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

 

this made me

 

I was looking for a '15 access cab long bed 4WD and searched FB marketplace for a long time but wasn't really committed as my '03 2WD 1st gen AC (195,000 mi.) had no issues but I wanted 4WD for a trip I was planning and really just wanted a little more tech than the Gen 1. I was watching a friends posts on FB as they traveled in their Sprinter through Oregon Idaho etc. and they were camped next to a stream that looked so inviting for a fly fisherman like myself and I thought out loud, 'Dam, I want to go there and fish.' Went back to marketplace and the first truck that showed up after a search was the '15 TRD OR AC that I ended up buying. One owner, no accidents but 216,000 miles. Owned by a water company in the desert so no rust but used for sure. The seller, a dealer in Van Nuys CA, (a 2 1/2 hour drive from home in San Diego) replaced some parts and did an overall nice job getting it ready for sale and turned out be very ethical and a super nice guy. Took it for a drive and it ran great and 216,000 miles didn't bother me as my friend has a 2nd Gen with 350,000 miles. Listed for $15,950, got it for $15,500 - $17,000 out the door here in CA. Everything works great and am thrilled with the purchase.

 

I looked for months for a long bed/long wheelbase 2nd gen Double Cab or Access cab without success. I finally purchased a 2014 DC SB 4x4 SR5 with a few options with only a 104,000 on it and luckily got to the seller first and bought it. Excellent service records on it and no issues since.

Four years and 40,000 miles later with zero problems and I have never looked back. You're going to like your 2015.

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

[EDIT]: fixed bed length above to: "SB"]

 

Nice find on your '14 DC and thanks for the welcome.