Any Buyer's Remorse with your Tacoma. Need opinions.

I oftn wonder what life with a full size 8 cylinder truck would be like , wouldn't call it buyer remorse .

 

Choice between double cab or access cab is which is more important to you, passenger space or bed/cargo space. I went for cargo space, my grand kids are the only ones who ride in the back for the most part. Access cab back seats are big enough for adults in a pinch for short rides. If you need both pax and cargo room regularly, DCLB is the answer. IMHO FWIW.

I have no regrets that would push me away from Tacoma. When I wear this one out, I'll probably buy another.

 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchase. I don't do off-roading so I went with 2wd. I only have one 3yr old child so an access cab was enough. I can fit the family in there for short trips to flea markets and other such things. And I get really good gas mileage for a truck 23-24 mpg. Is it powerful? Not really but enough for my everyday usage. It's able to maintain 75mph in OD uphill w/o down shifting. I've been very happy with my seats. I can do a 2-3hr trip with little to no discomfort. I definitely couldn't do that in my 99. It's not near as good a ride as my 07 tundra 4x4. But it's not a horrible ride either. I think replacing the factory dunlops with some Michelins will work wonders for my ride.
So yeah I probably will buy another one but I will wait until Toyota equips the Tacoma with an updated powertrain. And by the time that happens my daughter will probably be big enough to warrant a double cab. But I'll still probably stay with a 5lug 4cyl.

 

Can't argue with logic like that, to be honest. But I am saying that while looking for options to add a temp gauge to my truck haha.

I think it was "Diesel Power" or some other diesel truck rag that had a big article on how to buy a truck for wheeling...their biggest advice was to keep it simple....no power locks or windows, no gadgets to break, etc. I think they recommended a 1999.5 dodge with the cummins and a 6 speed that was pretty much fully unloaded.

Things are expensive nowadays, most cant afford a daily driver, a dedicated trail rig, etc, which is likely why we're seeing all these awesome trail rigs with factory nav and heated seats. If I had my way I would have an older diesel cruiser for bush and overlanding, a nice efficient car for dd, and a rigged out pick-up for my company truck...but I bought a Taco instead to be the jack of all trades. Even with my ridiculous all in price I'm still kinda ahead of the game...but she won't do any one thing perfectly.

 

TRD packaged seats are definitely better with the lumbar support, hence why both of my Tacoma's are TRD's.

 

No regrets I love my prerunner dc 4cyl auto it's my 3rd tacoma I only need to tow a utility trailer but I didn't buy it to tow, I bought it cause it's a purty truck and I'm a granny driver anyway so look at a few of them I would only say to consider the TRD, it is a different animal, that's why I put TRD shocks on mine first thing, much improved ride quality.

 

Sometimes I regret getting the auto instead of the standard, but then I check out the gas mileage threads.

 

I agree with the "jack of all trades" description. My experience over the years has been that all my purchases have been a compromise...a kind of battle between head and heart. My heart says get a new Corvette, my head says get a Camry Hybrid, so I compromise and get a...Camry Hybrid. You get the idea. I bought my Tacoma because it is the best compromise between fun, fuel economy, and reliability and still have usefulness as a pickup.

 

Only answering the OP since I haven't read the rest.
LOVE this truck. It's a beast that is tough to put down. Seats are comfy, power is adequate, amenities are useful, etc. I wouldn't think twice about buying another. Good luck!

 

I have the same truck as you but 4X4. My leafs failed just after 30 days. With a hitch, undercover and a bed mat . It looked like I was coon hunting at night with my lights in the top of trees.

Other than that I think the truck is great. I would buy again no problem. This is my third Tacoma and have/had 5 Toyota cars. My only remorse is that I didn't buy a 2002 thru 2004 Tacoma.

 

I don't understand why people have had 3 or 4 or 5 tacomas. My uncle in Phoenix is on probably his fifth. Now he has his first 2gen an 08. These trucks last forever. Thats the plan with mine. Why trade them up??

 

I regret not buying my sooner. Although I really do wish I hadn't lifted the truck.. can't decide if it is due to the mud terrains or lift.. I think I will be going with a michelin ltx next go around tho

 

I will consider trading up if/when they come out with a next gen engine (year 2 of the new engine at the earliest). Ours is bulletproof but there's been 10 years of engine tech that the Taco isn't utilizing.

 

I'm an old retired Army pilot. A lot of seat time in airplanes and helicopters including that nasty 1:1 vibration leading to massive backaches and ass cramps from the old Hueys. I have 3400 miles on my 2014 Tacoma SR5 Double Cab 4x4 Long Bed. Absolutely ZERO SEAT COMPLAINTS; zero aches after long drives. Super comfortable, super truck, super highway ride, superb in every respect. My second Taco and this one's even better than my '03 DC SR5 TRD SB 4x4.

 

i have one of the first 2nd gen tacomas so i have been talking with friends about our trucks and online etc for a LONG time

i put mine through complete hell, when i bought it i was working in emergency response, she has run at 100mph for a hundred or mines at a time andnever over heated or showed any signs or stress, she has been through hurricane's katrina, rita, gustov, lily, ike, all of them. spent days on end driving through mud, clay, sand, you name it!

NEVER once has not performed excellent!

that being said, these are the things i have experienced or had friends mention on several occasions


- steering wheel shake, for me it happened i believe for 3 different reasons if i remember, the first time was warped rotors, the second time was when i had a totally blown front strut, then it happens i find sometimes if your tire pressures are way out of wack

- oem rim finish, bubbling/flacking
- drivers over 6' sometimes complain about leg room in drivers seat, the interior is comforatble though
- the time/temp display will go out, its just a fact, lol! but easy fix
- warranty service from toyota kinda sucks, when i bring the lexus in, your greeted and treated great, have a personal service rep, they have a loaner vehicle that exactly matches yours ready for you, etc, toyota, well you drop it off and when its done they call you
- SUSPENTION SQUEEKS AND MOANS, but thats been on every tacoma i ever saw 1st and 2nd gen
- unless you get a 4x4 there are no servicable grease points, if you get a pre-runner you have to swap u-joints etc to the 4x4 parts to have grease points
- THOSE DAMN CUPS in front of the headlight bulbs, i always open the assemblies and remove them, like doubles the light
- frame surface rust, after mine started doing it, when a friend bought one in 2007 he put his own undercoating and been fine
- they always forget to install the cabin air filter, so soon as you get it, open glove box and look, if its not there put one in, thats the air filter for the ait inside the truck
- he aware if you get a prerunner or any 2wd without the off-road package you do not get a rear locker, only break assisted tracking
- THE TAIL GATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you haul a atv or heavy loads REMOVE THE TAILGATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 the bed is carbon fibre, if you put ramps on the tailgate and run your atv up and down it will eventually bend!!!!!!!!!!!!1 but if you remove the tailgate then put your ramps you are all good, then just pop the tailgate on and hit the trails
- ABS wheel sensors, some people have had issues with them going out, my first one just went out this year, so thats almost a decade, not bad
- the gas milage at least on mine was a couple less than advertised
- almost all speedometers seem to be off from 1.5 to 3 mph at 70mph, i have 3 gps systems that monitor speed, mine is off about 1.4mph at 65
- the rear seat headrest kinda block your view,everyone i know removed them right away, i did also
- no bed light
- VERY LOW HAULING WEIGHT ABILITY, you put more than 600lbs in the bed without extra springs or assist it will sag and hit the bump stops if you hit some good bumps on the road, for a hobby i scrap metal, so i have many loads in it all the time
- some people mentions little stress i guess you call it cracks/scratch things in the headlight assemblies, personally mine hasnt and i never saw it in person, i did melt a fog light lense oncebut that was my fault i stuffed a way over sized hi watt bulb in it




DO NOT TAKE THE ABOVE as complaints, i am 1000% happy with my purchase, the hundreds if not thousands of positive things about these trucks out weigh the handful of possible negatives, if i had to do it again, i would do everything the same!
(mine is a 2005 Pre-Runner TRD Sport quad-cab) but i wanted to try my best to give you a non-bias run down of what myself or others i know have experienced.

i can not stress enough how much extreme situations i put mine through, i run several large stereo amps that pull enough power to melt anything less than about a 8ga power wire and i run several power inverters when i used to be in the field living in it at times and the hi-amp trd alternator handles it fine, for the bp oil spill i drove through salt water marsh every day for a year, if you get a model with the extra oil/trans coolers and the hi-amp alternator, bilstein shocks, etc and if you do you maintenance, change oil, transmission fluid,differential oil, coolant, keep eye on tire pressure, etc i dont think you can kill these trucks after all these years the only damages to the interior are my fault, like stains on carpet from greasy boots or cigarette burns, other than the stuff i did, interior is still great


hope that helps some and hope other members do not flame me too bad, just trying to be honest with the guy and point out EVERYTHING i have ever noticed or had friends have problems with

FINAL WORD IS.... there is not a truck in this class of trucks from another manufacturer that can remotely come close in overall performance, reliablity and quality as a tacoma with trd package, even more so if you get off-road or sport package as well

either way, if you get a tacoma or not, congrats on getting a new truck man!

cheers,
disco

 

You'll have a lot more sellers remorse than buyers!

 

could not have said it better bro

mine has done her duty and is a member of the family now and will be until we have to bury her no intentions on ever selling


cheers,
disco

 

You will not regret the resale value. The boss had an 07 DCSB TRD Off-Road 4x4 (six spd) that we bought new for $26,xxx. The kid totalled it last month, and insurance gave us $22,500 for the carcass. I was amazed.

We loved that truck, and I thought I'd "improve" on it by ordering a 2013 Access Cab, to allow for more bed space. I am not sure that was the right decision. The jump seats are next to worthless, size-wise. I kinda feel like I could have saved six grand by ordering a single cab... or, stuck with the double cab model.

Off Topic Poke at Toyota: I have long believed in Toyota Motor Company's intergrity, and that they build good things and stand behind them. That belief is being tested now, for me and others, with their failure to address the driveshaft vibration issue that has marred many other-wise great Tacomas. Search for T-SB-0249-12 here or elsewhere to see how Toyota has left many long-time aficionados hangin'.

 

love my taco, but i'm not that tall of a person. I'm 5"8 and 160lbs. The seats just are the best. Not much thigh support at all so all the weight is left on my asscheeks. Headrests are a bit too forward so i can't really stretch my neck on a long drive.
Otherwise..i'm sold. first taco/toyota ever. Didn't even consider any other truck.
MPG could be better, but i'm hoping my break in period is causing my low 16mpg. Only got 950 miles.

 

I have a 2012 and no regrets what so ever. I would definitely buy another one. I heard the issues with the seats being uncomfortable but didn't think much about it as everyone is different and some things bother some more than others. I feel that the SR5 seats are not very comfortable but love my TRD Sport seats. I have the 6 spd which makes the truck a lot more fun to drive, but that is personal preference also. I have not had any issues with mine that are occasionally brought up, such as driveline vibration, frame rust etc. I did drive other trucks before purchasing my Tacoma and did not have the "I have to have this truck" feeling as I did with my Tacoma. Happy hunting.