Affordability: Tacoma vs. Wrangler

Never seen that before...

 

Had a 2003 Wrangler from new for 10 years, 240,000 miles. Never a big repair other than new radiator. Brakes, tuneups of course. Sold it in 8 minutes on CL for 4K. Had 7 people call as soon as ad was posted. Should have made it a bidding war but I gave it to the first swinging dick that showed up with cash.

 

This is cool.

 

Or nah...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/jordans-long-travel-build.257747/

 

Not sure, Google image search...

 

Because the truck exists doesn't mean the pic is real. So - or yup

 

If you drop $30K+ into a wrangler suspension with supporting mods similar to that prerunner tacoma, it can do some amazing things too.

 

Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, RAM, etc are among the least reliable vehicles on the market according to pretty much every review, survey , report etc ever made. Even with the reported 3rd gen problems it will last longer.

 

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Years past ... I had a CJ-5 and a CJ-7 ... the CJ-5 was cool looking and fantastic off road --- but very squirrely on the highway ... especially on the interstate ...

A 4x4 Tacoma is a good compromise for about the same price.
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Doubt it, you been on the Rubicon, Fordyce, Dusy, Pismo lately. I can't believe the number of new Wranglers on the trail. Also, I went to Easter Jeep Safari, 100,000 plus Jeeps all hitting the trails. For the most part they are getting used. Plus I think Jeeps sells like 15,000 wranglers a month in the US alone.

But yes, the Wrangler is a life style vehicle, honestly so is a TRD.

 

Wait did you just compare a 30 year old vehicle to a Tacoma of any year? Fair...

 

The biggest mistake of my life was trading in my Rubicon for this off-road trd. Sorry but true. The jeep was better off road( witch I already knew) got better gas mileage 19 vs 17. Jeep had 35's. Jeep had way more power and torque.
The Tacoma is more quiet on the highway and better technology.
Maybe if I had gotten the manual, I would think different.

 

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No comparison between them. Just posted my experiences

 

OP, either one will suite your off-road needs just fine, but the Tacoma offers you more beyond that. It'll be more comfortable as a daily driver, probably get better MPG, give you towing and hauling capability. Not to mention it is the better choice for reliability and resale by a long shot.

Jeeps are cool, but my 2017 Tacoma Sport M/T has been a fantastic truck so far and I have a ton of confidence that it'll last me for as long as I want to keep it without major issues. It's just a damn fine truck and I'd buy it again any day of the week over almost any other vehicle.

 

I call BS on the resale. Jeeps hold their value. We own both and have for years. Things have changed since the JK was released. I have had no reliability issues with the 3 JK's we have owned. And I love my DCLB too! Only thing I agree on is the towing and hauling. But the Jeep will tow about the same as the Tacoma. JK will tow 3500lbs.

 

The resale on Jeeps might be good, but I haven't done research. I'm just saying that Tacoma's have a long standing reputation for reliability and having the highest resale value of any vehicle.

Buying both new, they will probably be pretty similar in most areas. It's when you've had them for a few years that the Tacoma is more likely to be the one that has less issues and has been cheaper to own.

It can swing both ways though. It seems that people have had bad experiences with Tacoma's and great experiences with Chrysler products, but I think if you're playing the odds, the Tacoma will always be the better bet.

 

I believe the newer Tacos V6 tow more than 3500 unless it's been modified or it's the Pro.

 

The 3rd Gen V6 Tacoma can tow 6,800 pounds

 

Since this is an affordability thread:

My FJ netted me 87% residual value over 4 years. Unparalleled in the used auto market unless you're talking about a collector, I believe.
My Tacoma netted 76% residual value over 3 years.

Both values came from TRADE value and not private party sale.

My friends with newer jeeps have great retained value as well - somewhere about 2-3 points off of the Toyotas I sold with similar mileage.

I would submit that you can't go wrong with either vehicle IF it fits your lifestyle. The Jeeps I have owned were reliable and strong, but built up noises quicker during its life such as clunks in the suspension and rattles in the interior. When the Jeeps had a failure it happened very quickly (aka a noise developed one day and a few days later the vehicle was incapacitated). The Toyotas I owned were quiet and comfortable, reliable but slow - and when a problem began it drove for thousands of miles with the problem.