Thinking about buying an 06 . . . Talk me into or out of it?

Just thought I’d get an opinion or two before I pull the trigger. I’m looking at an 06 DCLB 3.4 4x4 with 190k for 18.5. Second owner, fox suspension and total chaos UCA, clean title.

I’ve been a 1st Gen owner my entire life, literally driving the same truck since I got my drivers license in 2005 — 2000 3.4L 4x4 MT extended cab w 354k on it. I love it and will never sell, but I have my first kid on the way and need something that fits a car seat and a growing family. My wife wants us to get a used Volvo but I worry about those because they are suspiciously cheap used (>10k) w 100-150k miles. I know Tacomas and trust them so I’m leaning towards a second truck. We’re also considering a used outback, but for the same price as this truck it just doesn’t seem as fun.

Any advice from 2nd gen owners or even just 2 truck folks? Admittedly I don’t know as much about 2ndG as 1st, but I’m pretty sure 06 was the first year of the gen. Any major issues to look out for? Might be setting myself up for a biased response here, but are the 2nd generation 3.4L known to be as reliable as the 5VZ-FE?

Thanks for the input.

 

The 2nd Gen didn’t have a 3.4L
It has a 4.0L

2005 and some early 2006 models had head gasket issues.

Other than that, the 4.0 is a pretty solid engine. It’s proven and reliable.

 

Similar circumstances, I went from a first gen prerunner to an 06 4x4 that I got back in 2016 w/ 67k on the odometer for 18.5. I was the second owner. I loved my old truck but given the choice I’d take the second gen every time.

 

Night and day difference in the 3.4 vs 4.0.
The 4.0 has tons of power compared to the 3.4.

But…..Toyota stuck us with an electronic transfer case

 

2nd gen year range was 05-15
Engines were 2.7L 4cyl 2TR-FE and 4.0L V6 1GR-FE, they don't have much in common with the gen 1 engines but have proven to be pretty durable providing the oil is maintained properly.
05-early 06 4.0L engines had a higher headgasket failure rate and some engine mount problems, these problems were fixed around mid 06.

Check the frame for rust.
The 4.0L timing cover is known to leak on the right side behind the power steering pump so you may want to check that as it can be labor intensive to fix properly.

 

… cries in 3rd gen electronics

As for the truck, 17 years old with almost 200k miles for $18,500. I’d pass. You can do better.

 

Being body-on-frame with a high floor (for off-road clearance), the 2nd/3rd gen double cab isn't that roomy in the rear. A car seat will require the front seat to be moved forward, cutting front passenger legroom. See discussion here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/should-i-sell-my-2nd-gen-and-buy-a-3rd.793812/

A RAV4 or Venza will have a lot more room in the 2nd row.

 

My 2 cents as someone who's had several Volvos and Toyotas (currently have both), their P3 series cars are honestly pretty stout and fairly reliable as far as I'm concerned. My '12 s60 is sitting at 208k and I'd happily take it anywhere. It's extremely comfortable, quiet, surprisingly fast, and gets mid 20s for mpg.

The T6 is a great engine and most of the cars that utilize it have an equally stout Aisin transmission. The 3.2 non turbo is also pretty damn reliable minus some issues with their READ unit in the early ones, and a tendency to burn a little oil as the miles get north of 150k. I would personally avoid their T5, it's reliable enough, but it is an oil burner even at lower miles. That along with having an interference design and timing belt would make me pass on one. The 6 cylinders are much better

You get a lot of car for your money buying a used P3 Volvo. You'll certainly wanna make sure it was well maintained though, and I'd try to shoot for 2010+ as the early model issues were mostly sorted by then. I feel they're cheap because it's kind of a niche market. They're too bland to be a "cool" kid car like a BMW or Merc, and any old money folks that want one are just gonna go buy a new one. So the used market on them is pretty small and low demand.

They're also surprisingly DIY friendly compared to other euros. Most of their common issues are fairly inexpensive to fix and doable at home!

As for the Tacoma, personally that seems like kind of a steep price to me with those miles. The early 4.0s did have some head gasket issues, albeit unusual. In my eyes if you've already got a truck, it makes sense to get something that'll get decent gas mileage and be more family oriented. Try out a P3 s60 / v70 / xc70 / s80! Can't hurt to test drive one. Once you plop into one of those cushy seats, it'll be hard to go back to a Toyota haha

 

you lost me at growing family...Tacos SUCK back seat wise..unless you have a dog family, then its ok...for that much, buy a family car...Honda, Toyota, cant go wrong...oh, and older outbacks...run, run fast....