Best Years

What are the best years of 2nd gen Tacomas? I’m looking for one with a budget of about 17k. Need something durable and reliable. I have a work truck so this wouldn’t necessarily be a daily drive but it will be on my days off.

 

4cyl trucks don't really have much of any major problems, V6 trucks avoid 05-early 06 (higher headgasket and engine mount failure rate) and 2012 (high Secondary Air Injection System failure rate) year models and you should be fine.
Just do your homework on any planned purchase and make sure you do a thorough inspection and/or have a shop you trust do a pre-purchase inspection on whatever you plan to buy.

 

I’ve owned 4 different 06 v6 Tacoma’s and never had any problems with head gaskets or engine mounts. I have had problems with water leaks around the firewall and driveline vibration though. Had TB noise on the 6sp x runner. Nothing is perfect currently driving an 07 sport LWB just turned over 100k today. I’ll be replacing U joints soon. Consumer reports for accurate unbiased info on which model years have less problems.