Why did you pick your Tacoma over another choice?

I have always liked the looks of the Tacoma and the reliability and resell value are tops.
After almost 30 years of driving GM SUV’s I decided it was time for another truck. I had 2 compact pickups back in the 70’s. Full size was never in my thoughts and Tacoma just seemed to be the best of the mid size trucks. In 2014, I purchased a 2013 TRD Sport. It already had over 20K miles but knowing Tacomas are good for many miles, this didn’t bother me. It turned out to be a great purchase. Even though the Taco was only 4x2, I still loved it and planned on it being my final vehicle. Well after about 3 1/2 years I had only added 26000 miles before a distracted driver ran a right light and hit the right front corner of my truck at full speed. Spun me around pretty good but the Taco protected me. I ended up with a slight concussion from head being snapped around and a contused shoulder from seat belt locking up and boy did my chest hurt for quite some time from the air bag, but other than that, I was OK. Not so much the truck. I was so mad that my Taco was destroyed. So when insurance paid off, I did not hesitate to buy another Taco without even considering other brands. This time I got 2017 TRD OR 4x4 and love this one even more. Unless there is another red light runner looking for my truck, this one should last me until I’m done driving. Here’s the old Taco. Sad to see.

 

Thought I would chime in here.

Short answer:
Previous experiences
Reliability
Looks
Size
Performance
Price
Economy

Longer answer:
I have previously owned, worked on, and dealt with GMC, Chevy, Nissan, and Toyota. I have driven and helped friends work on Dodge (Ram),Fords, even a Subaru and shortly considered buying one though I was not impressed or pleased with all the "issues" each seem to have. Had a POS, er ... um.... GMC, Sonoma prior to the 04 Taco. Of all the trucks the previous Tacoma was the most reliable, easiest to drive, and best looking inside and out.

My current Taco is the first new Tacoma for me. Before I traded the 04 Taco in on the 17, I test drove several full size trucks but did not feel I need or want a truck that big. I briefly considered looking at the twins which had only been back on the market a short time. My wife almost laughed and asked why I would even think about buying something I would never be happy with, would spend a tone of time and money just to keep it working, and would be worth almost nothing if I ever decided to trade it in. She had a good point. The Frontier was unchanged from the one I was driving when she and I met back in the 90's.

So by process of all other trucks basically eliminating themselves, my choice sort-of made itself. I bought a 17 Lmtd in March of 17 rather than new 16 because it was one of the colors I was considering, had the equipment I wanted, had a thing or two I did not care about (talking about you moon roof), timing was right, it was available on lot, and was NOT year 1 of the generation.

 

I was in a similar accident that was not my fault in South Florida. I had a 94 Tacoma (the small body one). A Honda CRV ran a stop sign, clipped a Chevy Van in the side, that hit me basically head on as it crossed into my lane. Lucky for me the speeds involved were not that high, although the van that hit me was traveling at a pretty good clip. Spun my ass around and totaled my little truck. I was bruised pretty badly in the shoulder and waist area from the seatbelt. I ached for about a month after ward. The Paramedics that arrived looked at my truck and looked at me and asked me if I was for sure ok lol. The truck was pretty mangled. Driver of the van didn't have a license or insurance. Again lucky for me the driver of the CRV was insured and she was charged.

I remember having it out with that insurance company. At first they would not total the Tacoma. It had major frame damage. They did not want to reimburse me for a car rental. The whole ordeal lead to a new 96 tacoma SR5 4x4. So it had a happy ending.

 

to me it doesnt matter the opinion of consumer report, JD Power (LOL) or what sales people say.
the best sales pitch is from satisfied owners with stories about reliablilty.
i tried to support and buy american products, but i just couldn't afford the constant repairs it needed.

 

1. Capability
2. Reliability
3. Mod-ability

 

I picked my Tacoma because I'm not able to buy a new 70 Series Land Cruiser.

 

Nice where would you Import it from, Australia? With import fees it would be well over 100K for a new one I bet.
Edit: Oops I see it doesn’t pass US emissions standards. Good thing our Big Government protects us from the good trucks

 

That is just pure porn lol.

I love Land Cruisers .

I was tempted to buy a 88 FJ62. There was a few on Auto Trader but the prices there commanding for a 30 year old truck.

I'll save my pennies and maybe buy one for my 50th.

 

Aftermarket support, it's the glock of pickups. Like the looks and I needed another truck. Gas mileage is terrible for my Pro, my F250 got the same... I tried to go away from having a truck but with rentals and a home you just can't do it. My wife hated driving my F80 M3 (manual) when I needed to pull the trailer with her SUV so I bit the bullet and got rid of the car. It's my first Toyota and I liked it so well I bought a 96 Land Cruiser since I didn't want to continue wheeling a new truck.

 

Had a 2003 corolla that lasted 250K ( all maintenance done by me) until I wrecked it 4 years ago. Wife works with a certain nationality of peeps and they all own Toyota cars or trucks for their personal vehicle and for their kids to go to college. (pre covid) Not so sure of the reliability of the turd gen tacomas verdict is still out! Other than 1st gens from what I've read 2013 had less recalls than any other 2 gens or turd gens but I could be wrong on this.

 

I picked the the Tacoma over a Honda Ridgeline because the Ridgeline was unibody. Not really a truck. Plus I’ve driven Toyota’s for over 30 years now and know how reliable & solid built their vehicles are.

 

It's called the Chicken Tax...look it up.

25 year only 70 series Land Cruisers can now be imported. Spain and the Netherlands are the best places to find LHD versions.

 

If it’s good enough to get Jennifer Parker to the lake, it’s good enough for me.

 

I bought it because of all the modding potential and the fact that I know it'll last until ~250k miles or more without any work whatsoever.

 

12 Tacomas in: always been a truck kid, had a ranger in high school but always wanted a Tacoma, finally got one in college. 1st gen that proved to live up to their reputation. Fell in love with it and kept buying them. They continued to prove reliable, perfect for my single dirt bike riding, trail going life style, the community and modding is always fun, at one point they were sort of a niche / unique community, but have recently blown up and you now see tuner guys moving into these trucks that don't really need a bed, but things change, so be it. Resale. And though not always perfect, Toyota customer service from buying to the occasional maintainence visit when I couldnt spin the wrench myself / was included w/new trucks has always been great. Its just great at what it does, capable, reliable, small, fun to own little truck.

 

I used to travel a lot for work where I would have a rental car....Happened to get a 2016 Tacoma once. I always liked the look of them, but growing up I always had cars(Honda's) so I was more or less sold on cars and never seen a need for a truck. After having a Tacoma for a rental a dozen times or so and accumulating well over a few thousand miles, thru Yellowstone, Moki Dugway area, etc, etc. I was sold. It's an awesome truck, its reliable, it resells well, the modification options are infinite. I can't see myself not having one now.

 

I wanted a truck again, really I just wanted to get something new, lets be honest. I have a pre-order in on a Cybertruck but didn’t want to wait two years. Absolutely loved my Jeep that I was driving but didn’t want to always pull my utility trailer to haul my dirt bike. I was looking at Ram Rebels, and Gladiators as well. It came down to the TRD OR being the right price OTD and the deal was completed faster than on a Gladiator.

This also gives me a new challenge because I had a build plan for a Gladiator having been into Jeeps my whole life. Now it’s like I’m starting over from scratch and learning about Toyota’s.

 

X2!!!

 

1, Crawl Control, once you learn to use it, it really does work!!!
2, No rattles, and I pound on mine in Colorado on trails.
3 The little things don't fall apart, the truck is actually pretty basic, no real over the top gadgets, and crap, but the things that it does have, just don't break or fail.
4, manual trans
5, Dealer Support, I sunk my 04 in a swamp in FL, vapor locked it, but the dealer made the repairs, and told me they did what was a "courtesy" repair, it was obvious that I caused the damage, but they repaired it anyway, and told me to just don't do it again....
6, I just don't trust a turbo 4 cyl.
7, Aftermarket
8, Perfect size for offloading, plenty of times my offroad group has gotten delayed because some dude had to try a narrow trail in his full size.
9, Basically the same truck since 04.
10, 6 foot bed.
1A, I got T-boned by a loaded dump truck, hit me in my driver's door, totalled the truck, but I only had minor injuries.

 

"Back to the Future" ... but seriously reputation and experience. I had a 2019 SR5 I enjoyed it so much I just traded it for a 2020 TRD Off Road. I like the overall feel of the driving experience, it feels like a truck. I am not concerned with the technology so much as I am with the feel of the vehicle. Safety ratings were also important and when looking at other 4x4 vehicles like Jeep Gladiator/Wrangler it just didn't measure up. I also think the Toyota Care is a nice touch.