Need help narrowing a 2nd gen purchase

LOL, I don't how anyone doesn't want to lob a grenade at that f'n traction control. A-TRAC off road might be the bee's knees but TRAC just boils my blood. It was a major reason we sold our 2005 4Runner. It's been a while but my memory was that the brakes in it weren't that much better (and it had rear disc brakes too!), but I'm also not unhappy with them in my truck so may just be a case of blissful ignorance.

 

With models prior to 2011 you need to check the frame for rust and confirm your elligibility for a frame replacement.

Saftey features are a huge issue. After being in a major accident where curtain airbags possibly saved my life or at the very least my limbs, I won't own a car without them.

I would not like buying a 10 year old truck with a 4500 miles per year on average.
Vehicles with low mileage tend to experience catastrophic failures earlier on than high mileage vehicles. People treat cars like miles are equivilent to years in a person, like you only have so many and the faster the miles wrack up, the less life in the truck, not true.

Low mileage vehicles are usually not as well cared for as high mileage vehicles. For example that 2007 probably has never seen a differential or transfer case oil change.
I put 25,000 miles a year on my truck. In 10 years I will have done roughly 9 changes. So be prepared for that 2007 to have diff and transcase bolts that are damn near corroded permenently on lol.

Low mileage vehicles also tend to be driven short distances and driven city miles. This usually means the engine never meets operating temp the vast majority of the driven time. So that means the miles are harder on the vehicle.

For me to reach 45k city miles I would have to drive my truck around 300k total miles. An engine running from start up to engine operating temperature is where 90-95% of engine wear and tear occur.

Round about way of saying don't let high miles stand in the way of you and a nice truck. Buy for safety features and a goid looking frame.

 

Wow, you guys are a wealth of information, and I really appreciate all the assistance! I am now inclined to spend a bit more and look for an '11, or '13 or newer. If I come across a great '09 or '10, where are the best places to check for frame rust? I have no qualms about crawling under and poking around and/or looking for anything freshly painted.

Thanks again,
Dave

 

My truck had 42K on it when I bought it in 2015, it was 7 years old (e.g. 6K/year). Miles are maybe not as good an indicator as hours on a machine but, yes, anything mechanical has a life span no matter how you measure it. Got my last truck at 100K, 9 years old (very normal 11K/year). It went another 16 years and 187K but the timing chain was worn out at 125K, which I replaced and had fail again at 187K. That time it took out the engine, so I had to rebuild it. That catastrophic failure was my fault, I cut corners and didn't use OEM parts.

So all things being equal (qualifier), lower is always better. The qualifier is of course maintenance and use impact condition. The guy I bought my Tacoma from just had it for utility, so it was driven infrequently for recreation and chores. Maybe not as easy on it as little old lady for church on Sunday, but it wasn't short commutes either. Toyota had records of all the services, done at the dealer. Things were done on time, not much more you can expect.

I guess the only thing you can do is what I did, pull the plugs, inspect the fluids, check compression, see what's dented or recently repaired (mine had very minor scrapes on the skid plates, previous owner wasn't trying to hide anything) and try your best to determine the condition.

After buying it I did the same thing I always do with a new to me used vehicle, complete fluidectomy and baselining. I don't care if the car has 1000 miles or 100K, you don't know what's happened up to that point but you have the power to know for a fact that every drop of fluid or lube is brand new, that the brakes are done, that the wheel bearings are done. Hell, I don't even trust the factory to do it right, which if you follow the 3rd gen transmission under fill issue you'll realize that if you want something done right you gotta do it yourself.

 

Being that these are all pretty much the same price I would throw the 2010 out due to mileage, yes these trucks run forever but the 100k difference in miles is a lot regardless of reliability, its a toss up there between the 2007 and 2008, what color are they and what TRD package doe they have (Offroad or Sport)?

 

Traction control on my 2013 TRD OR 4x4 has saved my ass a few times. ABS in the snow is what it is, i have a switch to turn that off if needed easily accessible, but any other time, traction control on, it does wonders, especially with how light the ass end of these trucks are.

 

any tacoma you purchase check for rust then again. then have somebody else check re verify so you dont end up with a giant paper weight

 

Like I say, my experience with TRAC was a 2005 4Runner so not apples to apples. That thing was hyper aggressive cutting power and applying brakes in a snowy neighborhood intersection with cross traffic dodging a fancy SUV just creeping through. Then the one time I expected it to engage, the back end getting ahead of me down an icy Interstate, it didn't do jack except guarantee my brake pedal was on the floor, useless as tits on a boar. Nah, thanks, I'll do it myself. I've had 31 years now driving in snow, I have gained some experience not killing myself.