What else did you test drive and not buy?

That's funny. I have a Jeep JLU as well and I never thought I had a steering problem until I went to the Jeep JL Forum. I'm happy with the transmission in my 2020. Gotta stay away from the internet I guess........I would be happier.

 

I owned both and fully agree. We had a brand new 2007 Forester that started having all sorts of problems at the 5 year mark and it only had 40K miles. Just turned in my Rav4 after a 3 year lease for a Tacoma. Rav was a great car, jack of all trades, except heavier towing and offroading.

 

I just don't think my friend was looking to put a dime into a 15 year old truck with 200k.

I have another friend that refuses to spend more than a certain (low) amount of money on a vehicle, and has almost always had Toyotas that are rock solid and easy to work on. Part of me wants to see if I can get my Tacoma to that point all on my own.

 

Test drove a 2011 jeep sahara
Test drove a used chevy z71 or whatever its called
Test drove a 2006 taco with a salvaged title

Ended up with a 2019 sr5

 

How do you like the Frontier?

 

Ridgeline. Made my wife seasick and their forum sucked - so we went Taco. Didn’t even think to try the Chivy, and the Ford wasn’t out yet.

 

New Chevy Silverado. The hype was fucking real.. because that thing was shit on wheels. The price tag was like .. 44K for the ... off-road looking one , but nothing on the inside. Laughed and walked away.

ALMOST got my ass in a new ranger fully loaded with all the gizmos and gadgets... lariat edition.. but the dealer started acting like a fuckboi, so I dipped. They called and called for weeks after that.

Drove my heavily modded WRX, to a Tacoma dealership at 8 PM. For shits and giggles.

Walked out with keys and a happy smile around 9:30. Fully loaded, leather , moonroof,
Lifetime Power Warranty , Some type of special wax or wash they do every 6 months to keep the truck shiny, JBL system, tow,safety system... security....


Few weeks after... I lifted, added wheels / tires, MeSo mods, tint , exhaust, LEDS, grill...

I can’t stop.

 

I seem to buy most everything I drive

I recently sold my '18 Raptor because it was a pile of shit. Currently have a '19 JLUR, a '16 4Runner, and a '20 Tacoma. I won't touch a chevy even if it were free out of principle. After my experience of owning the Raptor for ~18 months, I won't do another Ford. I've had a two Tundras and two other Tacomas and every time I've sold my Tundras or my Tacomas, I've always regretted it afterwards. No regret after dumping my Raptor (it was a fun vehicle to drive, but the quality is lacking, especially for an $80K vehicle).

 

I didn't buy a Taco but test drove a 2019 and 2020 in Sport and OR configurations multiple times. I was really set on getting a 2020 OR in cement but one test drive of the 4runner OR premium and my mind was changed. A bed would have been nice, but not at the expense of rear legroom which mattered to me as a family guy. My wife usually sits behind me with the kid in a rear-facing child-seat next to her and we're both taller so rear seat comfort for her was a priority. At the end of the day, the 4runner is also plenty capable off-road, looks good, comes with a generous cargo area, can tow a decent amount, and has Toyota's reputation for solid build quality/reliability so I wasn't losing much. No regrets.

 

Was it OK mechanically, or were there issues there for you outside of fit/finish?

 

Both. There was an issue with the transmission where it wouldn't shift very well, like a hesitation. I had it to three or four different dealers trying to get it fixed, all of them acknowledged the issue but none of them could fix it. The issue was pretty common in the 10 speeds in the new Raptors. Whenever I would talk with another Raptor owner, they always brought up their shitty transmissions and many had their transmissions explode and had to fight Ford to get them replaced. I had the rear tail gate lock stop working and there is no way to unlock it with the key. That one happened when I was at the lumber store picking up some plywood and couldn't open my tailgate to put up my Tonneau cover, that was super annoying. Also the fit and finish was quite poor. I had several things fixed (trim pieces falling out, panels randomly popping off, etc) and the final straw was when I picked it up at the dealer from getting several things fixed and the oil changed, I closed the door and the entire door panel popped out. I was done at that point.

 

That's just awful on any car, no matter the price.

 

A new F150 rolls off the assembly line every 53 seconds. Ford is currently having major employee issues at the Explorer assembly plant. It’s affecting quality so much that they need to repair fit and finish issues at a separate facility before shipping them to dealers...

“In early September, the Detroit Free Press published a feature noting numerous problems Ford's having with the 2020 Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator launches. Issues with both SUVs, built at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, were so rife and dire that the automaker was trucking the vehicles 275 miles away to Michigan for repairs.”

 

Ive always been suspicious of their best selling claim. Do they sell a bunch because they constantly need to be replaced?

 

Thanks for the download. Yours is consistent with what I’ve heard from others who own Raptors. And ten speeds aren’t always better. I’m pro-mpg (or whatever you’d call it), but not at the cost of function and reliability. The new Ranger may suffer the same problems with its drivetrain:
https://youtu.be/IxcMEl0Ak3c
Savagegeese^ does really nice reviews IMO, often lifting the car up and discussing its drivetrain and suspension, doing audio sampling like a music engineer would, driving the car as an enthusiast might, etc. His channel reviews the Ridgeline and the 2016 Taco too. They might help someone looking at the competition.

 

Test drove a tundra first - loved it but the gas mileage concerned me as I needed to commute to work with this truck and park in the city.

considered a 4Runner but I wanted a truck. Went over and saw the tacos and after trying it out I was sold.

 

If I had to haul more than me and my gf on the regular I would have picked up a 4runner, leg room sucks in the taco But I don't take others w me often so it doesn't matter

 

Test drove a wrangler JL sport, JL rubicon, JLU rubicon, Gladiator, Ranger and 2019 Tacoma TRD Pro. Ended up picking a 2020 Tacoma TRD OR. Steering issues and recalls kept me from buying a jeep. The exhaust on the Pro was a bit annoying on the test drive. Tacoma OR had the best overall ride and was the quietest.

 

Nothing, search lots on Sundays, read the reviews and happened to find my truck, I just wanted a sunroof and manual, listed for $42k and OTD $38.3k

 

2018 GX460 - Really liked it but the tech inside was so old.
2018 Tundra - Also liked it, but the design has been around for 10 years. Didn't want to drop the coin only for a new version to come out a couple years later.
2018 Tacoma TRD OR DCSB manual - it was ok.

Ended up waiting a couple months and buying 2019 TRD OR DCLB.