Tacoma to Corolla?

[snyperx]

I have been contemplating on whether to trade in my 2005 Tacoma Double Cab for a 2009 Corolla. I love my Tacoma, but would really like to save on gas and payment per month, not to mention better gas mileage. I am currently getting about 15 mpg with my Tacoma which is like $60 a week for me n gas. My payment per month is like $489. I was wondering if there are any former 05+ Tacoma owners that did what I am considering. I can get into a 2009 Corolla LE with 6600 miles on it for $326 a month (I do have some negative equity from getting out of a previous lease). I love my truck, but I am thinking it might be time to just get practical.

[Jumpingjerry]

I love a Tacoma pick up but the Corolla is great on gas. I just bought an 09 the other day. So far the mpg is great. I drive 25 mile on a back road to work. So average speed is about 55 mph and I'm getting about 39mpg. Even if you get only 30 mpg that about a savings of $90 a month on gas and with the payment decress that's another another $163 a month for a total of $253 a month on savings. Insurance might be cheeper too.

[SuperchargedMR2]

That payment sure seems high to me. It's not much less than my payment for my fully loaded 09 "S" on a 36 month loan although you did say you have some negative equity. The total savings per month could be huge with gas + payment savings + insurance savings. I'm not a truck guy, though my family has 4 Tacoma's which they all love, but I sure do enjoy my 09 Corolla S.

[snyperx]

The payment is going to be more because of the negative equity. I do love my 05 Taco, but as I said the monthly payment and cost of gas is what is moving me in the direction of downgrading a few notches. I test drove a couple of 2009 XLE's today and my only complaint is the 1.8 L engine. You really need to mash the gas to get it to go and when it does it sounds like the engine is going to jump out of the engine bay. The fit and finish was nice, pretty quiet cabin, like the fact the the XLE's I test drove at VSC and traction control. They also both had a moon roof and very low miles (7100 on the one). I am still unsure of what to do. I am a bit concerned about handling in the snow. I am so use to my 4x4 Taco in the snow. A little nervous about moving to such a small car.

[OkSlim]

IF you are doing it strictly for cash savings, it's a no brainer. Everything from MPG to maintenance cost.

I have a lot of cars ,pickup included. If you are only using the truck for a passenger vehicle then the corolla is going to cost you less per mile. It is also going to be a bitch to get a piece of 4x8 playwood home from Lowes.

[snyperx]

OkSlim,
You make a point that I am struggling with. I do use the truck for mostly passenger hauling, BUT I do on occasion use the truck to haul larger items. It also has been a blessing when camping since all the gear fits in the bed. I would say I use the truck as a people hauler about 80% of the time.

[Timbits93]

Might be more practical to keep the Tacoma then, will you miss being able to haul larger items?

Maybe [or maybe not] consider a Matrix if you still want to downgrade but want to at least be able to haul items that won't fit in the Corolla

[got-rice]

why not just buy a beater Corolla (or another older Toyota) and garage your Tacoma for the times when you need to?

[SuperchargedMR2]

Originally Posted by got-rice

why not just buy a beater Corolla (or another older Toyota) and garage your Tacoma for the times when you need to?

+1
That's why I have several cars. My Previa works great when needing to get 4' x 8' sheets of plywood!

If you do decide to get a Corolla than get the 1.8L with a 5M & it does much better than the auto trans. My "S" gets up & goes just fine with the 1.8L & 5M combo plus it will save you a $1k on the cost of the auto trany!

[ToxicBanana]

In Mexico my corollas monthly payments will be $536.00 USD a month (including insurance) so the Tacoma seems like no biggie.

It seems like you want to keep you truck from reading your posts.

How much more do you owe on your Tacoma?,as an example if you owe say $10k then your Tacoma would be much cheaper to keep comparing to a new corolla

[snyperx]

Not that I want to get into finances, but I still have 40 payments left on the Tacoma. I got a 6 year loan on it, which looking back in hindsight was a stupid move on my part. The 2009 Corolla would be $326 a month for 60 months at 2.9%. My current interest is 8%.


^^^^UPDATED

[snyperx]

Originally Posted by got-rice

why not just buy a beater Corolla (or another older Toyota) and garage your Tacoma for the times when you need to?

The big thing with a beater is that if you find something for $1000 you don't know what you might be getting. The car could become a money pit. On top of that I would now be paying for insurance on 3 vehicles, fuel for 3 vehicles, maintenance, etc. Not sure how that would be saving me in the end. Does that make sense?

[ToxicBanana]

Originally Posted by snyperx

Not that I want to get into finances, but I still have 48 payments left on the Tacoma. I got a 6 year loan on it, which looking back in hindsight was a stupid move on my part. The 2009 Corolla would be $326 a month for 60 months at 2.9%. My current interest is 6%.

I would kill for 6% (currently mine is 15.95%)

But on the information you have given the corolla is a better choice, and this is on value of the vehicle and monthly payments.

[mmasse]

Sell the truck get a an El Camino

[snyperx]

Originally Posted by mmasse

Sell the truck get a an El Camino

Great now the comedians are chiming in