Looking for my dream truck

If you want Frontier then do not, under any circumstance, try a Tacoma. I had a Frontier, now a Tacoma. You will understand why the value drops like that hooker.

 

I had a 2003 Frontier for 7 years. Truck was fine for me, never had any problems. They’re not bad trucks, they are just not tacoma trucks in terms of quality and bells and whistles.

 

If you find an old Tacoma like what you are looking for in the $7000 to $8000 range it will most likely be a high mileage piece of crap. You will end up spending $20000 by the time you fix everything that is broken and everything that will need to be replaced. Hold off for awhile until you can save some more $$$ or get a better paying job.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld and after all of that I hope that you are still with us. I'm going to advise you to stay on the site and keep reading to learn about these amazing machine and hopefully have a a better grasp of what you are looking at getting yourself into. Budgets exist and we all have to deal with them. But as stated before, sometimes a low starting budget can create more problems than the whole project is worth.

Now I'm a Toyota guy and have been for a very long time. With that said, going with the budget that you've stated I'd consider a 3rd generation Toyota 4Runner or a Jeep XJ. Neither is a pickup but both have four doors and come in 4wd. Brand loyalty aside the 4Runner and Jeep XJ are a good "first time" 4wd that will net you allot of fun while learning more about off-roading skills and vehicle maintenance thats associated with off-roading. Both have a sizable level of aftermarket support and factory spares can be found in auto dismantlers - read: junk yards - lots around the country.

Again, welcome to the site and I hope that you find yourself reading more and more and gaining valuable insight into the pro's and con's of different modifications and also soon find the machine that is perfect for you and your budget.

 

I bought new because I could afford the payments easier than used

 

I sold a 1st gen. 98 tacoma for 7k. It had 89k miles, 4x4, manual with locker. Access cab,ac,no rust.

Be patient and ready to buy on the spot. I had 14 calls the first day and the first person that looked at it, bought it. It was 17 yrs old when I sold it.

 

I had the '05, first year of the new design. It was fine until 95K, then I started pouring money into it - transmission x2, radiator, fuel problems, power windows, it just sort of fell apart. It had been well maintained, I was glad to see it go.

 

I agree that they’re expensive, my slightly used one was almost as much as new. But, I think if you look around long enough you can find something in your price range. You may need to be ready to buy quick when you find it because it probably won’t be available long.

 

for the budget you have, you can easily find a good 1st gen tacoma. Though, if you're patient you can find a 2nd gen for that price, as they sometimes pop up that low

Just watch out for rusty frames when shopping for tacomas (all gens), because these trucks are known to suffer from severe frame rust and rot issues. Especially in northern areas, where salt and chemicals are used on roads during winter.

 

ok thank you for all the advice

 

Dont get a Frontier. There is almost no after market. A ranger or f150 would be a better bet imo

 

You have $7000 to spend? Find yourself a nice used $5000 atv/quad for off-road fun and stick the other 2K into an IRA fund...

 

This is on a way different budget then you but same concept. I couldn't justify spending 5-10gs less and getting a truck with 150,000km. - 200,000km When I could buy brand new for that little bit more. And my payments were less because financing is cheap when you buy new VS used. I don't know if your paying cash or going through a bank. But if your paying cash it might not hurt to talk to the bank and borrow some cash.this will also help your credit if you don't have much. Or maybe talk to the bank of mom and dad the interest rates are usually pretty good.

 

I held onto my Frontier until my extended warranty expired. Granted my truck only had about 43k miles on it. A few year later I traced that truck with the VIN number and apparently some dude totaled it.

 

Forget the 4 door. Find a decent Ranger.

Parts are plentiful and cheap. Learn how to drive it, recover it and fix it when you tear it up.

If you decide to continue offloading, you can save up and move to Toyota later if you still want to.

 

Had a 05 fronty nismo 4x4 AC w/ e-locker trouble free for 125k snatched a many taco out.