Topic: Flinter's Taco Introduction

[Flinter]

I haven't had much of time to contribute lately. With that in mind, I thought I'd provide an introduction to the new addition to the fleet (acquired a few months back).

This was one of those situations where I wasn't really looking for another vehicle but an opportunity came up to buy, at lease end, this Tacoma that a family member was leasing. Given that the truck had less than 60K km and the buyout was much less than the current crazy resale value for these trucks, I just couldn't pass it up. It is a base model 2014 Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab AWD V6.













This new addition replaced the 2004 GMC Sierra that I acquired back in 2013. It was a loyal solder for us for the last 5 years but rust was beginning to become an issue. The rocker panels and door bottoms on both sides needed to be repaired/replaced. I also had to replace a couple fo brake lines due to rust. It was one of those situations where I replace the truck or spend a few grand on it. Here is a pic of the old truck when I purchased it back in 2013.



So far we are enjoying the Tacoma. While it still drives like a truck, it drives much smaller and feels more nimble than the old GMC.  The Crew cab configuration is a nice upgrade over the extended cab (with suicide doors) on the GMC. The Tacoma can sit 4 people comfortably and the 6ft bed is enough for your luggage/gear or most other truck duties.

The longer wheelbase associated with the crew cab does come at a cost. The Tacoma has wide turning circle, making parking and tight maneuvers a little more difficult. You can also feel a bit more chassis flex over undulating surfaces.

I've had 4 spiked snow tires on it this winter and as you would expect, it's a beast in snow and ice. While it's a base model it does have p/w, p/l, Key Fob for remote lock/unlock, Cruise, A/C, and a modern style touch screen infotainment system with bluetooth and USB interfaces. The only feature that really miss in the truck is intermittent wipers. A very strange omission by Toyota.

I had the truck Krown'd to begin the battle with the onset of rust. I'm really hoping to hold on to this one for a while. Certainly a great do-it-all utility vehicle.

[bridgecity]

Nice truck Flinter!  That unit will serve you well for many years.

[ArticSteve]

I had the truck Krown'd

Best vehicle money ever spent.    on the new unit.  And yes, Toyota can be really cheap, but they are getting better. 

[rrocket]

That truck will last a loooong time.

[2JDM]

A great reliable workhorse with an impeccable lack of depreciation.

How does the fuel economy compare to the GMC Sierra? I heard the 4.0L V6 in the Taco is thirsty.

[quadzilla]

Congrats and enjoy your new truck for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uLJitPWAXM

[dirtyjeffer]

I had the truck Krown'd

Best vehicle money ever spent.   

yup, a quality rust proofing option is money well spent.

[Weels]

Congrats and enjoy your new truck for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uLJitPWAXM

   I had forgotten about that commercial. 

Looks like a nice find

[ktm525]

I don't see many base Tacomas around. Mostly tarted up TRD pavement queens. The steel wheels re awesome. Another ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RfAYnCxkK0

[Arthur Dent]

Nice one. Base trucks have rugged appeal to them.

[dirtyjeffer]

Congrats and enjoy your new truck for a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uLJitPWAXM

   I had forgotten about that commercial. 

Looks like a nice find

yea, that had a few good ones during that marketing campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_OtbXmu9kg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u15HmEMp2Qc

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Congratulations! 

[valuator]

Nice truck, hard to go wrong....and I bet you could drive it for a few years for pennies in depreciation.  Local Toyota dealer here had an '09 with north of 200k on it and asking over $20k.

Congrats and enjoy!

[johngenx]

Nice truck, hard to go wrong....and I bet you could drive it for a few years for pennies in depreciation.  Local Toyota dealer here had an '09 with north of 200k on it and asking over $20k.

We rail at the prices of used Tacos, but the reality is that people pay them.  It's just the market.  Shocking to me, but it's that way it is.  Most used Toyotas are priced higher than competitors models, but the Tacoma prices are insane.

A friend of mine is a tradesperson and he recently sold his very high mile 2007 Tundra for $14K - which is a high price for an 11-12 year old truck that lived a hard working life.  A similar Taco would sell for quite a bit more!

Anyone that passes up a good deal on a Tacoma hates cheap driving.  You can drive it for a few years and experience so little depreciation it's nuts.

[dirtyjeffer]

Nice truck, hard to go wrong....and I bet you could drive it for a few years for pennies in depreciation.  Local Toyota dealer here had an '09 with north of 200k on it and asking over $20k.

We rail at the prices of used Tacos, but the reality is that people pay them.  It's just the market.  Shocking to me, but it's that way it is.  Most used Toyotas are priced higher than competitors models, but the Tacoma prices are insane.

A friend of mine is a tradesperson and he recently sold his very high mile 2007 Tundra for $14K - which is a high price for an 11-12 year old truck that lived a hard working life.  A similar Taco would sell for quite a bit more!

Anyone that passes up a good deal on a Tacoma hates cheap driving.  You can drive it for a few years and experience so little depreciation it's nuts.

agreed...their resale values are so high, they are second only to Buicks, which actually appreciate over the years.

[Fobroader]

Sweet little truck, I like the body cladding, gives it a very purposeful look. Yeah, buying a slightly used Taco doesn't make sense since they basically don't depreciate.

[Flinter]

Thanks very much for the feedback!

I had the truck Krown'd
Best vehicle money ever spent.   

yup, a quality rust proofing option is money well spent.

I'm also a big believer in the Krown treatment especially if you intend owning a vehicle long term. If I could have asked them to dip the entire truck in Krown I would have!!
Having owned several vehicles > 8 years, as well as a couple of 10-15 year old beaters, rust is the one thing that can turn a vehicle into a lost cause.

That truck will last a loooong time.

I certainly hope that will be the case. I'd like to hold on to this one for at least 10-15 years for  utility/winter beater purposes.

A great reliable workhorse with an impeccable lack of depreciation.

How does the fuel economy compare to the GMC Sierra? I heard the 4.0L V6 in the Taco is thirsty.

I haven't done a detailed comparo but I estimate that the Taco gets about 20% better mileage than the Sierra. Its gets ~15l/100km around town and ~12L/100km on the highway. Not bad compared to full size trucks but certainly nothing to write home about.

Nice truck, hard to go wrong....and I bet you could drive it for a few years for pennies in depreciation.  Local Toyota dealer here had an '09 with north of 200k on it and asking over $20k.

We rail at the prices of used Tacos, but the reality is that people pay them.  It's just the market.  Shocking to me, but it's that way it is.  Most used Toyotas are priced higher than competitors models, but the Tacoma prices are insane.

A friend of mine is a tradesperson and he recently sold his very high mile 2007 Tundra for $14K - which is a high price for an 11-12 year old truck that lived a hard working life.  A similar Taco would sell for quite a bit more!

Anyone that passes up a good deal on a Tacoma hates cheap driving.  You can drive it for a few years and experience so little depreciation it's nuts.

My thinking exactly. Around these parts, asking prices for Tacomas of this age range from approx. $25K for base models up to the low $30s for SR5 and TRD models. With this lease end purchase I was able to buy this truck for <$15K. I probably could drive it for 3 years and still come out flush.

[johngenx]

With this lease end purchase I was able to buy this truck for <$15K.

 

[Ex-airbalancer]

"I haven't done a detailed comparo but I estimate that the Taco gets about 20% better mileage than the Sierra. Its gets ~15l/100km around town and ~12L/100km on the highway. Not bad compared to full size trucks but certainly nothing to write home about."

That high hauling air 

[johngenx]

Tacos aren't great for fuel economy.  They're bricks with tons of air flowing under all that ground clearance.