Ladies and gentlemen, my 2006 Toyota Tacoma V6 4WD Access Cab pickup truck:
Bought it this morning; got an excellent deal on it, and was not hassled at all by the dealer. As I did my inspection of the vehicle, looking for damage, making sure the requested options were installed, etc., I plugged my laptop into the engine computer via the OBD-II port and checked for any DTCs. The sales guy was fascinated. Afterwards, as he walked me around to all the various people I had to talk to during the sales process, he told every one of them about it.
After failing to sell me an extended warranty and having me sign the buyer's agreement, the financing lady actually forgot to ask me for the down payment, and handed me back to the sales guy. I was ushered out to where my new truck was waiting and told to have a nice day. I assumed that, had I just driven away, they would have figured it out... so I decided that the amusement value of watching them all backpedal was worth telling them about their mistake.
"So do you want some... you know... money for this?"
Anyway, expect gratuitous detail in the photo gallery of various truck features and probably some endless droll banter here about my experiences getting used to the idiosyncracies of a new vehicle. In the meantime, tomorrow I go to the bank and sign the loan paperwork, then move everything out of the Ranger and prep it for sale on the Lot de Lemon. Adieu, DeadGuyTruck™.
I think the wheelwell designers at Toyota need to pay more attention to what shape the, you know, wheels are.
Sweet ride. What's the gas milage like? I'm still debating if my next auto should be a pickup or a sporty car.
The milage isn't great; it's EPA rating is 16/20. But I think some of this is due to the fact that I'm lugging around several hundred pounds worth of 4WD and towing package parts. Once I get some miles on it and start the milage data collection, I'll report back with more empiracal numbers.
Better than the whopping 11 MPG I scored on my last half-tank in the BMW.
This is probably of little use since you've already made your purchase, but I've had a '99 Tacoma for a few years now and I love it. I totally beat on it and have had no problems with it at all. You made a good choice on the extended cab; my only gripe on mine is the small cab (and the not too sweet gas mileage).