Let go of first love? ‘99 Prerunner

Hi fellow Tacoma owners. I’m generally not attached to material possessions. You all know these trucks will seem to run forever if you treat them right. Hell, most are like spouses with low self-esteem: they’ll still serve you even if you abuse ‘em.

Meet Lil’ Champ my 1999 Prerunner 3.4L V6 RWD. My first vehicle — had to get a job at age 15 in 2004 to pay off. Over 18 years we’ve been through 15 states, numerous jobs, women, good times, bad times, you name it. He’s carried me through almost every shade of life’s spectrum.

I wasn’t always the most responsible owner. Whether it was lack of finance or inexperience, he shows his age here and there. Always changed the oil and air filters on schedule though.

Now he’s my backup horse. Got another Toyota (of course). Since I had a little extra scratch he recently got some long needed cosmetic surgery. Could use more. There’s plenty of badass mods on here. Also cool ways to improve/reclaim the original stock condition. Sound proofing sounds appealing.

With just over 240,000 I could see him easily going another 10 years. Gripping the wheel and feeling the engine rev it just feels like he wants to keep going, ya know?

Recently put in $2,000 despite the shop owner giving me the look like “It’ll cost this much to fix the front end…so….” then his surprise when I said “Sounds good. Let’s do it”.

I’ve had 7 unsolicited requests from strangers to buy him. Never considered selling until now. The resale value of these is impressive. Fork in the road here… sell for extra life tokens now? Or gallop into the horizon possibly to pass him onto some young angry bastard who shows up on my doorstep with a DNA test and life’s worth of resentment?

Part if me wants to keep him just to be part of this club I’ve only just joined. Does this group ever do meet-ups? I manage a 9-room bed and breakfast in Sun Valley, Idaho. Would anyone be interested in a Tacoma meet here this summer? I’d block off the whole place with discounted if not free stays for Tacoma owners.

I’d love to hear other’s stories that have unraveled under 100’s, 1,000’s and 100’s of 1’000’s of miles of pavement. HYAH!

 

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