There are several Toyota Tundras (2000-2001) for sale locally and I am thinking about buying one. One of them has over 100,000 miles, the other has 252,000. Does anyone here know anything about these trucks? I don’t know anyone who owns one. Chevy, Ford and Dodge are the big 3 here, and Toyota trucks are fairly rare.
Is the gas mileage decent (for a V-8 engine?) Is the interior upholstered with that ultra-fine microfiber crap or is it the more tolerable (to me) coarse cloth velour? Is the backseat comfortable? Does it have a battery meter in the dash? (My 1990 4Runner had one - I’ll be really disappointed if the Tundra doesn’t.)
I can only say this: we’ve owned 2 Toyotas and they both have been outstanding cars, so I’d recommend looking closely at them just on that basis. Further, a co-worker of mine, who is a very typical construction worker type who likes to haul heavy cargo around all the time, has told me on more than one occasion that he is so in love with his Tundra that he would never, ever go back to a domestic pickup. Take those notes with as many grains of salt as you see fit.
I’ve owned two Toyotas and they’ve been utter junk. At 100k, they become crushingly expensive.
There are too many sites dedicated to trouble shooting all that stuff that goes wrong with some Toyota model runs. God forbid your check engine light comes on or you get some squeal that won’t stop. When it comes to Toyotas, the Camry and Corrolla pad their numbers and make them what they are. Run and hide from the rest. Older Celicas and Tundras (and some others) ain’t worth the grief.
Run from any non-Camry/Corrola, esp 1998-2003 when they kicked up the technology a bit! RUN.
I dunno but a friend bought a Tundra and loved the truck but sold it with 6000 miles (taking a huge loss in the process) for no other reason than the abysmal gas mileage.
How can this be? Toyota trucks are legendary all over the world for their longevity and ruggedness. The Toyota T100 and the various variants of Land Cruiser are probably the most common trucks in the world, and are used all over Africa and the Middle East as irregular military vehicles - frequently going over 400,000 miles, according to Wikipedia.
Is it that the newer Toyota trucks are not as good as the old ones?
Pro-tip: Top Gear is entertainment, not factual car buying advice.
You’re looking at buying an 11 year old pickup truck. Maintenance and actual condition are much more important than make/model. That generation of Toyota truck is well known for frame rust. If the frame hasn’t turned to powder it’s probably fine, until it does. If you find one in good shape for a good price, sure, why not. I can’t think of any reason to take it over a domestic truck, or a Nissan Frontier/Hardbody.
I don’t see the point of the first generation of Tundras. They were Toyota’s half-assed attempt to get into the full-size truck market, and I don’t think it was very well executed. For instance, the V8 is laughably underpowered.
What do you need a truck for? If it’s for occasional hauling/truck use, I’d go for the Tacoma (either generation). If you need a workhorse, go with a second generation Tundra (07-present).
FWIW, I own an 06 Tacoma bought new. I’ve put 130k on it, and have never had any issues. I replaced the break pads two weeks ago, and that was the first non-fluid/non-standard maintenance I’ve done.
Out of the two generations of Tacoma and two of Tundra, the first gen Tundra is the only one I wouldn’t want to own. YMMV.
Us Beatas just happily purchased a fully warrantied 2010 Toyota Tundra 4wd v6 with 11,000 miles. The crew cab (non-extended version) is not large, but we don’t need that feature often. The upholstery is basic grey microfiber which cleans up very well with a damp cloth. We will do occasional towing and mostly use this for driving on our Wisconsin land.
We’ve owned various Toyotas for the past 25 years and just feel that Toyota makes great vehicles.
In the USA, good ol’ Toyota hasn’t figured out how to make reliable emissions systems on some model runs that span years, so if you’d like to have a car that will lock on its check engine light, go ahead and buy a Toyota, then buy a sledge hammer and beat it to a pulp at the inspection station when you find out you can’t get the car to pass with the engine light on and you can’t get it to pass if if was recently reset. Of course, you can’t get the car fixed in any meaningful way to completely fix the issue.
Also: the discussion is about the Toyota Tundra. Additionally, commercial grade vehicles, military grade vehicles, and vehicles built to go 400k miles often do.
I’ve never watched an episode of that show in my life. I know what I know because I research things myself, not because I watch a TV show.
I would think that Toyota’s trucks would retain some of the quality factors that made the older models last as long as they do; after all, if they could do it in the 1980s, they could do it today. But maybe I am wrong.
I’m in boating clubs with hundreds of guys hauling 5000-9000 lb boats. These guys would rather lose a testicle than lose a day on their performance boats and offshore boats, which they haul up/down the coast from ramp to ramp. They all haul with American trucks. The variety is amazing, from 25 year-old F150’s to brand new Hemi-engined Rams (my choice after racking up 120k miles on my previous Ram w/out more than a minor fix along the way).
I’m surrounded by farms and water. Trucks, trucks and more trucks. Get yourself a truck with a lineage: F150, Ram, Silverado/Sierra. They last, and business people who need them to eat run 'em for hundreds of thousands of miles. They’re easy to fix, and they have a good predictability when repairing.
I am not a ‘buy American’ type. But the case for American trucks is solid.
he brought that up because Top Gear did a segment some years ago where they took an old diesel HiLux and bashed the crap out of it. Well, the body, anyway. they did nothing that would have hurt the engine, then made it out like it was amazing that the thing still ran (and the ninnies who think watching Top Gear makes them automotive experts ate that shit up.) keep in mind that this vintage of diesel truck requires a single 12 volt wire to the injection pump for the motor to run.
I just bought my second one and have been very happy. Both have been very reliable, and the resale value on my first one was excellent. Gas mileage isn’t great, but it has enough power to pull my horse trailer or my boat. It’s very comfortable, and I got a good deal on a new one. YMMV.
Forget the Tundra then…between the replies here, and a conversation I just had with a Toyota mechanic who told me that the first generation Tundra is plagued by transmission problems, I am no longer interested.
Tacoma, possibly. There seems to be a big problem with frame rust on Tacomas, however. Not only did this mechanic tell me about it, but a completely random guy with a Tacoma who I struck up a conversation with also mentioned it.
