Are early 2nd gen. Tacomas worth buying?

Hell yea, 2nd gens are the best most reliable Gen so far.

 

2007... just hit 35,200 miles. Had to replace a tail light bulb around 14 years ago. Truck rides awesome, has zero rust, and not a drop of oil leak. Up till 09 they had a tpms sensor in the spare... great for when the spare is used in the tire rotation. The oil filter on top of engine makes the changes a pleasure to do.

 

i have both a 06 and a 23. the 06 is argueably the best truck i have ever owned. i crossed 200k miles on it and it still hums smooth as the day i bought it with 30k miles. i still drive it for biking and kayaking, and taking the dog places. it has been hard to even decide to sell it. my wife loves it as well.

i dont have any car payments, so there is that. i dont need to sell it. i think it actually runs smoother than the new truck. only thing that doenst work on the truck is the overhead temp/compass thing, which i soldered 3x and just said EFF-IT after that. i'll probably keep it until a nephew or niece needs a vehicle and just close my eyes, whisper a prayer and donate it to the kid.

 

Here is some helpful info.

Shop informed... early 2nd gens are great trucks!

 

As always inspect frame

Avoid 05-06 models. They had head gasket issues

If you want a manual trans get a 12-15 as they have latest revision trans

2012 model years had secondary air injection issues

Some 4.0 motors developed an oil leak on the timing cover behind the power steering pump so look out for that.

 

Just bought a one owner, '05, totally stock, with 153k, no rust, that spent it's life until now in NC. Don't regret a thing.

 

Errm... chances are fair that unless the HG has already been replaced -- on your average 2005 or 2006 .. it's likely to go any time between now and ~225K or so.

 

For 2006, a revised head gasket was used in trucks built December 2005 and after. The sticker on the door sill will say the production date. With that said my 2006 was built in January 2006 and it does not have head gasket issues and I drive it pretty hard.

 

Tacoma is the only vehicle that made me forget what car payments are like, I haven't had one for a decade.

 

This^^^


If there's no rust on the frame, the price doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

So after doing hours of more internet research I decided to at least go look at it and then decide.
Interior looks brand new except for some drivers seat lower cushion wear. Everything works even the overhead display.
Paint is perfect except for the slight sun damage on the fender flares. Production date Jan.'06.
Heading to the bank Monday morning for a cashiers check.

 

dont buy an 05/06, dealing with the head gasket and motor mounts sinking into the frame really sucks.

 

Lots of good opinions in here. I didn't want to believe the hype about 05 and early 06 headgaskets, but mine in fact did need replacing. I did it early with the first sign.

Easy way to check is smell the coolant. If it has a harsh fuel smell, its leaking.

 

Would it be safe to assume if the frame was replaced that the motor mount issue would have been addressed?

 

Yes

 

supposedly later frames are reinforced in the mount area

upgraded mounts still have a use
Stock mounts are basic Toyota parts and clunk when worn. They’re hard to replace.

upgrading mounts is common on any car

 

Terrible advice, see this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

it's the same advice as what's in that thread
but OK

 

Not really, tinting a headlight is going to reduce light output and be unlawful in most jurisdictions.

 

at no point has tint been mentioned in this thread