Which Taco would you Buy?

Brand new to the forum.

I will be purchasing my first Tacoma this weekend. Who better to get feedback from than those that already have one?

The 1st Option is a 2002 Double Cab in Lunar Mist. Very Stock with just 75k miles. TRD Auto.

The 2nd Option is a 2006 Double Cab Base in BSP. 105k miles. 2.5" lift with Pro Comp Shocks (installed in last year at a Toyota dealership) Hard Tonneau Cover, and 275/75/16 rubber on custom wheels.

Both appear to be very clean.

The benefits of the 2002 being fewer miles, locking diff, and $1000 cheaper.
The benefits of the 2006 is a little bigger Cab for my twin 5 year olds, along with the upgraded wheels suspension,

My gut says get the TRD and customize the way I want to but as those costs come in it will add up as I want a 2-3" lift, Ray10 wheels, new rubber, a custom grill, retrofit headlights, and a bull bar.

which way would you go if your budget is limited?

 

I would go with the 2002 in a heart beat. Reason for me is I would never want to buy an already lifted truck that I don't know the history on. Even if I did I'd be leery about it. The '06 was only the second year of the second gens, so I'm guessing there were still bugs being worked out at that point.

As long as the frame is solid, buy the first gen and make it YOURS, exactly how you want it.

 

Well I pulled the trigger on the 2002. It is a TRD LIMITED DOUBLE CAB in Lunar Mist with just 75,000 miles. It is Bone Stock so I have some work to do to bring it up to snuff. Go to pick it up tomorrow.

 

Nice, need pics

 

02 double cab
No question

Must be asking a pretty penny with 75k miles

 

78k to be more precise.
Asking, yes...but I can't and didn't give what they were asking for it. That said, I still paid a chunk of change for it...(option to back out once I see it in person and get my eyes on it and a hammer on the frame)

 

Yup I follow their price all over the country

At that mileage ... definitely nice chunk of change

 

The glare off of those chrome mirrors is like looking at a welding arc. I'd be painting over that chrome and replacing the yellowed headlights (they're cheap online). You've got yourself a really nice platform to start a build @Tonkoma Kid

 

agree on both counts. Not a fan of the chrome door handles or rear bumper either. The chrome will be the 1st thing to go.

 

You're going to do just fine here.

 

Looks good! I just bought my 2003 2 months ago with 68k miles. Unless you drive a ton, the resale will be pretty high too if you keep it at lower than average miles! Is it one-owner?

 

Buy the one with the most air bags.

 

2 owners. First in CA for 1 year and 10k miles. 2nd owner has had it since then. there is a small dent in the drivers door lower third. I will see if my Father in Law can pull it out since he owns a body shop....a case of beer should do it.

 

1st gen for the win! The 3.4 liter can't be beat
The double cab in 1st gen is plenty of room for 2 kids

 

You made the right choice! Good looking truck!

 

Driving it home right now. Very happy with my choice My pocketbook is gonna take a beating over the next year though.
Is there a a lift kit out there under one grand that will give me a little more clearance for 32" rubber and still maintain or even improve the highway ride quality?

 

Head over to headstrong off-road and check out what they've got. Or just PM them on here and Marie will help you out. They're the best vendor to buy from.

 

unfortunately once I got home with the truck (after 10 hours of driving) i started having some ghosts in the machine. No issues the entire way home, then as I was cleaning up the truck, suddenly the doors started locking and unlocking on their own follows shortly there after by the issues with the electric windows. The locks fired a handful of times on their own with no issues with the windows. then the windows suddenly stopped working (all 4 windows at the same time) regardless which window switch i used---all 4 windows and all 4 switches. When the windows were not working the locks were.

I believe this is likely a short somewhere. I took a look at the wiring and found this switch (I believe it is for an after market alarm system) because there is also a small led in the dash, some pretty poor splicing etc going on down there.

any other opinions or thoughts other than a short (probably brittle wire cracked/now shorting out?)

the fuse was fine, and then after removing connections, blowing them out and reconnecting they once again worked, only to stop working after a few min later.

I will pull the boot between the door and the cab and see if I can find any split/cracked wires...if there are other things I should be looking into, let me know.

 

Woah, that's some messy wiring! If you think the aftermarket alarm is possibly interfering and causing problems, I would try to reset it and see if that changes anything. No idea if this would help or not (I'm a noob as far as electrical issues goes) but it may be worth a try. Just a suggestion.