Out of curiosity, I looked up the value for my 2004 Tacoma. 2wd, reg cab, 5 speed, 4 cylinder, options and standard features include such things as ABS brakes, dual front air bags, a clock, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, carpets, carpet floor mats, cloth non-reclinable bench seat, cassette player, 15" styled steel wheels, and painted rear bumper. According to the window sticker it was $14,024 worth of truck, my dad bought it for $12,000 back in 2004. He gave this truck to me a couple of years ago, long story about that.

Anyways I looked up the value today, 178k miles, in super nice shape, which this truck is in, its worth $7,000 according to NADA. Paint/body is excellent, always a rust free southern truck, runs great, doesn't use any oil, drives tight, interior is super clean, no dents on the exterior, paint is great, always garaged.

Just astounded that you can drive a base cheapy model Toyota truck for 13 years, 178,000 miles, and you can sell it still for about half of what you paid for it, maybe more. 4wd Tacomas of the same vintage go for even stupider prices. Just kind of insane what decent, well cared for Toyota trucks resale for, especially when compared to Toyota cars of similar vintage.

 

150k MSRP last gen Ford GT now selling for 300-350k

 

Last gen Subaru STI hatchbacks are holding their value like crazy!! Might not show as such on NADA but asking/going prices are still high.

 

Aron9000 the Tacoma is definitely the King of current new cars for resale/residual values. That's one of the benefits of being supply constrained, utilizing minimal incentives on the new end, and people that tend to hold onto their trucks for a long time. So there's an even further limited supply of the used vehicles.

In addition to that, your variant style is a dying breed. None of the Midsize trucks are available in that configuration anymore. A nice, low to ground, back to basics truck. Landscapers in southern california would kill for your truck, and there are simply no new substitutes.

FJ Cruisers have done a remarkable job in retention now that they're discontinued.

 

Porsche 911R's
Or any of the GT3 iterations as well. They gain value

 

yep, tacoma and LC/LX

and you can't kill a tacoma............... even Clarkson tried to and it still wouldn't

 

Agreed on the Tacoma.

I had a 2011, 4 door, 4WD TRD Sport with the 6 speed manual. It had a sticker of $31k when I bought it. Kept it for almost three years and 24k miles. Got about $26k for it on trade in value.

 

i sold my 01 regular cab tacoma with 79k miles 3 years ago for $7500.
it is still worth that now with the added miles.

 

Agreed, super rare to find the one we are talking about.

 

Hah, I have the same truck. '02 Prerunner Reg cab 4-cyl. I get offers on it all the time. Such a simple vehicle with virtually nothing on it to break.

The complete opposite of what we're being sold today. (And coincidently, what we discuss/argue much of on other threads in Car Chat - heh)

I don't like working on my own cars.

No power windows, locks, ABS, traction control, not even a damn CLOCK. No VVti, no turbos, no timing belt, No Friggin Hassles. Easily hit 300k with typical maintenance.

THIS is what more new cars need to be like. That era is LONG gone. Mike, I know. Laws/competition have essentially phased out vehicles like this.

No matter. I'll still keep buying them.

And you wonder why the resale is so high. Check the resale on an Ecoboost F-150 in 60k miles when the turbos start failing.

PS: Finding this truck was a HUGE pain in the rear. Took months and I finally found it very far away. Totally worth it. I paid $7,000 2.5 years ago. 102k miles.

 

Interesting comments. I understand what you are saying, but new cars are so much more nicer and interesting that yesteryears models .

You also do not have many miles on yours. I would expect any modern Toyota to last just as long.

 

Of course, and I get it. But at what cost? High lease rates, high insurance rates, ludicrous repair bills, and in the end? Dismal resale value. Who wins here besides the automaker?

We will start to see cars getting written off simply due to cost of repairs. Ten year old vehicles that need a set of turbos, a keyless immobilizer system replaced, or a nav system that's integrated to control the a/c and radio. Guess what? Junkyard or turn it in and start over with another new car.

This is already happening with my own clients. It's frustrating to see what they have to deal with.

It's unsustainable.

Car ownership is rapidly changing. Soon it will be like telephones. You used to buy a phone ($20) every 10 to 15 years and hang it on your kitchen wall. It was good for a whole family. Now we can't go 2 years on a single-user phone (for $800) without our worlds crashing down around us.

We are forever locked into this vicious cycle of planned obsolescence. I find it absurd.

Just an observation from a guy with boots on the ground, so to speak. I'll end the rant now.

As for my truck's miles, yea it's low. But that's just what it happened to come with. Owners of these know they do 300k no problem. I wasn't using my personal truck's reliability in any part of my argument - just its simplicity. No need to. Even so, it's still 15 years old and wouldn't hesitate to drive it to Alaska and back.

Aron, hang on to that thing. Or at least keep it in the family. You won't regret it. No one will ever make a truck like that again.

 

still some deals out there....altho this is from NE

 

Very interesting comments and a good read. I do respect what you are saying. However, I think perhaps you underestimate design and engineering. Toyota can easily make a modern part last just as long if not longer than a part made from a vehicle from 20 years ago. I do agree that simplicity goes on long a way in that there is no part to fail, but at the same time, if the part is not design to last, it does not matter how simply it is.

 

I don't underestimate them. In fact I'm a borderline fan boy. I work on all makes and Toyota by far makes the most reliable product. It's the only brand allowed in my house and I've converted more clients to Toyotas than I care to count.

They aren't perfect, however. You do occasionally have to change computers and actuators and expensive parts from time to time. Anyway as you say, just by being more complicated, the chances do go up, they don't go down.

For example, lose a smart key? That's $300 at the dealer. My truck? $10 cut at the dealer. $2 if I go to Home Depot. This is the stuff that gets me.

That's all irrelevant anyway, as Toyota is only one automaker. There are automakers out there cramming all this stuff into their cars and they aren't doing a great job of it. My rant is a general automotive industry direction so Toyota being great at what they do doesn't solve everything.

People want to buy other brands, too. Just do it early and toss it after the warranty dies!

I'd still love to know where the all those initially leased 10 year-old BMW's and Mercedes are...?