first truck!!! and mod questions

LOL!!!! My 1st rig in HS was a 68' Toyota Corona. That I bought from my parents. And they charged me full KBB price. A total dork-mobile. But my mom told that because it was a 2 door, it was 'The Sporty Model'.. Yeah. Try getting a date in that, when the other guys were driving 68' Chevelles with a 454 in them ... I had very 'understanding' GF's back then ... LOL!

 

In truth.....you need a POS beater as your first ride. Your insurance rates will be a little less, but will be HIGH for a long time. Tell Mom & Pop to invest the car money, let it grow, spend it for college or trade school.

Statistics indicate you will likely wreck it in about 12-16 months. Find a ride for about $5-7,000.

Save your money for a decent ride after you finish an education beyond HS.

My HS ride was a '63 Buick, college ride was a bicycle, senior year '71 Buick Electra 225. Got an '89 Toyota Celica GT upon graduation with a BSME. All rides before the Celica died underneath me for various reasons.

 

I love how many people automatically assume that OP, purely based on demographics, is an irresponsible and reckless teen.

I definitely was. I’m guessing a few of the others who have suggested a crappy used car may have been as well. But without context, it’s a semi-bold assumption.

Having $7500 of skin in the game is a significant chunk.

It’s definitely a really nice hookup from your uncle. Total no brainer. My neighbor’s kid just got a 2nd gen 2wd OR for $12k. I would do everything in your power to close this deal unless you don’t like the truck. Just realize if you wreck it, it’s on you, not your uncle, not your parents.

As far as exhaust and mods go, I would focus on ones you can do yourself with research and labor. Try to minimize spending so you can minimize regrets and focus on things you can undo if you change your mind. It’s a great way to learn and grow your skill set. Lots of fun free and cheap mods. In other words, avoid dropping $1000 on new rims.

If you are in CA I would not touch the exhaust. If you want something fast or cool sounding, a Tacoma is not the right choice. But, you have to do you and some of the best lessons in life are learned the hard way. When I was your age I blew my spending cash on car stereo and to this day I value the skills I learned in that time. I still have that first amplifier.

Enjoy your youth, it’s a special time.

Personally, BSM and cross traffic alerts are two things I don’t have in my truck which I really like in the minivan. As a parent of two younger boys I see where your parents are coming from and I agree with them. All the crusty old farts my age or older whining about how they had to drive a Geo Metro as their first car are as jealous as I am of your youth and this specific good fortune.

If you do find yourself in a hole, chances are very good that someone on TW can help you find the right shovel.

 

I don't get how kids think they need a really loud/annoying exhaust .. Says the guy that used to have a 69' Roadrunner with a 440 and headers and cherry bombs with turn-downs and got pulled over once a month for loud exhaust and got sick n' tired of not being able to hear the stereo over the exhaust when I was trying to rock some Foghat ...

 

Married? The rates drop a ton at 25 but that comes into effect sooner if you get married first. Supposedly. I dunno, I got married when I had a cheap sedan in the boonies and then moved to the city soon after, so I went from ~30/mo to ~240/mo overnight moving to Providence, I'm not sure what it would have been without the city move.

 

Have the insurance in your parents name

 

The less you do to it, the better it will be. With every "mod" comes some compromise in one form or another. In stock trim, even a base SR5 is a very capable off-roader. Spend money on quality tire (not a lift and chinese wal-mart shit tires), and on taking care of the truck. Wash it, keep the inside clean. Don't become the guy with a truck filled with trash and mcdondalds bags. Regular oil and tranmissian fluid flushes, coolant flushes, brake pads, all that regular shit costs a lot more money than you realize at this point.

 

My first car was a 95 escort, $300. Crazy sauce.

 

LOL!
Yeah, I bought my kids rigs .. But insurance? Yeah, that wasn't gonna happen. Wanna drive? Get a job. There was no way I was gonna have my rates sky-rocket and pay for your F-Ups.
But that's just me ... LOL!

 

Because they all are. I was, all my friends were, teens still are, and I've yet to see anything in the last 50 years to convince me otherwise.
My dad always used to say 'Young, Dumb, and full of Cum' ... It still holds true ..

 

You can put your kid on your insurance and still have him pay his own portion.. unless you really want them to pay more than they have to because teens just by default have higher rates.

 

Well, yeah, I could have done that. But I also wanted to impress on them that 'privileges' come with costs.
When I first started driving (And forever after) ... I had to buy my own rig and pay for my own insurance/gas/maintenance/etc.
Nobody gave me anything. (My 1st car I bought from my parents and they charged me full KBB price..)
When both my sons ... Two years apart .. Went off to college, because it was 200 miles away, I bought them both 4 year-old rigs, because I didn't wanna have to worry about them in junkers and breaking down. They had to get their own insurance and gas and tires and etc etc etc. And yes, they had to get part-time jobs on campus to pay for all that.
Anyway, being as dear ol' dad bought them both fairly new (Very dorky, un-sexy Dodge Caravans, but reliable vans) and paid their full way through a 4 year university .. I thought I was being pretty nice.

 

Aftermarket exhaust on the Tacoma suck. They make it sound terrible. First thing I would buy is the bed mat

 

fair enough. I too had to purchase/pay for all my own cars/insurance/gas/maintenance. Certainly generous of you to buy them relatively new cars to start off.

 

LOL! I thought so too And I know, you know, when you actually have some skin in the game .. You tend to take care if it a lot more than something that was just given to you, that you didn't actually have to work for.. Maybe I was too generous, but I thought 'I'll buy it for you ... But everything else is on you..' .... And I'll admit, a lot of it was just for my peace of mind cuz I didn't want that phone call of 'Uhh dad? Uhh ... The engine just fell out of my car .... And I've got mid-terms on Tuesday ..' .. And I'm 200 miles away..
So there was that too ... LOL!

 

a friend's parents bought him a new? xterra when he turned 16. he drove it a few years, then his sister drove it when he went away from college. he graduated and took it out to SF. he got in a fender bender/low speed crash driving back from the mountains that totaled it (idk the frame got bent in the front? he drove it like a month after the crash before insurance took it). the car was probably driven for 10-12 years before anything happened to it. some kids are better with cars than others.

me on the other hand... destroyed my bronco's transmission within 7 days. drove it another 7 months and couldnt go above 35 mph, which was fine living on a military base. moved to colorado, got a 95 4runner, rolled it within 30 days. ended up in a jetta where i broke my exhaust, had a wheel fall off, many other stupid kid things. i was on my 3rd vehicle by the time i was 17... i definitely learned my lesson... kinda...

so it goes either way

 

I’m sure if he paid them extra than what it was then it might be a win-win

 

LOL!!! Hey, you're not the 1st one to destroy a rig or two or three ... At the beginning of yer 'Driving Career' ... Nor the last.
I'm just as guilty as any other.. It's how I know about all this stuff .. LOL!

 

Buy it. Enjoy it. You can’t beat that kind of equity. There’s a search function at the top right of the page. You may have more luck getting answers to your actual questions if you pm someone who has the exhaust your looking for. Doing a quick search for the flowmaster super 10 there’s a few guys in the 50+ thread discussing it.