I bought a 09 with 45,000 miles on it for 26K, at the time I thought it was a good deal, still do until the payment some in the mail and then I start questioning myself. I like my Taco, quiet, comfortable and gets great gas mileage, not to big of a truck for my needs.

Ford , and Chevy has never made a small truck that could hang with a Toyota, time will tell if they have now. Doesn't matter if they'll pull a train and ride like a Caddy if they're broke and in the shop, or worn slap out.

I have th 2012 tacoma. Now it has the TRD package which is different seats skid plates locking rear diff and better shocks. Now my truck minus the TRD package is the base model. And it has all the bells and whistles I want or ever would minus heated seats and NAV. But u will say this much. It is te smoothest shifting tranny I've ever felt. My boss has an 07 with 263k on the auto transmission and not a lick of problems. The trucks are NOT known for their Cadillac ride on the pavement. But they do everything good or as good as you can expect from a mid size truck. I get about 17mpg goin back and forth to work in the city an about 18 on the highway but my truck also has 3" of lift and bigger 285/75/16 tires and bumpers front and rear along with rock slide bars. I bought the truck with everything done to it already and it had 28k on it which is new to me. Bought it certified pre owned which gives you the new car finance rate. Alon with a free toyota extended warranty. They are not cheap! But I searched for about 2 months and drove to clanton to buy it. But the "unicorn" you are looking for is out there. Just be patient. Btw I paid $26k for mine. They are not cheap!

Exactly. Good post.

I had a Mazda b2300 with a ford engine. I had 340k miles when I sold it. Guy still drives it. It's had a thermostat and a clutch.

Um yes, yes it very much does matter.

You still see a lot of old Rangers on the road and they quit making them in 2011. If the Tacoma is 2x to 3x the truck that the Ford Ranger is [as the asking prices would indicate...] I would really like to see some data [Other than internet talk] to back this up. I've driven both, owned 3 Rangers, and I've seen tons of old, beat to hell Rangers with high miles and still going strong and frankly, I don't buy the hype.

Like I said earlier... I was all set to buy a Taco based on the reputation, but once I got to researching the subject I couldn't justify the price premium. It just didn't add up.

The ranger is a truck thats never appealed to me (looks wise) but there is no denying theres a pile of old ones running around. Just a quick search showed many for sale with 150-200K on em.

I have an ex b.i.l that I keep in touch with.He has a 94 ranger with well over 500,000 miles on it and nothing more than stuff like starter,water pump,alternator,battery and brakes have ever had to be worked on.truck looks like crap but gets him from cullman to bessemer and back everyday.

Funny how people are different. I've always thought the Rangers were good looking pick-ups, especially later models with the 4x4 suspension.

I like the looks of the previous generation Tacos too. Don't like the newer Tacos. All the Tacos I sat in and drove the seats were too low to the floor for a proper pick-up to have. It was like sitting in a jacked up car.

I just bought a 2004 Ext Cab PreRunner with 194000.
It has a lift kit with oversized tires. Rides a little rough over bumps but handles great on the road and shifts smooth.
I had looked for a couple of months trying to find one in decent shape for a fair price.
You don't find too many Tacomas for sell with low miles. I know, I looked.
I did look at the double cabs and even the 05 access cab, but I just like the body style of the 2000-04 much better.

I got a good deal on my 2001 pre runner SR5 i got from a family friend in August. It was well maintained but had low milage, only 110,000 when I bought it, and I paid 8,000 for it. I didn't know much about stepside beds then but I am really glad it came with a stepside bed, i have really grown to like the look. To the OP - www.tacomaworld.com is your friend. But there are differences between the TRD sport and TRD offroad packages. I think they both have skidplates and like a 3" lift, and the TRD Sport has the faux-hood scoop. I forget exactly what is different about the offroad, some do have the rear locker. But check to make sure. Mine is TRD offroad but has no rear locker.

You got a good deal for $8k

Thanks, yeah i didn't realize how lucky at the time. The guy that owned it had moved to Aspen I believe. Somewhere in CO where he needed 4 wheel drive, and it was basically sitting at his parents house who didn't want to fool with trying to sell it. I'm happy with it, i only owe about 1900 on it. once I pay it off I am going to be looking to sell/trade it towards a Generation 1 Tacoma with 4 wheel drive

I have a 4x4 trd 4door. 2005. First year of new body style. I had to have mine ordered and made at factory. At that time there had only been 4 made. Mine was the 5th.

I've never really understood the concept of a compact truck. Why do ppl want less power, less room, yet the same fuel economy and price of a half ton pick up?

OK, let me get my truck outa the shop ,and I'll show ya how to haul. Now that's funny. You cherry picked my post, make the whole sentence bold or none at all please.

Can't go wrong with a Tacoma!

Resale. there's something to that hype. I've bought several used Tacos and driven them 2-4 years and sold them for what I paid or more. Only cost during ownership was general maintenance items. You won't do that with anything else consistently, period.

I had a '87 Bronco II once, good machine, but it would get stuck before it got to a rough place.

Reliability,resale value and easier to get around in the woods for me,I don't have a boat or camper to pull so a tacoma works for me