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I was thinking of possibly buying an older, less expensive and therefore more affordable Toyota Tacoma or Hilux pickup truck. Are there particular model years of Toyota Tacoma and Hilux pickup trucks to look for and avoid and engines to look for and avoid? Perhaps certain years that are best bargains right now? (i.e. lowest cost and highest reliability?). I'd like one with 4-wheel drive and an extended cab and an automatic transmission. I'm not sure if diesel engines were ever offered in them, but if they were, I'd lean towards one of those as well.
About how much money would a 2004 and older example go for in good running condition? (I don't care about cosmetics all that much, just a well maintained truck in good running mechanical order).
Hey, Punchy, you didn't answer my question. Where can you buy Hillux in USA?
Also, seriously. Those are the best trucks ever. I see them as old as dirt still running around here.
I have a 2002 Tacoma PreRunner DoubleCab with 284k miles on it. I bought it from a friend a few years ago as an extra vehicle and use it mainly on weekend trips to Home Depot or whenever I need to haul something. He was buying a new RAM pickup and they wouldn't offer more than $2,200 trade-in even though it had a KBB Trade-in Value of over $5k at the time. I paid him $3500 for it.
He bought it new and religiously maintained it. It has the 2.7L 4-cylinder and 4-speed automatic, not the speediest combination, but it is adequate. It has the original engine and transmission and has never had any major problems. It still drives great even with almost 300k miles on it. It doesn't burn/use any oil between oil changes and the transmission shifts are quick and smooth.
The first generation (1995-2004) Tacomas have reliability that is almost legendary. The second gen (2005-2015) is much the same. I don't think you can go wrong with any well-maintained examples you find.
You have to be kidding me. All those trucks with bad Dana chassis have had their frames replaced under warranty. Absolutely no issue anymore.
Yes, Dana screwed up for a couple of years. Affected only US made trucks. Toyota stood by their truck and replaced the frames at great cost. Seems like serious customer focus, rare for a car company.
Not sure where the OP Lives but I would buy any Toyota Pickup / Tacoma / HiLux that has been well maintained (with records). The 1990's pickup trucks are smaller. The new trucks (now called Tacoma) have grown with each new model. All are exceptionally reliable and will go just about forever, maintained or not.
I for one like the 1990-1995 extended cab, long bed, 4x4 trucks myself. Especially the V6 with either auto or manual transmission. Perfect package.
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