Buying a Tacoma is Tough

Yes!!!!

I suffered through that for several months of car shopping. I live in a small south Texas town and I had to drive several hours to the big cities where there were better selections and better deals than the few Tacoma's in my small town.

Many times after driving several hours I would arrive at the dealership and then was informed by the salesman that they sold that unit this morning or over the weekend. Ugh!

I finally found the deal of a lifetime though. I bot a 2019 Tacoma SR, Access Cab, 4x4, in plain white with 166k miles. It had a few dings but in great shape. No weird cabin smells, no odd or grinding noises from motor or tranny. 4x4 engaged smoothly. It was priced to sell at a Houston Mercedes Benz dealership so I jumped on it! No regrets so far!

Be patient! You'll find the Tacoma that's right for you in due time. Just be sure to closely check the vehicle for any obvious red flags. I used a scan tool to do a diagnostics check on the Tacoma while test driving it with the sales lady. The scan tool check came back all good.

Good luck!

 

If you're willing to travel, that's going to increase your chances by a lot. I flew from WA to NM (and then took a 4 hr bus ride) to get my 1st gen. I got a great deal on it and made a road trip out of it

 

Lexus dealers are usually pretty picky with their used inventory. You might find something decent there.

 

Probably not. They probably got the same quote I did did on the phone before I went to see it, and they gave me good money for my trade.

 

Finally snatched a 3rd gen SR5 with 55k miles at a baller price. Hoping to be set for 20 years