My 2006 DCLB was stolen from in front of my house ...

So now I sit here asking myself ... now what ... pretend you have all the options in the world, what do I do? obviously I've filed a police report etc but am now also looking to what I do from here,

Buy a new taco?
wait for Gen 4?
Buy another 2nd Gen?
Pick up a 3rd Gen?
Move to a Tundra for the extra towing capacity?

So many choices. So help me out here, if you were in my shoes and your beloved truck was suddenly taken from you too soon (albeit with nearly 200k miles on it!) what would you do next?

 

The two things going through your mind right now should be how much money they’re going to pay you if they don’t find it, and how much money they’re going to pay you to fix it if they do, assuming it is repairable.

 

That really sucks, Zach…sorry to hear this. The only one of your options I wouldn’t do is wait for the Gen 4 Tacoma, but I’m not inclined to buy the early versions of a new product. Good luck with it…hoping for a good outcome for you!

 

Just buy back your truck when they post it for sale in the classifieds

 

Better hope it's

 

You'll have to buy the tailgate from a different post...

 

I'd buy a 3rd gen Tacoma or a 4Runner while they're still available. Maybe place a refundable deposit on one of each until you hear from your insurance.

 

Oh I hope they list it for sale ... I'm going to show up with nothing but a baseball bat and a bad attitude lol

 

For tundra vs taco. Ill propose the same question im asking myself.

Do you really need to extra capacity or do you just want it?
Does it fit into your life well (is your garage/driveway/carport spot big enough)
Assuming you go for the boss hawg tow package. Are you ready to fill 38 gallon fuel tank?
How much would your insurance go up?
More importantly. Are you up for payment if you can't by cash?

I've found by asking myself this alot everytime I've got the hankering to trade in my second gen for a tundy. So far its kept me from trading it off because I'm just not really up for that yet. Your results may vary obviously, but sometimes people overlook the small day to day stuff in these decisions

 

Yeah these are def all the right questions, truth is a lot of them I'm not sure, I will def pay cash and they fuel part doesn't scare me but im not actually certain I'll ever "need" the tow capacity though I do buy a lot of toys and tools and occasionally wish I had the ability to tow a long trailer full of tools I want to buy when I find some contractor retiring and selling everything he owns on CL lol

 

damn thats a nightmare. i hear a lot of our north american stolen vehicles end up across the world in africa and middle east. not sure i would hold onto hope of it being listed online but you never know.

what thoughts occurred to you when you were driving it like did you ever wish you had: bigger bed, more seats, more off-road capable, better fuel econ., shorter wheelbase, cheaper vehicle, something flash and new? its very personal what to do. think about what you feel you've been missing in your previous vehicle.

i find myself jealous of 4runners sometimes for all the internal storage space and shorter wheelbase, and my next vehicle might be a 4runner once they make a few years of them.

 

Thatd be the dream honestly. Ill be honest ive yet to run into a thing my 2nd gen can't handle towing wise. But with my current track car im closing in on the max rated capacity. Coupled with the fuel tank size, im definitely getting the feeling to go on. But for 95% of the time. I wouldnt trade mine for a tundra, let alone a third gen

 

Sorry OP. I’d be so pissed, but you seem to be handling it well.

Probably hope it’s never recovered since you’ll never look at it the same. Since you’re in socal it’s probably in Mexico already.

I’d jump on a 2023 if you can, and Hope insurance pays you a nice amount since used car prices are still high.

 

Oh don't get me wrong I'm definitely pissed, mostly because I planned on driving that truck til the wheels fell off and I love it, but if I catch them selling it they're going to realize they stole it from a dude from Louisiana not just some guy living in Southern California ...

But outside of actually catching them I figure there's not much I can do so I just gotta take the lumps and move on then figure out a path forward

 

What's the motivation behind stealing a 2nd gen tacoma DCLB with 200k on it?

I'm sure you like your truck, and it would have given you plenty more years of service.

It's not a 1st gen, it's not a shiny new 3rd gen Pro. The Tacoma probably isn't the best joy ride vehicle, it's not the best vehicle to commit a subsequent crime with, other vehicles are easier to steal.

 

Honestly that's my thought exactly! The main problem is that it is worth WAY more to me than it is to anyone else and certainly more than it will be worth according to insurance, so its just really aggravating

 

Likely for parts or for use in a crime then they'll abandon it somewhere.

 

Yup your vehicle is going to be worth more to you than who ever stole it.

Probably the most common reason vehicles are stolen. Parts seem to be the most likely reason here. Most vehicles I've seen that are stolen and recovered were used to commit another crime, a few years back when ATM thefts were popular here church vans, deliver vans, and larger pickups were the vehicle of choice for the smash and grabbers. Then you have the kids stealing cars just to steal them.

 

Yet another instance demonstrating why you should consider a tracker and cutoff in your vehicle.

Ham APRS is an excellent non-cellular methodology for this.

 

Everyone should at least put an AirTag hidden in their vehicle