I had this truck...1995 4x4 regular cab 5 speed 4 cylinder. I would get a sticky lifter (i think) every now and then. I could not predict when it would happen, but when it would it was super annoying, and then it would go away...a week would go by it would come back. The truck ran great and was awesome in the snow, it had manual locking hubs so I had to get out to engage them and then pull the 4x4 lever to get it into 4x4. I ended up selling it in 2008 when the clutch needed replaced. I bought a 4 door sedan because I needed reliable transportation and a/c, the summers here in NE Ohio can get pretty warm. About three years ago I picked up a 1988 Toyota Tacoma 2wd 4 cyl. I love that truck, it is super small, but it runs amazing, and it only has 59K on it, bought it with 42K. The bed is a little rusty, but so far the frame is ok (knock on wood). I drive it whenever I can and for being only 2wd it is so low to the ground that it does a decent job in the snow, you just have to know how to drive it and its fine. Good luck with the nissan. Get the timing chain replaced if it has not been done yet, and if it starts ticking take a good look at those lifters. -Jack
I think truck owners are collectively the worst "optimists" when it comes to judging fuel efficiency. If you go to Fuelly.com, though you get a decent spread of numbers that come close to reality. You have to toss out the ones where the user had entered one or two entries, and figured out that he didn't like where the numbers were headed, quit lying, and gave up. Stick to the datapoints that have lots of history...many users w/ many fill-ups tracked. Those are the ones that provide credible feedback. For the Taco, on average, the number's somewhere just slightly north of 18mpg, if I were to guess--which is pretty impressive, in my books.
I averaged 18-18.5 MPG in a 3.4L V-6 4x4 ext cab w/5spd trans at sea level on the highway. The funny thing is my 2.7 single cab prerunner got about the same as did my 4.0 V6 4th Gen 4runner (2wd). Here in Colorado I can squeak out 20mpg on the highway in my 4.7L V-8 Jeep Grand Cherokee even in fulltime 4wd! So I wouldn't distrust 21mpg...
Very nice truck sir! That WILL be my next truck. I test drove an '13 Access Cab TRD about 2 weeks ago and LOVED it. I almost bought a '12 FJ this summer but it didn't pan out. There is no reason for me not to buy a truck next year. I will be debt free, including housing by Feb next year and I get a truck allowance to boot. I need a tax write off as well as 4x4 for some of these lease roads. What has been holding me back is that my 2004 2wd, 4cyl Taco is paid for and I really don't want the payment. As other guys here in the oilfield have said, you can spend the money on a truck or hand it to the IRS, so I think I'm going to daydream about my future Tacoma and pull the trigger after March '13 on new or nearly new.. I will keep my current truck as a backup..
I have been truck shopping for a while(6 months +) and had it narrowed down to a FJ cruiser a tacoma or a Frontier. I LOVED the FJ, I really wanted one but for the ease of hauling a bike and throwing gas, chain saws etc... in the bed I went with the truck. I really dont like a fullsize although I could have bought a new reg cab 5.7 Tundra for less than a used Taco. I just cant deal with the 14mpg. All signs pointed to a Tacoma. I looked and looked, used prices in my area are ridiculous, dealers wont budge off MSRP on new ones. I was told at 3 dealers, if you wont pay MSRP the next guy will. They literally cant keep them on the lot. The tacomas are nice trucks but they are grossly under sprung in the rear, 2 leaves plus an overload. 12-13 went to a 4 leaf pack. Keep in mind the reg cab and access cab are built in Texas. The FJ is built in Japan and the Double cab tacomas are built in Mexico. I really wanted a DC, the mexico factor was the deal breaker for me. I ended up with a 11' crew cab Frontier. Very solid little truck and its still a little truck. It shares the frame and rear axle with the Titan. All titan front end parts swap in directly as well as the stronger front diff. They are built in TN. It has a peppy v6 and a locking rear diff. So far i like it, it drives good and still feels like a truck. Im guessing 17-18mpg with my commute which is all 2 lane back roads. In the long run the Taco will hold its value better but initial cost on the Nissan was about $6k less than the taco equivalent in my area. Nissan has a steel bed and spray in bed liner, taco is composite. canyon/colorados are junk. 10-11' rangers are still $23-25k in my area good luck
You'd probably do better than 14mpg overall in a regular cab 5.7 Tundra. My DC with a small lift, a super-charger, and big-meat tires gets about 14 around town and will do 16 on the highway, so a regular cab with more standard tires ought to beat that. The one thing I didn't like about my '08 Taco was the plastic bed. It isn't a liner, it's the bed, a plastic tub set in a metal exterior frame. I wanted to install a Thule or Yakima rack for hauling canoes and kayaks, and couldn't find one to fit. The Tundra has a metal bed and I had it Line-Xd soon after I bought it, and am very glad I did as it has seen some rough useage and the Line-X is great stuff, has a few scuffs but protects very very well. And I was able to fit a rack system without any difficulty.
fuck fuck fuckity fuck the bar is set low for todays trucks. 19mpg is "great" and $30000 is "cheap". fuck ! how in fucks name could any auto maker not make you jizz your pants for a truck with this mindset of expectations ?
You can get a basic 4wd regular-cab Taco with the 4cyl engine new for about $20K, a couple grand less in 2wd configuration. Most people are not content with regular-cab anymore, however, and don't like having to roll up windows manually. I'm old enough to remember when almost all pickups were regular-cab. People's expectations regarding what they "need" have changed to the manufacturer's advantage, to be sure. But yes, mileage of the smaller trucks is not all that much better than full-sized although someone did a pretty interesting annual fuel cost comparison earlier in this thread which was impressive in showing how much just a few more mpg can save a guy over a period of time.
its ridiculous really. A totally loaded double cab tacoma with the txt stuff stickers for $39k. You can get a v8 ext cab silverado for about $25k. Brand new FJ cruisers are $33-36k depending on options. In my area the tacomas/FJ's will average 17-18mpg, the chevy about 23-24. I really wanted a new Jeep rubicon until i read about the bad heads. 4 door Rubicon is over $45k, 2 door is 38k, for a fucking jeep. In 1995 you could drive a brand new Wrangler off the lot for under $14k. New car prices are fucking outrageous. I have a lot of friends with Newer Tundras, no one gets more than 15mpg as a DD even with the reg cab. Lots of short steep hills around here has the auto shifting constanting. I will keep my fingers crossed that I can get 18-20mpg out of the Frontier. Shit my 99 Cherokee with the 4.0/5spd and 185k miles on it still averages 19.7, thats with a little lift and slightly bigger tires.
Agreed. When my 2000 POS Tundra finally dies I will fly to the west coast to buy a rust free 1st gen Tacoma. I miss our old one and it's the only option available in the US for compact and acceptable mileage.
? The Chevy Colly & GMC CanYa are smaller than the Dakota. I have a 2WD 4 cylinder ExtraCab Canyon and this morning's fill calculated to 23.5, even after a weekend of sitting idling, hauling heavy loads, and my son (Leadfoot) making 75+mph runs to Home Depot and the dump. I'll sure acknowledge that the interior and features are sparse when compared to the Jap trucks. But between that and being discontinued, the things are massively cheap by comparison. I recently bought my very clean 2007 for $6900 to be a reliable hauler, not for high society.
i shopped for an 03-04 tacoma for months. Since the frame recall the damn things are made of gold. a 03-04 ext cab or double cab v6 4x4 with 170k miles on it are still bringing 16-18k around here. I never did find one with less than 120k on it. I just couldnt bring myself to buy a 9 year old truck with that many miles on it for that much money. They are very good trucks and 120k is relatively low on a 3.4 taco. My dad drives an 02 taco ext cab v6 auto with 280k miles on it(company truck). He averages about 21mpg with it. I really wanted an 04 double cab, but they are the holy grail around here, most are around 20k if they are in great shape.
I bought a 2008 Tacoma ext cab, 6 speed, loaded (E-locker rear differential). Drove it for two years and did not care for it. It was a fun ride and it was decent off-road, but it really didn't like working... I realize this kind of criticism of a Tacoma is considered blasphemy in most circles, but it was my experience. Traded it in on a 2011 Ford Ranger with the 4.0 and I could not be happier. Ranger is smaller and loves to work hard. It does really well off-road for a IFS truck with no locker out back. Got it for a steal too. I would compare it technologically to the previous generation of Tacoma (1992-2002?), but I still prefer it over the newer generation Tacoma. YMMV; good luck with your decision. As long as you don't need to work it very much, I'm sure you would be happy with a new Tacoma; I think their resale values are the highest in the mid-size truck category too.
$14k 1995 dollars == $21.3k 2012 dollars. MSRP for a brand new wrangler is just over $22k, so it sounds pretty comparable.
the 87 GMC S-15 i just got running I have around $1200 in it. 19mpg on the first tank of half crap that was left in the tank for a few years and half fresh gas. I plain to mod it some and put a hydrogen system on it. I hope to get 28+mpg out of it. I had to rebuild the motor but I dont have to make payments and I still have my 97 GMC 1500 when i need a bigger truck. I like old tech. I can work on it and save myself all kinds of money. the day i brought it home with a knocking motor and the rubber tube in the tank eaten by ethanol not letting it bump gas to the motor. I plain to do work to it over the next year to get more gas millage out of it and make it look nice again,
