Re: Just bought a new Tundra. Wow.
 

And the engines are made about 5 miles from my house right here in Alabama!

2002 Tundra with 211,000, 90,000+ towing a race car.
One bad wheel bearing, right front. The same corner hit in an accident.
30 years of Fords. I can't say I'll never own another brand but I really love this Toyota truck.
The new ones seem even better.

I've put 100 miles on it so far and have a few observations:
It's a bit heavier than the old truck but has better brakes and more power. The suspension is just as stiff but doesn't feel stiff. the harshness of the TRD suspension on my old truck is gone completely. It's smooth but not soft, quiet but not sloppy.

It is also a packrat's dream, cubby holes everywhere you look.

It is very, very comfortable but almost to a fault. I liked my old tundra because it was a bit smaller and nible, kind of like a sports car truck.
Comaring the old one to the new one is like comparing an old long hood 911 to a 996.
The 996 is faster, more powerful, more refined, handles better, and is probably quicker around hte track but doesn't have that raw feel that makes it so much fun to drive.
In the same way, driving this new truck is almost like sitting on the sofa playing a video game.
The only real difference is, I don't need to feel the road when sitting in traffic. I don't need to feel the exilleration of finely tuned but raw suspension on the 91 freeway at rush hour. I don't need to feel that excitement when the cruise control is set at 75 on I-10 or I-40.

This truck does make sense for what I need. A commuter vehicle that can comfortable carry my entire family, and is big enough for us to drag the waverunners to the river with no hassles or go visit the grandparents on Arizona. At the same time it reportedly gets the same mileage as the old truck and runs cleaner. And I love the seats. More comfortable than my barkolounger.

Before the last tundra I had a chevy silverado. I really liked it but it has some quirks I didn't like.
I can honestly say that so far, this truck is the best designed and best built vehicle I have ever owned. (knock on wood).

Plus you gotta admit that a dual overhead cam, all aluminum V8 engine with variable valve timing has the cool factor just about sewn up.

I was checking out one at a dealer and I couldn't get over how G Dam big that thing is! Seems it could fit anyone needs. I have always liked Toyota's and just bought a 2002 Sequoia Limited as my beater.

3000 miles update, I finally found something I don't like about this truck:

It has a 26.5 gallon fuel tank but the dumb yellow empty warning light comes on and the fuel gauge shows empty with 6 gallons left.
First couple of times I filled up I only got about 20 gallons.
After calculating the mileage I can now predict how much fuel is left after the light comes on but I still usually fill up with about 3 gallons left.

BTW, I mostly drive the truck in rush hour traffic, sometimes 70 mph but usually below 25. I enjoy jack-rabbit starts and stops, I don't drive like I am trying to conserve at all, the air conditioner is usually on, and I am getting a consistant 15.9 mpg.
Not bad, that's slightly better than the 2002 tundra I traded in even though the new truck is bigger, heavier, and has 31 more hp and a redline almost 1000 rpm higher.

Very nice. If I was in the market for a new truck, it would look just like that. Can't beat a Toyota truck, our 4Runner has been perfect over 65k. I have a feeling I'll regret selling it.

Cue Kaisen to rant on the evil of Japanese cars in 4... 3... 2...

Yep, I towed my car to the track for the first time last weekend behind my 2001 Tacoma DoubleCab. Four passengers, bed loaded with tools, canopy, chairs, coolers, etc. + the car and trailer and the truck pulled it great and I got over 16 mpg.

Toyota makes some great trucks. I've owned 6 and each of them have been great.

1....My spidey senses were tingling......

Japanese brands are not evil, and I haven't posted anything negative to this thread
I'm glad to hear Sammy is happy with his purchase

I've driven the new Tundra at length and there are certainly positives
Choices make the world go round

E

LOL, I dunno Thom, this truck was built in San Antonio, Texas (sal....ute) with more than 70% of parts manufactured in North America. Hard to get more American than that.
My last Chebby silverado was built in Canada with lots O'parts made in Mexico.

That's something my wife has found with her new FJ Cruiser. It has a 19 gallon tank but she has yet to get more than 15 gallons in it from "empty". Thats fine with me since I would rather not have her run out of gas in her port-a-potty blue brick. Her gas mileage isn't much better thna yours either. She has the manual and is getting 17-18mpg. :rolleyes:

Vs. a Dodge maybe but resale is not such a great thing in Tundras. Tacos are a bit different (at least they were before they ruined them with the current design).

I put 70,000 miles on my 2002 tundra, it was in need of a good detailing but otherwise was in good shape. It was the old style (dated) and I still got $13k trade in for it.
I paid $23.5 for it, I prolly could have gotten $17k or more for it if I sold it privately. I'd say it held it's value pretty good.

BTW, they are giving away dodge rams in LA right now. $12k off of MSRP on the hemi rams. I saw an add for one for $18k today, and they said they had 5 at that price. Non-hemi extra cab rams were going for $16k.
Prolly have waaaay too many of them.
I don't want one of those trucks but for that price I would be tempted.
I'd sure be pissed if I bought one for full sticker 6 months ago.

Sammy just pointed out one fallacy of resale value. Example using numbers in this thread: a $30,000 Dodge Ram is worth 'only' $6,000 five years from now. A $29,000 Tundra is worth $13,000 five years from now. But the Toyota's transaction price is $28,000 and the Ram is $18,000. Net depreciation: Toyota $15K, Dodge $12K.

Whether these numbers or examples are exactly correct, it still illustrates that resale value can be misleading. It's usually expressed as a retained percentage of original MSRP. But when you can buy one for 20% off MSRP you have to take that into consideration.

And, just to be clear, it has nothing to do with the merits of Toyota or Dodge, or any other brand.

i don't know about that, but a used 91 2wd toyota will sell for 3000 easy here when thewere like 7500 new....
i have bought 3 new toyota trucks in the last 6 years, 2 tacoma extra cab 4x4's and 1 tundra...each time we traded it in, we got just abut what we paid for them new(save the tundra, lost 2500)
the 04 tacoma we actually had for a year and got MORE than we paid for it new...and i wasn't trading in on a fluff car...

My 2003 4Runner stickered at about $34k, I was asking $21k with 65k miles, and got pretty close to that.:) We will replace it with a 2004 Cadillac SRX, probably about 30k miles, pay about $22k. The SRX was about $52k new.

That's 38% depreciation for the 4Runner over 4 years, and 58% depreciation for the SRX over 3 years. Of course, this will bite us in the ass when we sell the SRX someday, but it's the only thing with a 3rd row seat that isn't a damn boat. It's tough to beat a Toyota for resale value.

I just checked NADA's website. I paid $21,500 for my DoubleCab brand new in 2000. Current NADA retail? $16025. Could I get that for it? I doubt it, but even if it's close, that some great retention of value.

I believe there are big incentives on these trucks now, including zero percent financing.

not on tacomas...and while they have the 0% on tundras here, they won't take off $15000 from the selling price like a domestic. especially dodge right now, you can get like 20k off one here