I bought my truck last year, used obviously. I have my reasons why I chose a Toyota (there are too many), but I'm interested in yours.

I'm especially interested in this: If you bought your truck or 4runner/SUV when it was new, and what made you choose it over the competition at the time? What did you think of the competition if you gave it a fair evalutation? Give some examples, etc.

For example in 1989 The new Toyota pickup won the first Motor trend truck of the year. What did it have to compare to back then?

If you bought it "way back when," what has made you stay with it other than say perhaps, finanances, etc. Is it because you don't like the new offerings, or you're just waiting for something, or you just plain old like like it?

 

I stumbled into my first one through dumb luck, but walking away from the accident in the picture is why I bought another one:

 

I wanted an older 4x4 vehicle and I wanted to be different. I also of course was only willing to settle for a quality vehicle, Toyota 4Runner fit the bill.

There are hardly any 2nd gens around Canton, actually, on any given day I am more likely to see more H1's or Izuzu Vehicrosses than 2nd gens.

Lamm

 

i always liked toyotas, i bought a rusty old '84 2wd for $800 when i was 17. much more power than my S10 and less irritating problems(although they were both dead reliable).

since then i've had 2 other trucks, both of which i still own. after the recent problems i've been having i'm almost ready to buy a chevy or a ford though...

 

My family has always owned Toyotas and they've done us well.

I was in the market for a truck, specifically a 5spd. I waited a long time before I found a local 4Runner 5spd for sale and jumped on it. I'll run this one until it's junk.

Apart from the minor maintenance issues that come with a truck nearly 10yrs old, it seems mostly bullet-proof and I've found it easy to wrench on. It's comfortable, handles well on/off road and provides for a good balance. I've never been interested in purchasing new vehicles and hate to think what I'll replace this with in the future. Which, won't be any time soon hopefully...

 

For me it was watching friends and relatives drive them forever with no where near the trouble my dad had buying american. When my dads 1 year old Bronco is a bigger pain than my uncles 2wd pu with 300k + there is a problem. I finally decided I deserved to have it good too.

 

My dad bought my truck new in 1990. He had always had Chevrolets, but after a little bad luck with a new one, he started studying consumer reports and reviews. He liked the ratings for the air conditioning, transmission, and overall reliability of Toyotas.

I've been driving it about 10 years now, and when I go home to visit, a comment is always passed about how good it is.

 

My dad used to own an '87 4runner, and I loved that thing growing up. I felt like the coolest kid in the world getting dropped off at school in that truck, especially when he had her topless. I promised myself I would get a toyota. He ended up trading the 1st gen for a 2nd gen. That 4runner was great as wll. After he had to sell the 4runner in favor of a chevy tahoe because of purchasing a camping trailer and the 4runner being a little too gutleess, he had nothing but problems with that thing. He still owns it, but at just over 130,000km, it doesn't look like it is going to last much longer. That, and then seeing my buddy's totalled 4runner after they hit a logging truck at highway speeds, and the only injury in the truck being a broken leg and some whiplash. That basically made me a toyota guy for life.

 

My buddy had a 3rd gen 4Runner. I liked it so much I went out and bought one. Diddnt even consider any other trucks.

 

Knew people whole had ones that were super reliable, liked looks, and reputation, so got my first new truck (tacoma) in 2002 and in about 2 weeks my new tacoma will be here. i will probly always own a toyota truck!!!

 

first toyota & car was a 72 Crown - that thing was sweet. then a civic - OK. The a 85 Celica - went like a bat out of hell when I modded it - could keep up with a 5L mustang till about 160km/hr, then I would pull away. 85 Truck at the same time - Saved my life on the highway in an accident - the cops said I should have been dead - & I walked away. T-Boned a S-10 doing 90km/hr, almost cut his truck in half (he was drunk & sideways stopped on the highway). So traded the 94 celica for the runner - plowed snow with it, hauled bobcats, trailers, bet the tar aout of it & was t-boned by an 85 year old guy (wife was 6 mo pregnant), We walked away & it swayed upright even with me cranking the whell doing 80. $7,000 damage. Still have the same truck. After those 2 accidents my dad bought a toyota for the first time in his life. I will never own anything but after it saved my life.

 

I had a regular cab 1994 Ford F150. I told myself I would keep it forever. Then I got married and had a kid, and then one more on the way. Couldn't see myself with 2 car seats in the front of the truck.

Couple of thoughts went through my mind:
1)extended cab domestic ...I didn't have the funds
2) Domestic SUV...I knew it would be junk

Then divine intervention. I was driving to my inlaws and happened to see a 1st Gen for sale on the side of the highway. I had forgotten all about those and hadn't seen one in a loooooooooong time. I was hooked. Unfortunately it didn't have the backseat, so the search was on and a couple weeks later my F150 was sold for ~$4000 and I got a 1st Gen for $2200.

 

I bought mine from a neighbor. It was not untill I used 4 wheel drive, that i started to t like toyota!

Then after going through forums i realized they are the best!

 

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...324#post665324

 

My dad had three Toy trucks while I was growing up. My first car was the family Camry. Not long after I got my first Toy 4wd, an 82 (I loved that thing, and wheeled the daylights out of it), then I got an 86 4wd Hilux, traded that in on a 99 Tacoma 4wd, and then traded that for my 03 D-Cab. Unfortunately, my dad went turncoat and got a 05 Titan. (It is a pretty cool truck... )

 

I'd had a couple of old Jeeps (66 Wagoneer and 67 Commando), But I decided that I wanted a small truck, so that I could have a more useful (to me) 4x4. I started looking around at what I saw on the road, in terms of old mini trucks. The few Nissans that I saw looked OK, and the S-10's and Rangers that I saw looked like they were about to die. The best sounding and looking old trucks that I saw were all Toyotas.

The reason I was looking at old trucks was that I tend to get a vehicle and run it until it dies, with the maitenance to prolong the life as long as I can. I bought my '90 from a guy that had put 40,000 highway miles on it in 91. I'm hoping to have it back on the road by fall, with a 3.4 doing the work!

 

Learn to drive in a Volvo 340 and a Corolla K20, prefered the Corolla.

Had a 2nd Gen Surf (4Runner) some years back, choosen coz I reckoned it was the best looking 4x4 around, plus as they're not officially sold in Ireland, have a nice rarity value.

Needed to change my Jag for something with more carrying ability, and wanted a diesel that could readily run on a high percentage of vegetable oil.

Reasearch on veg-oil pointed towards Toyotas (amongst others), my excellent experience with my 2nd Gen meant that this time around I'd have to try a 3rd Gen Surf (4Runner), plus once again its an unusual vehicle on the roads here, its always nice to drive something a little unusual - I've not been dissapointed

 

ive always been surrounded by yotas...truck wise anyway. i knew they were tough, reliable, and capable. my friend threw his gf's taco in the lake. whole front end + cabin was filled. after all necessary checks & issues were resolved, it started shortly after. i had a 91 4runner and it was creeping up on 400,000 KM. my buddy now has it and has well over 420K. pondered a pathfinder but that passed. had a stint with a heep, but i always knew they were crap. and it was...

now with kids and gear to haul around for trips, i didnt even give a 2nd thought of what to buy. 3rd gen 4R. a 98 bought in '02. wanted something newer but old enough not feel so bad about bangin' up in the trails. im hoping to have it long enough to give to my daughter...in about 14 years hopefully it will be sas'd by then haha

i think domestic is garbage. maybe brand new theyre OK for a year..no more. they just dont do it for me in the 'touchy feely' dept. and really...if you dont think toyota has built the best looking trucks...you need your eyes checked.

oh and ive found that toys have the best resale value...

 

I needed a 4x4 to haul me up the mountains to go boarding or camping, fishing, hiking, etc. Being pretty young at the time and being mostly into old muscle cars I didnt know much about 4x4's. I went shopping one day and was looking at 4x4's almost bought one of them little dodge ram 4x4's. Actualy thinking back it seemed like a pretty solid little truck compared to the giant steaming pile of crap that I bought.It was a 1986 Ford Ranger long box 4x4. What a huge mistake. The damn thing broke down at every oppurtunity. It was the usual list at first. Alternator, Water Pump, Fuel Filter, fouled plugs, cracked distributor. The clutch went 2 weeks after buying it. Pulled out the tranny and notice all kinds of bits of semi circular metal that have flat spots on them as if they have been rubbing on something.I then remove the pressure plate and I am staring at the clutch friction disc with the words "this side towards engine" staring me in the face. Intersting I think to myself I am only 21 I have had more breasts in my hands than wrenches and even I could figure that one out. Even I know which direction the engine is in. I look a little closer and see where the semi circular pieces of what looks like springs came from. You guessed it the anti vibration springs in the hub of the friction disc have been rubbing on the inside of the recessed section of the flywheel. fortunately it did not damage the bolt heads so the fly wheel came off but the surface of the flywheel was gouged from the pieces of spring that came flying out of the center of the friction plate. A trip to the scrap yard over off Scott Road in Surrey and a few hours with a breaker bar and a hot wrench and I had myself a flywheel real cheap. Good to go I am thinking. A few hours under the truck and I am back in business ready to lock up them hubs and go wheeling. This is a ford did I say lock the hubs. I owned the truck for a year and bought up just about every used ford ranger hub in the greater Vancouver area rebuilt many of them numerous times and I am still not 100% certain that the hubs ever locked. And that backing up to engage the hub thing what the hell is that.

Idling issues. That damn truck never ever idled correctly. When the engine was cold it would idle real slow as soon as the truck warmed up it was like the choke was on and would not idle below 1500 rpm. It was in the dealer twice for that problem and I spent 600 bucks on diagnosis and a valve adjustment which i think now was just BS cause they had to do something. The dealer never did fix the problem and just like me had no clue in the world how to repair a computer controlled carburator. I didnt even know there was such a thing till I bought Henry Fords Curse. I do know that I dont think many dealer part changers were given much training on the things. Looking back now and knowing what I know about automotive diagnostics now I am sure that with me and my trusty Fluke meter could figure out the issue. Back then I was as green as the grass and thought the dealer can fix it they are the experts. Little did I know it is usual the dealer diagnostic equipment that is the expert and the computer tells the part changer what part to throw out. I didnt even realize that automotive diagnostics among mechanics was a dying art form.

The list goes on. Freinds dog chewed up all the wiring that it could reach while the truck was up on Jack stands in his garage. That took weeks of scrounging junk hyards to come up with all the harnesses. But one day a good friend said to me why are you always wasting your time wrenching on that truck why dont you get rid of it and buy a real 4x4. A real 4x4 who was this guy kidding look under that truck there is a transfer case and drive shaft going to the front of that technologicly advanced double I beam Independent front suspension. I have a real 4x4. Man was I ever pissed. A real 4x4 my ass. Then he said my dad is into Toyota 4x4 and I grew up with Toyota Trucks and they are the best. He starts listing off the attributes of the Toy trucks and that started my interest in Toys. Next week I did some searching and figured out that I wanted an SUV because I usualy have a few friends that need to get up to whistler on powder days. I wanted my dog inside with me as well and an SUV made sense so since I now had to have a Toy and wanted an SUV the 4runner was the only option for me. I love driving a stick so had to have five speed I hate AC and power windows, locks, etc as they are just more crap to break and fix. I had to have a rear tire carrier. I searched for about 6 months before I found my baby with all the No Options I wanted. I am going to keep that 4runner forever and hope to one day give it to my daughter complete with an SAS. She will have the baddest ass truck in her high school parking lot. By that time the old man here will hopefully be comfy in a FJ.

Cypressdog

 

I loved my removable roof, I'm a big summer chillout-and-go-on-roadtrips-with-friends kind of guy, so I figured it would be cool. Unfortunately I bought it in the fall, and I would take it off if it weren't snowing(whistler)/raining(vancouver) so much, so I gotta wait...

Also loved the whole durability and bulletproofness of toyotas that I hear so much about it. Although so far I have been plagued with running into things problems: i've backed into a rock with my door and into a wall with my left taillight. I don't mind running into stuff if it means that problems will be averted from more critical things on it

Oh, and it was a really good price