Need Inspiration!

Since my latest attempt on getting a Tacoma was a fail I am in need of some inspiration in my continued search for my first taco! I would like for y’all to tell me about your first tacos. How long it took you to get the one for you, how much you paid for it, did you have to drive out pretty far for it, just anything! Please! And thanks!

 

Just be patient. there are my threads here on TW with buyers remorse. People with Tacoma fever buying a truck without really inspecting it for problems, and then discovering a rotted frame after the purchase is complete. With that, here's my brief story.

I've always had a truck except for a few years of just cars after my divorce. But I decided that a 1st gen Tacoma was just right for me. I looked for over 6 months, and a few missed deals from being lazy, before I jumped on my 03 DC with 80k miles. Traded in a 2007 Mini Cooper S for the Tacoma. My truck was a one owner, with a great service history at the same dealership in Winston Salem NC. Bought it from a wholesaler for $15k back in 2010. I now have about 150k miles and she's running great. I'm fixing to do the valve cover job this week and get that out of the way before winter sets in.

You didn't say what year your looking for, but again just be patient, and when you find one that looks promising, go look at it and give it a good going over.

 

When I was a kid my grandparents took me to Pancho's Buffet. I think they paid 2 dollars, but the sopapillas were free. It was a 15 minute trip.


All of my trucks were bought from the lot inventory though.

 

Thank you for sharing! I am in the market for 2004 Tacoma double cab! What are the main things I should look for when looking to buy one?

 

I never actually liked them initially as I was always a "Big 3" person. Until I saw a black and blue TRDOR one day on my way back from a road trip one winter. I couldn't stop thinking about it. After researching and deciding I wanted one after about a month, I started looking at sites like CarGurus, Auto tempest, AutoTrader, etc. Eventually I found one 2 hours away from home, coincidentally at the same dealership we purchased our 4Runner, and I immediately knew it was the one.

Since then I've done multiple overlanding/car camping type trips that I never did with my old vehicle for multiple reasons. Trips including 3 trips out to Colorado/Wyoming/Utah in the last 2 years. The truck is still bone stock other than some minor things such as LEDs. I originally wanted to mod it but I decided reliability was more important since I drive 30k+ miles per year.

 

Not a problem. The biggest thing to look for other than a good maintenance history(oil changes, timing belt, Water Pump, Upper and Lower Ball joints), is to check the frame really, and I mean really good from front to back with a small hammer. They seem to rust from inside out. Just do a search here on TW for frame rust and you'll understand what I mean. Depending on what part of the country you're in, you might want to look in the SouthWest, such as Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and even over here in the SE states.But whatever you do, don't buy one from the "Rust Belt". I had a friend that purchased a 95 extra cab from ebay motors several years ago. He flew out and inspected the truck and drove it back here to NC. He used it for about 5-6 years as a hunting truck and then sold it for what he paid for it.
I'll also add this, be patient. Don't let Tacoma fever bite you in the ass. I really wanted a DC in hunter green but when this silver 03 popped up, I went that day and drove it, crawled all over under the truck with a small hammer banging on the frame, then traded in my car and drove it home. Just use google and type 2003-2004 Tacoma double cab 4x4 for sale, you can find searches that will do Nation Wide. Hope my rambling helps you out.

Good Luck

 

Used to have a 2009 4x4 TRD Sport in Speedway Blue Metallic!
Be patient but ready to jump on it when the right truck comes up. When we went looking for my old truck we went to Central Illinois, ¾ of the way down through Indiana, considered going to Michigan but ended up finding my old truck 2 hours away in Wisconsin! Had 151k on it when we got it. It was a great truck and still miss it! Paid about 17k for it in 2020.

After my truck was totalled in February we searched high and low. We couldn't find a good one for a while. We found one good one and couldn't get out there fast enough to look at it. Slipped right through our fingers.

Ended up getting an F150 but still miss being in a Taco!

 

Here's one in NC, don't know what the frame looks like, but you could always request photo's of the frame from front to back.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/8e4dd12b-81ba-43db-92a4-3ba881ce3bc2/

 

If you're not looking for a 4 wheel drive, check out this link. It has several Double Cab Pre-Runners with decent milage on them. Some of them even show pics of the frame, so here you some motivation.

https://www.cars.com/shopping/toyot...cle-card-5ba29254-36af-4707-911e-fa2986b56d1b

 

Patience and a lot of searching. Don't worry you'll find one. Good luck to you!

 

thank y’all so much!

 

Thought you might be interested in this CarGurus listing:
2003 Toyota Tacoma V6 4WD Crew Cab SB - $17,995 (NA)
Mileage: 92,135
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/link/369819917
But for those prices on that link I think this is a bit more of sweeter deal. It is on the more expensive side but it’s below 100,000 miles. It’s a four four and looks pretty much stock. And just as a bonus it’s red! I’ll be saving up for a year and half see if I can get a large down payment on it or even better the full price! But there is another I looked at that is a backup in case someone else snatches that one up before me. It’s an 04 silver Tacoma with 80,000 miles on it and is $14,000 not double cab but still very beautiful! Again thank y’all for this! I am determined to get one!

 

I was a long time full size Ram guy myself. Had a 2017 Ram then traded it for a 5th gen brand new 2019 Ram that I loved. Absolutely gorgeous truck even if it was “just a Bighorn”.. tons of room, power, luxury, the works. Served me and my family well. I was towing and hauling stuff too. Then the kids grew up and it was just me and the big truck.. didn’t use it for anything else than a daily driver back and forth to work.
So I decided to downsize.. and really, the Taco was the only option for me based on its reliability and resale value. But now for the main reason - They still make a 6 speed manual version of it, an absolute must for me!
So the search began. I mainly used cars.com and cargurus.com. Initially I wanted to buy new because there’s nothing like owning a vehicle from day 1 if you can swing it (with apologies to Dave Ramsey). However the markup and price for brand new 2023 manual Tacos was all over the map, and usually pretty high. Many dealers added big markups on their Manuals due to the demand and dwindling amount as they prepare to launch the 4th gen. In one case a local dealer here in N Virginia was charging a $4000 markup! Umm, no.
So I stated looking at slightly used Tacos. I wanted the oldest year to be 2021 and the maximum mileage to be no more than 30k. I was very specific in my search too - I wanted, as a minimum, 6 speed manual, LED headlights, heated seats and a moon roof. Well, that happens to be a Premium Tech package and they were hard to find. After a few months I found three that I had narrowed down to, all out of state. A 2021, 2022 and 2023. The 2023 had the fewest miles and it was also the only Sport.. the other two were Off Roads. I kinda liked the Sport a little better, just personal preference. So I went with that one.
It was located in Cleveland, TN just north of Chattanooga. 2023 TRD Sport 6MT Premium with 7900 miles for $41,500 before TTL… I think it was $44,300 out the door.
Best part about this story was that I had my Flight Instructor son fly me down in one of his flight school Cirrus SR22s to buy it! A trip of a lifetime.
Here is my Taco today, couldn’t be happier. I have zero regrets about downsizing.. sure sometimes I miss the power and space of the Ram but driving the 6 speed sure makes up for it. I also had my Taco tuned by OTT (search threads for that, totally worth it.) which adds much more power and pep.
Good luck and hang in there, you’ll find your ride eventually!

 

I’ve jumped ship quite a few times before settling on my taco. Before kids I had a Tahoe. Loved that thing. After the 3rd kid came it was mini van time. Also picked up to Silverado along the way. One was a complete lemon and one was solid. Decided to completely jump ship and got a 4Runner OG Trail Edition. That truck was monster. Did the whole Fox 2.0 mild lift with wheels and tires. Wheeled it for a couple years and decided to go back into a full size truck and got a Tundra TRD Pro. What a beast but eventually life took a different course and decided a full size truck wasn’t practical so I wanted something in between the Tundra and 4Runner and it had to be a Toyota so the search began. I wanted the Pro or off road because I hunt/camp and it had to be a manual with all the goodies and this time I was going brand new. I was patient and took my time until the perfect one came along. The color, the options, the setup, the price came along and I snatched it up about a month ago. Never bought a car brand new before and I tell you, there’s something special about it. My wife don’t believe me but I firmly believe this is my last truck for awhile. Until the oldest decides she wants it but that’s still years out. I’ve already begun with ordering a basic 5100 setup and the wheel and tire setup. I’m only planning to put up a very mild lift to fit 285s and setting it up for a comfortable daily even though I don’t drive it daily. It’s been a blessing and I hope you find yours soon.