Buy a '23, or wait for a '24?

The SR5 has rear cooling vents? I'm running out to the garage to look now. I'm sure I'll be learning things about this truck for years.

 

Well, I caved and took the Carvana offer today. They're picking up the truck on Friday. I still feel like it's a too-good-to-be-true scenario, and won't celebrate until the check cashes. I just think it would have been fiscally irresponsible to turn down an offer of $30K for my '17 SR. Now begins the worst part, as car shopping is one of my least favorite things to do.

 

I found several dealers in Florida selling below MSRP. But your fees suck big time, never seen higher doc fees.

 

Florida (southeast states, really) is served by a mafia that preloads warranties (cannot be removed) and many other things you would never buy. Get a detailed list of everything beyond the base-factory-manufactured vehicle first and report first here for advice.

 

Let me know what dealers you're referring to. Willing to make a reasonable drive for the best deal. Yeah, the fees are eye-opening, particularly the $2K "get the truck ready for you to drive it home" nonsense. One dealer in Tampa told me they add some sort of dealership-specific "protection plan" for $2995 to every vehicle sold. Good grief.

 

Thanks for the offer, I'll make sure to do that. I don't mind a short flight, is there a better state to buy one?

 

I think someone said that Tennessee is beyond the reach of the mafia. But let others chime in for sure. Be warned some dealers will refuse to sell to out-of-state people because of availability issues ... maybe.

 

Nevermind, clicked on more info and they add $900 pre-delivery, $800 dealer fee, $3,995 dealer advantage. Why not call out of state dealers and make a trip out of it? I did that and saved $$&

 

They are under the front seats I believe.

 

I agree with the first part. No one knows the true details of the 4th gen so making a solid comparison is impossible.

The 3.5 is a good engine but nowhere near bulletproof. It does have its own shortcomings, esp before 100k miles.

 

I've always said wait a year or two after a new gen is released. Give them some time to work out any kinks. That being said, if you're in love with the new body style and you want to be one of the first to drive the new gen, go for it. I just got my '23 Limited last month. Even though I knew the 4th gen was right around the corner, I still went with the 3rd gen because I know exactly what I'm getting.

 

Well, figured I'd update this....Sold my '17 SR to Carvana without a hitch, and after some back and forth with dealers within a 500 mile radius, found pretty much exactly what I was looking for, an SR5 DCSB with the 2.7L engine. I didn't even know Toyota offered an SR5 without the V6 until I went on to their site and did a quick build to see what options looked like. Seems the SR5 with the 2.7L is rare as hens teeth, but I still got it for well below MSRP, although I did have to settle for predator bars and some other incidentals that were added on. I would have been happy just replacing my SR, because I really, really liked that truck. My objective was simply to take advantage of the Carvana offer and upgrade to a 6 year newer truck for minimal additional outlay. This one I'll keep forever!

 

Got the money, got the truck. A good day.

But ... and you KNEW this was coming ...

 

HA! Yea, I haven't even laid eyes on it. It's in transit from the factory. Probably won't arrive until early May. I added Sport wheels to my SR, along with WeatherTech mud flaps and Gen 2 running boards. I think with this one I may actually keep the predator steps, and go with TRD Offroad wheels and the same WeatherTech mud flaps. Although, on the invoice, it has "Splash Guards" as an add-on item. I asked the dealer and he said they were OEM, but I can't find where Toyota ever did, or even does make OEM mud flaps for a non-flared Tacoma. Wonder what they could be? I told the dealer I wanted to install them myself before they started drilling holes to install aftermarket splash guards.

 

It's funny but I think the SR grill looks better than the TRD Off-Road grill. I hate chrome!