My 2006 still doing well.

I’ve played around with the idea of buying a new vehicle. Not important which ones. Scattered thoughts really. Even the 4Runner was a contender.

But. I’ve haven't had a vehicle payment since 2008. I saved up some cash, but my wife and I have similarly dated vehicles with similar mileage. We both really could use new cars. Buying two new cars would be difficult to stomach. We like to buy new, since we keep them for so long.

My oil change light popped on, and I did my routine. This time, new air cleaner + wash and wax. Mpg is still around 19-20 mixed driving. Not stellar, but could be worse. Taking my big dog around left my interior kinda dingy. New seat covers would be nice. I could use new tires. It still runs smooth and behaved. I’ll take it to Portland in a few weeks for steelhead fishing, then several fall and end of year hunts. NM archery elk is the highlight.

I think I’m deferring the new car to the wife. She gets the first one. Her Subaru gets painful mpg and burns super unleaded.

This truck is seriously the best vehicle choice I’ve ever made. It’s boring and unexciting at this point but man! It is solid. Some nagging squeaks but that’s about it.

I’ll put some cash into my truck. What a nice rig.

 

definetly keep it, cant beat the reliability

 

19-20 mpg is about what you could expect from a 3rd gen

 

Yeah I'd keep it, if it's not giving you issues, why get something new that will almost certainly have some sort of issues, and have a payment tied to it? The 2nd gens are good trucks and much simpler than the new ones, which I like. Get some mods though and it'll feel like a new truck for a while.

How in the heck do you get 19-20 mpg? I posted in the CA gas tax thread that I get 1.5MPG better than my tundra and someone said "21 MPG isn't bad for a 4200 lb truck." Well I get 14.7 mpg average. This thing sucks money out of your wallet just as bad as my 13.5 mpg Tundra, and with 150 less HP and gutless towing.

 

oversized tires

 

They're only 32" tires... I wouldn't think that would make me get worse MPGs than some of the guys on here with 285/75R16 or 305/70R16s. Maybe I'm just kidding myself and should just go with 33" tires next time though.

 

I made the same decison last year. 13 years and never let me down. When Toyota gifted me a new frame I put a small pile of money into it and now I enjoy it all over again. New tires this fall and if will be like a new truck. Ultra-reliable but nothing spectacular. I'm OK with that.

 

At 266k my '06 still runs, looks like new. I left all the stickers on the new frame, draws attention haha. I've put some $ in it over the years, but nowhere near the price of a new one. I don't drive it much since retired, but it sure looks sharp sitting in the driveway.

 

I just picked up my 06 about a month ago with 80k miles, and I still can’t get over how much I love it. If the truck isn’t giving you any problems, why replace it?

 

i've been kicking the idea of buying a bass-boat around in my head.

 

Yeah, mine has a new frame as well.
Engine produced after the head gasket redesign.
Looks and drives like new.
Ultra reliable and paid for.

I'd have to be pretty stupid to mess with success.

 

The truth ^

 

Whenever l think of buying a new vehicle. I always look at the payments.

Say it's roughly $500 a month for arguments sake (at least). That's $6,000 a year. That'll cover a hell of a lot of repairs to the vehicle that you yourself said is the best vehicle choice that you ever made!

 

If you do, get skinny 33s. My skinny 33s weigh less than my 32s did (both E rated). Different brands.

 

I just went through this with my 2010 @175k miles.
I test drove everything out there but today's trucks even with off road packages just can't compare to my heavily modified Tacoma.
Sure some road nice but I need more of an off road and work truck than these luxury trucks. Not even going for all options some of the new trucks come up to $45-50+k go full size and $50-60k+
I turned around dumped 2k into my 2010 and very happily will keep it another 2 years....

EDIT: For seat covers check out headwatersseatcovers.com.
I too have dogs and they haven't destroyed these covers yet.

 

If you're gonna trade I find 10 years or 150,000 miles to be the sweet spot. At that point you can get at least 1/2 the actual price you paid in trade. Maybe a bit more if you sell outright. I'm talking the price you actually paid, not sticker. At that point unless you're unlucky you won't have spent a dime on repairs other than routine stuff like tires, brakes, batteries and fluids. The guy who buys your truck has as much in a 10 year old truck as you had and he gets to pay for repairs.

You'll have to bite the bullet with a payment for 5 years, but if you save just a little bit during the next 5 years combined with the trade value you'll have enough for a large down payment and your next payment will be very small. My F150 payment is UNDER $300. But I pay $350-$400 most months to pay it off sooner. I could have gotten the loan for a shorter period, but wouldn't have had the option to pay less during Christmas or tax time. With interest rates in the 2% range it is cheaper to pay the bank than a mechanic $100-$120/hour. The total interest on the life of my loan is about $1200. That is like 10-12 hours labor, not counting parts.

But if you go longer than about 10 years I think it is probably best to keep it till the wheels fall off. In your case I'd keep the Tacoma and get a better car for your wife.

If you're getting that kind of fuel mileage it is your driving style. My 07 Tacoma averages 17ish around town. I get an honest 20 mpg hwy and have gotten as much as 23 in ideal conditions. And I have 32" E rated LT tires on a 4X4 truck. My 4X4 F150 Supercrew with a 5.0 V8 gets 15ish around town and 19ish hwy. I just returned from a 4100 mile road trip and averaged 19.3 in it.

 

I also love my 2006, runs like new.
Any tire that is significantly larger than stock will affect your MPG.

 

Then keep it. Paid off, you do majority of maintenance, new frame, etc etc etc. My 2012 Tacoma will probably be the same story in 2025 when it's 13 years old. You'll always need a truck when your a home owner and outdoors type.....

 

Loved this post, let's see some pics of this beautiful piece

 

I’m with the OP. My girl is ten years old now. I’m a little annoyed with the minor problems. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a newer truck, but she runs smooth, gets me where I want to be, and I can fix her up as needed. I bought Toyota for a reason, to run it 20+ years.