I know there are several Taco fans/aficionados here. I'd appreciate any advice on model years to avoid and any other input as far as engine considerations, etc. I'm looking to buy used. Truck will be used primarily as a tow vehicle for a small trailer, small boats, etc. as well as general fishing/hunting/camping duty. Must have 4WD. I commute around 80 miles a day, and if the fuel economy isn't too bad I'll use it on snow days to run in and out of town.

Had two 4 Runners prior and loved them, both went almost 150K after I bought the, with 44K and 77K on the respective odos, with virtually no issues but for cats in both, which wasn't cheap to replace for either. Their Achilles heel I guess. Both were gas pigs too; a few years back when gas prices were stupid I spent $11K+ in fuel just in commuting into the salt mine for a calendar year. Not trying to do that again...

TIA for any insight and thoughts.

My 2.7L 4WD 5spd gets 19-20mpg. You'll probably want to pick up a v6 with auto if you are going to tow. Good luck finding a used Tacoma with less than 200k miles on it!

Watch out for rock salt...

Oh, yeah, that little recall has made it tough to get parts for them. All the recalled trucks got crushed with no parts sales allowed. So, now everybody is running around looking for engines & parts to fix the trucks that have good frames. If you have a good, relatively low mile engine, you are sitting on gold.

Good luck finding one. A perusal of Auto Trader will show mostly worn out Tacos with 200K+ in need of serious expenditure. Folks don't get rid of them except to a "buddy", so they never actually show up on the used market when they are sold. You'll have better luck finding a used FJ if that would work for you, as a lot of yuppies buy those for the "look".

To tow ANYTHING you'll need a 3.4V6 and those are even harder to find. You'll occasionally see a 2.7 4cyl someone will sell after they buy a big boat.

There really are no bad years for a Tacoma. Just be advised that they are not as thrifty on fuel as you would think. If you are a careful driver, I'm sure some full size trucks can equal a Tacoma's fuel economy.

IMO, reliability aside, Toyota's drive trains are far behind Ford's F150 or GM's 1500.

BTW, I drove my Toyota from October 1990 till April 2011.

I have had 4 Taco's, a 2000, 2006, 2010 and presently a 2012. I had zero problems with any of them, loved 'em all! I went from the 2010 to the 2012 because I needed the full size back seat for my fast growing grandson. Good used ones are hard to come by around here. They don't stay on the lots long especially this time of year. You could always let your local dealer(s) know what you are looking for and ask them to call you if they get one in on trade. I really don't think you can go wrong with a Tacoma. They go and go and go.............

what years had the frame rust recall?

Tons of used ones down here, that have seen little salt. Most will have a lot of miles on them. They do bring a premium. Buy one in the south & drive it back?

I like the 97-04's - good looking small trucks, at least in the 4x4 std and ext cab version. In new trucks, though, an F150 gets the same mileage and is a much bigger vehicle.

I've got a 99 model, 4 cyl, 5 sp. What Barry is telling you is the same experience as mine. I had a tandem axle trailer and a Polaris Ranger Crew 800 that I pulled around for a little while. It would work my clutch leg to death. Great little trucks, but my next one will be full sized. I feel like the tricycle riding bear in the circus these days.

I've got a 2002 Tacoma Double Cab 4WD, 3.4L V6. I'm running a Downey suspension with Downey Tundra coils (helps with the weight of the winch and front bumper), with 1.5" of lift, and 265/75R/16's.

Now have 205k miles on it. I've beat the hell out of it off road, and it has never let me down. Still runs fantastic. Has never quit on me or even hiccuped.

Gas mileage isn't great with the larger tires. I get about 17mpg or so if I'm easy on the gas. If I'm towing, it drops drastically. But, I can drop it into 2nd gear, and make most any hill at 55mph.

To date I've had to repair:

Replace starter
Replace right front CV Boot
Replace steering rack (due to minor leak)

That's about it as far as I recall. The truck just keeps running.

I have slightly bent the rear frame just over the rear axle. This from towing a Jayco Baja 10Z popup camper over very rough roads / off road. Right about the year my truck was made, they stopped boxing in the frame from the rear axle back. That, and dragging that camper over places it maybe shouldn't have been, cost me a bit of a bent frame (had to shim up the back of the bed 1/4" to keep it level).

I'm taking it in next month to have the frame straightened back out, and reinforced with a couple of these:





If you're looking to tow heavier loads over questionable terrain, I would highly recommend anyone with a Tacoma doing the same.

I have also upgraded the front brakes to Tundra calipers and rotors, and braided brake lines. Huge difference when towing.

Not the best towing vehicle, but with the above frame reinforcements, and brakes, it will certainly suffice under most circumstances. And it is still a smaller, handy, capable off roader that will go nearly anywhere.

With 11 years and 205k tough miles, it is getting ready for a slight refreshment (seats / bed line-x / frame reinforcement / new shocks / new steering rack) and I hope to get another 11 virtually trouble free years out of it.

1st generation, up to '04.

No bad years Leighton, and they're warrantied against corrosion. The little 4 will tow everything you described as long and there is not a lot of hill climbing. As an outdoorsman you will never regret owning one.

Bending a frame while towing a POPUP would seal the deal for me. What a joke!

maybe I got bad yotas


but my 4 cyl. I don't want to tow anything with it, ceptin until I got good tires on the GMC 2500 I'd have to unhook the 4 place snowmachine trailer and use my Taco 4 to pull it up the hill our house is on.

our 6 cyl. ?? I use it to pull the boat sometimes, and tried it with a load of wood on a 20 ft. trailer, asking too much of it imo. and while it doesn't do bad at all hauling my lightweight sprint boat, I much prefer to tow with the 2500, and I do mean much prefer.
none of them are great on gas.

like my yotas but not for towing so much

The Tacoma can tow the space shuttle.

Much better at hauling than towing.

I used to load an entire cord of wood in mine, although I have to admit I busted the leaf springs somewhere along the line. But, I understand that was a common problem with them.

Not if you'd have seen what I was towing it over.

Granted, I wasn't happy about it, but considering the outstanding service this vehicle has given me over the years, as well as previous toyotas before it, I'll take that little trade off. Better that, than picking up the pieces of my Chevy or Ford as they rattle themselves apart on the trail (best case) or leave me stranded (worst case).

If I wanted a towing vehicle and was not concerned with off road performance, I'd get a Tundra. But a Tundra (or any full size) isn't going where my Tacoma is...period. A trade off I'm not willing to make.

Busted springs, bent frames, broken in two...sign me up.

I have a 2010 2wd xtra cab with the 4cylinder auto ,and it tows my boat easy.My boat is a 18ft crestliner open fishing boat with a 10 horse Mariner,probably around 1000 lbs ,with the trailer.
I think the difference is,it has only 15" wheels.If I could get a 4wd model with 15's,thats where I would be.

They aren't F-250s, but they sure beat S-10s & Rangers.

huh?

For what its worth, my 2002 Tundra with 145k miles on it is twice the truck the 2010 Ford F150 with 40k that I have been driving at work for the last two years. The Tundra, while not a Tacoma, is very, very similar under the sheetmetal, and not much bigger.

All I can say is if you find one you like, buy it right then because it won't be there tomorrow

I am on my second one. The first was a '97 v6 5 speed extended cab 4x4. Wrecked it in 2004 with 127,000 miles on it. I then bought a new 2004 v6 auto 4 door 4x4. I am still driving it and although I wouldn't mind having a new one for the extra size, I don't know if I will ever wear this one out. I only have 81,000 miles on it so I guess it is not really broken in yet. I liked the longer bed and 5 speed of the 97 but much prefer the 4 door version for practicality. I have towed a trailer and side by side as well as a small drift boat a few times with the '04, but that is it. No problems towing but if I was going to do some serious towing, I would prefer a Tundra.

My wife and I have always been huge Toyota fans. Can't go wrong with them. Check out the link for THE tacoma towing pic. Pretty much sums up BS in one pic.

THE Taco towing pic

No a joke is buying a GM pickup , hardly taking it anywhere rough and having it fall apart like a Jalopy.

Kind thanks for the input, gents. I appreciate it.

Actually I think that was a Tundra with 380+ horsepower that did that.

Leighton,

There's an '06 Taco, Crew Cab, 4wd, V6, silver in color that has some very minor LR body damage and 88K miles on it for $14K on a lot about 12 miles from here...

Ed

The way Toyota keeps designing the Tacomas bigger and bigger, it won't be long before they can pull the shuttle, too.

Ed

Prior to 2000, you could get manual hubs. Those trucks coupled with a manual tranny and a V6 had a lot more power than the automatic hub trucks and especially the automatic hub trucks with an auto tranny. All V6 trucks came with the same 4.10 gears in the diff. Those are too tall for the automatics...If I bought one of those I would regear to 4.56.

I was in a similar situation as you and ended up just buying a new '13. Whenever I found a decent used one, by the time I called about it, it would be sold even though the asking price was nearly the same money as I paid new. I don't tow very much, but if I were doing a lot of it, I would seriously consider upgrading to a Tundra.

My 2008 4WD TRD 4 door ( V6 auto) gets 20 mpg highway but only 17 around town. It has 115,000 miles on it and I have only changed fluids,brake pads,plugs, and one battery. I tow a small trailer with a Polaris Ranger on it from time to time--mileage drops to around 14 or so when towing.

I am really happy with my Tacoma and plan to put at least 300k on it before I replace it. Hope you find a good one KG !

Mine is an 07 double cab. 127,000 trouble free miles. Other than brakes, a battery, tires, and oil changes I just drive it. It has the 4.0 V6 auto and 4X4. Is rated at 6,500 lbs towing. I don't pull that much, but I can pull a popup that weighs about 3,000 in the mountains without straining.

Mine has the TRD off road package and it is very capable off road. The suspension, limited slip rear end with rear locker keep it moving.

I get 18ish mpg with my normal driving which is a mix of 4 lane, city, and rural 2 lane driving. Strictly interstate driving is 20mpg.

When I bought mine I found it a better deal to buy new. I paid $27,000 for mine and KBB still shows it worth about $18,000-$19,000

Short answer, it is simply the best truck I've ever owned.

Didn't own a Tacoma but I owned a 1985 1 ton w/ a 22RE motor. I sold it 205000 miles on it. Truck was an absolute animal. I regularly pulled a 18' that weighed 2000 lbs with no problem.

Chevy aint even in the same league. Ford at least has a prayer.

You're right about that. I've owned four Toyota trucks and four Fords. I drive a F250 at the moment. My small Toyotas would go places (and back) that you would never dream of taking any Ford that didn't qualify for monster truck status. I don't talk about the others.You know what Momma said...

one of my girl friends has a early 2000 model, original owner v6 standard, she might be talked into selling it.

I'm good with the Ford now Rog...I'm either towing a boat, utv or car hauler with an old Toyota 4x4 wherever I go!

sorry Pat, that was for Leighton used the quick reply.

Yeah? Hmm. Well, that's within my budget, which is pretty much $20K. Got any vacation time to burn? I'll wire you the cash and pay your gas and tolls out and your plane fare back, plus feed and water you and bring you out to kill ducks. Only one hitch: you stop in Idaho and grab my TDB and bring it along as well, please? Let me know.

As I have this thing about debt (don't like to owe money to anyone so don't if at all possible), I buy with cash for my vehicles. So, while I'd dig a new Taco, have a budget I need to stick to. Gotta' behave a spell after buying the house. I almost pulled the trigger on a '06 4Runner with a V8 last week. Went back two days later and it was gone. But that's OK, I think the Taco's my best route for what I'm planning on doing.

El T: no joke about going anywhere. I've been damned impressed by what they can do when running around some pretty nasty backwoods terrain in a couple that buddies owned (these were pretty bare bones, old generation Tacos). Places I am positive a full sized American jobbie could not have gone. Not always about horses and 'bigger is better'. Most times, but not allus...

Thanks again for the input, y'all.

My 2000 Taco has over 165K and is fine. However, were I buying a rig to drive 80+ miles per day commuting, and only using it as a pickup occasionally I'd buy something else. I only use a pickup because I need it for my job... Pickups strictly for sport are a silly idea... gas mileage sucks, and the ride is not as good as a car.

^ I commute in a Honda Civic since I drive 60+ miles a day. I keep the truck for the weekends.

Makes the most sense.

I'd rent a pickup before I owned one if I needed one only occasionally.

he needs it more than occasionally, Leighton probably hunts and fish more than most on here.

I doubt that... most of the activities in his pictures don't seem to require a truck. Hell, I've packed out entire bull elk in a Subaru wagon.

Toyota bought my '99 back due to the rusted out frame and I turned around and picked up an '09 4WD Taco to replace it. I just sold it this October because the body was really starting to show a lot of spot rust and I could still get a decent price for it (89k miles and sold back to Toyota for $17500). If you're driving a lot and don't have to have a pickup, you might want to try a Toyota Highlander. They get a lot better mileage, have tons of room inside when you fold the seats down and shouldn't have too much trouble towing your boat....just my 2 cents!

pulling duck and fishing boats does. brad i'm not running on anyone but there are a lot of people on here that don't hunt or fish much.
I didn't fly up there last month because his truck was wreck and he had no way to tow his boat.

Does he actually own a boat and pull it?

If so, the Taco will work well... sorry if I misunderstood. Leighton is a good dude and I'm trying to steer him right.

Leighton, geography isn't my greatest subject, but I don't think that Idaho is "on the way" between East Texas and Massachusetts.

If you're interested, I can take some pics and get more details.

As I work for myself, I can ask the boss about a leave of absence.

Ed

actually 3 once he gets the jet boat to mass from Idaho. I believe he's planning on getting an offshore boat also, but I believe he'd probably keep that in a slip.

Then a Taco will serve him well.

Personally I hate pickups, only because they're only good for a few things and are not as comfortable as a car, nor as gas efficient.

Seems like many (most?) who own them are trying to make some sort of "statement" I don't understand and have no intention of understanding.

YMMV

My '03 Taco is the x-cab 4wd TRD version with slightly stiffer suspension and a rear diff. locker. (never been stuck, yet!)
168k and I'm not planning on selling it anytime soon.
Mpg is usually 21-24 and we have that wonderful ethanol mix fuel all year, Woo Hoo! not...
I offset the mileage with a motorcycle in summer!
My previous ride was a '97 4runner that I had upgraded the suspension on and added the factory supercharger.
I won't be happy when I wear this one out and have to buy a newer and BIGGER Toyota.


Good luck shopping!

I bought a 2000 extended cab with the "bigger" 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual transmission and manual hubs in 2003 when it had 44,000 on it. Now it has 172,000 and gets the same highway mileage (23-24) it did when I bought it. Wouldn't want to tow my boat or trailer with it, but have an F350 that will do that. So far the only thing that's gone wrong required a brush replacement on the starter motor.

For 75% of our uses (including hauling dead elk, Labrador retrievers, or cruising to eastern Montana and back) the Taco does the job. Just hope there's something as good when we finally wear it out.

Well Brad, not sure what you consider to be casual use, but I'm curious how you'd suggest I pull my utility trailer for say, my two kayaks, or one or more of my motorcycles should I need to haul them, or any of the three boats on trailers I pull, or be able to load a pile of goose blocks and layout blinds, or a pile of big game fishing gear, or tents and coolers and all the other truck I bring when taking family and friends for casual camping outings, or for any of the unimproved dirt roads and logging areas I play around without a truck.

I have a car I use now to commute with, but I have the sneaking suspicion that the Lexus sedan ain't going to be real practical for my outdoors stuff... Wasn't asking about anything other than opinions on the Tacoma, actually...

This isn't one of my boats, and it's too heavy for the 4Runner I hauled it with rating wise (it was that or not fish that day, as my buddy's F150 was broken down) but again, there isn't any way, anyhow I could've hauled that boat in a Honda Civic class of vehicle, no?

I, personally, have no use for a car. I will gladly pay the extra for fuel to have the ability to go where I want, when I want, and haul what I want when I want to. Its not a current trend. I dont ever remember a time, at least in these parts, where men typically drove cars. Around here, a half ton or smaller IS a car.

I'd make you a pretty good deal on the red '04 F150, if I decide to buy another truck. No, it can't go into as tight a spot as a small truck but has made it in and out of some fairly rough spots. Doesn't get 20 mpg either, but does get 15, even with the off-road tires on it, now. Decent room ,heated seats, and rated to pull 9000 lbs, too.

OK, well, I guess you don't have a lot of experience with the joys of trying to park a full-sized pickup, or easily get around in a full-sized rig in a downtown setting. That's fine by me, but since I don't have any need to haul a bed full of dirt, rocks, horse trailers or hay bales on a regular basis, just don't see it being a requirement. And yeah, I see the need for some folks. I ain't one of them. I do have a need to be able to have a 4WD rig that will do what I need it for, and I think a Taco fits the bill. I'll make sure my dress matches the paint on it for sure though, as that's obviously not enough truck for a *real* man...

Uh, no dog in this fight bro, but I thought you might buy a ...























Honda?

I can attest it is fun to drive a large red truck through San Francisco. Amazing how many people you can lip-read, saying "oh chit!" as they start to cut you off then realize there's a 6000lb truck approaching

I will allow, though, it also sucks parking a truck in the city.

Duuuuude, nice rig. Ever consider a road trip to the Great Lakes? Tens of thousands of Old Squaw are waiting for you offshore. Is that a custom job or are those for sale commercially?

I appreciate that friend, but my need is for it like, yesterday. We got two snowfalls last week that totaled only around 22", but even that was enough to get me frustrated with a car trying to get up the snow and ice covered hill to my house without a running start. I forgot how lame cars are in snow. And since we get a bit every year...

Just opened the back door and took a shot, in case some think I'm fibbing.

Love the quiet when snow is like that...

The latter. It's a Bankes.

http://www.bankesboats.com/goliath.htm

I believe you missed this part in the OP.

"I commute around 80 miles a day, and if the fuel economy isn't too bad I'll use it on snow days to run in and out of town. "

Heard of the Bankes layout, but never knew they made such a substantial open water boat. I assume you use this for your tender as well? Now I understand the fearless late season hunts on open water. Well done, sir. I wish you well on your search for a vehicle. Boat, trailer, and gear you have to be pulling nearly 4K pounds.

Buy an econo generic bubble car for the commute and a spare rig for towing when you need it.

If you want save $$$ that's the only way.

Dude, that's *exactly* the idea.

bigger wheels take more hp to turn them,which decreases gas mileage.
also the bigger wheels are yuppy favorite,cost way more.
I put four of Michelins best tires on my taco for around $400.(205/75/15)
The titan I had with 18's were close to $200 each for the cheapest I could find.
I wish I could find a taco with 4wd,but not all the "offroad package" bullshit.
remember back when you had to look underneath or look for a transfer case lever to see if the vehicle was 4wd or not?

Have scattergun, will travel CF. That said, we aren't exactly strangers to gunning oldsquaw in our waters...

From a few years ago. I hosted Josh Spies and Ivan Carter, with my buddy, for a couple days gunning the beeg vaterrs for seaducks. Josh's work you may be familiar with; his was the winning entry for that year's federal duck stamp. The species? Three guesses. Funny part is that until coming out with us, he'd never even seen, less had a chance at thumping a 'squaw. The other fella makes a living as a PH in a bunch of African nations whacking all manner of game, but specializes in close encounters with elephant.

Too good to be true? I saw this just now; ad was put up 5 minutes before I called.

What is this truck's value? I checked KBB but want a fire eval please. Time is of the essence!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



1996 Toyota Tacoma extra cab pickup. V6, 5spd, 65,000 original miles, second owner. California truck - completely clean, no rust, looks almost like new inside and out. Clean Carfax, always dealer serviced. Newer Michelin tires with 90%, alloy wheels. Only selling to pay off legal fees for my divorce.

Locals vary, but $14,000 would not be out of line for that low of miles.

LOL! i just looked up KBB. If you can get it anywhere near that, you'd better jump on it before you take another breath!

Done deal. Guy just left. He lives less than half a mile from me,. I am getting it for $7.5k, as long as the fella's word and handshake on the deal mean what they're supposed to. Weird. And I'm not even Irish...

Thank you all for the advice and input.

I HATE YOU!

I feel so dirty.

You should. That's what you'd pay for an ATV.

You should hold out for an automatic because of the towing requirement.

Hmm. Honey, you know how we'd agreed that we needed to buy a snowblower? Well, having thought about it a bunch, I'm thinking that we need a 4 wheeler anyway, and with a plow blade mounted, we could use the difference of the dough I'd earmarked for the truck and get a 4wd plow too. You'd never have to shovel again...

Ha! Worked for me...we needed a Rhino to move raked leaves from the front yard to the back. Dump bed...you know?

lol. You're a gentleman and a scholar, sir! And just for the record, this kind of shyt luck never happens to me. The last time I scored anything as silly as this was winning a giant gingerbread house Christmas prize in the 3rd grade. A golden star sticker on the bottom of my 50 cent cafeteria lunch. First thing you know ole Jed's a MILLIONAIRE! I was lectured by the caf staff that the prize was purely decorative, and was totally inedible. Lie. My brother and I took that bad boy apart piece by piece over the course of maybe 3 months. By the time we were done with it all that was left was part of the picket fence surrounding the house that used to live on the piece of plywood...

You don't need to understand, as long as you're not one of those tree hugger types pushing MPG's, enthanol and emmissions crap down everybody elses throats.

I hope it works out for you. There is no better on/offroad vehicle than a small Toyota 4x4.

Great score, Leighton!

Now I can quit worrying about planning a road trip.

Ed

I would think between $8k and $10k for that vehicle, depending on what his definition of "like new" is. At $7.5k, sounds like a good deal. And with 65k on the odometer, that truck has MANY good miles left to give.

Double check the wear on the interior, gas and brake pedals to see if they look consistent with a 65k mile vehicle.

Good score��..I'd replace the water pump and timing belt if it hasn't already been done��.just had to replace the water pump in my 2004 with 60k when it started leaking a bit��only made sense to do the timing belt at the same time��I only drive the truck about 3k/year and sitting is hard on seals.

Bullschit. I've seen similar clean, low mileage tacos sell for 14-15 on Auto Trader. Sometimes they sat there for a while but they all sold. 12K would not be a bad deal if the truck is really clean.

For a 96? Low miles do bring a big premium, but anybody paying $14k or $15k for a 96 tacoma, even with low miles, needs their head examined. It's a Tacoma for christ sake, not an FJ40 landcruiser. TOP Dollar would be about $12k asking. And "asking price" is NOT selling price.

I love the trucks, but I'm not paying that kind of dough for a 17 or 18 year old freakin' Tacoma, I don't care what kind of shape it's in. They can ASK for whatever they want...what they ultimately TAKE for it (what you don't see in truck trader) after it sits for a month or two is a different story.

For $15k in my area I could fairly easily get into a 2000-2002 Xtra Cab or Double Cab 4x4 with under 100k miles.

If the truck is in good shape and the miles are right, he's getting a pretty damned good deal. But he's not getting it at HALF PRICE, or even close.

The man was good to his word. Clean title, clean carfax report, not a speck of rust, service records perfect. Absolutely minty condition. Brand new Michelin rubber all around. Guy is second owner and bought it 90 days ago, then got hit with divorce papers. His plan is to liquidate all his local assets and head for Costa Rica to start a self-sustainable organic farm, continue with his code writing and, of course, jam out on his guitars. Total fruitcake, but I'm OK with that. He kept his word.

Thanks again for the input, folks.

I don't know which I like more, the deal or the story behind the deal! Good stuff.

I think you got a fair deal considering the quality of the vehicle involved.

My personal history: 5 new Toyotas bought in my lifetime. Absolutely no warranty returns/issues EXCEPT a loose wire on the cig lighter of my 1982 diesel (yes, that was the only year they imported them).
My 1990 4Runner had a recall for air conditioner seals.
My 1996 T100 had a recall for head gaskets.
My 1987 4wd went 286k miles before my brother rolled it on an icy road. I had to put a fuel pump ($19 mechanical), timing chain, and a hydraulic clutch cylinder.

Unfortunately, I let a foolish attraction break my Toyota ownership spree, and like you, I will not borrow to buy.
Used Toyotas are gold here in the midwest, I may have to bite the bullet and finance to get back in to a Toyota. Back where I belong.

Mom and Dad heated with nothing but wood - every stick that they burned from 1982 to about 2001 was hauled in a Toyota pickup.

I've drug fishing boats from Canada to almost Alabama for a lot of years with never a problem.

Here's a small pic of a common load that I towed many miles thru Mo. hills. That is a 1996 T100 4WD V6 automatic that had stock 3.90(I think) rear end gears. That is a 2 ton (+) load, not counting trailer. For light to medium duty towing they are very capable.

I was just asked where "Almost", Alabama is located. Simple, its just slightly north of DamnedNear, Tennessee.
Silly girls don't know nuthin......

Score! Post pics buddy!

I had a 92, before the Tacoma was a Tacoma, put 380,000 KM on it. Drove it like I stole it, never let me down. Averaged 19-20mpg with the V6, which has about 50hp less than the newer one.All it ever had was the regular maintenance items done.
The new one is an '09, 6spd, up to 118,000 now, fuel is about 19mpg with the V6. Driveability on the new one is night and day different powerwise. It feels every bit as tough as the old one.
Front suspension handles potholes way better than the old one did. Tows way better also,pulls my 14ft boat no sweat, 5x8 enclosed deke trailer is hardly noticeable.
I looked hard at other vehicles when I bought the 09, couldn't talk myself out of another Yota. The old one went thru some nasty stuff over the years, and is still going on a farm. This one should outlast me.