Why do you own a first gen Tacoma?

Username certainly checks out

 

I bought my 04 new, in 2005. I still have it. I bought it because I like the Toyota style.
Other trucks, I had a 1993 Toyota Ext Cab M/T 4x4 (sold)
Prior to that one, I had a 1986 (2WD) M/T, Standard cab Toyota pickup. (sold)
I now also own a 2021 Toyota TRD Off-Road DC/LB

 

I bought my 95.5 with 50k miles in 2002 when I turned 16. Now has 312k miles on it. Almost bought a pre 95 but glad I got the Tacoma in the long run. Thought about getting a second gen model when they came out but drove one in 2009 and didn't like it at all. So I kept it and still drive it daily.

 

Got any details on that HAM antenna you have on your driver side?

 

I got it for 2800 bucks, don't have a car payment for the first time in years and using that to pay off debt to make a better life for my family.

 

Sorry for the copy and paste from my original introduction but this is my why. Side note, owned a 94 regular cab 4WD and a 2000 prerunner. I was a foolish lad and never held onto a vehicle more than about three years until I reached about 40. Then it was as if I had been primed by my dad, the senior man. See below:

Dad bought the Tacoma off the showroom floor in 1997. A man of simplicity, he chose the straight cab 4WD, auto (2.7L) with manual window cranks and door locks. He also had a wild side and, after several hours of negotiation, got the am/fm radio with cassette upgrade. He needed that for his extensive Bowie, Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac tape collection. He was unsuccessful pulling off the state of the art dash clock. Fast forward 22 years later and he gave it to me when the Alzheimer’s got too bad for him to safely drive. That was also a heated negotiation as I kept telling him to hold onto it in his driveway till he died and I got it in the will (he still has a sense of humor). In my mind it is still his truck and I just am just a registered and titled borrower. I brought it home, knocked the dust off and realized what I had. He gave me a like new truck with 100k miles and the only complaint would be a faded paint job (thanks to the paint department at Toyota for that awesome long lasting cardinal red paint). I have basically had it parked in the garage for two years with only the occasional trip for mower gas and landscaping projects.

I am currently picking up my pace and will keep it (OEM) forever.

 

I get it brother.... just promise to save a little bit of OEM in his memory.... I was repainting the faded door handles on my dads hand me down and a buddy told me there were some nicks and scratches and he would just replace them. I told him hell no, those scratches came from the drivers wedding band he wore for 51 years.

 

Bought my Taco new in 04 for $20,500, she’s been maintained and never given me a problem. 118,000 miles and runs like a top.
I like the double cab and overall size of the truck.

 

I've had a ton of different cars over the years - mainly Toyotas but did own a couple heeps. My most recent truck was a 1987 pickup that was pretty well built and had a frame off restoration a few years before I bought it. I absolutely loved it but had to sell it as it just wasn't fitting my needs anymore and the 22RE was too much of a dog. I always loved this style of Tacoma, and my 1st car was a 1998 4Runner so I know how to work on them pretty well.

They're just simple, reliable, well built and parts are everywhere. With my 1987 I would spend weeks looking for a part. Now if I can't find it I just call the dealer My Tacoma has 127k miles on it and I fully expect it to last me at least ten years.

 

When I was a kid, my uncle had a 1982 Truck and I just loved it. It was just the coolest thing in the world to me.

Then when back to the future came out, Marty McFly’s black Truck was so awesome that I told myself some day I’m going to get a truck just like his.

 

Several reasons:

1. Utility: My 1978 Jeep CJ-5 did not have enough storage room to go camping if I wanted to take my wife, daughter, and dogs. (I sold my CJ-5 and bought a 1st Gen Tacoma.)
2. No Frills: 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen feel more like a luxury vehicle than a truck.
3. Aesthetics: 1st Gens are by far the best looking truck ever made. (I am also a lover of Jeep CJs and International Scouts, but the 1st Gen Tacoma is the most practical and utilitarian option for my life right now because I needed an actual truck.)
4. Aesthetics: I don't like big trucks.
5. Mechanical: Reliability.
6. Mechanical: Not a lot of computer crap on it.
7. My intention is to keep my 2003 Tacoma Crew Cab TRD Off-Road indefinitely (or give it to my daughter when she is 16 if that is what she desires, because let's face it, she has me wrapped around her finger).
8. I always regretted selling my 1999 Tacoma Extended Cab a few years ago (but I am so much happier with a 4 door now!)

 

Kind of a crazy story. I sold my Dodge Ram before going overseas. When I came back, surprise .....divorce was waiting for me. Didn't want, need, or could afford a full size truck and I knew Toyotas were the way to go. And used ones were still really cheap back then. So with the little cash I had left after everything, I drove my motorcycle (it was all I had) 5 hours to pick it up. Loaded the bike in the bed and drove it home that morning. This was over 15 years ago and its still my daily driver. No way Ill ever sell the truck.

 

I keep the truck because after driving the circumference of the Earth 18 times, I could say that I just replaced the original fuel pump 21 years later. It obediently complies with my requests. I like it for what it is. Why change?

 

Fell in love with a '93 red 4x4 toyota pickup that I borrowed from my dad whenever I was visiting. It was around 20 years old at the time.

The small size truck fit me perfectly and reliably got me in & out off all environments including fluffy sand beaches, wet & sticky mud flats, narrow forest roads, feet of snow & off of black ice! (BFGoodrich, baby).

It eventually succumbed to the torment of the Rust Belt and slipped away.

1st Gen Tacomas between '00-'04 became the apple of my eye. I finally found my little '02 gem at a used dealership outside of Sacramento in 2013. It spent the first 11 years warm & dry climate of AZ & central CA. It has been my dream everyday cruiser and cross country adventurer. I often wonder about the original owner.

 

Best looking
Compact - unlike the other gens
Drives and feels like a truck
Best looking
Best looking
Best looking