Are first gen Toyotas actually worth the price?

Those are 35s I didn’t rub anywhere front or rear. Now those axles are under it on 40s

 

Did you already put up pics with those 1 tons and 40s??? How'd I miss that?

 

To say that a 1st gen isn't worth the price, you'd have to find something that's a better value. When I search for 4x4 trucks in my local Craigslist for 12k and under, there aren't a whole lot of options. Right now I see a Ford Ranger for 7k, and a handful of old domestic full size trucks, most of which have a laundry list of issues.

If you want a *small* affordable used truck, your options are the Ranger, Frontier and our Tacos. The Sonoma/S10 is barely worth mentioning. Dad had one, it was a POS. Within 100 miles of my house on Autotrader, for 4x4s, there are 15 Rangers, 17 Frontiers, and 17 Tacos. However if you want a manual, you can pick from 7 tacos, or 1 Ranger, or 1 Frontier. They want 9k for the Ranger and 11k for the Frontier. That's right in line with what clean 1st gens go for.

Everything has gotten expensive. Inflation is around 2% a year which really skews our perspective on price over a multi-year timeline. My taco sold for ~$20k in 2004, adjusted for inflation that's 27k. However if I bought a new 2020 TRD Off Road, I'd be spending $36k. For that kind of money I'd rather buy a used 1st gen, 100 series and S2000. Those cars are all done depreciating IMO, and I'd have an awesome fleet.

 

They got the bland/less appealing front end design imo, but that's an easy enough fix...some good write ups on swapping them to an 01-04 or 95.5-97 front

I have a soft spot for the 95.5-97 front ends personally...they look more true to the Toyota pickups of old.

 

Great point!

 

that the exact reason i waited to find an 02. didn't want the electronic throttle (03/04 ebrake cable is in a worse location as well).

the big plastic fender flares were introduced in 01.

 

My 07 e throttle is not bad at all and I have a cable E36M3 and is very quick with its Dinan tune.

 

The fender flares of the 98-00 have always looked like the best size imo. Problem is, fiberglass, pro is they have no holes cut for them.

The front also on 98-00 also looks the most like the 2nd gens. I can’t tell you if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

 

I really want to see a 95.5-97 grille on a double cab. It wouldn't fit the look of the truck imo but I want to see it.

 

11k for a hunting rig?
That seems like allot of money to spend on a rig for just hunting.

Why not buy an older jeepster or solid axle toyota pickup?

are you set on a 1st gen?

 

I have a whole build thread man!

 

That's right I memba you now... I've always liked what you've done with it, believe it or not even when the others didn't on that one mod.... I still thought it was hella cool. But that's just me
I dig your skills hombre

 

worth it if you can find one not dogged out

 

sure, fine maybe on a different vehicle. but for a truck i plan to overland, i felt like one less electrical system is fine by me.

 

I was able to drive a mercedes recently, a slk 2 door convertible, and not bad is what I would describe it as, but coming from my truck, you can tell and it irkes me every time I touch the gas.

 

The Gen 1 tacomas are by far my favorite. I didn't realize how much more payload these little trucks were rates for then the other generations. I regretted selling my 99 reg cab so much that I just picked up a 2001 for $4500 this week. This one doesn't have the front hub locks or the manual transmission, but it only had 130,000 miles on it. It was also $1000 less than I sold mine for back in 2016.

 

Hell no. 2nd and 3rd gens have more power, more interior room, bigger payload, higher towing capacity, timing chains instead of timing belts, more available options, and my 96 and 06 got/get the exact same gas mileage.

 

Ultimately it is all going to come down to personal preference and your location… As somebody who has had multiple Tacoma‘s across the generations with exception of the third GEN -in my neck of the woods I think the second GEN trucks are the worst value out of all of them for a lot of reasons listed above.

I think you’re better off either finding a gem of a first GEN truck without frame issues that is decently priced or buying a new one and getting the warranty-
it took me about eight months with the help of a dealer friend but I bought a clean 04 double cab 4 x 4 for 8400 with 160,000 before it went through the shop and they would’ve slapped an extra five or 6000 if not more on the sticker. Paid to replace the timing belt and water pump and change the fluids and so far it’s solid and I can’t find anything near comparable for what I paid for the truck plus taxes insurance and preventative maintenance however it took me 6 months of driving that dealer friend nuts who kept pitching me “ Good deals of trucks from 06 to 2013 in the 20,000+ range with 100,000 miles or more often closer to 25,000 before taxes with no warranty .....at that point I would just pay the extra money to get the new one with a warranty But couldn’t justify spending 35 to 40,000 either I always loved the first gen trucks with the steel body and the simple mechanics with parts a dime a dozen So I convinced my wife to let me buy an older vehicle even with our growing family in need in car seats I’ll try to keep it as long as I can

 

but for the life of me i cannot reach the middle of the windshield by hand on 2nd gen nor can i reach over the bed rail and put my palms flat on the bed floor on the 2nd gen without a huge strain on the pits, this is a truck at stock height too! my truck, at stock height, my pits do not touch the rail, i can fairly easily reach the middle of the bed if I need to shuffle stuff around, i can also nearly reach the middle of the windshield and back window to clean, wipe off after squeegee, etc.

... not sure if i would have the same issues with the bigger 3rd gen, but most likely?
also have no issues parking this compact truck in most cramped city parking garages, which is an added bonus for some

 

And you'll pay more for all of those improvements. In my area clean 1st gens go from $6-10k, 2nd gens are still in the $12-16k range, even at the same mileage. Are they worth the extra money? Depends on your budget and how you use your truck. I prefer the styling of the 1st gen, but I'd love to have the 4.0L power, an extra gear and a cabin air filter. If I was going to DD my truck, I think the 2nd gen would probably be worth the extra money.