Sales are Down

Yeah, what he said.

 

Many people (including myself) purchased the Tacoma because of it's stellar reputation, don't get me wrong, I do like my truck, (an "09" with under 30k),
that being said, I do have to admit I didn't do my homework, as I said I like the truck but the facts are facts!!, it is underpowered! bad ride, NOISEY, stock radio is sh%&, stock tires are junk, tailgate (if it doesn't get ripped off) is junk, (not sure why anyone would want it) I will say it is about the nicest looking truck on the market!!!, & no mechanical problems, The biggest issue is the RUST!!! that would have been the deal breaker for me, My fault. I should have did my homework. I have an "09" with under 30k, for the most part the truck sits in a showroom quality garage, driven very little in winter, Toyota has been using its reputation to sell trucks & it has been working for them, but I think the writing is on the wall for Toyota, the first thing I had to do, (as many did,, was get the suspension For me the Rust is the biggest issue, Toyota is making an attempt to correct some model years, I hope they get to mine. if not I will be looking else ware, Toyota can only ride on reputation so long. jmop

 

I bought a new 2006 Frontier (4x4 access cab) for around $26K in October 2006. Traded it in on the Tacoma and got around $10-$11K for the Frontier. Ironically paid $26K for a 2011 Tacoma with 10K miles April 2012. The Tacoma is still worth what I paid if not more.

 

WRT comparing Apples to Apples.

You can buy a full size half ton Ford Chevy Dodge truck for less than Taco Prerunner. It may not be a Lariat, Silverado or SLT but it will be well equipped.

My point is that alot of truck buyers will opt for the full size truck instead of purchasing an equipped Taco. Hence, this could be 'one' reason sales are down. I am sure there are many.

But even myself when I see the prices of new Tacos am hit with sticker shock. Some 4x4 Taco's are getting close to $40k now. That, to me anyway, is a chunk of change for a smaller truck. Many truck buyer will just go full size when spending in that range.

 

Don't get me wrong I love my Taco and will probably buy another one,... maybe soon.

But I will give you an example from an advertisement today in the local paper.

"New 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab, 5.7L Hemi V8, auto, keyless, ps,pb, pl, 20" Alloys On Sale Now $26,680.

Or,...you can buy a Taco Prerunner for $32k?

That may be a tough decision for some and an easy one for others.

Just sayin.

 

$40k is just stupid for a Taco, you can get a fully loaded TRD model for around $31 or $32k if you look hard enough. I paid $31k before TTL on my fully loaded 13' TRD DC OR. Most mid size cars these days are going for $20k+.

I still don't believe you. Can you do some research and post numbers and links on what full size truck you can get with what options for less than a Prerunner?

Not many people want to buy a 2wd base Silverado, Ram, F150 with the smallest engine and 0 options. I just don't believe you can get a "well equipped" full size truck for cheaper. I just visited Chevy, Dodge, and Ford dealerships, and looked hard at an F-150, before settling on my Tacoma a little over a year ago. Prove it!

 

That's not accurate; I bought my TRD DC OR 4x4 for $31k. Just sayin!

Also, when I was looking around I found a lot of deals like that one in your paper, where I went into the dealership and they said it was a mistake after driving an hour. But either way, you can't flat out compare the selling prices of the two. Because the Dodge is going to loose an outrageous amount of value within the first 3 years, where the Tacoma will maintain around 75% of it's value.

 

I would not own a Dodge either. I am a dedicated Taco owner.

I am not making comparisons either.

The point is that many people will go the Full Size route because it 'appears' to be a better value to them.

Many people look at Tacos as mini trucks and do not know their history of reliability and performance.

 

The only thing my parents done for me car wise was buy me my first truck when I was 16. It was a 2000 Tacoma Prerunner with 210,000 miles. I went to college full time and worked a full time job and a part time job until I could afford to buy my own truck and when I did, I gave my truck back to dad and bought my current truck. All 15+ hour work days and school semesters with 20+ credit hours sure was rough but I wouldn't do it any different now. I'm now going to get my bachelor's degree. Oh yeah, and I just turned 20......there's still hope for my generation.....well for some of my generation.

 

I'm pretty sure that 2014 dodge for 26.5k is probably a 2wd regular cab, and hard to say if it even has A/C in it. If it wasn't they would advertise that it's a 4x4 or extended cab at least.

 

Read the fine print in the Dodge ad. See if it doesn't say "1 at this price." Occasionally they may even say something like 3 at this price, or even 10 at this price, but more often than not when you get there you'll hear "I'm sorry, but that ones been sold, let me show you this truck (which is several thousand more). Those ads are designed to get you in the door.

 

^This

I got so frustrated with dealers when I was considering new trucks, because I would see an ad that sounded to good to be true. I would drive an hour or more to their lot to go for a test drive, and then when I got there it was either a total mistake/misprint or there was only 1 at that price which was already sold first thing that morning (Which who knows if that's even true). Yeah misprint my ass! They know exactly what they're doing.

 

Amen Ian

 

If $26,680 is an out the door price for what is listed with 4x4, then I'll take 100 of these and my bank said they will even finance me for them.
I've seen ads for full size 4x4 4door, blah blah loaded trucks for under $30k every day for the last 6 months out of metro Detroit. Went to my local Ford dealer (way north of Motown) and they would give me the same deal if I was a UAW employee, my crap smells like roses, wife had big titties, first time buyer, illegal alien... Point is, the advertised prices that you see are after all the cash back and incentive monies are deducted.

 

Full size 4x4 for under 30k? I find that hard to believe. If even there is a chance of this, it's probably a single cab, short bed, manual windows, locks, and has a hole cut out in the floorboard for fred flinstone to stick his feet through and yell yabba dabba doo.

 

It's hard to believe because it's just plain not true. I'm saying that the *advertised price* of less than $30k is reflecting all of the cash backs and discounts one may or may not receive due to where they're employed or not. Like say a guy who works for GM gets a GM discount. Whereas a guy like myself, don't work for GM don't get a discount, therefore won't receive the advertised truck for less than $30k. D'ya get me now brah?

MSRP: $37,000
Now subtract...
GM/Ford/Fiat employee discount: $5,000
Illegal Alien cash back bonus award: $2,000
Wife has big titties cash back bonus: $1,000
Whatever other bs incentives they offer: $1750
So now yer down to $27,250. and they advertise that. Now, I'm not an employee so I don't get the $5k. I'm not an illegal alien anymore (haha kidding) so I don't get the $2k. Now the wife actually does have some nice tatas so I would qualify for that but I'm still way over $30k.
Does this help?

Now excuse me, I have to take my wife's Honda Ridgeline to pick up the kids from band camp!

 

Another thing Ford used when I was looking, was they had a $5,000 rebate on all F150s of any package. One of several rebates. However to get that $5k, you had to finance something like $10k minimum directly through Ford at astronomical interest rates. My Ford sales guy was telling me I could sign up for the financing to get the rebate and then pay it off immediately after 3 payments minimum and refinance through whoever I wanted! lol

That whole deal turned me away from Ford and their F150, I dont like to play games on a 30k+ purchase. Or have to jump through hoops and have a huge hassle after purchasing to get out their crazy interest rates.

 

Oh I get what you are cookin! I was agreeing with you. I priced out a full size before the Tacoma, and lets just say it wasn't even close to 30k.

 

Hmm, there's a big titties cash back bonus on new trucks?

Guess I'm taking my girlfriend with me next time I'm truck shopping! I'll have her wear a white t-shirt, go when it's raining out, and turn the A/C on max for the entire drive there?

 

Back in the day Toyota Trucks were engineered and built in Japan, now they're just thrown together in Mexico.