Having second thoughts.

First off there are dozens of people here in this thread with 3rd gens and legit issues not just 3 or 4 of the "same people" ...gross exaggeration. Second where does he say he does not own a 3rd gen? How do you know this?

 

I had the same second thoughts you have when I was looking for a new vehicle this past November. I was replacing a 1991 Toyota standard bed manual 4x4. Loved that truck. Could go anywhere and seemingly do anything, but it was gonna cost a bundle to keep it going. Lots of repair bills were coming due, and spending 5K to 6K on a 25 year old truck with a squeaky tranny just didn't seem like a great investment. So it was time to upgrade. Replacing it with an access cab Tacoma 4x4 seemed liked a no-brainer - as it was always my "dream truck."

Until I started researching. And visiting forums. Particularly this forum.

Make a long story short - and it is a long story - all the problems with the Tacoma's, combined with their hefty price tag, made me reconsider whether or not I even needed a truck at all. In particular, I analyzed the cargo capacity I needed and the type of off-roading I did and realized that while I spent significant time on back roads, it was rare that I ever came close to utilizing the capability of my old truck.

End of story was that after a lot of soul searching, I just couldn't bring myself to spend 35K + tax + cost of camper shell for a truck that was having some fairly critical issues and was a vehicle I would only very rarely utilize for serious off-roading (aka...rock crawling, fording deep rivers, fun crazy stuff like that).

The result is that I decided to go with a Subaru Outback instead. Saved 8-10K over the cost of the truck, the Outback gets me down 90% of the back roads I travel, and is a tank in the snow. For sure, I know this summer I'll find a road I "want to explore" and will resist doing because the road looks nasty and is beyond the capability of the Outback. But for me, that's a small price to pay for the Outback's reliability, significant cost savings on the purchase price, and the ongoing savings on the gas bill/insurance cost/vehicle registration cost.

Of course, if you need a truck for towing or serious offroading...the story is different. If you need a truck, guess I would ask whether the hefty price tag of a Tacoma is worth the gamble of getting a vehicle that has the potential for some fairly major problems.

All vehicles have the potential for problems, but the frequency of the problems mentioned on this forum - and other online venues - to be blunt, sort of scared me. For me, just too high of odds of spending big money for something I wasn't either gonna like or had the potential for some significant issues. The dealers unwillingness to come down from the MSRP and to allow me to do a long test drive with a Tacoma (by comparison, the Subaru dealer here let me drive for 100 miles on all sorts of roads!), also created significant hesitancy.

Anyways, vehicle shopping requires trade-offs. Before plunking down big cash for a Tacoma on a long lease, you might want to analyze what your vehicle needs are.

 

Hey you don't own a third gen! Get out of this thread! ...kidding...

 

Hehe....guilty of not owning a 3rd gen. But even though I have zero regrets about going with the Outback, I'm always gonna have a soft spot for Toyota Trucks. After all, I essentially married one for 25 years and loved almost every day of it.

 

One thing I really find amusing about Toyota Tacoma owners is that so many are so many of them have such a blind loyalty. Not as bad as BMW owners, but still pretty bad. Say anything negative but truthful about the truck and some people will jump all over you for being a non-worshiper, or accuse you of being a troll. (I really do own a gen 3 Tacoma, by the way)

 

Yeah, no.

 

Bought my 2017 Tacoma Off-Road, 4-door with 6-speed manual transmission , in February. I'm experiencing no problems after 5k miles and really enjoy it on and off road. My only regret is that I spilled a full cup of coffee on the all weather-mat (passenger side) and the "new vehicle" smell has given way to the aroma of coffee, even after washing the mat.

 

Eau de rotten coffee is likely also on the carpet. Coffee oils linger for awhile. Vinegar and baking soda should get the smell out of most things. Test on a small area first if you try this route.

 

Love my little 4-banger manual. Now I want a Tundra, and I might keep the bro-coma cause I like it so much. It's a solid truck and I get a lot of complements on it.


I do feel for the people that are having issues. These are expensive trucks and it's frustrating to be disatisfied.

As far as the complaints go there are many more members on this forum as compared to other car forums, and it's not apples to apples to say other forums have no complaints. I'm on a Challenger, Rebel, Cummins, Yaris, Miata and Suzuki forums and none of them compare to the demographic of TW. Not a lot of fan boys here, and your more likely to hear the truth, and not always what you want to hear.

Alright, I'm now going to go pick up my thread participation trophy.

 

I used to be a fan of Consumer Reports, but will reserve judgement until something requires repair on my 2017 Tacoma Off-Road. I heard through the rumor mill that my chosen 6-speed manual will give me problems, but how would anyone genuinely know? I understand statistical analysis, statistical process control and Taguchi Methods in manufacturing processes, all of which Toyota uses diligently for consistent quality, as does Honda and Nissan, but I'm not a fan of the latter two's trucks. Time will tell.

 

This is one of several I can think of, New Guy Post up a problem and the White Knights swoop in and call the guy names, say its a lie, say he is under cover working for Ford or GM, or just plain blame him for the problem, etc...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...letely-destroyed-at-25-000-kilometers.476552/

 

Heck no... This truck is the baddest in it's class..

 

Never said the problems weren't real, but it sounds like you have more experience with other vehicle forums than myself (the only other vehicle forum I am part of is the Mk6 GTI forum and there were plenty of issues reported there). I always thought that forums in general showed a disproportionately higher problem vs. non problem ratio; however, I am not basing this on collected data (obviously) just perception, so I admit that I could be mistaken.

 

New mats equals hello new car smell again...

 

Shout out to the MK6 GTI. Sadly I'm having to part with my 2012 GTI with only 30,000 miles to clear up room in the driveway. Love that car and never an ounce of trouble despite what some may say about VW.

 

Lol yeah it was hard for me to give mine up, had a 2011. Got it to stage 2 and it was a blast, but I needed something I could go adventure with and a lowered GTI just didn't work anymore.

 

My ex has well over 200K on her 2010 Jetta, she does not take care of it at all and its had very few issues, carbon build up and a clutch are the only 2 things I recall happening.

 

I bought mine new in 2013 as a leftover 2012. I still have 2 years of zero deductible VW warranty left. I have to get my lazy rear out to clean it up and put it up for sale once I figure out the best place to sell one. If I'm washing a car it's usually my Taco first and then our Yukon XL after my wife sees that I washed the truck yet again.