From first gen to third back. Back to first. Tried third again. Now finally in a second gen!

My first Tacoma was a red 2003 access cab 4x4 2.7. What a wonderful little rig Lucy was. It was dented and scratched, she even had holes in the door from where the previous owner had mounted some tractor mirrors in the middle of the doors. She only had 80k miles, but had clearly been an abused farm truck all it’s life. The hood, quarter panel, and bumper were mismatched shades of spray paint. I could have kept that truck forever if my clients thought it looked a little more professional.

So I went and bought a 2017 Tacoma SR. RWD 2.7 automatic just didn’t work for me. I ran about 17k miles on it in the first 7 months of owning it and then traded it to a dealership for more than I paid for it new.

Back to another 2003 Tacoma 2.7 4x4. I had it shipped from across the country because it only had 40k miles on it. I had the dealership take it to a Toyota dealership to do a full pre purchase inspection on it. I paid big bucks for it, only to receive a truck with extensive rust issues. The Toyota dealership simply said “my bad” and returned my 200 bucks for the inspection. What a joke. So I traded it in to a dealership at a huge loss for a 2017 TRD off road.

This was my dream truck (I thought). I spent 33k for a trd off road manual transmission DCSB. I love it for the whole 8k miles I owned it. Seriously. The truck gave me a lot of concerns. It whirled and whined and made all kinds of noises. I just didn’t have confidence that the truck that was at the very top of my budget would be as reliable as the others. I traded it into a Subaru dealership for 33,500 (though I lost about 2k in taxes).

Which brings me to today. My wife and I got to bring home a beautiful 2013 TRD Sport in Spruce Mica. I finally went with an automatic which is a huge relief in Seattle traffic. She’s got 50k miles and has been meticulously maintained since new. Seriously, I have ever single maintence receipt. I may have overpaid a bit at 26,500, but the dealer wouldn’t negotiate and the truck is everything we wanted. Compared to both third gen trucks I had, this 2013 feels a lot more sturdy. The engine feels more confident and is a lot quieter. The steering feels tighter and the truck just feels more solid. I never understood why someone would pay this kind of money for a truck when for 6 grand more you can get a brand new one. Well, I can honestly say I’m more optimistic this truck will last 300k+ than I was about my 2017.

Anyway, this is probably the longest introduction into the second gen forum. I’ll be sure to get some pictures posted tomorrow

 

Welcome back.

Its amazing how these things are like gold on dealership lots

 

Oof that’s an expensive roller coaster ride you went on. Glad you found something you (hopefully) like for a long time.

 

Sucks that you had to go through all the trouble and cost, but congrats on the truck.

2nd Gen is the best gen!

 

Lol

 

Dude, you could have just asked us which gen to buy and saved yourself a lot of trouble.

 

It’s too bad there are so many negative stories about the 3rd gens. I think they look sharp but I’d be hesitant to buy one.

 

I bought a 2013 offroad access cab 4.0, i love this truck. Its my frist taco, aside from my work truck (2015 sr5). Im going to own this truck for years, and with any luck will last until the 4th gen is released.

 

Man that was a rough journey but welcome to the best gen.

 

First, congratulations on your new truck...
I have a very similar story... Owned a V6 2003 Tacoma AC 4x4 Off Road trim, I bought used with 38K on the odometer. Had the truck for 7 years and traded it in last year for a 2016 TRD Sport DCSB (V6-4x4). Other than the "huge" grill up front, I liked the new style inside and out. The issue I came across was the sluggish automatic transmission and the smaller 3.5L engine. I fully planned on keeping the truck, but the constant up/down transmission shifting to find the right gear was too much. I had Toyota dealer updated the firmware and reset the flash/memory a couple of times but eventually the "auto-learn" transmission went back to it's old way, constantly trying to hunt for the right gear. Honestly, having to pay >$35K for a new Toyota truck I expected Toyota to have fixed all the bugs. Dealer had no answers as to when a final resolution would be available other than hopefully soon. I sold the truck back to the dealer after 13K miles on the odometer and unfortunately lost around $2K from what I had originally paid for. After 9 months without a truck, I finally found a very clean 2nd generation TRD/PRO an older couple had traded in for a luxury car. My new 2012 Tacoma with 70K miles has a much better 4.0L engine and transmission feel than my 3rd gen Tacoma and I've been quite happy with it thus far. The only thing that could make me happier is finding a used cap for it someday.

 

You know guys, that’s one of the best things about Tacomas. Resale is insane. I only really lost money on one of the first gens and the taxes on the 2017 TRD. I think it went some like

2003 red taco paid 8 sold for 10
2017 SR rwd paid 23 sold for 23.7 to dealership
2003 paid 15 total including shipping, sold for 11 plus tax credit
2017 TRD off road bought for 33 sold for 33.5
2013 TRD Sport. Paid 26.6 but got 26.5 for the mustang I traded in that I spent 26 on.

So all in all, I think I’m down like 2 or 3 grand TOTAL. I think a lot of people lose more than that on a single vehicle they trade in.

 

That’s an great looking truck! I would have loved to find a Pro while I was searching but I had my heart set on a Spruce Mica. I’m in the same boat searching for a canopy for it.

 

Loved my 2nd gen 2013 sport. Best part was it was paid off. BUT it got blasted in front my house in a hit and run (14k in dmg) and it never felt the same after. Traded it in for my current ride. No regrets yet. I actually ran into the owner of my old truck in a parking lot and it was still running well.

 

this..my wife would kill me.

on a side note..everytime i see it..i want an explanation on that avatar image!!

 

Took you a while but you found the right gen. I recently drove a third gen V6 for the first time and man I'm happy that I bought my second gen when I did. All my fears of what the third gen might be were true. No torque, feels like a car and that huge nose is butt-ugly. Oh and congrats on the spruce mica....it's the best color I've seen on these trucks IMO. As a detailer, I swore I wouldn't buy another black or dark green truck....until I saw it in person.

Enjoy!

 

You did the right thing. It's a shame but I won't be purchasing a 3rd gen. Going to have to go with a 4Runner next.

 

I'm loving mine too. Stoked I went with the 2014. Even though she is barely broken in at 30,000, I'm looking forward to the resale value around 200,000. Good chance you can make up that 2K when you sell down the road.

 

2nd Gen FTW Congrats

 

Great first introductory post, glad to hear you found a truck that’s gonna stay for the long haul.

Welcome from a fellow TW member just south of you in Tacoma!!

NOW POST A PIC OF YOUR TACO!!

 

Nice! I started in a '13 black Sport DCLB just recently. Hopefully I'll keep it a long time.