Trying for the TX Baja

Good for you... we need more folks out there earning degrees in something other than your typical BA degrees. More power to you, and I hope the coal industry continues down the road but I'd say you are safe finding work with an EE degree. Keep working hard.

Also, the guys above do have valid points about buying used... I'd advise my son to do that vs buy new if he were in your shoes. But I don't know you and I'm not one for fragging a stranger's personal decisions... you sound like you are working hard at the right things. Do what you believe to be in your best interest, and good luck!

 

Thanks!

 

sweeeeet!!! same here welcome to tw

 

Awesome man GL with it!

 

I bought my SR5 4x4 dcsb new in July 2010...love this truck, and I'm a veteran truck buyer from waaaaay back.

It stickered for 29K and change...I paid 28 and change out the door.

You could duplicate my truck and have as much fun with it as the Baja truck...

put that 10K down and only owe 18K on a truck that will be worth 18K many years later.

however, I was once a young man...and no one could stop me from wasting hard earned cash on cars-trucks-boats-motorcycles.

Good luck with your new truck...

 

Yep Larry, that's what being a young guy is all about, except throw in women (damn women!) in that equation and that was me.

 

Indeed, my friend...indeed.

Funny how comfortable I am in my little SR5 Tacoma...after all those years of driving Z71 Chevy's & GMC's and Lariat Fords & Corvettes & Harley Davidson's.

When I hit 50, my priorities changed. I no longer had the wanting-needing disease. I even sold my 30 thousand dollar Maverick 16' flats skiff (although that may have been a mistake )

 

This. You could have bought my truck straight up - 05 V6 Access and had NO PAYMENT in place of a $500-600 a month payment.

Sure, you may need to buy new tires and replace a water pump in the same year, but you will not spend $25,000 in repairs in 5 years.

 

i like everything about the baja's except the pricetag. OP, if you think youre going to get into a truck, ANY TRUCK, and have zero vibes, then owning a truck is not for you. it will not ride like a cadillac, nor will it ride like a car, its a truck. its supposed to have vibrations. in reality, every thousand you put down on a car saves you about 10 bucks a month give or take. i would much rather have 10g's in my bank account than save 100 bucks a month on a truck payment. think of what you could do to your tacoma, whether baja or base model, with 10k. you could have a pretty sick set up for that money, and it would ride 100000000000000x better than the day you take it off the showroom floor. fuck, i have only put 1000 into my truck and it rides a shitload better than stock. just think about all your options, and dont be so close minded when you ask for everyones opinion by posting to a forum, youre going to hear some things that may not make you very happy.

good luck with whatever you do man! i hope you consider what i said!

 

Everybody rags on buying new vehicles. My theory is, get EXACTLY what you want. And keep it forever. Resale value isn't needed when you don't resell it. I bought my truck with 7 miles on it and I take far better care of it than I did my 500 dollar beater, because I know that if I do, it's going to stand the test of time. BTW, just about to hit 30k and haven't been to the dealership other than to get a few TSB's done. Rock solid trucks we've got. IMO I'd get a base model and then mod the crap out of it. I ALMOST regret getting my sport package, I don't think I will totally regret it until I swap out the bumpers and suspension....but I love the skewp.

 

You are 25.

In 3, 5 or even 7 years tastes change, the vehicles condition deteriorates ect.

You you be happy driving around in a '97 rusted out Tacoma with torn interior, cracked dash and leaky exhaust? It's exactly want you wanted back in '97.

Many of us look at it this way. "I want a V6, 4X4 Tacoma Quad Cab"... how is a 07, 09 and a 12 exactly all that different?

 

Driving off road all over the coal mines is gonna wear that expensive mall crawler out. Get a 1st gen.

 

I wanted the BAJA so bad.. Unfortunately it is not available in Canada..

 

not me

every one of my trucks/cars/boats/bikes have been bought new for the past 30 years. and there have been plenty of them.

I did buy a used Corvette once a decade and a half ago...kept it a few months and sold it for what I paid for it.

I prefer new. However, it does not have to be the most expensive model in the lineup.

 

Get the Baja! I love mine

 

My advice: buy a pre taco 4x4 with the 4 cylinder. Drive that till you can comfortably afford a new truck.

 

sounds like with 10K cash as a down payment...and a good job, the OP can comfortably afford the new truck.

not to say he should...or shouldn't.

just sayin', the affordability seems to be present.

 

Hey man, it sounds like you know what you want.

Unlike many on TW, I know that modding up your truck isn't everyone's cup of tea. You can get better value for your money that way, but you can also end up with "unintended consequences" that take time and money to solve.

Because the Baja is a limited edition, the dealers know they can charge more, and they will. For a typical Tacoma, I wouldn't tell anyone anywhere to pay more than 500 over factory invoice, and try for less than that.

Sounds like you're doing what you need to to get the price down - being unsure on the purchase, walking away, letting them come to you.

Make sure you know what the invoice price is by looking on edmunds.com and other sites, and adding up the costs of the base truck plus all the option packages you're considering.

 

OP, buy what you want but just keep in mind that although it looks nice off the lot and financing makes it appealing these guys are right. For far less that the 35k sticker you can add a few small parts here and there and end up with a truck that will look almost exactly the same but most likely perform better too.

My opinion: Buy a stock TRD OR for 6-8k less, you will be impressed with what a stock truck can do and save that coin to pay it off quicker and add some nicer suspension down the road