Trucks…

[Spencer]

My winter Toyota camry was stolen last week and I need to replace it asap. I thought a 4X4 truck would make a great winter beater and I want to stick with Toyota cause they make great machines. So, I’m wondering why Toyota Tacoma trucks with tons of miles on them are still selling for thousands of dollar?

Are these really good trucks that last for many many miles? If you know anything about these trucks any insight would be great. I has no idea trucks were so expensive.

Thanks,

Spencer

[hamann318is]

Old Toyota trucks are rock solid. There was an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy drove a old Toyota truck into a wall, tree, and the ocean; flipped it; dropped it from 20 ft; hit it with a wrecking ball; drove it through a shed; and put it on top of a building which was then imploded. They didn't replace anything, and it ran after all of that.

[Spencer]

That's crazy~!

It still seems like a lot of money to spend.

I was looking at an ad for one with 390,000 Km's and they were asking $4500.

http://www.canadatrader.com/result/detailinfo.aspx?ID=12020815&pgno=2&srt=7

Spencer

[hamann318is]

I've always thought that they were dirt cheap, or they should be at least.

[PanamaE30]

I'm not too familiar with Toyota Trucks sent to the US market..

But down here, the Toyota Hilux is like, the all purpose utility vehicle. I've seen those things go through hell and back. I'm not a truck person, but I think for my money, if I had to buy a truck, it would probably be one of those.

[rwh11385]

I've always thought that they were dirt cheap, or they should be at least.

toyota's retain value.

[James Crivellone]

Toyota's in General are expensive, few people get rid of them and when they do they ask top dollar.

I was looking for a nice 5Spd V6 4X4 Toyota for around 6 months and could not find a nice one in good shape, I then altered my plans and started looking at 4runners. Month later I bought a 92 V6 SR5 4Runner for 5500 bucks after taxes/registration..with 185K miles, and that was 2K below bluebook at the time.


They hold value like a muthafucka

[Rob]

they're expensive because they are dead reliable and work forever.

[Spencer]

good to know.

I just want something drive mostly for winters and odd jobs.

Is there anything I should look for when buying a truck that I wouldn't look for on a car??? I don't really know anything about trucks.

-Spencer

[Rob]

look for rust firstly. After that, check for the usual leaks from the engine, tranny, and both diffs. if it runs fine and that checks out, you should be good to go. trucks in general make a shitload more noise as well as feel a helluva lot sloppier than almost any cars, so keep that in mind as well.

if you're buying a 4x4, make sure to test out the 4wd system. Before you go look at a particular model, search the net for the proper way to engage 4wd (if applicable)

[Spencer]

That's great info Rod - thanks!

[hamann318is]

Old Toyota trucks are rock solid. There was an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy drove a old Toyota truck into a wall, tree, and the ocean; flipped it; dropped it from 20 ft; hit it with a wrecking ball; drove it through a shed; and put it on top of a building which was then imploded. They didn't replace anything, and it ran after all of that.

Almost forgot, he set it on fire and dropped a caravan on it.

[AdironRider]

Toyotas are quite possibly the most reliable trucks you can buy. My uncle has one with almost 400000 miles, and it still runs strong. Their largest problem seems to be that rust claims them before anything mechanical meets its demise, so just check out that stuff. Otherwise you should be good to go!

[Longboardmtk]

I can attest for the quality of toyota trucks. My first car was an 87 toyota pickup 4x4, very similar to the one on top gear, only in much nicer condition. It had 200k on it when i got it, and i beat the shit out of it offroad on a regular basis, and could not kill the thing. One of my buddies had a 92 with the v6 and it was equally as tough. I had my truck for 2 years and the only thing i had to replace were the clutch master and brake master cylinders.

I loved that thing, but it just didn't make sense as a college car. Before i get any more off topic... I highly recommend toyota trucks, new and old.

[James Crivellone]

If you get the late 80's to 1995 V6 (5VZ-FE) Be sure to make sure the timing belt has been done and the water pump (sound familier) and the timing belt tensioners (it has alot of those)

Make sure the headgaskets are not leaking, they are prone to failure, they later replaced the headgasket with a better design which are fine (mine has the newer ones)

Make sure the 4WD system works as mentioned.

Luckily the V6's are non interference motors, so if the belt brakes big deal, but its still nice to have it done before you, the V6 is a nightmare to work on, no room to do anything.