TRD Off Road and TRD Prerunner Side-by-Side Look

[Kdbradley85]

@2003taco I can imagine it would be frustrating looking for a truck the way you want it. To me, I think this is the biggest issue with buying a Toyota in general. The whole process of trying to find the vehicle you want can be a total crap shoot, roll of the dice.

I understand that the MT isn't for everyone, but for those who enjoy driving with a good 'ol stick shift, you may be doing yourself a disservice by not giving the new Tacoma a test drive, at least. Even if it is "detuned," it still feels significantly more powerful than the previous generation with the MT, and it's definitely more fun to drive. Personally, I like that it keeps me more engaged with actually driving the truck. It keeps me from doing things like messing with my phone or eating and paying more attention to other drivers on the road as well.

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[TacoFreak]

Yep - total crap shoot - a hell of a way to run a business. They probably won't change though because somehow it works out for them. Unfortunately it has been like that for a long time. If you are lucky enough to find a quality dealer that has or will get the truck you want, you are set. Otherwise you are often screwed or at the least waiting forever.

I tried for months to find a manual 2023 Taco and never found one anywhere near to where I lived, and we had 5 Toyota dealers in our metro area.

 

[2003taco]

@Kdbradley85 i have driven a Toyota pickup with 5 speed manual transmission for nearly 40 years.

if I can find a manual transmission 4g I’ll give it a try

 

[Kdbradley85]

@2003taco I'm not sure what the best method of finding one is. Like I mentioned, I think I just got lucky. I had a '22 OR MT (leased), and I contacted my dealership about buying out the lease. I'm pretty sure they went and found my current truck specifically because they knew I'd want it lol. When I showed up to buy out my lease, they just so happened to have the exact truck they knew I'd want just sitting there ready to go. Of course, I paid a slight "dealer adjustment" after getting them to knock it down from $5K over msrp to about $1500 over. All the dealers in my area are marking up their trucks, and they don't seem to keep a very large inventory. I don't even want to know what they're trying to ask people for on a new PRO or Trailhunter. Back in 2021-22 they were going $15-20K over msrp on the TRD Pro... imagine paying over $80K for a Tacoma!

This particular dealer is somehow able to get their hands on the more niche vehicles, like the '22 I had, my buddy's PreRunner, and my current truck. Like several here have already mentioned, I haven't seen any Xtracab configured trucks except for his PreRunner. Even trucks with a 6' bed are very tough to find around here. He put his "order" in for a PreRunner back in May or June at one of the larger Toyota dealerships and was constantly searching dealer inventories online until he stumbled across one at the same, smaller dealership where I bought mine. Of course, they marked it up, and on his, they were not willing to negotiate at all on the price. His PreRunner wound up costing more than my TRD OR and he's got the 8" (the smaller) infotainment screen and no heated seats. Crooks I tell ya!

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