Finally buying a Taco

After many years of waiting I'm finally buying a Tacoma. My parents were looking to upgrade back to a full-size truck and offered me a good deal on their '13 TX Baja. I had went to go look at the 2016s earlier today but I thought the front end looked weird. And I always have hesitations with first year models after major mechanical changes. There are also very few 4x4 '15 models left around here so even trying to find a good deal on a closeout was probably out of the question. And for the price difference it was a no-brainer also knowing the full history of the truck.

I'm currently driving an '03 4Runner Sport v8 2WD. It's been great for the 5 years I've had it but there are nuisances with it. The driver seat is very uncomfortable for me during longer trips. Brake calipers just ugh. Having to move around car seats while trying to fit large items into the cargo was never fun. And of course the lack of 4WD for the times when it would have came in handy. Previously I did have a '95 4Runner v6 5speed 4WD and that was great fun.

I think I will miss having the covered cargo area the first time something gets rained on or having to try to shove all the groceries into the cab because it is raining. Still I know it's going to have much more utility for larger items that we seem to always be buying. I'm definitely going to miss the v8's acceleration when it was needed it and the fact it stays so low in RPMs at highway cruising.

I'll have to add some pictures later when I go get it from them.

 

I'd buy the 2013 Baja edition and get a canopy!

 

Congratulations!

 

Welcome and congrats!

 

Welcome and congrats!

 

I still need to take some pictures, just haven't gotten around to it yet! I've been driving it for a week and a half now. The ride is much different than the T4R. I feel comfortable in it, but I can differently notice the stiffer and rougher ride. The seats are infinitely more enjoyable though so that might be part of the reason I think it's comfortable. I am very impressed and happy with it. I did end up getting a Leer camper shell with it. Originally we had talked about them selling it separately but then it seemed like the extended warranty would not transfer so that was the consolation prize I suppose. Not sure if I'll keep it in the long-run. I'm having mixed feelings about it and think I'd rather try to find a tonneau cover that can allow quicker access to most or the full bed. If I really wanted something with that much covered space, I would have just kept the T4R or traded-in toward one of the ugly 5th Gens with 4WD. Unfortunately the way our garage is laid out, I don't even think I could find a good accessible spot to do any sort of lift to get it off the ground. It seems it would either block a garage door from opening, the side door, house door, or keep a car from parking inside. I didn't skip getting a full-size truck just to park outside and no way my wife is going to park her car outside either.

The only big issue has been the financing. Not sure I ever really want to work with a non-local lender again unless its through a dealership as that seemed to go flawless compared to this. The paperwork hasn't made a lot of sense. First time I called them, they said since it was a private party with an existing lien I couldn't use the blank check they sent after the preapproval. I had to wait 4 more days to get a pre-filled out check because they wanted it to be a multi-party check. Called again with questions about a demand of title form and didn't get very clear answers. I think part of that problem is I'm in a non-holding title state with no provisions to send lienholders the title. So the current lienholder doesn't have the title, and never wanted it from my parents. I guess I still have 20 days to get that all sorted out, get a lien release, transfer into my name, pay the taxes, and then figure out if they are going to try to get me to surrender the title to them like the promissory note makes it sound like.