why should i choose a taco or tundy?

I decided to get a 1st gen 4 door 4x4 tacoma.

I'm looking at replacing my current truck (95 tacoma) and am torn between the 04-08 f-150s, 00-07 tundras, 05-08 tacomas, and a 99-07 chevy 1500.

What i need,
Price: $18,000 or under
drivetrain: v6 or v8 with a auto trans, and 4x4
cab: 4 full doors
bed: short bed
reliability
less then 100k miles
decent aftermarket
and somewhat capable off road without major mods.

and i will also occasionally tow a #4500 boat, max of 50 miles.
those who vote please state why you went with your truck vs chevy or dodge or ford.

i'm leaning towards kicking the chevy off the list.
i know i'm gonna get a lot of "get the toyota" answers, but please stay as unbiased as possible.

 

if you do get a Chevy...
for the love of Goodness, do not get anything with a Vortec Engine
or with remote engine oil lines
or with vacuum operated 4x4
or...
yeah, maybe you just better kick Chevy off the list

 

why? my uncle has a 03 1500 with a vortex in it and he hasn't had any issues with it.

 

i had a 4.3 Vortec
and my dad just got a V8 Vortec

it's a very awkward design
the spider injector unit for one...
if one injector fails (which is very common) you have to replace the entire unit; and that's $$$$$
also, they are notorious for constant EGR issues; like clogged passages that require removal of the plenum, not just cleaning the valve
the cap/rotor, ignition control module, and the 90 other electronic parts responible for timing and ignition like to fail often as well
not sure about the V8; but my 4.3 engine compartment was so freaking packed tight that getting to anything requires removing everything else; like having to get an extension and swivel socket, plus removing a tire to get to a spark plug... stuff like that
and so on and so on...

 

Dang, and people were telling me how bad the fords were, they only have 3-4 major issues, and they can all be fixed at home.

thanks for the heads up

 

Good luck finding a 4 door second gen tacoma for under $20,000 that isnt straight beat to shit. I had cash in my hand for months and couldnt find a single one for under $20,000 and less than 100k i looked at hundreds... and good luck with a chevy... i would skip that aswell Ford is the number one selling truck on the road for a reason or even a dodge is a good truck

 

Ford's 5.4 triton V8 is not something I'd want. Good luck with the spark plug changes and the cam phasers. Say hello to shitty power and economy. Other than that I don't mind those trucks.

I think the tundies and tacos are great trucks with very rare major mechanical issues or services needed.

I don't know what kind of issues higher mileage the new ford 5.0 f150s are running into if any but I'll say I enjoyed the piss out of driving those trucks and I'd buy a new one if the shoe fit, but that may be out of the question for you.

 

I edited this to show what you should be looking for. Everything else you can get with any of those trucks.. Except for maybe the v8 in the f150 although i'm not sure

 

Get an 05-08 Tacoma since it has all the familiarity of your current truck and it also has enough power t tow your boat plus the Tacoma is proven on and of road plus I can't see why you would want a Government Motors vehicle they are crappy quality and they have issues as stated before plus the interior lights in the chevy go out frequently so Go yota

 

you can get a v8 in all except the tacoma so it all depends on how much power and bad fuel mileage you want...

 

yeah, if i wanted a pre runner i'd have my pickings, but the 4x4 drive the price out of range.

how does the 5.4 stack up against the 4.6? we had 2 trucks with the 5.4 with no issues, and moms exploder has the 4.6 and the rev hang is terrible.
i prefer the looks of the ford and the space, 7 more inches of cabin space and only 2 inches longer then a DCLB taco, but it's 5 inches wider.

i know the tundys and tacos are good, but the tundy is to big (i think) and the taco is to much $$$

thanks

 

Dad had an 04 GMC Sierra 1500 with the 5.3 for 75,000 miles, completely trouble free. Had a little seepage at the valve covers but the the truck was pretty much problem free minus the t-case having shifting issues (electrical), covered under warranty while pretty new. I kind of wanted to buy it to be honest. Was the z71 loaded edition, bed liner, leather, heated seats, XM yada yada. Great truck, loved it. He ended up with a new 6.7 cummins laramie.

 

I like to stick with pre-2000 vehicles, personally
The amount of electronics and such on vehicles today is astounding
And it seems if ANYTHING goes wrong, you need to find someone Certified In Computer Operating Systems to hack into your vehicle and convince it that it's allowed to start when you turn the key

 

so true and they have a seperate computer for everything... even computer controlled lights WTF!!!

 

the problem is $$$, i'm getting budgeted a certain amount (i think it's 16k, they never gave me a real number) and i can add on what i want to their money (i'm thinking 2-3k, depends on what i make of my current truck)

yeah, right now MPG doesn't matter that much,if it ever does, hello 90's honda.

 

Yes, it used to be if there was something wrong with your vehicle, the troubleshooting process was:
Do I have fuel delivery? Do I have air? Do I have spark?

Now it's...
Is my Camshaft position sensor OK? how about my crankshaft position sensor? my ignition control module? my EGR Valve? my MAF? my throttle position sensor? my O2 sensor? etc etc etc...

 

on some vehicles you can unplug the sensors and the computer goes to a default setting where the vehicle can run if the sensor was the issue.

 

Dude the 05-08 Tacomas with 4x4 are affordable if you get the right one jut remember to haggle with the people or salesman and see how badly they want it gone

 

That may get you home... but, it doesn't exactly help you figure out what the issue is
Anyway, to relate it back to the OP, I seemed to constantly be fighting with electronics with my post 80's GM vehicles
And the 95 blazer with 4.3 Vortec I had was a nightmare

 

Depends on where you're located,in CA they tend to be rarer, hence more $$
i need to test drive some trucks though, the only vehicles listed that i've driven is the 05-08 taco, i got to drive my sisses 08 DCLB pre runner sport today, i liked it but the interior was on the small side.