Seeking Gen 2 knowledge

New here. I hope I'm in the right place for this type of post.
A short history.
I had a 96 Tacoma reg cab, 22R engine, bought used, ran well, good daily driver but too small, ended with a radiator issue on I-95 and fried the engine.

Next small truck (and current one)- 97 Nissan access cab, 2.4L, stick, 22mpg, bought used for $3,000.00 with 177,000 miles now has over 316,000.
Great truck.

If money and MPG was not an issue, it would be a, new, white, 4 door, long bed, 4.0L, auto, 4WD, tow package, power windows/locks at the minimum.
(I have a 24' bay boat that would max out the towing limits (debatable to some) so therefore I have a full size E-150 van.)

Looking for a Tacoma, Gen 2 for a daily driver. 500 miles a week minimum.
I try to do a lot of homework to buy what I need and I keep vehicles a LONG time.


Must have- access cab (min), long bed, (I have a rack I want to use again) See photo of old Nissan.
Leaning towards a 4 cly, 5 spd. I would like to sit higher so the PreRunner or 4WD would be in order.

I do not have to have the 4WD, never had (or really needed) one in all my 37 years driving. If the maintenance or "slight" drop in MPG won't be very much then yes, I'd like to get the 4WD.
This winter was very mild but most times we do get some snow.
I do not go off road to go "four wheeling", I spend my free time fishing.

I test drove a 2006, 4 cly, 5 speed, 4WD, 50K+ miles and they wanted $21,000+/-. Photo attached.
I really liked how it felt, very solid when compared to my truck with 316K + miles.

Please direct me on what would be a good to great price to pay so I learn form you experience rather the school of hard knocks.
Of course I'm looking to keep the used miles down as low as possible but if something came along that was, say over 50K miles, had everything I needed and was a great price then that may be OK.

I have been reading here a lot on different threads and the experience here is tremendous.

Thank you,
Jeff
240 LTS



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That seems excessively high to me. I picked up a '08 RC SR5 4x4 last summer with 16K on the clock for around $17,000; granted, the AC adds to the expense but I'd keep shopping around.

You'll get lots of good advice on here. Best of luck.

 

to be completely honest... drive your dd you have now till it dies! why sell it when it still drives?

you can still get a tacoma but keep your nissan for your dd till it dies then use your tacoma!

 

I wanted to see how the automatic did after reading here that, at least in the Tacoma's, the gear ratio is taller in 5th gear therefore it should be less rpm's at highway speeds and that should equal better mpg.

I drove 3 last night:
Nissan- 2012, 2.5L, 5 speed auto, Base model.
Tacoma- 2012, 2.7L, 4 speed auto, 4WD, reg cab, Base model. (the only thing he had in 4 cyl auto)
Tacoma- 2006, 2.7L, 5 speed manual, 4WD, access cab. One step up from the base model. (The same one I drove last Wed night)


Nissan 2012-
$18,000 with $2,000.00 cash back or $20,000.00 and 0% financing....to start.
It was nice, it was new so anything I drive after my 1997 w/316K+ will seem nice to me.
Design-
Nothing outstanding as far as as deal maker or deal breaker but it would do the job as a 500 mile a week daily driver. After all it is a base model.
Engine/Trans-
Did not have much power with the auto.
About what you would expect with a 2.5L. It was kinda tough to get to 70 mph.
60 mph= 2500 rpm+/-
70 mph= 2800 rpm's. It seemed to be working to get to and maintain that speed. I was surprised it was so high. A big negative so far.
If I were to get more serious about this one I would take it out on I-95 to check it again.

To compare the Tacoma, the only 4 cyl, auto was a reg cab, 4WD.

Tacoma 2012-
We did not get too deep into the price because it wasn't apples to apples with the Nissan. Again, I wanted to see how the 4 cyl, auto felt.
Design-
From the seat forward, I liked it a little better and the seat was more comfortable. Maybe a little quieter.
Engine/Trans-
Again, about the power one would expect for a 2.7. Knowing (hoping) you are getting low to mid 20 mpg + justifies the lack of power. After all, power is not why one would be buying it in the first place.
Seemed a little easier to get and stay at 70 mph.
60 mph= 2200 +/- rpm's
70 mph= 2600 +/- rpm's. It seemed to be working again to do that speed.

My I-95 driving is 40 miles (one way). So that seems like it's a lot of constant higher rpm daily....but then again... my 97 is just over 3000 at 70 mph.

Tacoma 2006-
50K miles, $21,000, some cosmetic dings and scratches but nothing serious. After all, it is used.
I had my wife with me so I took her for a ride to get an unbiased opinion. Needed to compare the 5th gear rpm's to the automatic.
Remember, 2.7, 5 spd manual, 4WD
70 mph= 2500 rpm's. It did not seem to be working as hard to stay there.
Even though this is used with 50K miles, this just felt good to drive, seats were comfortable and everything felt very solid...as did the others.
I wish I didn't like this one so much but everything just feels right. If it has an auto trans, that would be better yet.
If the Nissan felt like this, it would be a no brainer.
I may go back and try a Nissan with a stick.

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Maybe the new trucks engines being new and tight had something to do with the higher rpms?

Right now, I'm not in a hurry so I'm going to keep looking for a Tacoma with lower miles and better priced......in WHITE!

My mind and options are open because I really just started seriously looking.
At a minimum it must be 4 cyl, access cab, long bed, (after reading more threads here) Automatic trans.



Sorry for being long winded.
I will be keeping whatever I pick a long time so it has to be right.

 

UPDATE:

About two hours ago I went to another dealer to see if they had a 2.7L, 2WD access cab to test drive, they did and I took it on I-95 where I could do a fair constant test.

2200 at 70 mph and 2500 at 80 mph. I feel much better now.

After tonight's test drive and reading all the replies on the auto vs manual thread, it's going to be an AT. I am in traffic back ups every day.

Maybe because the other test truck it was a 4x4 the rpm's were higher? It was in 2H of course.
Maybe I should have tested it on a longer flat road?
Is a 4x4 geared differently then a 2x4? I wouldn't think so.


Thanks.

 

I wouldn't consider getting an auto in a 4cyl truck. They are only 4 speeds. The 6cyls get the 5 spd auto and 6spd manual. The 6spd manual is the one with high gear ratios

 

If I remember right, my auto v6 was sitting just around 2400 at 65mph Keep in mind it was brand new, so I'm not sure if that has something to do with it. The gas mileage between the 6 and the 4, in my opinion, isn't that much of a difference in the long run. The 6 mainly just has the power there when you need it. I purchased my car the other day with half a tank, have driven 65miles and its just moved from half a tank with a good mix of highway and city driving. not sure if this helps at all.

 

Yes I'd love to have more, but every time I take a step up add a $ thousand or two to the price tag and subtract a gallon or three from the mpg.

Thanks,
Jeff

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