I could use a little re assurance

Tacoma's are awesome trucks!
I was also a guy that wanted only american made vehicles. I drove Chevy blazers, Camero's and then jeeps. Jeeps would start leaking at around 90K miles. ok I'll fix it.. then exhaust ect..
I almost bought a 1st gen Tacoma and wish I had back then.

I got stuck in the desert with my kids in the jeep and that was it. I bought an FJ ! 115k miles of desert wheeling , snowy mountains and no failures. brought me there and back.
My son has my FJ, Well his FJ now and loves it and I love my Taco ! We can trust these vehicles to get us there and back safely!

I hope this helps reassure you made the right choice. I think you did.
P.S. In So Cal here almost all the lawn gardeners drive Gen 1 Tacoma's.. Why.. Those engines start and run!

I hope that helps to re assure your purchase..

 

I wanted to like American trucks.

Until I was left stranded 200 miles from home by a Silverado that was only 5 years old with 66k on the clock. An active fuel management lifter failed and wiped out a lobe on the cam. The truck was out of the 60 month warranty by 2 months and I was told to pound sand by GM and left with a $3k repair bill for what is a common problem with all 07+ AFM equipped trucks.

My Tacoma was the best vehicle purchase choice I've ever made. If I needed a fullsize it would be a Tundra. Sad thing is the Tundra has more American sourced parts in it than any of the big 3's trucks.

 

My first was an 05' Tacoma DCLB. 115,000 miles 5 years ago and just traded it for a 2012 TRD Off-road and couldn't be more pleased with the service my other one gave. 264,000 trouble free miles with nothing but routine maintenance. Pretty much sold on these Tacomas for the forseeable future. My current one is certified pre-owned with 7 year/100,000 mile warranty and I have low expectations of ever making a claim.

 

Don't think of it as buying "American made" or not, think of it as buying "union made" or not.
Which one do you feel would be built better?

 

Made the switch from Chevy's to Toyota's several years ago. Toyota engines and trannys haven't let me down yet. They aren't perfect, but no truck is. The last two Chevy trucks I owned, I spent way too much time under the hood looking for why is it running like shit now?

 

I've finally made the switch from Ford to Toyota as a change and due to the reliability of the Tacoma. When I need full size I'm sure I'll go back to a powerstroke, but for now a Tacoma is perfect for city driving and can get me around the lease during hunting season.

 

Here's my $0.02: I was raised an "American Made" kid. Always had Harley Davidson's, GM's mostly. I still have a 1966 Chevy II. But, I've been infatuated with Tacomas in particular for as long as I can remember (maybe it was Back to the Future). I have owned 3 Tacomas, and I'm only 30 years old. The only reason I've had so many is because I didn't buy the one I should have bought the first time. All mine have been 4x4 TRD Sports. First one was an '07 Access Cab - Had a kid and upgraded to an '08 Double Cab Short bed. I recently came across a '10 Double Cab Long bed that I just couldn't pass up. I love my Tacoma and am very proud of it. Yes, there are little annoyances here and there, but they are all minor. My next truck will most likely be a full size (would like more cab room and toying capabilities), and I'll probably go back to GM. IMO the GM is a nicer truck than the Tundra, but there is no comparison for a midsize truck. Tacoma is it! Not sure what your the demands of your truck are, but if you are daily driving it, doing relatively light-duty towing/hauling, and don't need to haul around a cab-load of people, I'm sure you'll be thrilled with your purchase. I think MOST vehicles are capable of hundreds of thousands of worry-free miles if their owner take care of them.

Enjoy your Tacoma AND this forum. There are a lot of good dudes on this site, and from my experience, all very willing to help in any way they can. Proceed with caution though! Once that mod-bug bites, the rabbit hole can get VERY deep VERY quick!

 

I drove American made trucks and SUV's from the mid 1970's until 8 years ago when I bought my Tacoma. I traded in an 02 F-150 Super-crew 4X4 on a 4X4 double cab Tacoma TRD. It was the best decision I've ever made. I never had a complaint with any of them, but after driving the Taco for 8 years would go back and throw rocks at the others. I've always known Toyota built a good truck, but the early versions were just too small in the cab and came up short for towing etc. I only gave up 300 lbs of towing capacity compared to the Ford but gained 3-4 mpg. Doesn't seem like much, but after 150,000 miles @ $3/gal it adds up to about $8,000 I've saved in fuel over the last 8 years.

Other than normal replacement of tires, shocks, brakes, batteries, etc the only thing I've done was have the AC fan blower replaced at about $200. I plan to keep it at least 2 more years before deciding on trading for a new one, or putting money into some minor modifications and rebuild when needed.

One of the biggest pluses is the more compact size is so much easier to maneuver. I've found it much more capable off road than the bigger more cumbersome 1/2 ton trucks too. I can't imagine ever going back to a 1/2 ton, even the Tundra. If a properly equipped current generation Tacoma won't get the job done it is time to move up to a 3/4 or 1 ton with a diesel engine.

 

I went from Chev to Ford to Dodge then to Datsun then to Toyota in 1980 latest is a 2011. If you are worried about American made they are made in the states with more American made parts than any of the big three. All of my older Toyota's had at least 200K on them when sold and the 2011 has 60K on it Maybe they will force me to stop driving before I ware this one out.

 

The Tacoma is a truck that will get the job done for most things. Plus there is a huge aftermarket for it so yeah enjoy it!

 

When I went looking for a newer Outback for my sister every single time we looked at one they spent lots of time admiring my truck saying they can never get their hands on them because they hold value too well. But on the rare occasion that they can, they love them because the customer never comes back with a problem.

 

Toyota Tacoma .... no worries... sleep well, my son.

Amen.

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PS: You can close this thread now.

 

True story, I was in the wholesale car game years ago and I really wanted a Tacoma because my old 80 SR5 was about to break in half it only had 305K on it. I used to do as many as 4 auctions a day in 3 states I could not buy a Tacoma at the auction because they were bring full book value. Coming home from an auction there was one parked on the side of the road with a broken windshield 8 miles from my house. I put a windshield in it the next day and could have made around $2,000 at the auction that day but I wanted the truck.

 

Same thing happened to me. my 07 suburban drank a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Gm said it was normal. I like GM trucks, but their reliability sucks. never again.