New Member Portland Oregon

Hey there,
Greetings from sunny Portland. Excited to find this community. Found you guys through a question I posted on a regional fishing blog/website.
I'm sure I can answer a lot of the questions I have by searching through the forum posts, but if anyone can point me in the direction of appropriate threads that would be really helpful (or want to take a stab at answering them directly). Much thanks in advance for your time.
I'm saving up for my first Tacoma and should have the money together by late Spring. Trying to do my homework on 1998-2003 Tacoma 4x4 ExCabs. Looking for opinions/advice on what to look for/what to avoid, specific to these particular trucks. Which configuration do you like best? Also curious what you'd consider the top mileage that you'd consider when shopping around for a Tacoma in the 8K-10K range. Last question -- what's your favorite canopy and why?
I'll be using the truck both as my daily driver around town and as a fishing rig/touring vehicle (I'm a professional musician) for extended trips outside of the city. I'm planning on building a sleeping platform/secure storage area in the bed.
Thanks in advance for any advice/perspectives.
best, Pete

 

Welcome. If you'll be buying a stick shift, make sure you look for shifting issues. The earlier Tacomas could be soft in the shifter/synchro area. A well maintained truck could still be very good into the 200k area, though, obviously look for the cleanest, lowest mile one you can find and make sure it hasn't been wrecked. Beware of any unusual tire wear, noises or fluid leaks.

 

X2

The person who got me into Tacomas had manual trani on his Taco and decide to sell and get a 2012 auto. Nothing wrong with them but not the top choice for me.