Buy New or Used and most importantly, WHEN??

Hi everyone
I am brand new to the Tacoma obsession and have never even owned a Toyota. I started with a Jeep, then an Xterra, and now a '97 Honda Civic (big difference from a Taco, I know). I've been in love with Tacomas for quite some time now and I need some advice from all you "professionals." I have a few questions which will probably be easier to explain in list form.

1. I know all Tacoma years are pretty great and there are minimal, if any, mechanical differences between the 2016-2018 models. I also know that they depreciate pretty slowly and in the long run it is not going to be too different in price when planning to get a 3rd generation. Should I go relatively used or new?

2. I would get a TRD Sport regardless of the year, but if I go newer, it is hard for me to justify spending $35-40k on a truck with all the options that I want. For the people who have bought new(ish), are the options really worth it (Tech, Premium) or should I get the cheapest TRD Sport and just add later down the road. Keep in mind, I do not have much experience in the truck world and will have to pay labor cost to get certain things installed.

3. When the hell should I buy? I am located in South Florida and I can wait and keep saving but I feel like I will keep putting it off since this will be my first car purchasing experience (my previous cars were given to me/bought super cheap). Financially, I am in a good place and have minimal expenses, but what are your thoughts on setting a certain time frame/amount saved, etc?

 

I can’t speak for what time of the year is best to buy. Personally, I like to shop new to get a baseline for pricing and options. Then I check out the used market and make a decision from there. My last three trucks in a row have all been new based on this strategy, because they depreciate so slowly.

 

End of the month is usually good because they are trying to make quotas. They usually have some type of holiday sales also. Check for interest rate specials. Lastly, I found lady salespeople are much easier to deal with than men. Less bs.

 

Welcome to TW... Have fun truck shopping!!

 

After watching the market for months and researching a ton...
End of the year-moving last years model to make room
End of the month-trying to make quotas
Holiday Sales-they have good deals and want to move volumes
Compete-use the dealers against one another (assuming you have multiple dealers / in SD we have like 10 dealerships) / I haggled prices with all the dealers that wanted to play ball.

Try and combine all those for the best results depending on your timeline, obviously if you want to buy in the near future you won't be waiting till Nov. & Dec.

Good luck.

 

Look at the 2012-2015 2nd gens. Should be able to pick one up mid to upper 20K.

 

Well, you asked, and internet opinions are free, right?

You're going to miss that at the gas pump with whatever truck you choose. Especially as it sneaks up on $4/gal again down there. Maybe consider a plan to keep it as a daily beater and add a truck for just fun?

I'd suggest buying a well conditioned year model that you can pay cash for. Don't spend a ton on 'mods', just use it to learn how to maintain, buff it up to look sharp, find later model Tacoma wheels you like to spiff it up, etc etc.

While owning your paid for truck, save the amount that your monthly payment would have been in a dedicated account. When that account gets substantial, look at trading up. By that I mean finding a newer version you like and sell yours private party. Still cash, still no financing.

Wash, rinse, repeat until you hit the year model you want, even new, and are in a cash position.

Done well, it should not take any longer than it would have to paid off the note on the new one. 5-7 years. You save a bundle in interest, you have cheaper insurance, you get to learn your own maintenance skills. And best of all, you stay debt free.

Most folks won't even try something like this as they have that instant gratification gene. But those that are successful at it certainly face other financial positions in life with a different attitude, as they never fret over how the truck payment will be made.

If you do go new or new-ish, at a dealer, remember it's a shell and pea game. You have to remove 2 shells (trade in, dealer financing) to be able to find the pea (the true price). So if you are going to dump your Civic, do it privately, and arrange financing in advance via a credit union or other source. Doesn't remove the option of picking up dealer financing at the end of negotiations if it's better, just keeps from moving the pea around on you with a false low interest rate offset by a higher purchase price.

Good luck in any choice you make.