Are first gen Toyotas actually worth the price?

I have very little invested in my 1st gen trucks, so I really don't have an emotional opinion here. I like and enjoy them both and could sell them for a little more than I have in them.

But, the way I look at it is the way I see about any other commodity: they are worth whatever the market price is at the time. For example, real estate goes up and down. I bought a house in 2007, right before the unforeseen real estate tumble. Owned it 10 years, invested money and sweat equity, sold it in 2017 and got same price I paid in 2007. Lost all my investment. Nice home, market just tanked and has not recovered here in the Midwest.

A stock, a house, a car,... all are worth whatever the market will bear at that moment. I mean, a diamond is just a rock, right?

 

Whether it's worth it depends on what you want from a truck.

I mostly use mine for city driving, road trips, and 4x4 wheeling, so I wanted a truly compact truck. Easier to park, easier to offroad. I also wanted something with a manual transmission and good aftermarket support for offroading parts.

That leaves me with a first-gen (or earlier) Tacoma, a Frontier, a Ranger, or an S10. Of these options, the Tacoma is easily the highest-quality, most reliable truck, and has the most offroad aftermarket support. Plus I've owned Tacomas for years and know them really well. Managed to change my alternator this summer in 15 minutes in the parking lot in front of an auto store.

So, for me, it was worth it to pay the premium for the first-gen Tacoma because it's exactly what I wanted, especially since I found one that was already pretty modded for offroad (gears, suspension, bumpers, etc.)

Now, if I started to want a more comfortable truck, if I was regularly carrying around passengers, if I didn't do much offroading, if I wanted to tow some heavier stuff, if I had the money to pay someone to fix my truck for me, if I moved out of the city...maybe then I'd consider something different. For all I know, that day may come.

Figure out what you want (be realistic about it, too!) and find the vehicle that matches those requirements. I think the high prices of old Tacomas indicate that for a lot of people, they fit the bill perfectly -- I see tons of them every day here in Los Angeles, in all conditions.

But if the first-gen doesn't really fit your needs as well, then yes, for sure, they are overpriced.

 

IMHO I think that most 1st gen listings are extremely overpriced. But it's what people pay for some odd reason, and as long as people keep buying them at those high prices, people are gonna keep selling them at high prices. Its really a mind game with them. Because let's be real, they arent worth that much, it's simply what the demand and market of people buying them think they are worth so it happens.

Yes they are great trucks, yes they are reliable. But 10 grand for a 20 year old truck with 200k miles??? Come on guys, real world over here.

I say take that money and put it down on something a little newer or keep saving

 

not denying what you’re saying either but I think the cost of brand new Tacoma’s has gotten way too high as well, like 43,000 plus in some cases at my local dealer for a TRDOR...not even IIRC the MSRP on some of the first gens was in the lower 20,000s- so it does blow my mind I saw a first gen dbcb with 55,000 miles sell for 15,000 last summer! The first time I realized Tacoma’s were made of gold was shopping for my first one in 2011 and seeing a few year older Tacoma’s going for more than I could buy a new one off the lot- for my situation while I would love a brand new Tacoma I was happy to pay less than a fourth of my out the door on my 1st gen dbcb- however now my wife is wanting to justify a brand new suv purchase after getting her last one in 2027– if only that was a few years ago and I got the green light on a 2016?Tacoma!

 

i suppose one could save some big coin and get a 20yr old Ranger,S10,Dakota,Frontier... what's the prices on those?(i have not really looked at any of the other compacts lately to see what their prices are doing) I do see many more old Rangers in my city and not so many old Tacomas anymore they just disappeared it seems, finding a 98-2000 model is like finding a needle in the cornfield

 

1 gen dbcb with 55,000 miles for 16,161 plus tax , that's what I paid for mine on 2016... heck expensive yeah but great condition one owner ... i won't paid that much if the odometer goes over 150,000 -200,000... not matter how much expensive staff you put around miles are miles, and that is worn out even if you get on denial .... plastics, hoses, belts , metal, fluids... etc ... all worn out on old no matter what , so get ready for the ooppss!, now I gotta change this... crap $

I choose this because was not ready for a 650 to 720 payment plus full coverage insurance on a brand new one... some day I will... but I may not be interesting on let go 50 grand on just transportation..

 

i just checked a certain valuation table and my truck just increased in value again once this topic was revived from six months ago

 

These trucks are done depreciating in my opinion. Price is only going up from here.

 

On the more desirable 4x4/5 speed or Doublecab trucks, yup.

 

The first generation Toyota Tacomas will go down the same path as the Chevrolet pickup trucks from the 1950s, and the first generation Chevy Camaros. They will be the body style the collectors and enthusiasts want compared to the newer generation Chevrolet pickup trucks, and Chevrolet Camaros. Unfortunately, there won't be a lot of first generation Tacomas left by the time they start down this path, which will greatly affect their value. Just like the first generation Camaros and 1950s Chevrolet pickup trucks.

 

could start a little fire in the 3rd gen section, ask them how they feel with their depreciating Tacomas
... i rode mine from the tiptop to the bottom not exactly sure at what point these trucks troughed

 

It would be hard to pick one point. There are a lot of factors that play into used car pricing: vehicle condition, location, time of year, gas prices, and the rarity of a particular model. I think it will mostly be a lack of supply that ends up propping up prices. On autotrader there are 508 1st gen tacomas for sale nationwide. I agree with blue92, the two configurations most likely to appreciate are the double cab (150 available) and the v6+5mt (33 available). Toyota is done replacing frames on these trucks (at least for free). So the supply is going to continue dropping as the years progress and accidents, rust and entropy take their toll.

I look a lot for the 80s/90s Toyota Pickups in my local CL and I think our Tacomas will appreciate similarly. You can find cheap clapped out rusty rwd examples in the 3-4k range, but clean well sorted 4x4 models are super expensive. There are only 48 Toyota Pickups total on autotrader, and for the most desirable model (22re+4x4+MT) there are only 9. Excluding a rusty one from Colorado, the average price is $14,300. Those pickups aren't any better than our Tacomas, and yet they are selling at a premium. I think the pricing is a function of supply more than anything.

 

No

 

OP was kinda asking for opinions, just gave him my opinion. If any member has it different I'm not even gonna fight em on it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

 

Awesome! I'm going to make my '02 double-cab TRD all nice and pretty!

 

$/value is not worth it. First gens are great trucks but at over $10k for a 20 year old truck with high mileage, no way man...

I think some earlier model 2nd gens are starting to bottom out at price right now. I am seeing some 2008, 2009, 2010 TRD models with 4x4 and around 100k miles go below $15k. Some as cheap as $13.5K. Those are really starting to become bargains.

 

I joined this forum because I was thinking a new one would be fun. But I found out about so many bogus things like the driving data collection being tied to warranty support, the calculated ‘driver score’, and stuff like the quote below so now I would actually hate having a new one and totally gained a massive appreciation for my old one. I am really into technology, I would just never want all the overly complex and unnecessary stuff that ships with the new ones.

“Be forewarned . You can lift Tacoma’s 2018 and up but once your TSS malfunction gremlin shows up on your dash you’re on your own. There’s some fixes one of them is to disable the TSS which you wanted in the first place. Even changing the front grille might trigger that gremlin some but not all.”

 

It depends on what has been done to the truck. I'm on the fence about selling mine and have put in a ton of work that I think validates the price being $10K. Superchargers also make a big difference in the price of these trucks.

 

Feel free to leave the 1st gen section any time.

But yes, the $50k TRD Pro does have more options, is bigger, and has a timing chain.

Some people like smaller trucks, don’t care about maximizing the number of options they can have, or if they need to spend half a day on maintenance ever 90k miles.

 

I gotta leave again? Ah golly gee willickers what am I gonna do???

I wrote 1st gens are awesome trucks and I loved the two I had but hey if it makes you feel like a tough guy go ahead and push...