Used 3rd gen vs new 4th gen

I learned in 2016 that buying the first model year of a car is a bad idea. There are some changes to the 4th gen that I love and some that I absolutely despise. Personally, for these reasons I would choose the used 3rd gen.

 

I've had all four generations. Toyota hit a home run with this new gen. It's heads above the 3rd gen.

Keep in mind that most–if not all–of the negative Gen 4 commenters here have Gen 3s.

 

When I started shopping for a Tacoma, I was pretty set on a 3G. I'm typically someone that doesn't buy the first model year so the bugs can be worked out but I needed a truck, and it had to be a Tacoma (6' bed in the midsize segment, and I already had a Frontier that I didn't like). Went to my local dealers and sat in the 3G, but at the time they had a stop sale on them for something with the rear diff, so I couldn't test drive one. Savvy saleperson had me drive the only 4G they had on the lot at the time to get over to the side lot where they had the stop sale trucks parked, and I was able to compare the seating positions, seat comfort, back seat space, etc side by side. I wasn't ready to buy that day regardless, so I went to a different dealer and test drove another 4G a couple of weeks later. Finally, the stop sale was lifted on the 3Gs, so I was able to drive one, and found I didn't like it nearly as much as the 4G (seat comfort/seating position were primary reasons). On these shorter 20 minute test drives, it was hard to really notice the tranny on the 3G hunting around like everyone talks about on the forums, and it drove nice enough, so I was really torn as to which one to buy. It somewhat came down to price - I expected the 3G's to be discounted with the 4G trucks showing up on the lots in larger numbers, but if anything, the dealers were charging MSRP and not budging on them, whereas on my 4G, I got a few thousand off the price of the truck, actually making it less expensive than the equivalent 3G. So I chose the 4G and very happy thus far.

 

There is no value right now in buying a used 3G. Prices shot up as soon as the 4G came out, and clean, desirable 23s are now more expensive than a discounted 4G of the same trim. I expect that the same will happen with 4Runners. He should also consider a Ranger or Frontier.

 

100%

 

If you don’t already own a Gen3, they may not represent the best value used right now. Smokin’ hot residuals.

I would side with the positive feedback from real people here who spent their own (non-YouTube) cash on a Gen4. It certainly looks like a solid winner, and heavy discounts help. However, I’d also take into account their honest feedback regarding early issues, and wait it out a little longer.

Or, you could buy a Gen2 now. The money you save will buy seat covers, little tree air freshener, & headlight restore kit.

 

I did auto trader search for Gen 3 4x4's with under 60K, there are quite a few between 22-28K. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably pick up a 3rd gen low mileage SR 4x4 for under 25K and throw the parts at it I want.

I've been casually keeping an eye on used 3rd Gens and contemplating turning one into a dedicated camping/fishing truck camper hauler and keeping the one I currently have as my get around town truck. I like the idea of having a rig loaded up and ready to go, instead of reconfiguring.

 

I like the looks (and price) of the Frontier, mind sharing what you didn't like about yours?

 

The steering feel was the biggest reason. This is very person dependent, as some love the steering, and others (like me) didn't like very much at all. Its heavy, and underboosted, plus the turning radius was worse than the Tacoma (even though the spec sheet shows it should be better than the 4G Tacoma, it is not). I also had an early '22 version of the Frontier that was missing some items I wanted and was able to get on the Tacoma. On the flipside, I gave up some standard options on the mid-trim Nissan that aren't included in a mid-trim Tacoma (power drivers seat especially, plus dual climate control).
I liked the Frontier's engine and its tow-haul mode was more aggressive than the Tacoma's (I really liked the aggressive down shifting - almost didn't have to use the brakes until you came to a complete stop).

But the steering feel was the deal breaker for me - as a daily driver it just wasn't fun or enjoyable to drive. And I'll be the first to admit that I missed that on the test drive. Sure it felt a little harder, but you don't really notice it until you're driving it everyday. It was enough to trade it in. But, some people love the Frontier's steering so its very dependent on the driver.

 

Thank you, I appreciate the response.

 

How do the 2 trucks they are looking at compare package for package? Price difference?

 

Like mentioned in this thread there are some nice used third gen’s with low mileage but price is steep. For example a 2021 Tacoma trd off-road 24,000 miles dealer is asking $40k. If he was to get a new 4th gen trd off-road with not a lot of upgrades the price is around $43-44k.

 

Easy then, don't buy the used truck from a dealer.

Or as was suggested on this site before, follow people around who are looking to trade in their lightly used 3rd gen, and offer them $500 more than the dealer. You'll come ahead with a great deal...

Financing and owing payments on a used truck makes private party sales more complicated, but there is a way to work with the seller's lender to pay off their loan and get you the title without the funny business (like buying a house).

 

In most states you don't have to pay taxes on your trade in value so only giving them $500 more than the dealer wouldn't be worth it to the seller. You'd need to offer closer to 2500 over just to make it breakeven for the seller.

OP in this case I'd be going with a 4th gen. No way I'm buying a used truck when new truck prices are so close. I had the same issue buying my 19. Used 17 trucks were so close in price it just didn't make sense to go used.

 

That depends on what the dealer is offering for trade-in.

 

Okay, so the exact number would vary, but the point stands that selling private party usually gets a better price than trading in, and buying private party is usually a better deal than buying at a dealer (because of how the dealers deal).

 

It looks to me that all the guys here with 3rd-gen trucks suggest sticking to that gen and those with 4th-gen trucks suggest moving on...

 

Well people who have owned both the 3rd and 4th say 4th gen is a much better truck. I would take the word of people with experience with both trucks instead of the 3rd genners that flood the 4th Gen forum. No hate on previous gens but the new one is a better vehicle for most people.

 

So it's just like a tire thread, lol.

 

Used 3rd gens are still selling for about as much as they were new. They really hold their value better than any new vehicle. Its amazing value. But 3rd gen also have less factory warranty remaining, less safety features, less power, less economy.

People are quick to point out some reliability concerns with a new generation, but even the late model 3rd gen is not without its own issues. There are several reports of P11EC or P11EE CEL codes which require a new head to fix. There are dozens of postings on this forum chronicling that specific issue, more than any 4G transmission issues. Toyota never released a TSB for it but has affected thousands of engines. It happened to me on my 2018 when I was 6 months out of warranty at 42,000 miles. Any generation could have issues, but at least with a new 4th gen you can sleep easy for 5 years / 60,000 miles.