You will pay a premium, but there are some cherry, extremely low mileage Tacomas on there. They are brokers, they can find and locate trucks normal folks usually wouldn't get.

 

Oh this game looks fun, I wanna play to since I own a couple of both. This may ruffle some feathers or taint fuzz, but automatic transmission are highly over rated.

 

This thread make me glad i bought my first gen when I did. But my 04 is starting to show her age. Worn out suspension joints, leaking valve cover gasket, and soon due for its 2nd timing belt.

 

Willing to travel? Here are a few 5-speeds I found within a few minutes of googling just one used car site
If you are willing to go over 120k mileage there are dozens of them.
So maybe you should stop moaning and do a little research...


2001 4x4 - Lilburn, GA - 70,000 $12k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/26678836

2002 4x4 - Franklin, WI - 101,000 $14k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/31880068

2004 4x4 - Dillsburg, PA - 74,000 $10.8k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/33731054

2004 4x4 - Houston, TX - 99,000 $16k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/33693762

2004 4x4 - Salem, OR - 93,233 $15.8k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/33952327

2004 4x4 - Stuart, FL - 110,000 $13k
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/31876668

 

Yeah it's all stuff you just gotta keep up on as it comes up. That the real issue with old vehicles, is owners that didn't do the maint on time so now someone else has to play catch-up.

 

Plus if you come down here to SoCal you will see a crap ton of 1st gens and pre-Tacos still running arount.

 

That's nice

 

I just prefer manual transmission, there is no practical reason why. I'm looking at automatics at this point since there is no manual selection available. How durable are their 5/6 speed automatics from those years?

 

Same up north too, there's literally hundreds of them in my little town.

 

I dont think there were any 5 speed autos on 1st gens. My auto seems to be dead nuts reliable and i have about 170k on the clock.

 

A340F is a 4 Speed (3 gears with an overdrive). No 5/6 speed autos in first gens. They are solid parts, all of mine have needed minimal repair.

 

For me there are only two reasons when I stop driving my 95.5 Tacoma:
1. Toyota and other companies will stop making parts for it and existing stock will run out
2. My truck will be involved in an accident that is beyond repair.

Now I drive it around 2k miles a year so the wear is not an issue even the truck has 318k miles on the dial - I will die before it gets to 500k miles. Only rust and rubber/plastic deterioration can be a reason of putting this truck out of service when no spare parts will be available . As long as I can fight it this will be the last truck I ever owned.

 

at this point I can't give my money away for an overpriced second gen, nobody keeps them in stock at the dealerships older than 2013 and they over-price those dramatically to push their new inventory instead. That and almost no manual transmissions in the second gen.. at this point I'm getting close to saying F#CK toyota and moving on for good.

 

Toyota isn't really to blame here. They supply what a majority of buyers demand- which is not M/T 4x4's.
Purchasing a specialty truck of a specific vintage that are highly sought after takes patience. It sounds like you're frustrated by something going on with your truck, or just ready for something more "reliable." You've got a wealth of knowledge here on this forum. Either way, if you're willing to put in the work, we're here to help. Plenty of great examples of 1st gen guys on here daily driving trucks well over 300k and beyond.