Shopping in Seattle

Hello everyone,


I just registered because I'm thinking about buying a new Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 to replace my 2000 VW Golf GLS TDI. I learned a ton about the TDI over on the TDI Club Forums, so I think this will be a good place to start learning about Tacomas.


My wife and I have three kids (11, 14 and 16), so a double cab is a must for family trips. I am also an avid hiker/backpacker, and my biggest complaint about my VW TDI is that it would not get me to the starting point of a lot of hikes, which forced me to either park short of my destination and hike farther or find somewhere else to go. I also like to get out camping and shooting with my buddies as often as possible, and right now, I have to hitch a ride in one of their 4x4s when we do that. Finally, a 4x4 would also be nice to have for occasional trips over Washington's mountain passes, which can require putting chains on the VW or our Toyota Sienna.


The specific vehicle I am looking at is the 2014 Double Cab 4x4 short bed with an automatic transmission and the TRD Off Road Extra Value Package.

 

Welcome! Sounds like a truck would be a perfect fit for you. Good luck with purchasing!

 

sounds like you picked the right one
get
2014 double cab
trd offroad
tow package

MSRP should be about $33,500 for that setup, a lot of dealers have entune packages on the Tacomas so might be a little higher
Invoice is around $31,250 (on $33,500 msrp) so whatever one you find try and get a couple grand off

Also TRD offroad only come in short bed, CANT get the LB

 

GO SEAHAWKS!!

 

Welcome to TW. I have the 13 model of the one you are interested in. I must say I love it.

 

Welcome from Marysville!

I recommend you look north, out of King County but also out of southern Snohomish County. I found my truck in Bellingham at Wilson Motors. I say that because the tax rate is a couple points lower north and I always found more selection than I did in Bellevue, Seattle etc.

The other thing I noticed is that in the cities the TRD Sport package dominated which left little selection for the TRD OR. The further you get out of the downtown Seattle area the more OR selections become available.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I forgot to mention the tow package. That's definitely on the list. I'm basically looking at a loaded Double Cab 4x4 short bed with the automatic and the TRD offroad package. I just need to decide which Entune package I want.


The TRD offroad package is the reason I'm looking at the short bed. I want the offroad package, and a 5' bed will be "good enough" for my purposes.


When the time comes to pull the trigger, I'll cast a pretty broad net. I helped my mother in law buy a Subaru a few years ago, and found her a sweet deal in Wenatchee.

 

Just to throw this out there. I'm an avid camper/backpacker etc. I grew up in the North Cascades. For all of the hiking and driving I've done, including winter trips to the top of Mt. Pilchuck etc at times in 2ish feet of snow. I've never needed a locker. (Which is really the major difference between the TRD OR and the TRD Sport)

I understand when rock crawling is involved it could become a necessity but I've been on hundreds of miles of unpaved roads covered in gravel, mud, snow, ice between Everett, Leavenworth, Winthrop etc. and never needed a locked rear end. The TRAC system in 4H is awesome and I've only used 4L a couple of times.

 

That's a good point, Fightnfire. My first trailhead vehicle was a 1972 Datsun 510 with the tallest tires that wouldn't rub. I took that thing all kinds of places it shouldn't have gone. I'm confident any 4x4 Tacoma is capable of taking me just about anywhere I want to go...


I need to weigh the pros and cons of the extra 13" of wheelbase and bed length versus the goodies included with the TRD Off-Road Package and decide what I want more. A long bed with the TRD Sport package might be a better choice 95% of the time (when I'll be on wet or dry pavement), but...

 

Welcome from Mill Creek!! Go Hawks baby!!

 

Tacoma shopping can be tough in Seattle. I got mine from Lake City but can't recommend them as it seems dealer prices are shifty depending on how many units are on the lot, time of month, ect. I walked out of Michael's, Burien, Rodland, and Lake City before finally closing a deal. Don't let the dealers punk you with outrageous pricing. You may want to look at USAA/Zag to get a good idea of what to shoot for pricewise and try to start a negotiation via email with the Internet Sales Manager.

Check Toyota.com for incentives. They are rare. I snagged $1,000 college grad when I bought mine. Sometimes they do $500 cash back on Tacoma but not that often. Currently they are offering $750 college grad and $500 military.

 

Sounds like you'll want the extra space. Get the LB, you won't regret it. Hauling 5 people's things will get tight in a shortbed. The LB will go anywhere the SB will that you're looking to go. Unless you're doing extreme off-roading want/need the locker. Like Fightnfire said, you'll most likely never use the locker. For what you're looking to do, go LB!
Then get lift, tires, wheels, RTT, cap, bumpers, skids, lights!!!...

 

Welcome to TW

 

I hear you but, my Golf or our Sienna do what we need to do most of the time so I'm sure I can live with a short bed. I am also in Seattle, where the smaller wheelbase, overall length and turning circle of the short bed will be a plus. (One of the things I really like about my Golf is the ease with which I can find a parking space.) The last part of your post is one of the reasons I'm looking at the TRD Off Road Package. I spent a lot of time and money modding my TDI. It was fun, and improved the performance of my TDI, but I'm pretty much over that. I can just get the TRD Off Road and Towing packages and the TRD exhaust option and leave it alone.

While people are still following this thread, can anyone explain why Toyota doesn't offer heated mirrors on the Tacoma? Those (and rear disc brakes) are features I'd kind of take for granted most "loaded" vehicles. Is it just because there is so much demand for these trucks that they don't have to offer these features (even as options)? I get the fact that rear disc brakes aren't really necessary on a pickup because the front brakes take most of the abuse, but heated mirrors are a very nice safety feature...

By the way, I did some searches on the short versus long bed, rear brakes and the heated mirror situation. I found lots of good info. This board is a great resource, as expected.

Lawless, my dad lives in Ephrata, so I may focus on Eastern Washington dealerships if the Seattle area dealers don't play nice.

 

UPDATE: Nine years later I finally got a Tacoma! It's a one owner 2007 V6 access cab with the SR5 package and the 6 foot bed. It has less than 89K miles, a clean CARFAX, and complete service records from Michael's Toyota in Bellevue. Close to pristine. I've been "window shopping" for years and had to jump go see this one when I found it on the CARFAX website. I took it up the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River last weekend. It handles beautifully on and off pavement. I'm a happy camper.

 

Um, congrats, but it is 9 years later, lol. Your youngest is now 20 years old.

 

Thanks TenBeers. ‍Corrected. My youngest is actually 21. Time flies!