Tarveezy
New member
So almost 13 years ago, I sold my 2003 Supercharged Nissan Frontier to help pay off our wedding. Plan was to buy a new Tacoma after the wedding. That never happened, wife got a new car. We got a new baby. A new job and rented a huge new house. Almost moved out of state. Pandemic.. etc It seemed like I would never be able to get back into a 4x4. But thankfully my brother in-law decided he was buying a Cybertruck and wanted to sell me his Tacoma. It was an immediate yes. And I think I got a good deal. Purchased the truck in October of last year. Ive been real busy with work so since then I have just been making easy important upgrades, and repairing issues.
2012 TRD Sport 102,980 miles
Purchase Price: $16,000
Single owner truck (purchased from brother in-law)
All Stock - it did have a lift and TE37's but I get it as it came when he bought it.
All services done at Toyota minus the later oil changes. Just took it for 100k service and inspection. Nothing bad to report. SAIS filter is in tact.
Runs fine, shifts smooth. There is a small hard shift from 3rd when truck is cold.
Interior is an 8.5/10 Exterior Id say is like 7. You'll see below but the roof paint is fading. Typical Toyota.
Its got its positives and negatives like any used vehicle.
Straight truck no damage.
All the chrome was swapped out. However, he painted over the chrome emblem which you can see is chipping. I've got it sitting in paint stripper already and Ill repaint it.
Not a fan of these tail lights at all. So hopefully something less "hey look at me" can be found.
Brother in-law also painted the headlights so well see how that goes. First thing I do might be headlight mod. As long as these have no condensation I figure they look ok.
Also if you couldn't tell, I am not a fan of chrome so these Chrome-Clad wheels are not exactly my favorite. Also 18's isn't ideal. Ill eventually save up some cash for something used. Sell these to get some money back.
No rust besides these truck bed bolts. I thought these were galvanized so they wouldn't rust. I guess not.
Looks good underneath. At least I think it does. Minus the lack of any protection.
Clean under the hood.
Paint is pretty good everywhere except the roof. Slightly annoying. I'm debating repainting it, or wrapping it to cover it up and prevent it from bubbling like my Highlander.
Well, thats it for now. Wont see a whole lot of changes for a while. Just fixing what isn't right. But at least I am finally back in a decent 4x4.
Future Plans? Just a good old fashioned trustworthy camping and family vehicle. Initially camping trips will hopefully be a few times a year, but hopefully that increases as we get everything sorted. My boy just turned 8, so he is primed and ready to learn how to enjoy the outdoors. He is also super excited to drive the truck haha. All those stories of me driving my uncles trucks at 9 has him expecting to be sitting in the drivers seat real soon.
Driving Impressions:
11/2/2024 First 100 miles - Put my first hundred miles on the truck in the first week. I wont have to much to report here as it has been a very long time since I have driven a larger truck for an extended period of time. My commute to work is only 6 miles and we took a family trip to my nephews birthday which was a total of 65 miles mostly freeway. Truck felt underpowered. But its a V6 and heavier than my highlander so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. With an empty bed and the family inside its good under regular breaking and few surprise quick stops. There was a slight squeal from under the hood this morning, so its possible a tensioner pulley is getting bad. I don't think the serpentine belt has been changed yet.
11/21/24 First 500 Miles - So far I am enjoying the truck. Feels great to be back in a truck daily. No more squeak. Must have just been my imagination. I do notice there is a pretty bad vibration. 60 mph is most noticeable. I removed the front driver wheel and reseated it as I did remove it once when I first purchased the truck. Some of the noise and shaking did go away but not all. I think I will go get a wheel balance. If that doesn't fix it I guess Ill go down the rabbit hole of ball joints and bushings. Also, not sure why but I was expecting better mileage. My commute to work is most city driving. SO I guess I am like 70/30 city/hwy but I am avg 16.4 mpg bummer.
2012 TRD Sport 102,980 miles
Purchase Price: $16,000
Single owner truck (purchased from brother in-law)
All Stock - it did have a lift and TE37's but I get it as it came when he bought it.
All services done at Toyota minus the later oil changes. Just took it for 100k service and inspection. Nothing bad to report. SAIS filter is in tact.
Runs fine, shifts smooth. There is a small hard shift from 3rd when truck is cold.
Interior is an 8.5/10 Exterior Id say is like 7. You'll see below but the roof paint is fading. Typical Toyota.
Its got its positives and negatives like any used vehicle.
Straight truck no damage.
All the chrome was swapped out. However, he painted over the chrome emblem which you can see is chipping. I've got it sitting in paint stripper already and Ill repaint it.
Not a fan of these tail lights at all. So hopefully something less "hey look at me" can be found.
Brother in-law also painted the headlights so well see how that goes. First thing I do might be headlight mod. As long as these have no condensation I figure they look ok.
Also if you couldn't tell, I am not a fan of chrome so these Chrome-Clad wheels are not exactly my favorite. Also 18's isn't ideal. Ill eventually save up some cash for something used. Sell these to get some money back.
No rust besides these truck bed bolts. I thought these were galvanized so they wouldn't rust. I guess not.
Looks good underneath. At least I think it does. Minus the lack of any protection.
Clean under the hood.
Paint is pretty good everywhere except the roof. Slightly annoying. I'm debating repainting it, or wrapping it to cover it up and prevent it from bubbling like my Highlander.
Well, thats it for now. Wont see a whole lot of changes for a while. Just fixing what isn't right. But at least I am finally back in a decent 4x4.
Future Plans? Just a good old fashioned trustworthy camping and family vehicle. Initially camping trips will hopefully be a few times a year, but hopefully that increases as we get everything sorted. My boy just turned 8, so he is primed and ready to learn how to enjoy the outdoors. He is also super excited to drive the truck haha. All those stories of me driving my uncles trucks at 9 has him expecting to be sitting in the drivers seat real soon.
Driving Impressions:
11/2/2024 First 100 miles - Put my first hundred miles on the truck in the first week. I wont have to much to report here as it has been a very long time since I have driven a larger truck for an extended period of time. My commute to work is only 6 miles and we took a family trip to my nephews birthday which was a total of 65 miles mostly freeway. Truck felt underpowered. But its a V6 and heavier than my highlander so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. With an empty bed and the family inside its good under regular breaking and few surprise quick stops. There was a slight squeal from under the hood this morning, so its possible a tensioner pulley is getting bad. I don't think the serpentine belt has been changed yet.
11/21/24 First 500 Miles - So far I am enjoying the truck. Feels great to be back in a truck daily. No more squeak. Must have just been my imagination. I do notice there is a pretty bad vibration. 60 mph is most noticeable. I removed the front driver wheel and reseated it as I did remove it once when I first purchased the truck. Some of the noise and shaking did go away but not all. I think I will go get a wheel balance. If that doesn't fix it I guess Ill go down the rabbit hole of ball joints and bushings. Also, not sure why but I was expecting better mileage. My commute to work is most city driving. SO I guess I am like 70/30 city/hwy but I am avg 16.4 mpg bummer.
