Good luck on the electronics, LOL. I also owned a Hardbody, and yes I thought it was spartan too. Thing is, if I'd bought the Toyota I'd still be driving it likely. If that one you bought last like all the other Toyota trucks I've known, you'll be good to go a long time. Besides, it's your money. So all that matters, is what you thinkLONG post warning.
I saw a posting on a Frontier owners group that prices were much better in the southeast for trucks in general. So perhaps Nissan dealers are working more there but not here, in Texas. Of course this is a bigger truck market I guess. The Nissan dealers we're very slow to work a deal and quite honestly I don't have a lot of tolerance or time for games anymore. It appears $1,500 off plus is a good deal here. I did find one in Florida that was willing to give $4,500 off of list quickly but... he was in Florida. Almost did the deal and had it shipped. Then I decided to try to find this Tacoma. I wound up getting $4,000 off of list and eliminated all of the nonsense dealer protection packages ($800) on top of that so I was quite happy price wise (still a big check to write though!) since as mentioned it wound up being a bit less than I would have paid for the Frontier or the Maverick. As far as resell goes you must be seeing something different than I am, around here Tacomas definitely command a premium. I prefer leather too but quickly came to realize I can add nicer leather aftermarket for WAY cheaper than I can by buying something with that in a stock package. As far as your other points some of them are interesting. I suspect a Frontier V6 might pull away slightly from a Tacoma V6 (I haven't calculated the power to weight ratio but will) but I would hardly call the difference material and these are trucks not sports cars. (I can't lie though I was looking forward to the 0 to 60 times in the Maverick EcoBoost). The Frontier I tested did have a very noticeable and annoying lag in the accelerator but once it decided it wanted to get going it did move pretty good. Not nearly as much lag in the Tacoma but again I'm not quite sure it's as quick. Hard to tell these are just seat of the pants dyno observations. And again the rear seats are no comparison either from a comfort or cargo utility perspective. I almost wonder if I miss something with folding the seats in the Frontier because it just made no sense from a utility standpoint. I've read the complaints about the seating position in the Tacomas and honestly was concerned about that as I'm 6 ft tall with a 34+ inch inseam and for the life of me I can't figure out what in the world people are talking about. I was pleasantly surprised. The driver seat is power and has a height adjustment (including great range lumbar adjustment) and it's perfectly comfortable even for trips. I bought this thing 150 miles away from home yesterday and never felt the least bit uncomfortable. Surprisingly comfortable actually. The passenger seat does feel like perhaps it is a tiny bit lower than most trucks but I can't imagine it's uncomfortable and if it is, to be blunt I guess I'm not that concerned about passengers as this is my personal commuter. My wife made the trip with me and dozed off at one point so I guess it's not too uncomfortable. Probably just the company though.. But I do see the ads for risers that look to be maybe an inch or inch and a half for sale so I guess it is a thing for some folks. For me the Maverick had a shocking amount of driver room. I guess it's about expectations. Again I'm coming from an Avalanche and don't expect interior room to be comparable but of the three I sat in the the Tacoma "feels" like it may be the smallest in the front but the specs say the opposite. :no idea: It's certainly not at all constraining. I'm 6 ft tall and 185ish so maybe an issue for bigger folks. We're talking about really subjective points so people really need to drive and research everything they are considering like you did. Had I been able to work a deal on a Frontier quicker I absolutely would have wound up with one because I wasn't considering a Tacoma. I didn't realize they had the cab bed configuration I was after. In retrospect I'm glad the Nissan dealers were difficult.
I do have admit parts are getting harder to come by on my old vehicles though. I knew a long time ago the time would come that I don't even like the new stuff. I started planning accordingly. I'm talking 45yrs ago. It did last longer than I thought it would though
Yea, everything seems to be a money pit anymore. I'm just glad I don't like the new ones anymore. Course that said, it's all expensive now. Over the course of several years, I've put $5-6k in my Ford getting every little thing fixed on it. But to replace that one with a new one is $90k. The mechanic that last worked on it said everybody that came in the shop wanted that truck. He said it was worth a lot of money
