Should I put money into an older vehicle?

I have an '06 PreRunner with almost 95,000 miles with no issues except tire pressure sensors. I've installed a few mods but was wondering if it would be wise to put money into an older vehicle.

I was thinking a full speaker upgrade, exhaust, light bar, etc. You guys are the Taco pros, is it worth it or is the truck going to crap out on me and I'll have wasted a few grand? Thanks!

 

I’m not a Taco Pro.
No, the upgrades aren’t worth it.

I’ve lost Thousands of dollars in “modifications”.
My current truck is an 07’, it is stock except for a tool box.
And I need/use the tool box.

 

Do you plan to keep it? Then yes, blow as much as you see fit. Hopefully it'll last you a whole lot longer. Do you plan to resell it? Then no, almost no buyer will be willing to pay extra unless it's seriously loaded up, and even then, not much.

 

If you plan on keeping it, sure. The maintenance over time will most likely be less than a new vehicle payment. Especially when you look at the price of new vehicles nowadays.

 

Why do you want to upgrade the exhaust? What do you expect you’ll get from upgrading the exhaust? It’s been just fine for 16 years. Why put a light bar on 2WD prerunner? You can’t use them on the highway. Your truck ain’t exactly an off road machine. If you like listening to music the speaker upgrade makes sense.
If you are doing the upgrades just to make it sound and look “cool”, kind of a waste but if it makes you happy then do it.
As far as putting $$ into your truck in general even though it 16 years old the mileage is quite low for a 2006, so you’ll probably get many more years out of it. If it were my truck I wouldn’t hesitate to spend some $$$ for upgrades within reason. But remember the $$$ you put into a 16 year old truck wont make it worth any more for the most part when you sell it.
Lastly before you spend $$$ on upgrades make sure you’ve had all the maintenance done - tune up, fluids, shocks, battery, brakes etc. etc.
Well maintained your truck should serve you well for many years to come.

 

If the truck has no issues, and you’ve maintained it well and the frame is in good shape, it could run another 100,000, 200,000, or more miles.

Whether the upgrades are “worth it” is a question no one can answer but you. We all value specific modifications differently.

If you’re asking if it’s dumb to invest money in general in an older vehicle to upgrade it to your liking, then, if it’s in good condition, then no it’s not dumb. Besides, if you added a premium sound system and a light bar and the truck shit the bed, you could potentially move those upgrades to the next vehicle.

 

*stares at near 300k mile 4Runner with nearly $5k in suspension alone*

 

I did a lift and 33s at 280k. I just had frame factory sprayed and plan on doing a frame restore next summer. As long as frame is good go for it. Look for pull offs and check craigslist.

 

Investing money/anything in a car or truck is a waste of time,the value is in the STOCK setup.

 

Lifted my 05 4.0
2K suspension
1K stereo
1K tires and rims
Because I love my truck not for value
And it had 227,000

 

FIFY

 

I don’t think the exhaust would be worth it. Sound system and a modest tint would be my 0.02

 

Fuck me...I'm even older than that

 

Before you know it you’ll consider a 4wd swap if you stay on this site

 

Make sure the truck is running right and you took care of the Maintenance. How the truck feel after that? If you are happy with it, keep going and mod what you need.

In my opinion, light bars are dumb unless you go off roading at night and actually need it.

Sound system? If you are unhappy with your current set up, go ahead and upgrade it if you are planning to keep the truck. I have a 2015 with the jbl and love the sound system so see no reason to upgrade.

exhaust? Why? The stock works and if you add more noise, that’s more noise when you drive it up hills and over valleys. I put an intake on my truck and hated it cause it would be super loud going over hills and up mountains. Can’t hold a conversation

 

not sure why everyone is saying couple grand. speakers upgrade is at least a hundred bucks. Used TRD catback is $125.

These are not “mods”, they are “normalizing” the truck by replacing worn trash speakers and putting an exhaust where you can actually hear what RPM you are at to shift a manual properly without taking your eyes off the road to look at the tach…

Tacomas are not known to crap out
Nor depreciate losing money on mods. Some people even charge more for them.
If it was a German car it would be a different story. You’d be buying one for $20k+ then modding it only to watch it drop to less than $10k quickly on its own.

mods have pros and cons. Sometimes your environment necessitates them.
If you live in a snowy mountainous region and go wheeling to see beautiful nature, you will soon want a lift the first moment you hit a rock and bang up the underside due to clearance. Which in turn, will reduce street MPG if you commute far to work (bigger tires + lift)
Then if you for whatever reason move somewhere flat you will feel bad because all of a sudden that lift and tires become no longer used or necessary, only costing additional gas at the pump

that’s why you put a mild exhaust such as TRD catback and add

$125 vibrant 1141 2.5' ultra quiet resonator, silver

vibrant 1141 resonator to quiet the drone - a well known mod

yes, if you put an MBRP it will probably be annoyingly loud

if it is manual with the stock exhaust you don’t know if the engine is even on

vehicles typically come with cold air intakes from factory, routed to intake cold air
When people put cone air filters inside the engine bay, they downgrade their intake system to a hot air intake
The only true intake upgrade some people do is a snorkel to cross water and reduce dust intake

I agree. That is why I haven’t bought a light bar. It would probably be at least $100. I’ve never wheeled at night.
It would look cool. Supposedly they even reduce noise when installing in place of the front fairing on a roof rack. I’ve heard they can also blind you by glare from the windshield.

you are saving money by not buying a new vehicle. If you would have asked about consistently spending a lot more per month getting into a 3rd gen Taco or 5th gen Runner no one would bat an eye.

most people upgrade speakers even on an old vehicle. Even if it is $3k from 1999. Because that choice boils down to whether you like music and want to listen to it through a potato or an actual speaker.

I have heard a decent 2nd gen is $300/mo.
5th gen runner $500/mo
3rd gen Taco $700/mo
Guess what. In those vehicles you probably get the same shit stock paper speakers. Even if they slap a fancy label on them.
Same suspension. Same frame. Same MPG. Same power.
And you’ll still want to upgrade those cars as most people do.
Mods are often created to address shortcomings where the manufacturer left something poor quality.
Like a side view mirror that works the same as a mirror you can buy at Dollar Tree.

 

All a matter of personal taste, OP! I have no guilt spending money on functional things to keep my truck maintained and on the road.

I justify spending $1000-1500 a year on parts and doing the work myself since it’s far less than payments. Plus I think a lot of us have the pride of keeping an older vehicle running. I’m at 291,000km and hope to keep the old girl as a daily driver for a few more years.

That’s when I’ll buy something newer and then start to tinker on my ‘06 as more of an impractical toy

Do what makes you happy! In short I say spend the money on it. But think more critically about the mods that are less practical and that others might not want if you think you’ll sell down the road

 

If you plan on keeping the vehicle for several years, I see no difference between putting money into a new vehicle or an older Toyota. Like buying a smartphone or clothes, once spent the money is not coming back. However, if you feel the enjoyment you get from the purchases will be more than you would get by spending the money on other things (and you have the money to spend) go for it.

 

I think you're at that stage where you need to go one of 2 ways. Sell it now, as is. Or make the decision to keep it till you die and leave it to your kids. With truck prices like they currently are you can probably get 1/2 what it cost new right now. Maybe over 1/2. That would be tempting. Any modifications you do will be lost money if you ever sell it.

If you decide on the latter, then go for it. And 95,000 isn't many miles for a 2006. My 2007 is at 221,000 and I've decided to keep it till I die. I'm not dissing the 3rd gens., but I wouldn't trade my old truck for a new one. Mechanically I see no reason the engine and transmission in mine won't go another 200,000 miles. I'm getting some peeling paint and have some very minor dings and dents on her. I'll eventually have them fixed and a new paintjob for around $4K.

 

OP ... do what you want to your truck it's your money !!