Is a manual Tacoma really “sought after”, rare or more valuable?

Resale value has never been my main criteria for choosing
a vehicle . I chose my mt 2019 sport because of its utility ,
on road performance , and toyota reliability .
With the prospect of manuals transmission vehicles not being
manufactured for much longer in the USA ,
that would make the mts out there more valuable ,
in the coming years .
I believe that with the next tacoma generation , and the feasability
of streamlining production , Toyota will cease production of the manuals
in North America .
As a society we are constantly being sold a bill of goods with bells and
whistles . Now the race is on , who can produce the most
gears for the slush boxes . Six , seven , not enough ?
Not to worry we have 8 on the chevy , 10 on the ford .
and class action lawsuits on both .

 

I'll usually privately list my vehicles first for a couple months hoping to get what i ask for or close. If no serious takers the dealers are usually the last choice...at least thats what i've done in the past owning vehicles 5 years or more. I think if i was one of those guys trading up every 3 years it'd be much different outcome. My 78, and 84 toyota's had 4 sp manual transmissions...they were the hardest to sell by far. Imo, i took a good loss on both pickups. My 86 was an automatic ifs pickup...sold it in 93 in a heartbeat. 93 v6 was an automatic to which sold the first week listed. Even my 01 tundra 4.7 automatic i sold in 2020 was no problem with a local garage pestering me to sell to them for months earlier. Seems just about everyone wants auto. Manuals are just harder to get rid of.

 

If you put a 78 and 84 MT Toyota pickup for sale around here they would be gone immediately. I called an ad for a 97 Tacoma 12 minutes after the guy posted it and someone already bought it sight unseen.

 

90% chance the gen 4 Tacoma wont have a manual option at all. I doubt more than 5% of Tacomas are manuals now.

 

One of the biggest reasons i bought a 2020 pro was my fear of when Toyota will stop making a manual, and it is just a matter of time. But, when they do the value of them will go through the roof because there are a select few of us that would not drive anything but. Plus the AG color did not hurt either.

 

Once I determined I wanted an Off Road with M/T the search was on and I could not find anything I wanted in Virginia and had to widen my search. Found one with all the options I was hoping for, but they were asking WAY too much for this used one on the lot and I walked away. It did not take the Toyota dealer long to call me back and ask what would it take to seal the deal. It also depends where you live and what you will be using the vehicle for. This was not a daily driver vehicle for me and just something fun to have and they knew a manual transmission was a must for me. The VA-MD / NCR is notorious for horrible traffic (think Los Angeles and NYC) so dealers will have a MUCH harder time offloading a manual transmission on their lot than a dealer in Montana or Utah, for example. I saved thousands - timing is everything.

 

Lol... keep telling yourself that

I lost hope in you guys when I read that someone would have bought a manual frontier if the Tacoma wasn’t offered in one.

 

This was back in the day. If i sold the same trucks now it'd be way easier to move them ...seems a lot of people are collecting those old toyota's. As well as my 2020 tacoma now runs, i'm having some regrets about getting rid of my 01 tundra thinking i should of kept it around.

 

VA sucks, I don’t care what anyone says. Coming from back roads in the north to this congested city populated with people with no driving manners would make driving a manual a chore, and likely have me flying the bird more often than i already do.

although I’d love one on the way to the mountains...

 

I ordered my taco with the quicksand color in mind....not because its an oddball color with any likelihood the truck will be more valuable down the road. I was sick of seeing silver and gray toyota's on the road, wanting an exterior color hardly seen. Even the wife prius is silver, and my brothers rave4 hybrid is silver. Seems 75% or better all tacos on dealers lots here are silver, or gray.

 

I don’t think kick start works on todays vehicles like the old carburetor models ?
That wouldn’t even come into consideration nor sound when purchasing today when you can keep a spare battery in the glovebox these days.

 

bUt ItS a MaNUaL ArMy GrEEn TaCoMa, iT’s GoInG tO bE WoRTh A LoT cUz TrUCks aRe InVeSTMenTS

 

LOL

 

I have two options: in the upcoming years I will be making so much money that I will not care if I take a loss on selling my MT and buying a land cruiser OR i will continue to use my MT until the resale value is so low that I don’t care... or maybe the third case (the one I like the most) I will leave the truck to my son and I’ll buy something else..

 

A lot of buyers I know wont consider a manual because the wife / girlfriend / significant other refuses to learn to drive one.

I think the longbed configuration, either AC or DCLB adds more value than a manual transmission and would be easier to sell / trade.

 

FJ cruisers have an established fanbase just like Tacos and 4Rs.

I paid well below market $4k for a used FJ because nobody wanted a MT in a used vehicle.

My guess is that anyone who must have an MT probably already owns one. Important to consider if you believe MTs command a premium at resell.

 

Did someone say MT frontier?

 

To each their own I say. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to learn how to drive a stick. I’ll leave for the .75- 1 ton trucks and sports cars personally.

 

Say again? Your bodywork will be way safer if she doesn't ever drive your truck!