push me over the edge...

kweetech

Observer
FWIW, I personally don't NEED a truck, but it's nice to have. All those house projects, hauling lumber, sod, dirt is much nicer in a truck bed. Hauling dirty hunting, biking, etc gear is nicer, too. I did like my 4Runners and if I still had them, I could get by, but the Tacoma does fit me better. Personaly prefs. I do notice it's a little longer than my 4Runners, but doesn't affect me at all. If you can't navigate a mid-sized Tacoma in a parking lot, you shouldn't be driving. On the trail, I'll probably never mod mine enough to get to a place where the extra 19" will matter. :D

what he said ^^^

the forester serves us well for all non truck related duties. Of course the 4runner has bigger rear pass space, but the forester and tacoma DC are about identical as far as back seat dimensions...works for us. Our 4runner was a great vehicle..but for the mpg, we'd prefer to have a more versatile vehicle.

Inspection came back good...truck should be here tomorrow :victory:
 

Cackalak Han

Explorer
Nice. Not sure if it has already been noted, but there is a 15 yr extended warranty on the Tacoma frames. If it rusts, you get a brand new frame, leafs, etc. Something to keep an eye on.
 

Mr. Leary

Glamping Excursionaire
Kweetech: $14k for a DC TRD with 100k is a darn good price and 04's are highly desirable because they are the last of the 1st gen tacos. However, you are paying the price premium for the DC.

Having said that...are you sure you need a truck? Reason I say that is that a 3rd gen 4runner is easier to find, much cheaper and in my experience (having owned both an '04 Taco and my current '99 4runner) the 4runner gives more 'bang for the buck.'

Just a few points:

1. 4runners with the locking rear diff (1996-2000 only) are fairly easy to find, no need to pay extra for the "TRD" sticker. In fact, 4runners are much, much more common than DC Tacos. Not only were they made in larger numbers, they were made for the entire product run from 1996 - 2002 (7 model years) whereas the DC was only made from 2001 - 2004 (4 model years.)

2. From 1999 - 2002 you can get a selectable full time/part time 4wd system that was never available on the Taco. All 01 and 02 models have this feature and 99 and 2000 Limited's have it (Limited package also gets you leather seats and almost always includes the locking diff.)

3. 4Runners have a more sophisticated 4-link rear suspension vs. the Taco's leaf springs. Much better ride.

4. The extra length of that double-cab 4wd (my extra cab was on the same wheelbase) can be a PITA both when trying to park or make a quick u-turn in the city, and also on tight trails where you have to back and fill in order to get around sharp turns.

5. This may sound trivial, but the clock on my '04 was hidden behind the steering wheel and I could not see it without ducking my head down and to the side. Drove me crazy. Similarly, the AC and Reciculate indicator LEDs were virtually impossible to see in daylight. None of these is an issue on my older 4runner. Minor, perhaps, but you have to live with it every day.

6. You may think the back seats of a DC are the same as a 4runner but they're not. The 4runner is much more accomodating to back seat passengers.

7. People who buy trucks tend to use them as trucks. OTOH, people who buy SUVs often use them as mall-crawlers, which means less chance that there is hidden damage. On a 4runner, the giveaway is the running boards: Most 3rd gen 4runners came with running boards, and if the boards are still on the truck and are not damaged, chances are the truck was never 'wheeled at all. Needless to say, the first mod I made to my 4runner was to remove the running boards and sell them on Craigslist.

The sum of all this, to me, is that unless you absolutely, positively have to have a pickup, a 4runner is probably a better choice for most uses (and really, how useful is that 5' bed on a DC Taco anyway?)

It's easy to find a 4runner with a locking diff for $10k or less. I paid $7999 for mine in July and it had 117k on it. If you can get a 4runner for around $9-10k, you would have enough left over to buy a small utility trailer to use on those occasions when you really do need a flat bed to haul something around.

BTW, I'm not intending to put down the DC, it's a great vehicle, I just want to point out that there may be alternatives you haven't considered.

So the moral of the story is... if you are considering buying a vehicle, ask that guy first... :smiley_drive:
 

cletaco

Observer
This post was very interesting. I had suspected that I overpaid for my '03 DC this summer, but judging by the responses, I probably did fine. Mine had 69K miles on it, lived its entire life in North Carolina, and I paid $15.5K from a dealer in central Ohio who imports these trucks from the south. They are fairly rare in Northeast Ohio due to the frame rust problem. It is laughably clean under the hood and underneath (vehicles don't look that nice after a few Cleveland winters). I hardly drive it, but it is fun and handy to have, the kids love it, and I'm looking forward to the snow with it!
 

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