Shocks from when first purchased truck
New battery needed at 18,000, luckily was free because of warranty
New tires at 30,000
Transmission service at 35,000 when dealer says it requires it at 60,000.
The truck is OK for shorter people, it is very unstable at highway speeds, slow acceleration, falls flat on its face from first to second even with overdrive off, very stiff suspension our Chevy Astro handles better, bad gas mileage for being a 4 cylinder about 21 highway our Astro averages that with a 4.3 V-6 and a lot more weight and power, transmission doesn't shift very smooth.
Interior is very uncomfortable for long trips, placement of driver controls could be better, needs more options for the money, base Chevy's include more for the price.
Its also a magnet for bad drivers, it almost rolled because of a trucker, rear ended, has a cracked windshield, poor quality bumpers with plastic faded and paint chipped.
Our old 87' Toyota pickup felt more powerful than the new one, and the old one had no problems for the more than 200,000 miles we put on it, compared to the new one already having many.
Having tried out a Tacoma I knew there was no way I could live with the rough ride, poor handling and very cheap interior. It was also priced 5 grand higher than the much smoother riding, more powerful and far better equipped Ford Ranger Sport (which now comes with a 100,000 mile warranty). I opted to get the better equipped Ranger and use the extra money I saved for a nice vacation. Toyota is a very over rated vehicle. Paying more for less makes ZERO sense. As for the bogus claim that Toyota offers more in the way of reliability, I could care less. I never keep a vehicle for 100,000 miles anyway.
The decline in Toyota's much ballyhooed "quality" becomes more evident every day. This morning's paper carried a news item about the dangerous and terribly underpowered Highlander SUV being recalled (AGAIN). This time it was for a condition that might cause the accelerator to stick on the floor "possibly causing an accident" (of course the cars are so slow it would most likely be a minor accident). In the 80's Toyota did build a few good vehicles. Now they trail behind even Hyundai. Car and Driver rated the Hyundai Sonata above the Camry (which finished last in a field containing the Sonata, the Ford Fusion and the Honda Accord).
I test drove a Tacoma last year and nothing about it impressed me in the least. Since then I've read a lot of comments and news about the decline in Toyota build quality. I'm glad I bought a Ford. I couldn't ask for a better truck.