Minus a year that I had a Mazda3 hatch, and 2.5yrs in an Outback, I've had Tacomas since my senior year of high school.
99 SR5 V6 4x4 Xtra Cab in Imperial Jade Mica
05 same thing
08 TRD OR double cab Prerunner
15 TRD OR double cab 4x4
They've all served me well, and never left me wanting more. Until the 15. Got married a few years ago, and pretty much immediately traded my Prerunner in for a Subaru Outback. I was driving a lot more and took part ownership of my new wife's children. 2 boys, 5 and 7. The Outback did it's job...but...it was an Outback. What's more boring than a 10yr old model design (Tacoma)? An Outback.
So around Labor Day I traded that in towards another Tacoma. I loved it. It became very apparent, however, that the wife did not. The first day I was driving home we hit a rain storm. We had the boys with us, and all the luggage was in the bed. Bad start. But shit, I still loved it. And knew it wouldn't have to be babied.
But...you know...happy wife, happy life and all that...stuff....
I start looking at other options. I've wanted a 4Runner since about 2003-ish, but wasn't a fan of SUVs. Friends had Cherokees and the interior space just felt rather minuscule. Then one day, randomly browsing at a car lot I took notice to how much bigger the 4Runners had become. Not huge, but comparable to my Tacoma. Sweet.
Yadda yadda yadda, 2 months and a lot of stress later, I find a red Trail Premium that was kind of bargain basement cheap. E-mail with salesman a lot. Finally settle on numbers on a Saturday after closing. Monday morning I e-mail asking when to come up (dealer is about 70mi away). "It sold".
WTF.
He tells me he's going to keep his eyes open. I keep looking. Nothing fits like that one and I start to get kinda pissed. Low ball trade in offers, not budging from invoice. Nothing is working out.
A week later he e-mails me "Hey, here's one with the same build. Same price." I don't waste time. At $2k under invoice, it wouldn't last. This past Saturday, I picked it up.
2015 Trail Premium with aftermarket bird shit mod completed.
Stuck on Premium for the Softex seats. I didn't really care about the other bits it comes with, but with 2 kids and 2 dogs, I didn't want to continue using seat covers. I could've avoided a lot of the stress and gone with a regular 2016 Trail, which we much easier to find. I posted a response to one of the threads here asking if the Softex was worth that extra coin ($1000)...was promptly notified that 'one of the stupidest questions' this person has read on this site. Having the Softex now, I would say it was the right decision. The other 'upgrades' are nice, but the Softex...looks good, feels good, and easy to clean. Ask me how I know already.
So far everything is beyond expectation. My only grump is this:
It might be hard to see, 'cause it's hard to take a picture of. But it looks like 2 fingerprint smudges. I don't know if it's under the clear, or what, but they're not going away and it bugs the absolute crap out of me. I hate fingerprints. Exterior can be covered it dirt, and I wouldn't care. Fingerprints anywhere though, and I gotta clean them. It's one of my OCD issues.
Anywho, 'mods' and tweaks will be slow to come. I'll be throwing in some Husky Weatherbeaters, replacing the tires, and getting my Plasti Dip on. We'll see where it goes from there...roof rack is high on the priority list, though. I have a Yakima setup that I might put on in the meantime, I just don't like how much height it adds. This is a daily driver, and weekend vehicle. It's gotta be functional and convenient.
First order of real business will be rigging and chopping my Yakima roof rack to fit inside. My bike won't fit, but the wife's will. If the backseats would lay flat, I'd be good, but with that slight incline, it's a no go. Which is kind of a bummer, but livable.
So, that's my story. I'm just going to continue updating this to see where it goes.
99 SR5 V6 4x4 Xtra Cab in Imperial Jade Mica
05 same thing
08 TRD OR double cab Prerunner
15 TRD OR double cab 4x4
They've all served me well, and never left me wanting more. Until the 15. Got married a few years ago, and pretty much immediately traded my Prerunner in for a Subaru Outback. I was driving a lot more and took part ownership of my new wife's children. 2 boys, 5 and 7. The Outback did it's job...but...it was an Outback. What's more boring than a 10yr old model design (Tacoma)? An Outback.
So around Labor Day I traded that in towards another Tacoma. I loved it. It became very apparent, however, that the wife did not. The first day I was driving home we hit a rain storm. We had the boys with us, and all the luggage was in the bed. Bad start. But shit, I still loved it. And knew it wouldn't have to be babied.
But...you know...happy wife, happy life and all that...stuff....
I start looking at other options. I've wanted a 4Runner since about 2003-ish, but wasn't a fan of SUVs. Friends had Cherokees and the interior space just felt rather minuscule. Then one day, randomly browsing at a car lot I took notice to how much bigger the 4Runners had become. Not huge, but comparable to my Tacoma. Sweet.
Yadda yadda yadda, 2 months and a lot of stress later, I find a red Trail Premium that was kind of bargain basement cheap. E-mail with salesman a lot. Finally settle on numbers on a Saturday after closing. Monday morning I e-mail asking when to come up (dealer is about 70mi away). "It sold".
WTF.
He tells me he's going to keep his eyes open. I keep looking. Nothing fits like that one and I start to get kinda pissed. Low ball trade in offers, not budging from invoice. Nothing is working out.
A week later he e-mails me "Hey, here's one with the same build. Same price." I don't waste time. At $2k under invoice, it wouldn't last. This past Saturday, I picked it up.
2015 Trail Premium with aftermarket bird shit mod completed.
Stuck on Premium for the Softex seats. I didn't really care about the other bits it comes with, but with 2 kids and 2 dogs, I didn't want to continue using seat covers. I could've avoided a lot of the stress and gone with a regular 2016 Trail, which we much easier to find. I posted a response to one of the threads here asking if the Softex was worth that extra coin ($1000)...was promptly notified that 'one of the stupidest questions' this person has read on this site. Having the Softex now, I would say it was the right decision. The other 'upgrades' are nice, but the Softex...looks good, feels good, and easy to clean. Ask me how I know already.
So far everything is beyond expectation. My only grump is this:
It might be hard to see, 'cause it's hard to take a picture of. But it looks like 2 fingerprint smudges. I don't know if it's under the clear, or what, but they're not going away and it bugs the absolute crap out of me. I hate fingerprints. Exterior can be covered it dirt, and I wouldn't care. Fingerprints anywhere though, and I gotta clean them. It's one of my OCD issues.
Anywho, 'mods' and tweaks will be slow to come. I'll be throwing in some Husky Weatherbeaters, replacing the tires, and getting my Plasti Dip on. We'll see where it goes from there...roof rack is high on the priority list, though. I have a Yakima setup that I might put on in the meantime, I just don't like how much height it adds. This is a daily driver, and weekend vehicle. It's gotta be functional and convenient.
First order of real business will be rigging and chopping my Yakima roof rack to fit inside. My bike won't fit, but the wife's will. If the backseats would lay flat, I'd be good, but with that slight incline, it's a no go. Which is kind of a bummer, but livable.
So, that's my story. I'm just going to continue updating this to see where it goes.
