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Are you happy with Tacoma?
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Comments
If you have specific questions, send me an e-mail at gischpel@hotmail.com.
Terry
Jackie
What I'm looking for in a truck is reliability, flexibility, power and ease of use, which I think the Tacoma V6 4x4 will deliver. Can someone back me up on this? I think CR's reports on cars are all skewed to those who are looking for comfortable family cars.
I agree with you, in fact the Tacoma had the best acceleration unloaded, second best towing acceleration (2 tenths of a second off the best time), best fuel efficiency, and was the most reliable of the compact trucks tested. What more can you ask for in a truck? Comfy ride?... It is a truck not a luxury sedan.
The report was not very well done in my (obviously biased) opinion.
1) I got the 60/40 split-bench front seat. That seat, to me, is almost useless. You can not fit a third person in the middle (I'm small, 5'4" and have to slide the driver's seat way up). I would have preferred the buckets, but you could not get the buckets on the '96 without the SR5 package (cost about $4,000 more).
2) CR did a review of the 96 Tacoma and said the stopping distance was excessive. I whole heartedly agree! I understand the 99s have a shorter stopping distance. Anyway, next time I'm getting the ABS.
My 96 has just a little under 24,000 miles. Have had no problems with it.
We'll see what happens. I have now written email to four dealers in my area. Two have responded with questions so far. They want me to call them. I want to keep the negotiations as impersonal as possible until I get assurance that they either have the truck I want, or will order it for me. Then we'll talk price. :-)
Regarding the auto-lock hubs, I have this on my 1992 Explorer. It seems like an unnecessary luxury to me, and another avenue of breakdown that I don't want. I don't see it as an inconvenience to manually lock the hubs when I need 4 wheel drive in the winter, so I'll forego the expense and repairs of the auto hubs.
Regarding ABS, I will be ordering a truck from the factory with ABS, since like you, I have seen no trucks in stock anywhere with this option. I don't know why they're not pre-ordered with ABS, since most people would use a truck on-road most of the time. Maybe since it's an expensive option, people generally don't want to pay for it. I'll pay the price for increased safety though, and Consumer Reports recommends that option as well.
I am curious if you tried www.autobytel.com
I think you can specify what options you want
and they will try to find a truck that meets
your requirements.
service is free. It is supposed to be
hassle free, no haggling with sales. The
dealer e-mails you what they can find and
the price they are willing to sell the vehicle
for. I think there are no obligations to buy
from that dealer. Sounds good to me. Then
again that is assuming that my assumptions are
true. I'm not sure how good of a deal you would
get (from what Stanford said you don't get a
good deal) but at least you can use it as a
basis for haggling with other dealers.
Please also consider the high resale values when you look at the toyota trucks. Only thing I did't like was the toyota dealers. They seemed to have more attitude than others. Service was great though.
As for ABS, you do not stop any faster with them (most studies show slower). You can steer better when lacking traction. That is their purpose. I know how to stop on ice so have no desire for them and don't need the extra cost and maintenance.
Thanks!
CK : All weather guard Package
LX : SR5 Package
PO : Power Package
AC : Air Conditioning (included in LX)
CL : Cruise Control (mandatory w/ PO package)
TW : Tilt Wheel
CH : Chrome Package (included in LX)
WR : Sliding Rear Window (includein in LX)
BU : Cloth Bucket Seats
EX : AM/FM w/ Cassette (included in LX)
FD : 4-wheel demand shift on the move (mandatory with the TRD package)
OF : TRD Offroad Package
FE : 50-state emissions (won't find this on Carpoint or Edmunds I don't believe..but it doesn't add money to the total)
So...all of that MSRP'd for $24,063 which includes the $420 destination charge.
I got a good deal since I got a $1000 rebate from Toyota and a $1000 match on my downpayment. So after the $2000 taken off of it and after negotiating a lot, I paid $20,706 plus Colorado tax. We got a pretty good deal.
All in all, we paid out-of-pocket (minus tax) about $600 under invoice.
Good luck in finding the truck you want!
To make a long story short, we ended up at an impasse in the end over a matter of $109. Here is the breakdown of what we figured, prices are dealer invoice cost:
Base price for Tacoma 4x4 5-speed V6: 18036
Total options: 2936
Sub-total: 20972
Profit 200
Destination 420
Advertising fee (TDA) 200
Total 21792
I had presented this price after he talked me "up" from pure invoice (I offered the 200 profit) and he went and brought back the sales manager after about 10 minutes. The sales manager gave me a lecture about how he wanted to keep the company-I-work-for's business (which is right next door to the dealership) and wanted good word of mouth and how he'd take my "$200" offer because blah blah blah and shook my hand and left. So the salesguy and I started drawing up the documents to actually order the car. I figured it was a done deal. Then he gets down to what price to write on the order form and says "OK, so it's *this* invoice plus $200 and..." and I said "Hold on. That price is not the same as the price we agreed on." So we go into this hassle about *his* invoice vs. *my* invoice,
where I allowed $200 for advertising fee, and his invoice had $303 plus another $6 for something-or-other.
So I said no, the price I was willing to pay is the one that *you* took into the sales manager, and the one he apparently agreed on. The salesguy says no, he "agreed" on $200 over invoice. *Their* invoice, apparently. I said no. I was kinda ticked -- other dealers had done this to me before -- have an informal agreement on a price, then at document signing time it's "Well of course there's this fee and that fee...".
So, I offered to pay his invoice plus $200 if he'd include a can of touch-up paint (which he agreed to) and a Toyota shop manual, since I would have bought these anyhow. He said no on the manual.
So I walked. Oh well. We'll see if he calls back, which he hasn't yet in two days.
Anyhow, lessons learned: There is a set "configuration" of 4x4 Extracab V6 Tacomas that are built and sent out to different regions. The one that our region gets the most of (30% of their allotment) is:
AA, CK, CQ, FD, and LX. It seems that if you "build" on an already preset configuration, you have a better chance of getting what you want. So my request would have been the above options, substituting VK for LX, and adding BM, CF, DH, HP, SR, and BL.
I'm going to call another dealer today to see if he'll meet the *first* price I had agreed on with the dealer yesterday. If so, I'll just order it from them.
That's it for now. The saga continues... :-)
I am in the same boat as you -- no clock in my Tacoma and have learned that I really need one. If anyone finds one, please post it here for us all.
Thanks,
Terry
Mandatory:
BU - Bucket seats (I hate split-bench)
CL - Cruise
DQ - Digital clock
OF - Off-Road Package
TW - Tilt wheel
Desired:
AB - ABS
DH - Towing hitch receiver
SE or SN - Special Edition Package (because it
includes a sliding rear window)
SR - Sun roof
ZU6 or ZU7 - Deluxe Sport Package (because it
includes chrome side step rails)
Other:
BM - Body side moldings
HP - Hood protector (aka bug deflector)
MF - Mud guards or mud flaps as the code
suggests
So far I have been unable to locate any 99 PreRunner so equipped.
Anyone with any thoughts about any of these combinations?
Regardless, it would help you to know what "packages" the dealer in your area usually get, and "build" on those - by adding options, etc. In my area, the most popular package (30% of trucks) is AA,CK,CQ,FD,LX. The AB option apparently is only available on certain trucks, mostly with the TRD package. Other options, like body molding, hood protection, mud guards, tow hitch, are "port installed" options, meaning that they are installed after the truck leaves the factory. It is sometimes cheaper and better quality to get these at an aftermarket place. I'm going to have a sunroof, hood protector and tow hitch installed locally here, becuase it's about the same price as dealer invoice, and they have a lifetime warranty instead of 3 years.
If you decide to still order a truck with these options, be prepared to have Toyota say "no" to your order. It seems that the dealer, unless they have a lot of clout, has little influence in getting a specific truck for a customer.
I got what I believe to be the deal of the century on my 5 Speed 1999 Tacoma 4x4 Extra Cab (4 cylinder). The options i got were the standard SR5 package, the tilt steering wheel which includes intermittent wipers, an over the rail bedliner and the 4 piece floormats. The invoice price on all of that is 18,348 with the shipping. The MSRP being 20,581. I paid a cool 18,144 after the 800 dollar Toyota customer rebate (which expired 1/4). Plus they gave me 650 for my old Nissan truck, which was in shambles, I expected not a penny over 300 for it. So I got more than 200 off the invoice price. I accomplished this by walking twice and having the salesman call me back both times. My original offer was 300 below invoice. I settled on 204 below invoice. I had one thing going in my favor. Massachusetts toyota dealers seem to stocked solid with Tacomas so he was eager to deal. One note on the clock on stereo thing. The stock SR5 stereo cassette (with cd changer controls) is made by CLarion and is a better than adequate system once you replace all 4 speakers (I reccommend JBL or Infiniti if you cant afford Bose), I think it sounds rather excellent for my needs (im beyond my "booming system" days) so long as you replace the paper mache crap they put in for speakers. So a new stereo just to get a clock is unreasonable. Help me Obi-Wan, I need a damm clock ! PS - Im currently doing research on whether or not there is a after-market CD Changer compatible with the Toyota/Clarion system.
P.S. If you really want a clock, I'll trade my 1995 4X2 for your 4X4. I'll even throw in a full tank of gas!
Terry
PS Thanks for the info on the speakers.
Also, has anyone heard if the 2001 Tacoma extended cab will definitely have the extra door option available? Thanks!
You are at Edmond's. This is the place to get the invoice price. Just got to the new truck site here and you will find the info. It's FREE! Good luck!
I'm helping the outlaws (inlaws) to purchase a 99
4cyl k-cab 2 weel drive Tacoma. As you all know most trucks come fairly equipped.
Chrome Package
Convenience package
and all that stuff.
Where I need your help is how much should we expect to pay, and are there any rebates going on
at the present time. We are going this Sunday to
buy it and even though is Super Bowl Sunday I don't want to rush into a bad deal.
Please help.....
jd
Also, is the 26/29 for an empty bed or assuming you have weight in the back? Someone once told me that with an empty bed you would want more weight on the front tires because there is comparitively more weight up front in that situation (the engine). Thanks for any help, or direction to another topic that will help answer this question.
Terry
2 Reasons its not...
1) Resale price - do your homework - Resale Value on a Ford from 4 years ago is about 20 to 25 % less than that of a four year old tacoma...which transitions nicely to point 2
2) Longterm Reliability - Taking a ford over 100,000 miles without MAJOR costs is HIGHLY unlikely - Taking a TACOMA over 100,000 miles is routine. Again, I researched this one as well.
These were the two major reasons I paid about 2,000 more to get a Toyota.
Since you did some research on this stuff, I was wondering if you know how the Tacoma stacks up against the Nissan Frontier on those two things.
Thanks.
Bought a 98 Tacoma Xcab V6 SR5 in June 98. I love it . I tried AutoByTel, and the service was great, but the dealership they hooke dme up with SUCKED! The price was right, but they low balled the trade. I went to a another dealership and got a better price and $1000.00 more for my trade. I had to haggle but it was worth it. I tried complaining to autoBytel via email, but nothing became of it. Either way i love my Tacoma,and most of all love that it will be worth more than a Dodge, Chevy, or Ford when i sell it for a 4Runner in a couple years.
-wsn