Help me buy a Tacoma.

I may be in the market for a new car soon after the motor in my Forester died. I loved the Subie, but I need a truck. Too many of my hobbies require too much storage space and ground clearance. I've had a Bronco and two Rangers in the past. The Subaru kind of fell in my lap.

I love the second generation Tacoma. It looks so mean. And I've always heard great things about Toyota reliability. I can't really afford new so I'm looking for a used crew cab and I don't need a lot of options. I'm looking to spend around 20k.

I've found a few within range, but I need to know what years are more problematic than others. My year Forester is notorious for head gaskets. Do any model years have anymore gremlins than others? Anything I should be on the lookout for other than the normal noises/rust you would look for when buying a used car?

Depending how this plays out, you may be seeing a little bit more of me.

 

Get a second generation Tacoma they may be more expensive but if you buy new you have a warranty and if an issue occurs you can get it fixed under warranty.

 

A brand new one with a warranty and scheduled maintenance will cost you $32 for a non-base model crew cab. However, if you can find a used one at a dealership thats gone through an inspection at a good price I say go for it.

 

Any expensive service intervals I should know about?