Tacoma or F150

Hello - I had posted a thread in the New Members section similar to this but wanted to more appropriately categorize this since I am looking at 2nd Gen Tacomas. My 2012 Ram recently threw a rod and after a new engine swap is still having issues. Needless to say i'm in the market for something besides a Ram. I've considered an F150 (2012-2015, V6 Ecoboost) but everywhere i've looked online rave about the reliability of used Tacomas and at this point, that's all i'm looking for in a truck since heavy towing has never been utilized with my trucks and considering my horrible luck with two Rams. My only reservations with the Tacoma is its size, seeing that i've only had full sized trucks, and typical mileage (90-150k) for my price range.

I know it's a bit biased to post this within a Tacoma thread but wanted to see if anyone has been in a similar situation and has comparable experience with F150s.

So, that being said 12th generation F-150 (2009-2014) or 2nd generation Tacoma for overall reliability/longevity and considering a budget of $15-20k??

Thank you!

 

F150.

The Tacoma has been a fun little truck but its not built like my Fords and I really miss my full size.

Not much wrong with the Tacomas (outside of being over priced) but I just don’t like the lack of capability in the midsize.

 

Tacoma all day everyday. I am a current Ford owner. Still have my 2007 Ford. It is a damn good truck. But I wouldn't give you a nickle for anything they have that says "EcoBoost". Aluminum either. That is good for beer cans, not truck bodies. You can find a damn good Tacoma for 20k if you are willing to look hard enough and have the patience to wait.

 

I came from an F-150. (Actually, more like 8 in a row ending with a 2010.) The Fords were ok, but gave me far more trouble than my Tacoma. In fact I always had to sell / trade my Fords before I hit 60,000 miles to avoid getting killed on resale value. My Tacoma just passed 85,000 miles - virtually trouble free - and I don't see selling it any time soon. The only thing I'm not really impressed with on the Tacoma is the corrosion resistance. Then again, the last two Fords rusted pretty good in 3 years too.

 

Do you think the corrosion is because you live in NY? Salty roads in the winter?

 

Buy an older pre 2000 F-350 5 speed manual with a 7.3,they last forever and you can haul anything.

 

Have you looked at the prices of used Fords lately,they are selling at insanely high prices.

 

Tacos

 

I just traded my 15 Tacoma with 128k in for the 2nd gen Raptor.... had it for 2 months been in the shop 6 times. Ford by no means is reliable but this is by far the most fun truck I’ve ever driven!

 

Depends what you want to do with the truck. If you want to work, haul and tow things, better get a fullsize... but I would look for a tundra

I have a F150 worktruck and I wouldn't get one again. They are good trucks, but I don't like the way they are designed. The driveshaft center bearing went bad last year. Crawled under the truck to replace it and NOPE, cannot replace the bearing. You have to replace half of the driveshaft. Who the hell designs a vehicle like this!? Fords are full of things like this that makes things more complicated than they should and this is why I wouldn't get another one.

Also, stay away from ecoboost. It is good for everyday driving but as soon as you push it, like hauling or towing with it, MPG gets as bad as a F350. A good engine is the 4.6l. Gets good mileage and you CAN make it work hard without having a crappy MPG.

 

Amen to that. Another reason I went with Tacoma. If I am going to spend that kind of money, then by jumbo, I am going to go with a proven winner and not with a possible problem.

 

I actually own both. I traded an 02 F150 crew cab for my Tacoma n 2007 after my youngest moved out. I no longer needed the size. But by 2016 I have 4 grandkids and needed a bigger truck again. In 2016 I bought a lightly used 2014 Ford. The Tacoma was worth more for me to keep than I'd have gotten trading it and it is now my wife's daily driver.

Fuel mileage is virtually the same. Over a 4100 mile road trip last month my F150 4X4 crew cab with the 5.0 V8 got 19.3 mpg. On the same trip in 2016 my Tacoma got 20.0. FWIW the 5.0 actually gets a tiny bit better fuel mileage than the V6 turbo. Less than 1 mpg.

My Tacoma now has 199,000 miles and an alternator is really the only thing replaced other than normal stuff. The Ford is at 77,000 and everything is factory except tires. Even the brakes are still factory.

The Ford is MUCH more comfortable, quieter, and with a lot more payload and towing capacity. The Tacoma is smaller and easier to park, which my wife really likes. If I had a family I wouldn't want to put anyone over about age 6 in the back seat, even in the Double cab.

You've obviously not looked at used Tacoma prices then. You're probably better off to buy either new. Not much difference between a new one and most 2 year old trucks no matter who made it.

Long term I expect to spend more to keep the Ford running to 250,000 miles than the Toyota. But I believe it wouldn't cost me any more to drive a Ford to 250,000 miles than Chevy, Tundra, or Dodge. And if you NEED the size, you need it.

 

taco's id never own a ford

 

I am coming from a F150 standard cab, once I had to get some transmission work and it was 1500$, also it had a bench seat which wasnt very conducive for seating a baby or small kid seat. So while it still had some value I traded it in for a 2009 taco base cab, it had 75k, besides a few recalls, ive had no problems , coming from a f150 the taco drives like a sports car, I remember the first day I drove it , the response was amazing. I do love my taco I just wish I was in a 6 cyl instead of a 4 cyl.

 

I've never had an F150 but have a friend with a newer 5.0L one and it gets 20 MPG on the highway. He had a V6 1st gen Tacoma prior and said the F150 gets ~2 MPG more.

As far as Toyota's legendary quality, my 2009 is my first Toyota and is the worst quality new vehicle I've ever owned. By a factor of probably 10. 110K miles now and most started at 40k or so, right out of warranty: rusty frame, squeaking clutch pedal, squealing HVAC fan motor, squeaking leaf springs, water leak into cab, new water pump (squeaking at ~40K), bad RH front wheel bearing (who uses only ONE bearing per front wheel???), bad 5 speed MT at ~100K ($2k for new transmission alone). I'm sure there's more, and maybe Ford is worse, but this is not a quality vehicle.

 

Personally im going to be upgrading to an f150 in a year or two. The cabin isnt large enough, the bed is too small (width mostly) and I think it would be better for towing. If the bed was wider and the cabin was a bit bigger the tacoma would be my perfect truck. But trying to cram in wood, or atv's into the bed of this thing isnt the most fun.

Edit: Also forgot MPG. They're basically the same, so no loss there.

 

You wont like going from a fullsized to a midsized.

You want a fullsized, why not the Tundra. Its Tacos big brother. Yeah its not as glitzy as the F150 with all its useless tech, but its more reliable and has the best resale.

And my buddy just bought a 2019 F150 lariat. He paid 61K. 61K! You can get a limited Tundra for 45-48K. No brainer

 

I agree with this, a Tacoma is less comfortable than all modern full-size. If you really want a used F150 get the 5L Coyote V8 over a used eco boost that may or may not have been well maintained.

 

This is what I am most concerned about. However, I've accepted that I am downsizing as an exchange for reliability. Plus, my first truck was a '91 single cab K1500 so limited cab space isn't completely foreign to me. Right now, reliability>comfort...just need to be convinced that I dont NEED a huge cab lol.

 

For the Tacoma it’s comfort is less than a even a single cab full size. High floor, funny seating geometry.

Suggest you take a look at first gen or second gen Tundra. Then you can have reliability and comfort. My friends 05 Tundra has all of the reliability of my 06 Tacoma + the V8 (smooth) + comfort.

Not slamming the Tacoma. I like mine, knew it’s history when I bought, but it’s my play truck and not DD. if I was buying used for a DD then Tundra.

Just trying to respond to your concern about size...yes you should be concerned. Take a 90 minute drive and if you are happy with the Tacoma then welcome to the club.