Waited for a 2016 Tacoma.. bought a F-150 instead

I'm sure I will never be able to show my face (figuratively speaking) in this forum again, but I wanted to share my story with the good people of Tacoma World.

I'm a 27 male, and I had been solely focused on buying the 2016 Tacoma as my first new vehicle for more than 5 months now. I looked at all mid-size and 1/2 ton trucks on the market, but I was 96% certain that the new Tacoma would be my first vehicle. I read all the leaks and stalked Tacoma World during this 5 month period.

On Saturday, I went to the Toyota dealership to pre-order to try and beat the rush of initial orders. They obviously had no pricing (which I knew going into the dealership), but they didn't have package details either. After trying to negotiate with management, I was told (politely) that I would have to pay MSRP --- again, something I expected. It pained me to know more about the new Tacoma than the sales guys helping me out (thanks TW), but I was ready to place the order w/ $1k down. I left the dealership with my fiance with the intent to go have lunch, pick out a color/package option (DCLB V6 w/ tech package), and return in an hour to place the order.

At lunch (heart clogging McDonalds), I started considering a few different things: 1) paying MSRP would be about 37-38k, 2) my massive dog (150lb) really couldn't fit in the DB, 3) leaked MPG was not at all impressive (would have liked to have seen 25mpg), 4) payload.

After lunch, we stopped at the Ford dealership and starting talking to our salesman about a 2015 F-150. We checked out the backseat of a SuperCab and it was perfect for my dog because it has a completely flat floor (something not seen in other trucks I've looked at). After deciding on the Super Cab style, we drilled down into engines, packages, and accessories. After the test drive, my fiance and I knew this was the truck we wanted. It's certainly in a different class than the Tacoma (size-wise), but for us, we have the space and the need for a little more room for our dog. The 6.5ft bed is just the right size for our needs, and looking back, I don't think 6ft bed would do as nicely (especially for camping).

The only problem was pricing. With an MSRP of 44-45k, we knew we could negotiate it down, but weren't sure how much. After an 1-1.5 hours, and potentially getting one of the employees fired (which is a different story), we were able to get them down to just below what the 2016 MSRP would have been.

I pulled the trigger and have been happy ever since (all two days of it). In my first real drive of about 50 miles, I averaged 24.3 MPG of mixed driving! I drive like a grandma, and I'll need to check this at the pump, but I'm very impressed so far. This truck has 4WD, an equivalent tech package (302a), tow package, sport appearance package, and FX4 off road package. The 2.7L turbo engine is massively powerful and efficient, but time will tell how reliable it will be.

This post isn't to hate on the 2016 Tacoma, quite the opposite, which is why I obsessed over it for the past 5 months and on multiple occasions quoted TW members when talking about it with my friends. I just realized that the F-150 is a better fit for me.

tl;dr Was going to buy a 2016 Tacoma, bought a 2015 F-150 instead.

 

Bye.

 

Go you.

 

Well done sir looks way better than the tacoma.

 

Let us know when you have meaningful numbers. Like multiple tanks.

Nice looking truck. But for a $10k delta, I'd have bought a smaller dog.

Since you were moving up in class of vehicle, any reason you didn't cross shop the Tundra?

Enjoy!

 

Nice truck. If I didn't have a Tacoma, I'd have an F150 Super Crew 4x4 for similar reasons.

Maybe..

 

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

Congrats on a nice truck. I'm also in the market for a new truck. After reading up on the 2016, I'm not ready to comit 37k and ten years to the SAME thing I have now... I'll probably end up with an F150 as well.

 

Good buy. F150 is a good choice for you

 

pretty but

 

tl;dr

 

Hey man, Leave the dog out of it.

 

Nice looking truck. Is that oil dripping?

JK congrats on new 150

 

ugly but

 

If I'm not mistaken, he's saying he paid less than what he would have paid for the 2016 Tacoma (MSRP of $37k or so).

Congrats on the new truck, OP. I love my 2015 F150, as do several others on this forum.

 

The legend agrees that is all that matters.

 

Right now fuelly has the 2.7 at 18.3mpg and over 400 tanks.

This is better than the 4.0L Tacoma's average of 17.7mpg

Assuming the 3.5 does get 2more mpg, that's only 19.7 average.

1.5 mpg more and 50hp /100 torque less than a full size for the same price.

The OP also said he paid slightly less than he would have for a 2016 TRD.

People are paying a lot just to have a Tacoma.

 

And who would cross shop a Tundra in today's market?

13-14mpg would be the deal breaker for me, but the fact that they are still prices over an f150 has me shaking my head at Toyota.

Hell a Nissan Titan Pro4x with the leather/tech package is less than a TRD Tacoma. It gets 14-15 mpg and is just as old as the Tundra.

 

Diesel ...... where is whipper