WWYD? the old sell/trade in prerunner for 4wd predicament

I have a paid off, lifted, mostly setup for "overlanding"/dispersed camping family trips 2006 2wd tacoma TRD sport that I absolutely love. around 130k miles and I've taken care of it. Especially love the long bed. Just got back from the mountains in southern california where we got a load of snow. My prerunner didn't too too well in the neighborhoods with icy/snowy roads. i watched 4wd trucks pull 2wd trucks up a small hill - twice in the past two days. didn't even have chains on. i had chains on my truck and it still struggled. we literally couldnt make a beer run and had to ration our boos WTF.

we go to the mountains at least twice a year for snow and do plenty of camping in remote places and i wanna do a lot of death valley and mojave trail a few times. i've been stuck once with my truck besides the issues i had this weekend. not anything major and i've had fun doing dirt trails with this bad boy.

but damn. i really want 4wd for peace of mind and less stress on these trips. not to mention the safety factor.

so i'm thinking i need to trade this in, but i dont want a 3rd gen. looking at maybe 2013-2015. what do you guys think? trade it in at the dealer, or sell this private party? it has a bajarack, 5100/OME setup, dakar springs, softopper, water pressure system on-board... that's about it for the major "mods". but the ease of trading it in has me tempted to go that path.

decisions decions. I'm even tempted to look at the 4runners since i have a family of 4. but i do love having a truck bed.

or just say fuckit and keep it and deal w/ the twice a year snow and constant regret of not getting a 4wd in the first place?

oh, and by the way, i hate car payments. will try to get as close to paid-in-full as i can with this swap.

 

Well, I can only say that I bought my 4x4 for snow/ski trips. I haven't ever taken my truck rock crawling or gnarly off-roading (not that I wouldn't) but it's just not what I bought it for. I have used the 4x4 in snow and I almost wouldn't even bother driving in snow without it.

For your other questions, I would try to sell private party to get the most for your truck. Tacomas are popular so you'll most likely be able to sell it no problem. But the flip side to that is 4x4 Tacomas will go just as quick if not quicker for more money. For a 2013-2015 I think you'll be looking in the $19-24k range for various mileage/maintained examples.

 

Since you have an 06’ would that would put me more towards trading it in.
With the history that some of the 05-06 truck had with head gaskets.
You might be fine, but it’s definitely on the “reasons to” trade list.

BTW, I’d go for an 09-11. Or 13-15.
The 12’ are ok if you can manage to get around the SAIS system. (If or when it goes bad)
Since you are in California, I am betting you have to pass emissions. So you’ll likely have to fix the SAIS if it fails.


Nothing wrong with 07-08 but they didn’t get some of the better technology.
Like Auto-LSD and and a few other nice conveniences.

 

I would see what the dealer offers you on a trade just for reference point. Next I would sell privately while looking for a 13-15 offroad (rear locker). New and used Tacomas are selling like hotcakes right now. Why let the dealer make a buck off of you?

 

that sounds like a heck of a plan actually. i like the idea of getting a reference point at the dealer. as for the offroad, they only make those in short bed for 2nd gen. really want a long bed.

 

wow thanks for the info about 2012. had no idea. my mechanical LSD has been great so far. can even fill it kick in on dirt roads.

 

private party is most likely the direction I'll go with this truck. that price range is exactly what I'm willing to pay

 

Ya, I need the long bed too. The reason I like the manual offroad is that they are getting harder and harder to find with low miles. You can get them but you will pay a premium.

 

Quick Texas price reference. Just went and looked at a clean 2015 dcsb or 4x4 55k miles. 28.5k

 

Buy the 4WD, swap your good stuff over, then sell your 2WD!

 

Call your bank. Ask to speak with someone in the auto loan dept. Banks use the black book......the real black book, not the horse shit you can google online. Dealers, auctioneers, and banks use this. Ask them to give you retail, trade in, and selling outright prices. That then will give you a true or much better idea of what your looking at. Dealers will short change you big time on a trade offer then sell it at a premium because of what you have. Sell it locally. You’ll do well.
2012’s had issues with the sais pump, stemming from a recall on the tundras. They improved it on the 13+. I have a 14 myself. Never had a problem but I also did the unfilter mod (easy and cheap) to curb any possible issues. Hptuners can also help with this substantially (pm and I’ll explain).
Now my advice. I’ve had both. I don’t wheel mine. However, I do get a shit ton of snow. I love my 4x4. I use it just enough to be grateful I have it. If you can find a clean well maintained 2nd gen 4x4 to your liking, I’d do it. Good luck in your search.

 

I just looked on market place........many 2nd gens for sale both privately and at dealers with low low miles and very fairly priced.....

 

2012 is More desirable from a SAIS perspective. It’s the only year that has a warranty enhancement even though the parts are exactly the same as 2013-2015.

 

Nuts....this isn’t that far from me..

 

Prices are crazy. I paid $27k Canadian for my 2012 6 years ago. That’s about $20k USD.

People are asking $30k CAD for the same truck, 6 years later.

 

That's got the OE Texas Edition Wheels but not the badges. Just FYI.

 

Yeah a lot people swap out stuff like that. Miles and condition is what would make comfortable. Car fax and permanently made mods too I guess. That edition was just wheels and stickers

 

I really wanted to find a reason to buy a 4Runner after I sold my 3rd Gen, but I couldn't function without a bed. I throw so much stuff back there I would never keep in a cab, haha.
I vote to go and find your 4x4 2nd Gen you want, in long bed, and in the condition you're good with. If you're willing, private sell it. You might end up finding more reasons to travel during the year if you got a 4x4.

 

I think this is solid advice. Prices being what they are on Tacomas right now. You could even finance the upgrade if you had too and you'd still be a lot less in debt.

 

Same....on all accounts. Read my build intro about the 4Runner I had at my fingertips lol