2019 Tacoma limited disappointment

I predict Jeep dealers will be offering MAJOR discounts on Gladiators once all of the early adopters have one in their garage.

 

Yup. The truck is too niche and too expensive to sustain the volumes Jeep wants at the prices it wants.

 

Drum brakes, while seemingly cheap, really don't make a difference. My '18 ZR2 and '16 Jeep JKUR both stopped like shit with discs all around. Tires make a huge difference in stopping too, and if you like aggressive tires, I have some bad news for you...

I have issues with getting new vehicles way too often. I really like this '18 Tacoma TRD Pro with a manual, but I am going to wait until the Ford Raptor Bronco (please be a manual!) comes out (if it ever does) and I will trade in my Pro for a very fair value. More power will be really nice, but the power does not faze me on this truck, it is what it is. All automatics suck now so that is probably the reason most people hate any newer vehicle. Look at how much hate the 8 speed on the gas ZR2 gets. All of these fancy new A/Ts looking to pile on gas mileage are all garbage, no matter who makes it.

 

Price aside, that's one of the nicer looking Gladiators around. They look out of proportion without larger rubber on them.

I test drove one too. I think it drove better than the Canyon/Colorado. Having a 2016 Ram 2500 as a work vehicle, I can say that my only allegiance to FCA is to their partnership with Cummins. A lot of features, yes, but a lot of recalls, service campaigns, and glitchy tech.

 

Leasing is generally a TERRIBLE financial decision on vehicles that hold their value (Tacomas, or Toyotas in general), even if you trade in every few years.

Your monthly payment will be higher, of course, but as long as your interest rate is reasonable and you didn't pay retail, when you sell, you'll recoup most of your money.

 

People forget the Rubicon has one of the highest resale values. I bought a 2015 rubicon and sold it two years later for only a 3000 loss.

 

Wow!

Did you buy it new???

If so, that's the best resale value I've heard of. That alone may convince me to buy one (because, getting back on topic, I, too, am VERY DISAPPOINTED in my first Tacoma)

 

I too have very limited disappointment with my Tacoma. It's pretty damn awesome. Only a few minor negatives and all fixable.

 

Yup bought new with military discount which Jeep does good with.

 

That used to be the case; not any more. JK prices, as a % of MSRP, peaked right around 2015-16.

Ten months ago I bought a 2018 JKU Rubicon Recon with a sticker of $52,000 for $46,000. The Toyota dealer that took it in trade 8 weeks ago just sold it last weekend for $38,750. The Jeep dealer across the street is bursting at the seams with new JLs listed for 10%-15% off MSRP.

I expect Toyota to manage our resale values better than Jeep.

 

Go for either the military discount, or the Affiliates Reward Program via Tread Lightly.
https://www.treadlightly.org/join-tread-lightly/

 

That’s because JLs are making the JKs not as valuable. Jeep always does discounts on there vehicles that’s never really changed.

 

That’s no excuse. You don’t see Tacoma prices plummeting when a new one comes out.

FCA is overproducing JLs. Wranglers being advertised for 10%-15% is not normal. You got an amazing deal if you got 10% off MSRP. Now Gladiator is going to cannibalize JL sales, making them sit on dealer lots even longer.

BTW, Kelly Blue Book hasn’t caught on yet. It overestimated the resale of my Wrangler by $5,000. It claimed that my trade-in value was the same as what local dealers were reselling them for in my zip code, which helped me personally when I bought my Tacoma. But if I owned a Wrangler I would take KBB’s Wrangler resale with a grain of salt.

 

Probably has to do with fiat taking over in 15/16 also ! Lol Fiat makes a dog shit product so only makes sense that they would be dropping hard lol

 

No doubt. I bought Chryslers and Jeeps for 31 years: things really started going downhill after 2015. Including the level of service I used to get at my dealership of 10 years.

FCA has become fixated with margins and stock prices: it spends as little time as possible on the product quality and the customer experience. Each sale is simply a means for the next merger.

 

The op still hasn't been seen since 5/17 he's likely bought a ranger by now

 

Could not agree more!

 

Well my 17 Tacoma has been the worst vehicle I’ve ever owned. Which is why I got rid of it. Toyota’s new vehicles seem to have a reliability problem also. They may still be better then Jeep or Ford but the new stuff seems to be all going downhill for a premium price that Toyota charges. I traded my 17 Tacoma for a 06 Tundra and it’s such a better vehicle it’s not even close.

 

Having owned my Tacoma a whopping eight weeks I can’t comment on reliability. So far I really like the assembly quality. But yeah in terms of driver engagement, fun and enjoyment, Tacoma is pretty disappointing. Jeep has little to worry on that front.

 

They are looking at getting mixed up with Renault now too, guess it will be Le-Jeep or Le-Ram in the future, lol.