It'll be a daily driver car and on weekends just to go out in the desert will be what its used for. Problem is difference in price from years. I can get a lower miled 08 frontier for the same price as an 04-05 tacoma. Is either superior then the other?

Tacoma is superior and fetches a wickedly high price in used market.

Frontier is a fine truck too from what I have heard and read.

All used smaller trucks are in tight supply and command especially high prices these days.

Its so bad that it may now be a better overall value to buy new and keep the truck for a quarter million miles ?

For some reason the first 75,000 miles is always a more reliable experience than the second owners 75,000 miles.



BB

I seriously cannot find a new body styled tacoma for less than 18,000! why are they so expensive? I found an 08 frontier with 40,000 miles for 15,000.

My dad bought a Tundra and sold his 05 Tacoma to my brother. He looked them up online and tacoma's with more miles than his (30k) were selling for 20k. He gave it to him for 16k.

Edited by 06gixxer1k, 26 March 2012 - 12:57 PM.

Buy the 3-4 year newer truck every time.

Yeah i'd be buying the frontier. It's still a lot better than a ranger or colorado. If I was paying 20k for a used little pickup with 30k or more miles on it i'd be buying new especially since you could probably get a very nice new one for 27k or less. Keep it for a quarter million miles or you can sell it with 100k miles for more than half of what you bought it for.

Edited by 79yamdt, 26 March 2012 - 02:25 PM.

whyre the rangers and colorados no good. This is my dads truck that will be a work/fun truck and he hates buying new

Tacoma.

There is a reason they are more expensive...you get what you pay for. I will take my 03' to the grave....and probably only needing oil changes and timing belts till then.

are nissans just not good quality?

Tony477g, on 26 March 2012 - 03:32 PM, said:

I have a 07 Nissan Titan with 45K miles. No issues. None. I think they're a fine vehicle but I'm heavily biased. Heavily.

At some point you have to revisit the possibility  of (gulp )    say a chevy colorado 4x4 once the price differential becomes too extreme.

But it would seem even used Colorado's are too high (IMHO).

This place thinks it can get close to 16k$  for 2005 Colorado with over 50k on the clock.

Thats why if the budget allows it, go new, take good care of it, and drive it until yer close to  300k.

Someone will still pay good money for a Tacoma with 300k on the clock.



BB

very true BB, the lowest price for a tacoma ive found today was 5700 for an 01! They just dont lower in price!

Tacoma FTMFW!

I got a GMC canyon,  small truck, 4 doors,  3.5L inline 5cyl engine,  thing is pretty damn good,  2005,  never a single issue,  good on gas and rides excellent,   these are much more affordable then the tacomas,  lots of them on CL.  nothing fancy,  but its been a solid little truck.

Im really happy with mine.

Edited by 150ron, 30 March 2012 - 11:10 AM.

I've got an 05 Frontier with 135000 on it with no major issues.  I did a TON of research between the Frontier and Tacoma before I bought mine in 06.  Reliability is about the same, tow ratings the same, dimensions, mileage, engine, overall quality....all about the same.  I think the only reason the Tacoma holds it's value is Toyota's name.  In no way is the Tacoma superior to the Frontier.  Back when I was looking I was ready to lay down the extra $2-3k for a Tacoma since I liked the outside and interior looks better, but driving them made the difference for me.  The Tacoma has a nice engine, and handles ok, but the Frontier engine just sounds awesome and loves to rev (It's based on the 350Z engine).  Same with the handling...the Tacoma is ok, but my Frontier likes to be thrown into a corner and thrashed on the backroads.  So if you are a more aggressive driver get the Frontier hands down in my opinion.  The best way for me to summarize the two is the Tacoma has the heart of a Camry (nothing wrong with Camry's...they're just a little boring).  The Frontier has the heart of a 350Z.

I came from 3 Rangers before, and the Ranger is outdated.  It's underpowered even with the 4.0 V6, smaller, and I spent a lot more time under the hood on all 3 of mine.

My room mate had an 07 Colorado, same specs as mine (Crew cab, off-road 4X4 package) which I drove a decent amount.  It was an ok truck, but really wasn't in the same class as the Tacoma or Frontier.  The 5 cylinder engine was strong enough, but you could tell there wasn't the attention to detail as with the other two.   Fit and finish wasn't as good.  The dash was also lit up like a christmas tree with error lights after only 25k miles.  The tow rating was pretty low too compared to the Japanese trucks.

I don't think you can go wrong with either a Frontier or Tacoma.  Both are great trucks and very similar.  Luckily for me the one I ended up liking more after test driving 3 of each was the cheaper one.  And with the prices Tacomas are going now I wouldn't buy one at all if you can get a Nissan that much cheaper.

Tony477g, on 26 March 2012 - 03:19 PM, said:

It's like a two seperate categories. The ranger and colorado just aren't in the same class as the tacoma and frontier. The ranger is an old design with a pathetic 4.0 as it's big engine option. Colorado's just aren't that impressive either the 5cyl isn't that great some do have the little 5.3 which is just about overkill, why can't they just put a decent v6 in the thing? The fit and finish are just sub par compared to the imports, which may be okay for a work truck but for a play truck I'd want something that's nice on the inside. My friend has a '97 4.0 ranger, it's okay but it's basically the same truck the sell today or sold. They stopped production of this model I think, and the ranger model they sell to the rest of world isn't coming here unfortunately. There's a reason why the American ranger isn't sold worldwide and it's not because it's so amazing they would sell too many and not be able to keep up with production.

Edited by 79yamdt, 30 March 2012 - 09:53 AM.

the supercharged frontiers are sick

TACOMA, no question about it

I have a 2003 Tacoma (son's truck now bought used) and a 2012 Tacoma
my girl had a 2011 Frontier for a short time for work.  Nice truck, but it drove like a boat.

When I got the 2012, I was debating between the Frontier and the Tacoma.  Nissan was a few thousand less, but my toyota will
hold its value much better. When I got the 03, I kind of had buyers remorse on the cost I paid. But that little truck with the 4 cylinder and 4x4 takes the abuse
my kid puts on it with his trips to the desert couple of times per month. Worth the money no doubt.

The guy I bought the 03 from eventually got a gmc canyon 4x4.  Shortly after he drove my 2012, he sold the Canyon to his brother and bought a 2012 Tacoma.

Edited by soylent_green, 30 March 2012 - 10:34 AM.

Tacoma all the way. You can sell it in 4 years for 500 dollars less then you bought it for(it seems like...they hold their value's really well)

Hell a new one is 30k fully loaded and they want 26-28 for a 4 year old one with 30-40k miles

Edited by Tdaz250, 30 March 2012 - 12:18 PM.