Hoping to be a new tacoma owner

Hello fellow forums readers

I stumbled upon this site when researching about tacoma's it seems there is some knowledgeable people here who perhpas may be able to assist me.

I am looking to purchase a 1st generation tacoma but i am undecided between a 4cyl and a 6 cyl.

I have tested and driven both and after going to a 6 cyl from a 4 cyl i am not sure if i should get a 4 cyl. I don't own a tacoma yet, but i am looking to buy one. A sibling of mine owns an 04 prerunner 6 cyl ext cab and prior to that he had a 1999 ext cab 4 cyl tacoma.

Between the 2 in power i can definitely notice the power difference specially on the freeway. I am inexperienced when it comes to cars and trucks in general besides knowing a couple of obvious things i wouldn't know too much.

Besides gas what would be a better reason to consider a 4 cyl over a 6 cyl? I was looking to buy an 02 pre runner tacoma 4 cyl because i was taking into consideration i would mostly be using it as a daily driver for transporting a few goods.

I would hardly use it for towing and whatever i would load in the bed liner wouldn't be more than 1500 lbs usually. And when i would use it for towing it wouldn't be more than 3000 lbs.

However the ones i tested so far which were in good condition i notice a noticeable difference compared to my siblings 6 cyl prerunner that its a big sluggish when first gaining speed in the freeway.

A few of the trucks i have taken a look at have been a bit lifted for offroad which is actually a plus for me because sometimes i travel to the desert when going to Nevada. What i noticed in the lifted trucks is whenever i hit a ledge uphill or park up a driveway i hear a ''knob'' turn similar to what you hear when you open the gas knob , is this normal or is it the truck basically hitting the coils/springs?

If it weren't for the money i would go for a double door 05+ 6 cyl prerunner, but those are about 35% more than what i would like to spend.

Can someone please advise what i should watch out for when looking at a tacoma? Is 150k-160 original miles for an 02 prerunner ok?

Over the past few weeks i had issues with sketchy people , many of whom won't state or tell me over the phone that the trucks has some issues until i get to the location ( check engine light on, paint chipped, more dents, etc.), and then i run the issue where people don't have a recent smog and are unwilling to take it which is alarming because i assumed getting a passing smog was common practice before selling any vehicle.

No doubt i could go to a dealer and rather than trying to buy from private party's but the issue is dealers charge an arm and a leg. They want about 11k for an 02 prerunner with 175,000~ miles the same which i can manage to get from a private party for about 7,000-7800.

 

Welcome and good luck!

 

Good luck - it took me most of a year of looking to find a good truck from an honest private seller who was asking for the right price.

 

You might pay a little more, but I bought mine from a dealership. Every one on Craigslist I found leaked oil.

 

Some of the earlier Tacoma's with 6 cylinders had timing belts compared to the 4 cylinders that had timing chains. Find out when the belt was replaced before buying a 6 cylinder earlier model.

 

Drive hills? Get the 6. Other than that get the 4 for cheaper tune ups and insurance, imo.

 

What is a resonable/cost for a 6 cyl 2003-2004 prerunner ext cab with anywhere from 130,000-160,000 miles?
I am thinking 8,000?

I am west coast if it makes a difference in truck pricing