What influenced you in your decision to buy a Tacoma ?

Hey guys, just a wanna be right now; but some day I would like to see one of these rigs in my drive way. If I take the plunge it'll be a Double Cab TRD Sport in white. My (one of) supervisors has one w/leather and I absolutely love it. The rest of the company officials all drive F-150's. For you folks here, who have owned your Tacoma's for a awhile now, what made you go with the Tacoma ? The more I'm learning about different packages and options, I'm realizing they are'nt that cheap...Up here in Canada a TRD Sport DC V6 with cloth runs about $37,500.00 before they gouge you with another 5-6 grand in taxes and administration crap. When looking at some of these offers the domestic brands are giving right now, there not that much more than a Tacoma. Does anyone regret there purchase or will you stay brand loyal ? I would really appreciate your opinions, comments. Thanks in advance....
Joe

 

i wanted a reliable truck that was 4x4 and had a bit of customization potential. so budget wise it was either this or a frontier, and tacoma is a million times better in my opinion. also cant really beat a tacoma's reliability. most people regret not getting 4x4 though.

 

On my second Tacoma, third Toyota truck. Ride, quality, longevity. I will drive a truck as long as I have the ability do the the things I like to do that need a truck - and it will be a Toyota.

 

My first Toyota was a 1966 Corona. http://www.velocityjournal.com/journal/1966/toyota/4964/index.html
I beat the shit out of it and it never died. Been driving them since then except for a few mistakes (Ford F150, Chrysler New Yorker). I will not own anything else, but a Toyota. IMO they are still the most reliable vehicle on the market.

 

I needed a reliable daily driver that was 4x4. I wanted a double cab but loved the short wheelbase of the regular cab. Found a regular cab with 20,000 miles on it and told the dealer I wanted it with 0 down. I drove it off the lot a few hours later with payments lower than I wanted.

 

Blazer got totaled, Suburban was a piece of shit, managed to get financing for no more than 15k, local Chevy dealer had it for $13.5k.. also offered a Kia SUV, a Ranger, and a Dakota. Told Scott (I'd bought 2 other vehicles from him over the last 15 years) that I'd buy a Ford before I'd buy a Chrysler and I sure the fuck wasn't going to buy a Ford!

 

When the gen 2's came out, the first one I saw was a Speedway Blue X-Runner in front of a high profile dealer. I thought "Wow. Hot truck. Done kind of like an S-10 Extreme!" I'd been wanting an Extreme since they came out, but that Tacoma always hung in the back of my mind...
Flash forward several years. Eventually got an S-10 (Whiplash Jr.), customized it with air ride & paint, got bored, turfed it. Realized I needed a truck that would haul people in addition to hauling cargo and pulling trailers. Tried to fill the need with a 2000 F-250 diesel supercab longbed 4x4. Threw custom paint at it too, but was too expensive to maintain and rode like a buckboard. Turfed it.
March 2012: Was at the new car show trying to figure out how to justify financing a new 5.0 Mustang. Jumped in with some friends, one of which had recently aquired a 2007 Tacoma Sport dc 6spd 4x4. This was the first person I knew that had one of these.
Surprise #1: more room in back seat than I thought it would have.
Surprise #2: with a quick clutch kick, it drifted easily on the rain soaked pavement
Surprise #3: this truck hauls the mail! Rides good, quiet inside, and fast...
April, 2012. Go put a deposit down on a special order Sport dc 6spd. These trucks have it all- including good fuel economy (for a 4x4). And the innovation- you see anyone else putting a 110v plug in the bed? Makes perfect sense in a pickup...
The domestics gave up on this market because they couldn't catch Toyota's sales lead... stopped trying to better themselves in this market and the quality went right down the drain. Then they whined they weren't selling enough to make it viable any more and pulled the plug... and Toyota wins again!

 

2 I guess

First is that I was tired of buying from the big 3, found out big 3 meant each truck would have 3 big problems it seems. Meanwhile dad was still piling up miles on an old corolla.

2nd was, at the time, my hearing was going away fast from a hereditary problem, and our gov/TSA said I posed a security threat......done 6 yrs. and honorable discharge even. I felt my job was at risk and I needed to lower my expenses in case I had to drop down the pay scale. Dropped the diesel, higher diesel prices at the time, and $150 in payments. so, without giving up 4wd/pickup I got a lot of cheap to own and still loving it.

 

MPG, but only the 5-lug excels at that.

 

Always loved small trucks so I got a basic reg cab 5lug.Best truck I ever owned.

 

2 main reasons:

1. Reliability, my dad has owned 4runner's and fj's that have always lived up to the Toyota name for reliability which really impressed me.
2. Marty McFly in Back 2 The Future....I wanted his truck so bad lol

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk

Partly that and I love how the trucks look in general. I also drove a family friends lightly modded first gen when he wanted it polished and I loved the manual transmission.

 

LOL this is actually my 3rd reason

 

That video actually got me into Top Gear and now I'm addicted to Tacos and Top Gear

 

My first truck was a '95 pre-Tacoma. Drove that bad boy for 9 years and never had a seconds trouble out of it. Put it through absolute hell too! If you only knew how much mud and trails that thing saw. So many memories from that truck, even got my first piece of pie from a girl in it.haha Caught the Z71 craze since all my friends were going to them and I thought I wanted a full size truck. Owned two of them, 2004 & 2011. Never was as happy as I was with my 'Yota. Felt like an old girlfriend I never got over. Finally said the hell with it and bought my 2012 TRDOR 4x4 and haven't missed my Z71's since! Feel like I'm going through a midlife crisis since this truck takes me back to my younger days.haha for real though, domestic quality compared to the Tacoma isn't even close. Trust me, I've owned two Z's. they're good for what they are but they ain't no Tacoma that's for damn sure!

 

My 1st truck was a '81Toyota truck my dad traded a horse for ,I never could kill it,2nd was a '86 I bought w/ 50,xxx miles and I put 580,xxx miles on it. 3rd was a '96 4x4 space cab,loved that truck ,4th was a '04 4x4 between my wife and me we put almost 400,xxx miles on it. My wife had 3 Toyota cars now has a 4 Runner,she never had any problems with them and they had over 200,xxx miles when we sold them .I bought a '06 Z71, because I thought I would like it ,Wrong I never could make myself like it, I sold it back in Dec.'12. I hunted for a couple of month's, and found my used '07. I really like my truck. It was a base model, but I added a whole lot of upgrades to it and I catch myself at night tucking her in . So a YES on buying a Taco.

 

I know that you guys will think I'm kidding but that segment on Top Gear is what got me to buy a Tacoma. I have been watching Top Gear since it started on BBC America and I think I have seen every episode (the American version FUCKING SUCKS BTW). I was without a truck for almost 7 years and when it came time to buy one the Tacoma is the only truck that came to mind. That video stuck with me. I also wanted a smaller truck as I didn't need a full size truck. I have very few complaints about the Tacoma and I plan on keeping it until it turns to dust. It, so far, has been one of the best all around trucks I've owned. It has taken my family and I to South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado 2 times since I have owned it. It turned 2 years old yesterday with 31000 miles. My 8 year old daughter has more of a emotional attachment to it than I do (hard to believe). She has even named it "bear". Hell she even has me calling it "bear". Crazy kid.....

I love every day that I get to drive it.



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Because I couldn't get a crew cab 5.4 f150 with a manual trans.

 

dodge wouldnt finance me, so i went to toyota.

 

You have the best luck ever!!!!