Roody

Hi everybody! I'm 16 years old and deciding between the new Tacoma (V6)and the FJ Cruiser. I will be buying new. I need a vehicle that: will last a long time, is safe, gets relatively good gas mileage, and is easy to modify. I love how the FJ looks, but I'm not sure whether or not it's the right one for me. The only reason I'm considering the Tacoma is because it weighs less, which means it gets better gas mileage, and I will be towing a trailer full of quads. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks!

Elton

it all depends on how your going to use it everyday

tc

16 and going to get a $25k - $30k truck and want to modify it?

Damn, I must've grown up in the wrong era...

My advice is look for something about 5 yrs old and put the $$$ difference towards college.

Any Toyota will meet your requirements.

Roody

The thing is that my dad won't let me drive his Avalanche cause of its size, & my mom is afraid I'll crash her Tahoe. My parents are contributing to the paying-off of the truck, and my grandparents are going to help me out a little, too. They all want me to get something I can drive for a long time and have no problems...that's why I'm getting a Toyota.

snap-on

Taco.... better visiblity for the young driver.
better utility
perhaps less insurance.

tc

Nowhere in there did I hear "new".

Get a used truck. Let someone else take the depreciation hit.

Speaking of getting hit, it's gonna happen. Repairs on an older truck will be less than a newer one, so insurance will be less, if you even choose to fix it.

I agree with the above - visibility out of the FJ is HORRIBLE and I would imagine the insurance companies charge you for it.

QuietGiant

I hate to sound like an old fart but, here it goes... I had three kids who are now 20-28 years old and I come from a family of eight. I am glad your parents and grandparents are able to buy you a new Toyota 4runner or FJ but, I can’t let this post slide…. I won't go into the whole "when I was a boy" routine but, because of my more recent experiences with my own children, I will give you a tip on how to thoroughly blow your parents (and grandparents ) minds. This will also give you a long range benefit you would otherwise never get a chance to explore. I will now show you how to prove to parents and grandparent’s alike how totally mature you are for your age.
Go to your parents and say the following:
“Folks, I have thought through the issue of buying a safe and reliable vehicle that will last a long time. As you know, I also want a vehicle that I feel excited about and would want to modify to my liking.” (You want to really pay attention here…) “I only want you to buy me an inexpensive first vehicle because:
A) Folks, although I will drive safer than a nun on the way to pick up the archbishop, the odds are, well, lets face it…the rig will be totaled within the first year. So, let’s keep the price tag reasonable. Let’s say around $6k… That will buy a nice “Classic” Blazer, Bronco, 2nd Gen 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Land Rover, etc…with all the bells and whistles. " (if you like bells and whistles).
B) “ I need you to put what you would have paid towards a newer and better vehicle towards a 529 college savings plan or equivalent for my education. If you do so, when I graduate from college, I will have the educational and life tools required (knowledge and a real diploma) that will allow me to make so much money that I can buy YOU a new car shortly after my graduation.”
After your parents pick themselves up off the floor, they will hug you and smother you with kisses and marvel at their totally awesome son. This will also soften the call that someday but ultimately will follow....
** 12:30AM on a beautiful Saturday morning... the call goes something like this… “Dad…This is your mature and loving son… First, I’m all right and nothing is broken but… the Land Rover is a little shorter than it was this morning”. Think it through…
My two cents… QuietGiant

Elton

why not buy a 96-98 tacoma you can get them pretty cheap

reggie 00

Go used take the time to really find that right truck. You can usually do more to older stuff, its easier on the pocket book, think about everyday costs, i.e insurance, gas, tune ups,ect. i agree education is the key to a happy ever after ending, at least get the money buy used and bank the rest for future projects, body repair ect. How many 16 yr olds do you know with 20k in the bank? make some interest on it and pay a good chunk of first year of school.

jmo

Roody

I'd love to get an early-gen Tacoma, but the crash test rating were horrible. That makes it a no-go.

Thinking this whole thing through, now, I'm going to start looking at used trucks. What trucks should I look at? If good gas mileage wasn't a problem, I'd go for an old Bronco or Blazer. This will likely become a hardcore trail-rig. My first option would be a Wrangler, but we had a 1989 YJ with 6" of lift and 33" Mud-Terrains, and all it did was cause problems....I've also heard the Wrangler does horrible in the crash-test ratings (is this true?). So now I'll list all the trucks I'll look at, and you guys can help me decide on which I should get: THANKS FOR THE HELP!

-Chevy S-10
-Chevy Avalanche --- I've seen them for around $10,000
-Chevy Blazer (old body style) --- What kind of mileage do they get?
-Chevy Colorado Ext Cab
-Chevy Silverado 2 door
-Dodge Ram 2 door
-Dodge Dakota
-Ford Bronco / Bronco II --- Again, the gas mileage problem?
-Ford F-150 2 door
-Jeep Liberty
-Jeep Grand Cherokee
-Jeep Scrambler
-Land Rover Defender --- They are expensive, though...right?
-Nissan Frontier
-Nissan Pathfinder
-Toyota 4Runner
-Toyota Tacoma Ext Cab
-Toyota Tundra 2 door
--Anything else?

Thanks a lot, everybody. Quiet Giant, that was a great post...

P.S. - Sorry for the extra-long post, again.

Sonofmayhem

Where in the hell did you see an avalanche for 10 grand? let me know we are looking for one. Stop worrying about crash ratings, just get an arb w/ all your money and a cage so you will be ok and i would get an older taco, good trucks and they look nice, w/ a JDM or ARB bumper. Also just dont drive like a dipÅÅÅÅ. Not trying to be rude, my parents were gonna get my a new taco for graduation, however i bought my runner and asked them to get me a yfz450, now my interests are back into trucks so im gonna get my truck set up instead of the atv.

Tanto

Well, I've seen some 01-04 Tacoma extra cabs go for around $11,000 if you can find a private seller. You might want to try looking at the used lots for dealerships like Ford or Chevy because some people trade in the Toyota for a Ford/Chevy/etc.

Just be sure to know exactly how to tell what features are on your new vehicle. Seems to be pretty common for a dealership to just slap on a TRD sticker and say it's the real deal when it's really not.

Also, if you're looking for a hard-core trail rig, why not look for an 01-04 regular cab Taco? The wheelbase on those is borderline Jeep wheelbase and you get the reliability of a Toyota in one package. Plus you seal your membership in YT

EDIT: Buying a new Tacoma doesn't work well on the trails. I did a run with 2 new Tacos and although they were modded out pretty good, they were just having problems at nearly every main obstacle because of their width and wheelbase. Just my $.02 on that issue.

STague

I don't think you can have BOTH a reliable car AND a "highly modified" car. It is my opinion that as soon as you start in with that cutting torch, or other random implement of destruction, you start to make a car less reliable...personal opinion.

Now, I do have to give my two cents and agree with quiet giant for different reasons. I think that new drivers should have beater cars for several reasons. First, a new driver is likely to stack it up within the first year. Second, I think that a new driver is at a point in his or her life where a broken car is not a catastrophe, but only an inconvienance. My first car had many problems, but looking back I am really glad that it was because it forced me to learn.

So, to sum up, new drivers should have crappy cars because they are at a point where they should be learning about how to fix and troubleshoot problems, but also have the convienance of not bieng totally reliant on having a car.

Roody

OK. I'm looking at used Tacomas, both the past-gen and current gen. I like the past-gen Ext. Cab, but I need to fit a 78" quad in the bed...is it gonna fit with the tailgate down?

Anyways, how much should I expect to pay for a past-gen Ext. Cab 4WD 6cyl?

tc

Check out www.ttora.com for all you ever want to know about Taco's

EWAYota

um, yeah. your looking at about 25-30 grand for a 10 year old vehicle.

Go used like everyone else has mentioned. Probably a used Taco is gonna be your best bet.


This is a 1994 that is at 28,000 right now and the reserve hasn't been met.




Someday!

Roody

Unbelieveable. Why do the Defenders cost so much?



TACOMA IT IS! I just have to decide what configuration I want. Thanks for the help, everybody!

Sonofmayhem

The 3.4 manual, w/ the TRD package, and an extra cab so it will be easier to fit your atv, i fit mine and the dirtbike in the back of my 85, but it was a bitch.

Elton

i drove a 2004 jeep liberty 3.7 4x4 for work a few times and it sucks theres no leg room at all .... my mom used to own a 2001 jeep grand cherokee 4.0 4x4 its was ok but i rather have a toyota as you can see from my sig