"Cherry" 2003 vs "Ordinary" 2000 Diliemma

The only thing that got me through all the engine work was the thought that I wouldn't have to do it again for 10 years... definitely not excited about the chance of having to do it all over again!

 

I was in the same boat... after a year and a half of searching, I started to minimize my requirements to the bare minimum and now here I am sweating the small stuff

 

I'm going to go over it with a fine tooth comb! Part of me almost hopes the frame is swiss cheese just to make my decision easier!

 

Don't tempt me like this... I'm finally down to 2 Toyotas after a decade long addiction

 

This would definitely earn some brownie points... And also make money for future mods easier to pry out of the bank account!

 

I know that the later electronics aren't necessarily unreliable, I'm just used to the manual stuff after owning/restoring/modifying half a dozen 80's Trucks and 4runners...
Did things really take a turn for the worse at 180k?

 

I understand I'll never get my part money back, I'd probably just throw them in with the 2003 to try and make an easy sell if I go that route... and if I got lowballed then I suppose I'd keep them for spares down the road!

 

Good eye! I climbed the diamond (east face) of Longs years ago when I was in college... amazing mountain and climbing!

 

You're totally right with choosing what I want, not what's cheap! Money comes and goes.
I'm sorry to hear about the layoffs but it sounds like everything ended up alright? I won't go down this rabbithole but I agree with your frustrations about some of the new mentalities in the workforce these days...

 

Fantastic! My 34th summit of Longs was last month. I prefer it in the winter, it's a whole different mountain then

 

UPDATE:

I ended up keeping my 2003.

It's a slow day at work so here's another novel for anyone who's bored.

After more soul searching, I realized that the main issue with my truck wasn't about the truck at all... It was an issue with myself: "I'm a idiot who overpaid".
As a long time 80's-early 00's Toyota owner (4x4s and cars), my favorite thing about old Toyotas was the sense of pride I could have by knowing that my vehicle was dirt cheap and still more reliable than all the newer and more expensive cars next to me. It must be the frugal farmer blood in me that gets a big dopamine rush from a good deal. I've never paid more than 5k for a Toyota (until now...) and was never left disappointed or stranded.

Enter my 2003 Tacoma:
Full disclosure of my stupidity, I paid 16k cash for my truck. After a 2 year search I eventually caved in and broke a lot of my golden rules about buying cars... don't check it out at night, don't be afraid to walk away, and don't be afraid to negotiate. What did I do??? I checked it out at night, I got smitten when I saw it, and I passed over the cash without a single counteroffer.
Don't get me wrong, it's been a great truck with no warning signs. But.. there was still a nagging voice in my head that kept saying that I was stupid for paying that much for a 20 year old truck, that I was ripped off and there is some major problem that I just haven't uncovered yet. Besides the price, the truck was in such good shape that it seemed too good to be true. I'm not an old timer quite yet but I've still been around the block enough times to be suspicious. That bitterness has kept me on the edge of my seat just waiting for some giant issue to pop up and confirm that yes, I'm an sucker that bought a shiny lemon. 90% of my desire to sell the truck came from this paranoia and I wanted to ditch it before this imaginary issue popped up and pass it along to the next sucker to deal with.

Long story short, I didn't want to admit I was a victim of the Taco Fever that turns logical people into desperate fanboys.

So where do I go from here?

I'm happy to say that all this thinking has finally let me begin to love my truck. Yes, it was expensive. No, it isn't the "perfect" truck. But it's mine and I can finally move on with the fun part: driving and working on it!! With the growing list of mods I want to do, I'm sure I'll be in close to 25k by the time things are all said and done, which still makes my frugal side want to throw up But I suppose that is still cheap compared to the 60k turd gens sitting on the lot!

To seal the deal, I've been driving it much more, and not babying it like I might sell it the next day. I even spun some cookies in the dirt parking lot at one of the local climbing areas... I'm much happier not sweating the small stuff and I'm sure the truck is happy finally being enjoyed and used how it should. I keep reminding myself that besides the crazy prices these days (BaT auctions are mind-blowing!!), these trucks are not luxury cars and are made to be gotten dirty! Who am I to keep my truck from the exciting life it deserves??

So... stay tuned for the coming 2003 build thread!! And thanks again for all your advice, this passionate community is a large factor in my love for these trucks!

 

And here’s some pics from this weekends trip… still bone stock (for now) minus the new topper.

 

Sweet!! I bet it is a lot less crowded in the winter too… I actually haven’t been back there since my big wall days. I’d like to go back and do the keyhole with my girlfriend, I just have to build up her tolerance for exposure a little more…

 

I'd say you made the right choice!

I recently picked up my 2001 pre-runner xtracab and paid $9200. I thought it was a lot for the truck at first, given it had 183k miles. However, upon more evaluation, I think I got a fair deal in the current market and I plan to keep the truck forever. My 15-yr old son will get to drive the Taco as his first vehicle, but once he moves on to something else of his own choosing this truck will stay with me for as long as possible!

 

That's a sweet truck and definitely a decent deal nowdays. If I had a time machine I would go back to 2010 and buy every 1st gen I could find... I could be sitting on a private island somewhere right now!

Your son is lucky! The first Toyota that was "mine" was a hammered 2002 DC prerunner I bought in 2005. Loved that truck minus the 2WD (not ideal for Wyoming winters) and the short bed. You can't even fit a complete mountain bike in those stupid 5' beds... Regardless I felt like the coolest kid on the block driving it to high school and college. I drove it for 6 years and absolutely abused and neglected it! Rolled it two times and didn't need a penny of repairs, just kept driving it with all the body damage and cracked windshield. I don't think you could do that with any other car... and it saved money to support my young and reckless lifestyle. Never spent a dollar on anything other than gas and oil (even if I should have). So now that I think about it, I might have been better off with a shitty ford that left less cash for beer and weed .

Also bonus points for your step-side! Don't see those around often.

 

Yeah, it's not uncommon to not see a soul in the winter until I'm well down off the summit

 

Wow that sounds ideal, especially for the front range. The crowds down there are the #1 thing that keeps me north of the border these days. Bumping elbows with people in the mountains makes me even more bitter than normal about the growing population out west. I've found that it's much easier on my psyche to hide and stay oblivious to all the jokers in northern CO . But I do enjoy the other parts of CO and understand that the front range stupidity is fairly concentrated. I'm just worried that eventually people will catch on and start looking north...

 

And it's worth saying I don't have a problem with everyone in the front range... I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I feel bad for the normal folks that live down there and are forced to watch the area blow up around them.

Also my girlfriend gives me shit for complaining how no one goes outside one moment and then complaining about the crowds the next... so maybe there is no pleasing me

 

urban sprawl is coming for you up there too. the human scourge

 

If it would be me Gather up a bunch of people !!

Have a wild weekend install all the parts you have for your truck.

Figuring out just what some one else did can be very frustrating if any parts ever need replaced.

If you have a decent place to work.

The only real downside is the 2003 drive by wire.

Hard call to make no matter what you decide.