Thought's on buying a new Tacoma

Well my 1996 Tacoma finally went down. Toasted the motor after a $4.00 freeze plug cracked. Wife was driving the truck and didn't realize what was going on before the motor seized. It's been a flawless truck, and has well over 200k on it.

My question is, has Toyota cheapend up the Tacoma since 96? Is there a 2nd generation Tacoma year that was better than another? Looking to buy used, maybe 2005-2006 based on what I can afford.

Thanks in advance.

 

I went from a 94 Toy pickup (217k on the clock when sold) to a Dodge Ram for 50 months and 50k miles and now a '11 Taco Access.

This is a MUCH nicer, more powerful and comfortable truck than the 94 was. I will let you know in 100k miles how reliable it is, but the 94 was pretty good for 12 years.

Howard

 

Shouldnt have any trouble lookin at a 05 or 06, look for one that has the rear spring tsb done, should have 3(?) leafs instead of 2, somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that...

 

2nd gens are great. Everyone I've driven/rode in has gotten same mpg as mine while giving more power, rides great and more room

 

I think 4 instead of 3!

 

The tsb is 3 leafs with an overload leaf (another metal bar that doesn't conform to the rest of the leaf pack)

 

If you can afford it get a 2009 or newer. The improvements on stability and traction control are worth it. Plus they added side curtain air bags.

 

and the back up camera I can't live without it now. I believe only 09+ have the camera.

 

Well it looks like I may just throw a new engine in my 96 Tacoma instead of buying a newer model. Any thought's on that? Found used motors on ebay in the 1k range, anyone know if they are worth it?

 

www.car-parts.com should be cheaper than ebay and you might find motor locally. If you find motor with 100k miles or less and do labor yourself you can save a lot of money and have reliable pickup for years to come!