My "Heartbreaking" First Gen Buying Story.

Thanks for digging me truck! but i paid cash, i sold my subaru to get the tacoma so i could haul my dirt bike and dh bike, but i had to settle for a higher millage one because i didnt have a lot of cash and didnt want to get a loan as i was about to go to college

 

Yes I definitely plan on lifting it, that's already on my list of things to do it (number one on the list is BUY IT hahaha). I'm curious, when you went to bank for a loan, how did that work? Like I know how bank loans work lol, but in your specific case, what happened? You said you went to bank then dealer sold it on way back (I know how crappy yesterday made me feel, I can't imagine being that much closer to owning one, THREE TIMES, and having it snatched away!). How did that work out with the bank loan? Was it a case of you being approved for the $ And would sign after te dealership, or did you actually do all the loan signing, now have a loan for X amount, and no truck to spend it on? I ask because I'm in same boat kind of. I don't want to go get a loan and without having a truck first because fr one I don't want to get a loan for more, or god forbid less, than I need for the truck, and 2, I don't want to now have a loan and payments from taking out a bank loan and then not have a truck to use it for, thus paying a loan, and interest, for nothing. So I'm curious as to how that whole process works, going through your own bank manually instead of just going to a dealer and having them use their banks.

And no need for a TL;DR for me, in case ya haven't noticed I'm the king of long posts haha. Apologize to everyone for that, I'm just a very detailed and descriptive person, which clearly comes out in my series of books I call posts lol.

I know this has been covered in a million threads, a lot of which I've read, but I'm always open for fresh opinions, so when it comes to the Locker, just how valuable is it? Is it worth holding out for a TRD, or is the truck just as awesome without one (just shocks/raised)? For what it's worth, I'm not going to be doing any hardcore off roading in the immediate future, the main reason I want the TRD is for value (should I ever chose to move on from it) and because I like having options available SHOULD I want/need to use them. Someday down the line I might want to do a build on it and start trying some of the more challenging off road terrain up north. But currently it's just going to be my daily driver, and used to haul surf/snowboards, band equipment, mountain bikes, tailgating stuff, etc. and for tailgating at football games and beach days, and some light offloading (dirt/gravel/sand/muddy trails), but no crazy rocks or massive elevation changes or the other legit off road terrains. And of course snow driving in the winter (or in today's case, the SPRING, cause its spring now and yet we have another snowstorm happening with 3-5" expected

 

What I did for financing was get pre-approved by my credit union for $xx,xxx amount. They handed me a certified blank check. All I had to do was fill in the blanks, and hand it to a dealer or private party. Interest or payments didn't start until I wrote the check.

Get pre-approved and work with your bank that way you are ready to go.

 

Wow. I guess I can consider myself lucky finding my 2000 taco with 56k miles for only 11k! I took in into a Toyota dealership to have the frame checked out as it was a MD truck and they said it was one of the cleanest they'd ever seen. Not a scratch on her and of course I scooped it up!

Hang in there man you'll find what you want

 

Get your financing in place first. I recommend a credit union. Then you can shop private party and get a better price. It's a little bit more trouble for a seller to have to go to the credit union with you, but shouldn't be a deal breaker unless someone shows up with cash on the same day.

 

Thanks for all the info guys. We actually have a local credit union that I'm in good standing with, so it may be easier to get approved. Basically I spent years with no credit cards, cause I didn't want to risk being a dumb kid with "free money" haha. Then i got used to not using CCs so never bothered to get any. I pay everything on time direct fm my bank. Well, the older you get the more you realize how much you need credit haha. I still get by with no credit cards, and I'm 29 now lol. That's only a pain in the A when I rent cars on trips because I have no CC for the security hold, so the $300-500 "hold" comes right outta my bank for a few days. But where no credit history has bitten me is when I want a vehicle, or like a cellphone contract or cable/utilities, leases, all those end up charging big security deposits for no credit. Anyway the point of that ramble was for about 3 1/2yrs now I've had small loans or now a personal line of credit, all through my local credit union, and that is all what contributed to my current credit score. So I'd think that I should be able to get a good loan amount with my decent credit score and the fact that I already have had multiple "credit" things with them either successfully closed out or currently on time and up to date. Better than walking into some random bank, or going through a dealer finance company I'd think anyways?

Haha, way off topic, but is it hijacking if it's my thread and I'm the one doing it?

Oh and to the person who posted that MotorTrend link, thanks a bunch. I just saw that post now, no idea how I missed it earlier. I had not checked MotorTrend, never even thought they would have a vehicle search. Funny story too, The first result of that link was a black crew cab 04, not trd, but only 82k, so I'm goin through and getting everything's checking out and then *segway to back on-topic of search fails.....*

FOUR cylinder. The only thing on the checklist that failed (besides TRD, but that one's not a deal breaker) haha. But yeah, I'm gonna add that link to my rotation of search sites. Any other similar ones? I just know of the big name ones I named earlier, and now MotorTrend.

 

As soon as I read the "sold" part my stomach dropped.... Haha I hate that for you! I got lucky with mine, apparently nobody on base knows how much Tacomas are worth and thought it was overpriced. So I jumped on it and love it!

 

I can totally relate to this. I have a 2003 2.7 liter, manuel, regular cab, and I love it. I would like a Tundra for the towing and comfort. However my truck has been bullet proof for almost 50,000 miles, not to mention the great gas milage.

And to the OP. Power windows, really? All that shit breaks before the engine. I love that I have manual windows, and manual locks. Just saying if you find the perfect truck and its something small get it. The good ones dont stick around anywhere. Good luck with the search

 

And it's another blackout one, which means I love it too haha!

 

Haha thanks! I had a black 96 Tacoma up until March of 2012(wrecked). Then I drove an 02 silverado for 9 months and hated it! I had to get back in a black Tacoma!

 

I had a search set up on my laptop for the exact Tacoma. I searched for over 2 years... 2 years before I found the Tacoma I have now. I drove 5 hours the day after Xmas just to buy my truck

Take this experience as a small speed bump. Keep saving your sheckles and keep your eyes open. The right Tacoma will come along!

 

My bank's loan policy was based on Year and Mileage, so for each truck I had to go the bank and get a quote based on the year and mileage. It got me a much lower interest rate. Most banks are different. Dealerships usually offer you some special APR and a cash discount, but I trust my bank a whole lot more than a dealership. The dealership I bought mine from was a ma & pa shop with only like 12 cars on the lot, so needless to say, they didn't even offer financing. So it really depends.

 

Dang man, I understand what it must feel like. It is true that they are hard to find, they just get snatched up so quickly.

Good luck on finding another one soon.

 

I had a Ford ranger before, 2 actually. An 01 which I hated, nothing but probs and it wasn't even a "sh*tty" truck, it looked great in and out, just stuff was always breaking. And I had an 87 ranger, that thing was the sickest beach truck. It looked so old school and had pinstriping down the side and was cool to just cruise. Ran excellent until I drove into a puddle on my way to work during a flash flood torrential downpour. It was way deeper than it looked, water poured intothe cab a few inches deep, and that was the end of my transmission, which I did not feel the need to replace on an 87, not worth that kind of money. Good memories of it though. But I've always loved my friends 1st gens, and so when it got to the point where I'm financially good to invest in a vehicle, I knew I only wanted a Tacoma (not really a fan of the tundra exterior styling, and I don't need a big truck).

So I just found this:
http://www.tauntonauto.com/2002_Toyota_Tacoma_179596159.veh
And that's actually the red I really like, and I'm already picturing it with some black wheels.
Does anyone see any red flags from the listing? Is that a good deal for it? It's almost 11:30pm here, they're definitely closed right now haha, but I will call first thing in AM to see if it's still there and leave work at noon to go see it if it looks like a score. It's an hour away, so definitely gotta call first, and don't want to waste the trip if there are any red flags/concerns over the listing.

 

I'm with Tan 4x4, when I started looking for my tacoma, I searched far and wide for just the right one....(left town as others have mentioned) Finally found it (thanks to a member here, and why I'm a member), as soon as I saw the ad, I called up and wanted to meet right then and there. He was busy, but I made sure as soon as he was free, I was there... I had to come look. As soon as I laid eyes on it, I knew it was sold. Don't worry, you'll find it when the time is right, but I'm also with some of the other guys, may want to consider 'missing' a few features from your 'checklist'....tacomas are awesome.

 

Looks to be in great condition, and it's just under what I payed for mine and only has 8,000 more miles than mine when I bought it. Really the only way to know for sure if it's good is to check it in person. Unless you can have the dealer send you pics of the frame. Otherwise looks like a great truck!

 

Well did u get it? And I've had 1 sold out from under me they wouldn't budge on my trade in price, found out the hard way but in the end it worked out for me I found my current taco in another town so I called the bank to pre qualify, asked for time off from work, called the guy bought a plane ticket he picked me up from the airport i test drove it and said lets go to the bank, then came the 7hr drive home with my new Tacoma

 

Don't be too set on a TRD model. Yes, it is more desirable for us, but also more desirable for thieves. The only thing you get that is meaningful is the locker installed within a weaker axle. I wanted the TRD also, but I also wanted a 4-cyl and automatic. Lockers were not available in those models. So I got my non-TRD and installed a Detroit TruTrac (gear-type LSD) into the 8.4 differential for about $700. It worked great on my last wheeling run. Some of the guys thought I had a locker.

I'm a happy camper.

 

I too wanted a trd, but I am happy with my sr5 plus I couldn't have passed this truck up just wish it was an auto

 

Update, OP?