Used Tacoma

[satchamo]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking pretty hard about trying to pickup a crew cab Tacoma to replace my current Sierra.

I'm not concerned with having the newest and greatest. The price of new trucks has gotten absolutely ridiculous. At the end of the day, I'm just looking for a reliable rig for hunting here in the Midwest but also cross country treks each fall. Which means slapping on some decent ATs, throwing on a camper shell and keeping things simple.

I'm looking at 10 year old or so (08-12) models with 75-120k miles on them. Trying to stay under 18k out the door. Couple of questions-

-is there anything I should be looking for issue wise?
-everything I'm reading says if be pretty safe getting to 200k+ on one of these without major maintenance, is this accurate?
-do they have that issues? My last 2 GMs have more rust than a Remington 870 express. So I've got a sour taste in my mouth.
-how does the V6 tow? Been thinking about a small camper for the family in the future but also for future elk camps. Would I be stupid to not go full size with this as a potential? ( I always try and base my decision on what I'm most gonna be doing with it which is highway driving without hauling and the occasional off-road trek

Any other thoughts, opinions and info is appreciated!

 

[wyosam]

I’ve got a 2010. I think it’s about 130k now, has never had any issues. Gets used hard off road. It also tows a lot. For multi-day river trips it frequently see’s my 12’ x 7’ trailer loaded to 3500# plus, with 2 and occasionally 3 inflated rafts on top of that. So fairly heave for a smallish truck, and a ton of wind resistance with the boats stacked high. Zero issues, has plenty of brakes, and pulls mountain passes better than it should. With trailer brakes and an equalizer hitch I wouldn’t hesitate to pull a moderately sized camper with it. If I was doing is regularly and it was on the larger end of the spectrum, I might go with a bigger truck. For occasional though, you are on the right track- buy something that is great for your regular needs, and good for occasional needs.


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[Brian Fahs]

I would think hard about a tundra.

I have a 2011 I bought new. Had an 83 90 94 4x4 pickups. All were great but the tundra is sweet. I got the 6.5 foot bed and got a new leer topper when I bought it. Toyota are rock solid trucks. You take care of them a d they take care of you.

My wife has an 05 4runner we bought new. It been a great suv but every time we go anywhere we walk right past it to use the tundra. The only use the 4runner gets is her 4 mile commute to work and a trip to the grocery store twice a month.

When you go on out of state hunts the tundra will haul all of you and your buddy's gear and whatever you kill and need to bring home.

 

[FLAK]

The truck situation has gotten so out of hand I just bought a
94 FJ80 Landcruiser. Lovin it!!!

 

[BeaverHunter]

The truck situation has gotten so out of hand I just bought a
94 FJ80 Landcruiser. Lovin it!!!

Cool rigs that do great off road but gas hogs that make no power. And one of the few Toyota’s that leak lots of oil.

 

[BeaverHunter]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking pretty hard about trying to pickup a crew cab Tacoma to replace my current Sierra.

I'm not concerned with having the newest and greatest. The price of new trucks has gotten absolutely ridiculous. At the end of the day, I'm just looking for a reliable rig for hunting here in the Midwest but also cross country treks each fall. Which means slapping on some decent ATs, throwing on a camper shell and keeping things simple.

I'm looking at 10 year old or so (08-12) models with 75-120k miles on them. Trying to stay under 18k out the door. Couple of questions-

-is there anything I should be looking for issue wise?
-everything I'm reading says if be pretty safe getting to 200k+ on one of these without major maintenance, is this accurate?
-do they have that issues? My last 2 GMs have more rust than a Remington 870 express. So I've got a sour taste in my mouth.
-how does the V6 tow? Been thinking about a small camper for the family in the future but also for future elk camps. Would I be stupid to not go full size with this as a potential? ( I always try and base my decision on what I'm most gonna be doing with it which is highway driving without hauling and the occasional off-road trek

Any other thoughts, opinions and info is appreciated!

How often or how far are you going to be towing?

 

[Ray]

I currently own 39 years worth of Toyota pickups: a 1993 pickup, and a 2006 Tacoma four door long bed. My daughter talked us into buying her a 1999 Tacoma.

the biggest issue with Toyota trucks in their mythology. They have moving parts. Moving parts need to be maintained. Mythology tells flatbillers that Toyotas will run forever and don't need nothing. And thus you can buy a fairly new truck that is just hammered dog schit like my 2006 was. A $1900 aftermarket extended warranty saved me over $5000 in fixing all the damage the prior owner had done.

Toyota has a great warranty recall system for the most part. They still do not know how to make a leaf spring that doesn't flatten out in a few minutes. When you go truck shopping, load the VIN into the toyota recall website and see if all the warranty recalls have been done. On my 2006 you will not find the rear leaf spring work performed. I had already replaced the rear leafs with aftermarket springs by the time Toyota started their recall.

The engines and transmissions seldom have an issue. If you want to tow, make sure you are buying a Tacoma with the factory tow package. Data on my 2006 says it has a larger trans cooler and has the full wire harness already in the loom. The 4.0L V6 has decent power up to 7000 pounds I've found. It will suck on hills. The one transmission behavior I don't like is its "need" to shift up into 5th when in town driving on 45mph streets. In town I keep it in 4th.

The rear axle seals fail. Usually just one side though. They are not fun to do on your own. The rear brake drums don't clear the mud and grit out very well and grind down to nothing quickly.

If you are looking at non TRD Tacomas their factory shocks/struts are cheap chinese stuff that fall apart. TRD uses Bilsteins. I found on my 2006 the failed struts up front caused some of the issues with the rest of the moving parts. Still have not resolved the last minor steering issue. I think it is the rubber mounts for the steering rack allowing it to move a few mm when turning or changing lanes.

 

[Wirrex]

The Tacoma’s are great if you plan on a lot of off road on tight trails. If you think that is what you want try it. You shouldn’t loose much in value.

I have had two tundras now and I prefer them for my situation. They are awesome tripping vehicles except for fuel mileage. And they are about the same in price which is ridiculous.

 

[Hpchacrx]

Toyota’s are great rigs. But I don’t know if you find one with that mileage at that price. They hold their resale value really well. The tundras are decent rigs but the metal on their bodies is super thin. Rented one to hunt Wyoming ran over a small log and dented the door. And they go through fuel like crazy.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

If you’re going to tow you want one with a 4.0 V6
They had a TSB and extended warranty on the air intake sensor. If it falls in that range they will take care of it free up to 150k miles.

Great little trucks that will go 500k with reasonable care.

 

[handwerk]

In May I bought a 2010 DCLB, it was brought up from Texas, rust free with only 49,000 I paid about 20K for it but was willing to because of the mileage and like new condition.
I've had a lot of toyotas and will continue the pattern, keep and eye out, deals come up from time to time, I'd make sure to buy from a rust free zone.

 

[FLAK]

Cool rigs that do great off road but gas hogs that make no power. And one of the few Toyota’s that leak lots of oil.

Not a drop of oil leaking and has plenty of power/torque with the 4.10 axles and that big 6. I've owned Tacomas and the Landcruiser is 10x the
vehicle they are. Course my Landcruiser is triple locked with a 3" OME suspension lift and 33" Toyo AT's.

 

[BeaverHunter]

Not a drop of oil leaking and has plenty of power/torque with the 4.10 axles and that big 6. I've owned Tacomas and the Landcruiser is 10x the
vehicle they are. Course my Landcruiser is triple locked with a 3" OME suspension lift and 33" Toyo AT's.

We will have to agree to disagree on that one. The 4.0 v6 makes more power, gets better gas mileage and has less problems. But what would I know I’ve only seen hundreds of each as I’ve worked at a Toyota dealership for 18 years.

 

[hobbes]

Been driving an 06 Tacoma 4 door TRD off road since 2008. I'm at 212,000 miles and still not burning oil. I bought it at 37,000 miles. I've had to have some repairs done, but nothing insane.

The biggest shock was a front driver side wheel bearing and hub went out at 48,000. That was pretty unusual, and I suspect the original bearing had a flaw. Then around 100,000 or so the same bearing went out. I've now put another 100 on it without wheel bearing problems.

I replaced the rear pinion bearing around 190,000 (that cost me the most) and a u joint around that same time.

Other minor problems have been the latch on the center console broke some time back, and the digital temp readout died at around 50,000 miles.

I've been hard on it driving it in the Colorado mountains, greasy roads in Nebraska, and all over MT mountains, breaks, and highways. A moose tried to run me over a couple years ago and took out the rear passenger fender and tail light. I'd no sooner got it fixed than she killed her first mule deer doe with the front bumper.

All of my kids have asked for it, and my 17 year old just got home in it. I'd like to buy a used Tundra for the increased bed space, but the price tag on any 4x4 with reasonable miles is insane, so I may take her to 300,000.

If you go with a Tacoma,go with the long bed. A box of saltines fills my short bed.

 

[BeaverHunter]

Been driving an 06 Tacoma 4 door TRD off road since 2008. I'm at 212,000 miles and still not burning oil. I bought it at 37,000 miles. I've had to have some repairs done, but nothing insane.

The biggest shock was a front driver side wheel bearing and hub went out at 48,000. That was pretty unusual, and I suspect the original bearing had a flaw. Then around 100,000 or so the same bearing went out. I've now put another 100 on it without wheel bearing problems.

I replaced the rear pinion bearing around 190,000 (that cost me the most) and a u joint around that same time.

Other minor problems have been the latch on the center console broke some time back, and the digital temp readout died at around 50,000 miles.

I've been hard on it driving it in the Colorado mountains, greasy roads in Nebraska, and all over MT mountains, breaks, and highways. A moose tried to run me over a couple years ago and took out the rear passenger fender and tail light. I'd no sooner got it fixed than she killed her first mule deer doe with the front bumper.

All of my kids have asked for it, and my 17 year old just got home in it. I'd like to buy a used Tundra for the increased bed space, but the price tag on any 4x4 with reasonable miles is insane, so I may take her to 300,000.

If you go with a Tacoma,go with the long bed. A box of saltines fills my short bed.

Those body style Tacoma’s have notorious issues with wheel bearings. One of the few problems they consistently all had.

 

[B.J.]

There’s also a “Warranty Enhancement Program” related to frame corrosion on Tacomas in the 06ish-10ish timeframe. There’s quite a bit of info about it online. I have a 2010 and the frame right behind my front passenger tire was badly corroded. It’s at the dealership now waiting on a new frame to be ordered and installed. Basically taking my truck apart and rebuilding it at no charge. I’m the original owner of my truck but the program applies to all Tacos in this timeframe, regardless of whether you’re the original owner or not.

 

[B.J.]

And in the 155,000 miles on my truck, I have also replaced the wheel bearings several times. Other than that and the frame, which Toyota is making good on, it’s been an outstanding truck. I don’t abuse it too much but it certainly gets put through its paces in hunting season.

 

[FLAK]

The Tacomas I've had - room for 2 adults and 2 canned drinks.

 

[FLAK]

I've never once said "man I need a smaller truck"

 

[eltaco]

I’m a Tacoma owner and still loving it. Bought my 07 with 7k miles and just rolled over 180k. Lifted it 3” and have 285s on it, which I suppose has caused most of my maintenance “issues”. The lifts are hard on front axle boots... I’ve gone thru 3 sets. Otherwise, I’ve replaced all front end joints and U-joints once in my ownership. No major expenditures thus far.

The Tacoma does everything I need it to do and has gotten me into quite a few areas that I wouldn’t have taken a full sized truck into. The ground clearance, bumper clearances, tighter wheelbase, and turn radius are all desirable aspects on tight mountain roads.

Gas mileage should be around 21mpg unless you put bigger tires on. I’m around 18.5mpg since doing so.

I’ve never had the need to tow anything so can’t comment on that aspect. I will say about 1/2-2/3yd of rocks is all you’d ever want to put in the box, as you’ll be on the edge of your bump stops (maybe less without the add-a-leaf)

I do have a family of 5, and can attest you can still fit 3 full sized child seats in the back.