When I decided to buy a new truck for my gardening business, my friend and customer, D'Arcy, said, "Buy a Toyota. Don't bother going to any of the other dealers." I went straight to the Hill Top Toyota dealership, spotted my little red truck, and said to myself, "I want that one!" It has turned out to be an excellent purchase. I've never once regretted my choice in over 200,000 miles. There are a few minor broken bits and pieces that could be easily replaced or repaired, like the fan in the cooling/heating unit and the lock in the door on the driver's side which no longer works. But, overall, the truck is super reliable. The last time I had my truck's oil changed my mechanic remarked, "It's incredible. You've got 200,000 miles on this truck and it still runs great." I told my mechanic about D'Arcy's invaluable advice that he gave me in 2003. My mechanic said, "I was the one who told D'Arcy to buy a Toyota!" We both laughed.

I bought this truck in 2001 because it was the first one to catch my eye. It only had 1,000 miles on it, owned by one person for only two months. The price was good, and I have always had a love for this type of vehicle. It is tan in color, and the seats are not leather but a nice soft material and also tan as well on the inside of the truck. It is four-wheel drive, which makes it great to use in the winter as we get snow here. It just drives right through the snow with no trouble, and it has never gotten stuck or slid off a road. It is a stick shift, not automatic gear, which I also love because it is better on gas. It shifts from gear to next gear with so much ease, and I just prefer a stick. The engine is a six cylinder so it has plenty of power for me. Also it's a Toyota and they last forever. I have had no major problems at all with it, just your regular maintenance like oil changes, etc. . Even as old as it is there are no rattles or shakes or anything that makes noise and the paint and body are in great shape. It also has only 90,000 miles so again will hopefully last a long time. I think it is cool because the truck has a cassette tape deck and an am/FM radio instead of a CD player. I have a lot of tapes, and I am glad I kept them from my younger days so I can play them in the truck. The only thing that I'm not a fan of is the fact that it does not have duel bucket seats, which is needed for extra people and room. I have the bed to haul things, which is very much needed so that kind of makes up for the missing seats. That is really the only con to my truck. So all in all, this has been one of the best investments I have made and hope it lasts for years to come.