Some advice please (purchasing older Tacoma)

[hawkeye680]

Hello,

I am a new member. I currently drive a Titan, but have been considering getting an older truck to cut my payment down and pay some stuff off. The only truck I want is a Tacoma, because I used to be a Toyota owner and to me, there isn't another option as far as reliability. Since I am obviously going to have to get something with some mileage on it, what things should I be concerned about, and what should I look for? (Mechanical issues and such) I def want the 6cyl, manual tranny, 4WD with locking diffs. I also want at least an extended cab.I want to stay in the 90's to current.

Thanks guys.

[OC768]

I had a '98 and an '01. The '98 fought a tree and lost, but in my short period of mileage with it it just felt sturdier then the '01. I have no scientific value unfortunately for you sorry, but when I was thinking used taco for still reasonable cash and reliable - was thinking 98-99 Taco V6 AC myself.

Friend of mine just got one with 40k mi. for mid 9's in mint shape, considering the market in this area that was a decent deal.

[Exilestate]

try to find a nice certified preowned Tacoma from Toyota.
It will cost a little more but that less to worry about.
Plus with the new body style coming out the resell on the older models will drop a bit.

Good Luck in your search.

[TundrastruckDave]

Not sure what year models you're considering, but here are a couple of things you might want to consider and look for.

The early model V6 Tacomas had a defective "head gasket" and from what I understand... it was a pretty costly fix, because the whole top half of the engine (the head) had to come off to replace the defective gasket. There was a recall issued to "fix" the problem, which was... a VERY GOOD thing. I've actually gotten 2 seperate recalls on my '95 Tacoma, but to date... mine has shown NO SIGNS of this being a problem and... my truck now has... almost 128K on it! I bought the truck with 40K on it... about 5 years ago now, but... the fact is... it's been... ONE HELL OF A GREAT TRUCK! That said... I'm a FIRM believer in... "if it ain't broke... don't fix it".

Also... it's my understanding... that the later model Tacomas (i.e. 98-04, I think)... had some kind of issue with the tailgate rubbing somewhere on the body. Matter of fact... there are still auctions on ebay, which offer a "fix" for this. Check it out... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...928440508&rd=1

That's really... all "I" know of! Isn't Toyota... just a great truck... in general?!

Good luck in your search...

[TXJBL]

I had a 98 Tacoma I bought with 40k on it, had absolutely no problems with it mechanically, but one thing to look for is rubbing/rust under the factory over the rail bed liner, specifically in the rear corners. I pulled out out the plastic liner and it had already worn off the paint in many spots, and rust was starting to form. Drove it straight over to the Line-X dealer, got an over the rail spray in and problem was solved. Just something to look for. I loved that little truck.