F-150 Man

I had a 95 toyota Pickup and put over 130,000 miles on it and the only issue I had was that I had to replace the clutch at 105,000 miles. Other than that and a small rust spot over the muffler, it was a VERY solid truck. At 130,000 it ran like the day I bought it. I did sell it for an F250 when I was doing a lot of construction but ended up selling it to by a 2008 Tacoma

 

i was originally looking at a 2003 2004 but they were still over 20k, and i got my 07 new for 26.5k so there wasn't enough of an incentive for me to buy used. although i really like the 1st gens alot

like i said above, i looked at some really nice 03 and 04 double cab TRD 4x4's. but even with 20k miles on them they are still expensive as hell. its amazing how little they depreciate, even with high mileage

The Ford is built tougher? You better watch what you say on a toyota forum. comments like that and you may wake up to a yard full of tacomas doing donuts on your lawn...

and yeah, they hold their value amazingly well. my room mate wants a small 2wd truck to haul our boat and his dirt bikes. if you look on craigslist you'll see tacomas selling for twice as much as their nissan counterparts with higher mileage and older models. it's actually ridiculous how much an old taco costs

 

i looked mine up on KBB (i know its not the most reliable source) but my truck is worth WAY more than i owe on it

 

"I actually wanted to identify the common problems the tacoma has from aging. I never bought Toyota before so I don't know.
Can you drill your dad what problems if any at all (not wear and tear of course). Surely his truck must have had some kind of transmission/suspension/radiator/engine prob with that amount of miles.
My last Ford Ranger didn't last 120,000 miles without repair. It cannot be possible that a 97 truck can last without repair. Ask him please! Thanks."

Actually it is completely possible that his dads 97 Taco has needed no major repairs. I have always been a die hard Chevy guy however I bought a 97 Tacoma 4X4 2.7 new. I have driven the living hell out of that truck and all I ever had to do was maintenance items. It now has over 130K and my dad uses it to drive to work 60 miles round trip everyday. Due to how awesome that little truck preformed I now have an 07 Taco, my wife drives a 07 4Runner and my dad has an 05 Tundra that sets in the garage. The 07 Tacoma that I have had never had any work done at all except for tune-ups, tires and fluid changes. To this day the truck does not burn any oil and I swear the oil is cleaner in that truck when I change it than it is in the new one.

 

Ok I went to the toyota dealer. I tried two 2009 V6 access cab 4X4.
The first truck was selling as new even though it had like 163 miles on it. I found out that a 1st owner returned it because of some clanking in the bed of the truck. I heard the noise too - possible from the bed frame or the rear differencial!

The second truck I tried had only 5 miles. It drive nice but I lifted the floor mat on the passenger side and saw a very large and noticable water spot that was still partially wet. The floor mat was completely dry so I suspect the dealer tried to cover the problem. I hosed the truck and found the leak coming frm the top of the windshield and it dripped right on the floor mat. They said it under warranty and if I buy it they fix it for free...yeah right llike I was gonna buy it after catching their sleezy practice of covering up a potential prob.

I'm sorry for the next customer that buys this truck - i hope he looks under the floor mat. What a horrible experience I had trying with toyota. Are they really allowed to sell a truck as even when someone already bought it?

I called toyota and let them know of my dissapointment.

 

Sorry for your shitty dealer experience. You did the right thing contacting Toyota directly. Although the vehicles are great, many times the dealers rely too much on the reputation of the brand and don't put much(if any) effort into their customer service skills. I'm sure you won't be returning to that dealership, nor would I. Perhaps start a thread to ask TW members in your area for dealers they would recommend. Also, let us know what dealer you had that experience at so it can be avoided.

 

What?


I'm not selling.

 

Was the first one (163 miles) titled? That sounds very illegal especially if touted as NEW. If a title was issued by the DMV then the next time its sold its used. Hokey, fishy, weird, even them saying it was returned at letting you drive it.

As far as the windshield leaking good catch, mine hasn't leaked ever.

Note to self, avoid this dealer.

 

I live in a rural area with hills, lakes and ponds. This dealer was 53 miles away and was the closest. I've decided to go with the ford Ranger again. I'm turned off by the toyota. No way I'm letting that dealer service my truck.

 

Don't know if a title was issued but it doesn't matter now.
and YES! avoid this dealer! I forgot to mention when they were appraising my F-150 trade, they made me wait an hour. And when the salesman came back with my keys he said that since I'm not buying the Tacoma that his service dept will have to charge me for having to diagnose my F-150's engine light. I grabbed my keys from his desk, cussed at him and his manager, and left (not proud of the cursing I did but I was really pissed off as this was only supposed to be an appraisal). Anyway after calling toyota they said I shouldn't I have to pay anything for an appraisal and said that the salesman need to be retrained - LOLZ.

 

Just drive a little further to the next Toyota dealer... it's not like you'll be needing to have it serviced often anyways

Sorry to hear about your experience. I've always had great service from my local dealer, and can certainly understand how that would affect your decision

 

I bought my truck from a dealer more than 50 miles away. There are at least other dealers within 30 miles of my house, but my family as had one issue or another with each one over the years. When my mom got a manual 2004 Rav4 from this dealership without problems (manuals are apparently rare for that model) I decided that was the dealer I would be going to. Did everything through phone, fax, and email only going out twice. Once for a test drive, and once to take delivery.

 

Hi guys tell me what u think ok?
After providing my feedback with Toyota on my experience at this dealer a week ago, these feedback supervisors in the company called me today. They must have talked with the dealer and found out that I was an unsatisfied customer. They apologized for my experience at the dealer and since I was a Ford man and a potential 1st time Toyota buyer the company offered to pay free maintenance for the vehicle's life. Now this only cover labor & parts ( he said things like the oil filter, fluids, etc) needed for all the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule. they said all other items like tires, brake pads/rotors, belts and hoses I pay for myself.
They FedEx me some forms to fill out to send back to Toyota - I have to provide information of course about my new titled Tacoma with VIN number as proof I bought a Toyota.
What u think I should do? Of course I'll go further to another Toyota dealer - no way I going to the same dealer.
Thing is I already bought a Ranger though. but I am within the 3-day money back with the local Ford dealer which ends tomorrow actually.

 

ditch the ranger!! get the Tacoma!!

Edit: that dealership needs their logo taken away! they suck....

 

Only you can make that decision, but I'll give you a bit of my ranger experiance. I bought a used one awhile back (8500 miles on the ODO, well taken care of, and reciept for oil changes ect). I used it for my temp move up to portland, or (from phoenix, az) hauling a u-haul, did extremely well. A few months into it, the low oil light kicked on. Checked the oil, level was perfect... It started ticking, ect.... Ford checked it out and found the oil pump had died, this was at roughly 17,000 miles on the truck. Threw the #6 bearing. They took care of it (took about 2 weeks to turn around the rebuild), but that already was making me feel poorly about the "extremely reliable rangers." When I was back in phoenix, the truck died on me in tucson when I went to the airshow requiring my dad to do a 200mi round trip to pick us up... then again to pick it up from the dealer down there that found nothign wrong with it. (We stopped a store, came out... could not start the ranger for anything. Starter was strong, fuel was at least 3/4 a tank... nothing seemed wrong). Dealer was able to turn the key and it started right up. There was a waste of 400mi on my dad's taco. A few months later, used WOT to get on the freeway... at the end of the ramp... it sputtered and died, to never start again just like it did in tucson. Dealer towed it away... and blamed it on the fuel pump was weak. So, even with the 100,000mi warrenty I had on it... I got fed up and sold it. (had a G35 at this point).

Now, I realized I needed a truck... so I traded in the G35 for my '08 prerunner trd off-road. Don't really regret it either. My dad's been using his '05 4x4 trd off-road in missouri with not a single issue minus an o2 sensor went out (given the harsh winters and crappy gas they get, can't really blame it for that). Also that was taken care of under the ext warrenty he had... and the truck still ran great without it changed. I think right now he's near the 80k mark...

So far for the near 5k I've put on my taco for the last not even 2 months... not one issue. A lot funner to drive than the ranger ever was, much nicer interior, and just overall a lot more solid. I've even towed a 1st gen v8 tundra for 10 miles on a tow strap when I only had 1k on the odo. Not a single problem.

 

That sounds like a sweet deal. personally i'd go with the tacoma. but thats you're decision. i dont blame you for having a bad taste in your mouth after your last visit to the dealership, but not all toyota dealers are that way. looks like you found one of the bad ones. however, toyota as a company has a great stance when it come to customer service. free maintenance if one hell of a deal and just goes to show you that toyota makes things right when they screw up

 

Have you ever returned a vehicle in the few day grace period being offered? If that is the route you take, get on it, cause they won't make it easy.

As for the lifetime maintenance...That's an awesome deal....I'm glad Toyota is trying to make amends. I hope you go for the Tacoma, you won't regret it.

 

Did you get this in writing from the Ford Dealer? A quick google search states that there is no cooling off or grace period law in any state when it concerns the sale of an automobile. Normally that law applies to door to door sales and certain home repairs. it is a myth that it applies to the sale of automobiles, unless you get it specifically in writing. Some used car sales do use this as a tactic too. Anyway, free maintenance is always a good thing especially if you can get Ford to take the Ranger back.

 

i dont know about new cars but i know carmax has a return period. 30 days i think. i know you can do it too cause i had a buddy buy a mercedes and return it after a week

 

Carmax's buy-back guarantee only applies to used vehicles (why would you need a carfax on a new vehicle anyway) and only if you find undisclosed damage on the vehicle that shows it's been in an unreported accident... Wouldn't help in this case unfortunatly. Also, you have to have the carfax before buying the vehicle...