Keep it or not?

Housing costs are up. College is more expensive than ever. Average price for a new car is over $40k.

Kids are facing a financial future that no other generation has had to get started in.

I worry for my kids....

 

Steer them towards degrees or tickets that offer practical employment in the future, and discourage them from superfluous degrees and they will do fine.

The market will eventually adjust to what useful people, doing necessary jobs, can manage to afford. All the HR department types, video game developers, social program administrators, etc are gonna be on shaky economic ground, but the world will still require doctors, engineers, tradespeople, and people involved in food distribution, transportation, as always.

 

Seems to me like you don't need your truck to do truck things

 

No brainer, get rid of it asap and cut your loses. Why pay insurance and maintainace for 6 years when you can save the money for collage or even for their car.

 

I generally agree, but think it can help to get perspective, especially if the mind isn't already made up and in need of reinforcement/validation.

 

We already know the next Tacoma engine… let’s just say the expected gas mileage isn’t all that much better than the V6. The V6 tacoma will be the last of its kind and will certainly end up being highly desirable.

 

While I reserved comment at the time, my buddy got done telling us how his son was a good student, responsible, etc etc when he was justifying to himself on getting his 16 YO son a nice used Tundra. Of course he wadded it up in a few months and is being punished (rewarded in mind) with a budget of about $10k to get an older car.

 

This is a solid response. I paid for college by working 3rd shift, full-time and going to class during the day. That is not really possible anymore. When I first got married and had kids, it was my intent for them to do the same. I quickly realized that it was no longer feasible.

And my first car was a 100,000 mile plus rust bucket. I'm not sure how I feel with my kids in a similar car on the road with texters, lifted F-350s, etc. I could also fix that thing with a basic tool kit on the side of the road and no Google, internet, video, etc. to guide me. Everything under the hood made sense and could be cobbled enough to make it home.

My thoughts have changed on this over the years and I'm currently more interested in reliable, safe, and an extremely large cushion zone when getting rear ended in a traffic jam.

 

Vote for Option "B".... I Love the Tacoma... but in time they will be electric like Rivian, or Hybrid like next year.... Get the maximum value you can and get the Gen4 400hp electric hybrid Tacoma that tows 12K lbs when they become available in the future.... Life is a Trip... Enjoy the ride!

 

??

 

https://pressroom.toyota.com/2023-toyota-highlander-revs-up-driving-with-new-turbocharged-engine/

 

They have shared the same engine…. This will be in the 2024 Tacoma.

 

To further drive this into another tangent, I also used to think that it was hard to replace displacement. My 2nd Gen. Tacoma's 4.0 was a sweet engine and I was worried about the 3.5 in the 3rd Gen. With the 3.5, the only thing I miss is the upside down oil filter changes from up top. It has really been a smooth engine and comparable in driving torque and horsepower.

Somehow, my wife's 2018 4Runner's 4.0 felt smoother than the 2nd Gen. but much slower. I know that it is not the same 4.0, dual VVT-i vs VVT-i, but it was still unexpected how much slower to respond to the pedal it felt when driving it. The real problem with the 4Runner is probably the ancient transmission.

The new car has a supercharger, turbocharger, and mini "hybrid" system. I had zero hope for it but a drive back from Keystone last week at ridiculous altitude and that thing did not skip a beat. And I think that it weighs more than the Tacoma. I'm going to check on that...

If that is the new engine for the Tacoma...no concerns.

 

4425 lbs for Tacoma (according to Edmunds). Plus about 150 lbs for the tool box that is always in the bed.

5333 lbs for new car (according to its app).
Edit:
4271 lbs according to Edmunds. I wonder if the app is applying all of the cars options versus a generic weight for Edmunds?

 

To the OP, if you are looking for a reason to keep the truck, just keep it. If not, then you are in the enviable position of being able to sell into this market without having to replace the truck. Six years is a long time to pay the cost of ownership for something you don't need.

 

I'm leaning that way. I also have a set of 4Runner TRD rims and the TRD Pro suspension ready to go on the truck. I was hoping to put some miles on the original stuff before replacing it.

I just took it to the hardware store with my daughter for a load of mulch and some lumber for new shelves in the garage. It is not without its utility.

 

Having a truck is nice for utility.

Maybe your kids are different, but it seems like many kids these days don't have the same desire to drive as we did. When I was a teenager we had wall phones and pay phones. If you wanted to find your friends or what was going on, you had to have a vehicle to get you to the gathering spots. My youngest brother didn't get his license until he was 35. My oldest daughter didn't until she was 20, and my youngest is now 21 and has been behind the wheel only once. She was awful, not sure I want her to drive, lol.

I wouldn't keep it for them, but I would keep it.

 

When I started driving gas was $0.49/gallon, and we all went to DMV on our 17th birthday to take our driving tests (I lived in NJ, driving age was 17, but you got your permit at 16 1/2 through drivers ed in high school and were ready to go by the time your birthday rolled around). You were lucky if you had your own car. Most of us used the family second car that everyone in the house shared. I had to work a part-time job and save to get my first beater, and the deal was I had to be able to pay for the insurance as well. I understand wanting to give your kids a head start and things are very different today than when I was that age in the mid 1970s, but I still think there is something to be said for having to earn something you want. Just my $0.02

 

Sell