Advice for Prospective Buyer

Hi all! I sold my Ranger and am looking to join the light side by purchasing a 2012-2015 Tacoma (V6, access cab, 4x4, manual transmission).

Do you all have any advice for when I go looking at trucks? Any common problems to look for? I'm aware of the frame recall, and the one I'm looking at has been recoated by Toyota recently.

 

Just get the newest with least mileage in your price range. Be prepared to pay... but you can find some really nice 2nd Gens in the for sale section here.

 

No brainer.

 

Welcome. Where do you live? Might be some members on here selling and it would help us advise you.

 

As mentioned, look for the lowest mileage, newest one you can find that isn't from a seaside town or the rust belt. Also, look for one that hasn't been modified. The stories I read and bad advice conveyed on his forum alone is terrifying. There is a right and wrong way to do things and the latter is often the case. Look for one with no lift, stock wheels/tires and no electrical mods.

Also, find one that hasn't been in an accident! These are super solid trucks so long as they're looked after and haven't been crashed.

Also also, don't write off the AT. The MT is great, but but the AT that comes in the years you're after is super solid.

Good luck!

 

I live in Northern VA (just updated my profile).

 

Thanks! I appreciate the confidence in the AT (Toyota always makes good stuff), but I'd take a bad manual transmission over a good auto any day.

 

I hear ya! Plus, if you drive calmly, you can get decent fuel economy!

 

I bought new. Used prices were silly and have gotten sillier since I bought.

 

I'd prefer and recommend a tacoma, but a frontier is not a bad choice. They are reliable and cheaper

 

I thought about new, but $35k for a truck is way more than I can afford to spend. I'm looking at a stock 2013 ACLB 4x4 MT with 99k for $21k that looks like it's been well taken care of and just had the frame recoated by Toyota.

 

You're inquiring on a Tacoma forum, you're going to get Tacoma responses. I loved my Taco but it was too small so I sold it and got a Tundra. I stayed with Toyota because I never had any issues, their reliability is sound, and my husband's Tundra has over 300k trouble-free miles.
But my .02 from the Chevy aspect, my work Silverado is 3 years old and has had over $10k in repairs already, including a full transmission replacement last month. If Chevy was my only option, I'd buy a damned horse. Also, as far as Nissan goes, my uncle owns a repair shop and said he sees more Nissan and Jeep than any other vehicle on the lifts for repairs.

 

Quote "If Chevy was my only option, I'd buy a damned horse"

 

I'm well aware that the people here are biased towards Tacomas

I'm mostly looking for any adverse experiences people have had with theirs. I absolutely hated the maintenance / repairs on the Ranger I owned. Almost every job was a nightmare of poorly designed systems that usually took at least two tries to fix. Eventually, it got to the point where I listed it for sale because I got tired of fixing things. In contrast, my 87 MR2 and 87 / 91 Supras all seem to be well designed and generally stay fixed when I repair them! I'm hoping the 2012-2015 Tacomas are designed similarly and will give me many years of trouble-free off-roading / hauling / towing.

 

whatever you do don't confuse the trans plug for the oil drain plug without realizing your mistake

 

Funny... My family has had excellent experiences with Chevy products. Dad got 350k+ out of an 88 Chevy 1500 which still had the original engine when he sold it last month. The only thing that it kept needing was transmissions, hence part of my aversion to automatics! I towed our gooseneck RV trailer from MD to NH a couple times with that truck and it performed very well!

All of our Fords have been nothing but nightmares (excepting my brother's '17 Mustang, which still has plenty of time to let him down...). Every time I work on a Ford, I swear I'm never doing it again! I was so happy to see the last one leave my driveway when it sold

 

Good advice! I once worked on an 80s Celica which has two separate fluid sections in the transaxle. Apparently the fluid doesn't transfer between the two, and they don't appreciate being run with no oil in the differential section!

 

The key in that phrase is the year of the truck. My dad has about fifteen Chevy Corvairs from the 1960s and the damned things run like a top. My brother in law has a 2500 Silverado, constant issues. My work truck is a 2017, constant issues. My boss' 2018 Silverado is going in tomorrow morning for recalls and a starter issue. My sister sold her 2014 Tahoe and got a 4Runner because it spent its life in the repair shop. Maybe we got a bad batch in the Northeast, or they "don't make em' like they used to".

 

Yep, that's what I'm worried about. Hoping that Toyota still makes them like they used to. From what I hear from Tacoma owners here, it sounds like they do!

 

I disagree with the others regarding mileage. I would look for the newest and best condition one you can find within your price range. Mileage is of course a factor but I'd take a better condition truck with high miles over a beat up truck with low miles. Someone who takes care of their truck's exterior and interior condition likely also took care of the truck's mechanical condition. With a used vehicle purchase you're best off going with something that was loved and well taken care of vs something that someone neglected. Plus, the older a car gets the more the value will be tied to condition rather than mileage whereas newer cars the mileage is a larger factor.

I'm a stickler for condition so I go over a vehicle with a fine tooth comb before buying. Take your time, don't feel rushed. Definitely get a carfax report, definitely run the VIN through Toyota's VIN lookup and I would recommend paying the $150-200 at your local dealer for them to do a Pre Purchase Inspection for you.