Sales are Down

Lol and I fully agree. In 2005 a maxed out Tacoma was $25k, now it's $38k. I could write a check for a new Raptor if I truly desired, but still think $38k is an insane amount of money for a new Tacoma. I see the logic though if it retained 80% of that in 7 years, but I doubt that.

What's also likely to happen, is the price of the 3rd gen increases 10% easily. You got to think, with the standard cab gone, the entry price for a new Tacoma would move to north of $22k Yikes!

I wish the best for Toyota on this, but this is no longer a truck for the working class, as it was originally positioned for.

 

got that right. i bought my 1988 toyota truck for $6k used and drove it 10 years with no truck payment from the age of 19-29. during this time i had part time jobs of course for the most part or low paying full time jobs.

you could make it happen back then. you didn't need to be rich to make it.

now days i guess all of that is out the window. high school kids drive $40k+ trucks these days. spoiled brats.

my parents never bought me a vehicle. i had to buy it myself and get a job while i was in high school. kids don't even hardly work anymore. times sure have changed.

 

Not one bit.

What mine listed for.



I paid a little less than 33K for it and have every single option and I mean EVERY single option that they offer. I've got one of the most capable off road trucks (this side of a Raptor) on the road right from the factory with unlimited potential for upgrades.

Price was not a issue to me because I knew what I wanted to buy. I'm sorry if you can't afford it or refuse to pay for this truck but it is what "I" wanted and I'm very happy with my decision.

You get a few more options than that for 30+k. As they say... You have to pay to play and if you are unwilling to pay then you are looking at the wrong truck.

 

Just a observation but you seem a little bitter that you can't afford or don't want to pay the price for admission to drive one of the best trucks around?

 

i can see you are someone not worth talking to. have a good day sir.

you can like what you like and so can i. i have an opinion and so do you. it's obvious we disagree.

more power to you for taking shots at me. i don't really give a crap to be honest. buy whatever the hell you wanna buy.

i'm just stating my opinion on the matter. then again i was around when you could get these trucks for $10-$12k brand new.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention. It isn't a car, it's a truck.

 

I'm not taking shots at you brother and I apologize if I came across that way. Reading back through I can see that now. So please accept my apology.

I'll see if I'm able to state my opinion in a better way. I understand what you're saying. I think my point is while I understand that you used to be able to buy these trucks for that price, technology has improved and the more gadgets and equipment you stuff into these trucks the more it's going to cost to play. I didn't mean any disrespect with any one's financial situation. I just don't see a problem with paying more to get more is what my position was I suppose.

Take care friend.

 

Inflation plays a large role in this as well $10k 10 years ago does not equal $10k in today's dollars, but almost $13k.

 

i'd take a brand new 1988 built the exact way as my old one over a 2015 model any day. it will last twice as long and cost half the price at least. who cares if you have to turn the hubs by hand and manually shift into 4wd?

i've owned a 1988 and a 2009. the 1988 was better. seems they are going backwards if you ask me. other than being safer in a crash rating that is about the only improvement that has been made in 20 years....oh yeah a a little better radio and speakers....after replacing my radio 2 times since it would shut off on it's own while driving down the road.

i think i was better off putting a pioneer aftermarket radio and speakers in my old truck.

my 1988 got the same mpg as my 2009 does. zero improvement. 2.2L back then versus 2.7L now. big weight difference from then til now.

the older trucks looked better too.

those were the good old days. yeah so they are gone now.

so where are the electric tacoma trucks already? why are we still using gas engines? let's get on with this already toyota. stop lagging behind so much. get on to the future already. why so slow?

 

The price really isn't that bad compared to how much new cars are going for. I bought my 13' at the same time a co-worker bought a new Mazda 6. He pointed out to me that basically almost every regular mid size car foreign and domestic with any kind of options is over $20k these days.

A 2014 4 door Subaru Outback with the largest engine and an upper level options package costs about $33k fair market value on KBB. You can get a fully loaded TRD Tacoma for the same price as the Outback, and if you drop the JBL and Nav could get it for a couple grand less.

 

that is where the american trucks come in. you can get v8 ford, chevy, dodge trucks for 20-25k easy. they are also cheaper to get parts for and to get worked on so that is why alot of people buy them over a tacoma or tundra.

i know you can get carried away getting every bell and whistle but not everyone gets all of that on a truck. it's a truck used for work for alot of people. they don't need cruise control and tv screens in the back of the seats and so forth. i'm just saying.

it's like trucks have lost their place. they aren't really trucks anymore. they are just luxury cars with a bed on the back.

maybe they should have a tacoma "work" truck and then a tacoma "luxury mall crawler" edition??? they could also have a super duper off road version.

the lux edition can sell for $40k, the off road version $35k, and the work version can be around $25k.

 

What an entertaining read! Here's my contribution to the discussion. Over the last 12 years I've bought (new) a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge, a 2003 Chevy Silverado (SWB), a 2005 Ford F150, and now my 2013 Tacoma PreRunner. I know, I know, I have a short attention span. Thing is, they were all vastly different and I really liked them all. I know I didn't keep any of them long enough to experience reliability issues, but prior experience leads me to believe that there was no cause for worry on any of them.

But for those complaining about the cost, I have to ask if you've looked at any other new vehicles? Just because you see an add for a $19,000 pickup in the Sunday paper, get a magnifying glass and read the fine print. It usually says something like "1 at this price."
I've gone in to look at those great deals and instead find a whole lot full of vehicles costing thousands more.

I'm afraid that the days of the cheap truck is over. Truck Trends had an article in the July/August issue called "Cheap Truck Roundup." The cheapest 1/2 ton 4x2 is the Dodge and it lists for $23,430. The Dodge 4x4 is also cheapest at $27,180.

 

Aside from actual vehicle prices, you should watch your depreciation costs! Yowza!

 

I never got a dime from my parents, for anything. They didn't have it to give me.

I left home at 17 as soon as I graduated HS, joined the Navy and retired at 37 and got another career started. When I had little money, I drove what I could afford... a Geo Metro at one point. My philosophy then was get to where you're going, bells and whistles be damned. I understand where you're coming from.

Now... it has changed to "if you're gonna get it, get it with everything". I do because I can. If you could, you would. I applaud you for doing what a lot of people do not: Living within your budget.

 

Amen to that.

 

Pickuptrucks.com says otherwise.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2014/08/julys-fastest-and-slowest-selling-pickups.html

 

But the op said sales are down with no evidence .. what is this sorcery

 

Taco sales are obviously cyclical. However, Taco prices have gone up considerably the last few years. I would put more blame on higher prices.

You can purchase a full sized Amarican truck cheaper than a Taco now. And the dealers deal on full size trucks whereas they don't deal much on Tacos.

With regard to Nissan Frontiers,..they do not even compare to a Taco.

 

The tundra sales are up this year. There is a fixed truck capacity at the san antonio plant. I suspect this is a case of zero sum gain going against the Tacoma.. Their production mix probably shifted slightly to the more profitable tundra right now. I think its less a demand problem and more a production problem. It suits me fine tho...the less they put out there the more the used ones will be in demand.

 

It's an illusion that the full size trucks cost the same. The fact that American truck dealers deal on full size trucks so much is the exact same reason why they depreciate so fast. You can't compare selling prices evenly without factoring that in somehow to make an apples to apples comparison.

There really is no full size american truck that is actually cheaper or even the same price as the the taco; Unless you compare a bone stock full size with the smallest engine available against a fully loaded V6 taco TRD crew cab, and then also don't factor in the dramatic difference in depreciation due to those full size American rebates. Again, not exactly apples to apples.