Jacksonville, FL Area Scheduled Meets-Ongoing

Hastings has a good place. It's called 10,000's aka waffle top. Serious trails back up in there. Better have a friend cause it gets slick and sticky. Got to get my driveshaft straightened and balanced then I'll be ready. Hoping to have the time next week to drop it off. Only going to and from work with her right now.

 

Yeah I've been there a lot. Flagler estates waffle tops. We go shooting back there sometimes too. I haven't been back there in a bit. Last time i went through a mud hole and got stuck... Luckily my friend was with me and pulled me out. Yeah I would never go back there without a buddy.

 

Been 6+ years since I been out there. Just know it use to be fun.

 

Could I get a little advice from Jax area Tacoma owners?

I want to trading or sell my 2013 Volvo XC60 SUV and get a used Tacoma. I've been a fan for a while but now I'm ready to buy. I had some questions in the New Member intro thread, but didn't get any answers in the last 6 months. I was hoping someone local could assist me.
I'm going to have about $25k for the truck. As much as I want a badass lifted 4x4 baja rally truck, this will also be a daily commuter for my wife, so reliability, low miles are the #1 need. We need a double cab (kids), V6, and think we want the long bed. I'm realizing that I'm not really going to spend much time off road or in the snow (we moved here from Chicago 7 mos ago), so I'm OK with it not being a 4x4.
What I really don't understand is the trim levels over the years I listed... some have color matched fender flares, some are black. Some have color match bumpers, some are black, some are chrome. Some have hood scoops, some don't.
What I would really want is a 2014 White double cab long bed Prerunner with black fenders and flares and a hood scoop- does this truck exist and if so, what is it's official Toyota designation?
Also, where's the best place to buy a used Taco. I'm hoping for a better response than my last post, which has been unanswered for 6 months.
Thanks in advance!

 

Prerunners usually have color matched fender flares. TRD Sports have the hood scoops, SR5 and TRD Off-Road's do not. Non-Prerunners (Base model 4 cylinders) are the ones that have the black fender flares and look low to the ground... Start by looking around at Arlington Toyota for a used one and Autotrader/Craigslist for something nearby, might be your best option. Lots of Tacomas in FL and GA...

 

Of the dealers I know of in our area, Arlington, Coggin, and Earnie Palmer are pretty good. I bought my '16 at Coggin but that's only after they called me back to make me a better deal.

I would avoid Keith Pierson, I don't know of anyone who has had a good experience with them. (Including myself).

You could also try Cars.com to see what else you can track down. Might help you narrow your search down for your pre-owned vehicle.

 

Kieth pierson left my oil cap off. Been going to coggin ever since.
I have an sr5 and i have a scoop, but i swapped mine fo free. Keep that in mind, and be aware many companies use base tacos for fleet vehicles. Im sure some company wouldnt mind free swap. Or just upgrade to some bushwackers in black.
and .. DCLB FTMFW

 

Keith Pierson... man alive that's a place I learned to avoid. I took my wife's Corolla in to get it looked at after we moved here (before I knew about KP Toyota) due to a squeaky belt. The tensioner was bad, as was the belt because I had a non-OEM belt KP told me it needed to be replaced immediately due to cracks (couldn't find a single one on it), then they told me a head gasket was leaking oil and needed to be replaced, and something else was bad too (I forget now). The total bill came out to be $1600. The service manager walked me back to the bay, the tech was there and had this weird look on his face once the service manager was explaining stuff... the techs expression told me enough. I thanked them both for their time, and took it to another mechanic. No oil leak, but the tensioner was bad and the belt was "ok", but I had him replace it all at once since it's the wife's DD.

Yeah... no more Keith Pierson for me. Oh, and their salesman are sharks too, hitting you up while you're in the waiting room, going from person to person.

 

I went once and just hated the over commercialed feeling. Been going to Arlington for service and have been happy.

 

We drove by Arlington today, it's a bit out of the way for me. I'll try Earnie Palmer, or Coggin for warranty stuff. The truck is high enough up that I can slide under it, so I think I'll just change my own oil.

 

whats up guy

 

New to the forum and living in Jacksonville, FL. Saying hi!

I went to Arlington Toyota for my last purchase. They gave me a great deal on both the trade-in and new purchase. Haven't used their service department yet but it sounds better than Keith Pierson (Who I used for service for about 2 years).. The fancy A/C in the shop must be putting those guys to sleep.

 

Everybody - thanks so much for the input and advice. Coggin is the closest for me and practically across the street from the Volvo dealership where I'm taking my XC60 to get some warranty work done before trading it in, so I've been in touch with a salesperson there. I'm actually going to go with a lease this time instead of purchasing (this is a first for me) because the NorthEast FL Toytal dealers' current promotion is so unbelievably good and I really want a Gen3.
I'm set on a 2016 v6 SR5 Double Cab 4x2 in Quicksand with the XP Maverics appearance package (beefier tires, black/2 tone alloy wheels, predator running boards, chrome exhaust tips). A 2yr lease on a brand new SR5 in this configuration only requires about $2300 down and the monthly payments should be under $289 before taxes. That puts me into a brand new Taco for about $200 less per month than my current car note.
Since it's a lease, I won't be doing much in the way of modifications (like getting it lifted), but hey my first Tacoma is going to be a brand new Gen3 and still save me a bunch of $$$ over the next two years. This just makes sense for our current financial situation.

It's been next to impossible finding pictures of a SR5 Double cab in Quicksand with the XP Maverics appearance package online (I was trying to show my wife what I'm so excited about)... I think an hour of googling netted me one image in a TacoWorld Gen3 picture thread. I'll take a bunch of pics and post ours as soon as she comes home- who knows, maybe someone else has been looking too.

 

Very nice man.

 

Whats everyones opinions on paying the principle down when the extra money is handy?

 

That's a tough call. If it was a house... do it. Vehicles? I think the interest is already built into the loan, so no matter if you pay it early or on time, it's the same amount. This has been the case with the auto loans I've had for the past 4-5 vehicles I've owned.

I know for our house payment, if we pay extra on the principle or do bi-monthly payments it shaves 7 years of the house payments.

 

If you can shorten the time of your loan by a couple months sure. But credit wise they want to see you pay til the end. I'd say why not.

 

I was under the impression if you pay down the priniciple your payment stays the same but your interest becomes less of the payment. So if i dropped 5k on my principle my interest per payment would be less even though it would be the same amout . If that makes any sense

 

I see what you're saying, but I don't have any good answer for you. Maybe call your bank and see if they know if it would help?

 

True, cause i have another vehicle i am trying to sell for around 5k and thatd effectively shorten my payments by a year