Which year to look for/stay away from?

I'm going crazy and can't make up my mind, but I am going to start searching the tacoma route. I was a hair away from picking up an 04 powerstroke, superclean, but things didnt work out.. then i went looking cummins.. and now I'm finally waking up.

A diesel is too much truck for me right now, Junior in college. Looking to pick up another vehicle, yeah i could get a little jetta or golf and get great mileage and all of that, but I hunt, fish, surf, snowboard, and everything else that is great to have a BED for.

With fuel the way it is, and the projections the way they are, it would be smart to go gasser vs diesel.


So now I need to filter my searches as to which tacoma I want to pursue, I def need 4x4, a back seat (quad cab?) and a 6cyl, been driving a 4cyl wrangler for 4 years and told myself ill never buy a 4 banger again haha.


So what years are the good ones? Any years common for tranny problems, engine problems, any problems? Is there a bulletproof engine that was in certain years like the famous 4.0L I6 wrangler/cherokee/etc motor is? How many miles is too many miles on em?
Dad has an 07 quad cab 4x4 etc but i think that generation is a little out of my price range.

edit i'm on a < 12,000$ budget.

 

I'm a fan of the 1st gen's 99-04 or whatever they ran. The 05's + will be a little out of my price range, even though they do put out some power from what i hear.


If you could do it all over to find that perfect taco in the 99-04 range, what would it be? Quad cab the way to go?

 

There is a buyback program going on now for the 95.5 thru 2000 Tacomas. It seems the frames were not rustproofed properly during those years. If I were you I'd be looking at 2001 thru 2004 model year. With some patience and luck I'm sure you could find what you are looking for in your price range.

 

what kind of fuel mileage you guys with the v6's pulling? as far as a stock/non lifted set up goes?

 

Does transmission type matter to you?

In the 2001 - 2004 generation, Double Cabs (4-doors) were only available with automatic transmissions.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the Double Cab beds are significantly shorter than the longer beds found on Regular Cab and XtraCab models prior to 2005. You'll probably need to check whether the smaller DC bed will be sufficient for your hauling needs ...

 

i love my 04 double cab v6 tacoma................room in the cab is nice. the only thing i have been having to get used to is the short bed, but with a bed extender, it wont be too bad. the v6 has decent power too, and still great on gas as far as im concerned. the 4 speed auto is a little on the slow side, but not too bad.

 

Same here. The truck is the exact model I was looking for. XCab 4x4 with the TRD package and a manual transmission.

If they offered the DC in a 5 speed, I would consider going to that as I don't haul stuff that often and the extra legroom in the back would be more useful to me.

 

it would be nice to have an auto, my jeep is stick and i run into many long nights where it would be better to have an auto haha.

regardless, ive got my eyes set for the 4 door, auto, 01-04. black if i can find it!


thanks for all your help guys. let the search begin!

 

I like my 99 because of the manual locking hubs, I know a pain once you're stuck but if you plan ahead then no worries, also once unlocked no drag on the drive line and less prone to failure due to non-lock up issues. One last thing, old school

 

01-04 dc would be good for you 3.4l v6.

 

My 05 V6 has 102,000 miles on it & not a single problem. Still has the same power it had as when it was new.

 

I love my '01 Limited DoubleCab 4x4! I bought it 4 years ago w/ only 44K mi on it for only $16K. I took my time and searched for about 5 months for exactly what I wanted. The only thing I would have changed if I could would have been to get a manual instead of the auto trans, but in the 01-04 DoubleCabs, auto is your only option. The extra interior room is nice, but there's not a lot of storage (or speaker) room in the cab. Some people don't like the shorter bed, but I love it b/c now I have an excuse for all my friends who ask me to help them move because I have a truck... "Sorry, your dresser, bed, entertainment center, etc. won't fit in the bed of my truck"! HA!

 

04 Double Cab 4x4 V6 looks like the truck you need, might be kind of hard to find one though. As much as it sucks to go to a non-Toyota dealership, you might want to keep that option open to find what you are looking for. I was looking for one last year and never found what I wanted which worked out cause I got an 07 instead.