Here are the 1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma top 5 tips that reduces repair costs and will give you great performance for the life of your vehicle. The first generation Toyota Tacoma is getting older and repairs are inevitable, however, the experience of owning one, if properly maintained, will extend the life of your vehicle. I have owned a few of them and put well over 300,000 miles on both, without any major repairs.

1. Regular scheduled maintenance: According to ACTONTOYOTA.com for the 1995-2004 Toyota Tacoma, it gives you all the maintenance intervals which reduces repair costs, for every 5,000, 15,000 and 30,000 mile intervals. By following the scheduled maintenance intervals, you will eliminate costly repairs, like, the engine, transmission or drivetrain problems, which could lead into the thousands of $$$$$ in repairs.
2. Parts can be expensive from the Toyota dealer and shopping other locations like AUTOPARTSWAREHOUSE.com or ROCKAUTO.com, can save you anywhere from 50-70% off of dealer pricing.
3. Servicing your vehicle at a Toyota Dealership can be very expensive, so if you decide to do it yourself, a great place to start would be to have your own DIY repair manual by your side, which reduces repair costs. A great place to start is: The Motor Bookstore. By having the manual as your guide, the easy to read book and illustrations, makes it fun to work on any vehicle. The amount of savings, as well as the pride of doing it yourself, with this easy to follow manual, will pay off in the long run!!!
4. Here are some tips on finding qualified, yet inexpensive mechanics: Research, locally, to see if they are ASE certified, any affiliation signs (AAA), ask local residents, check online reviews, investigate procedures online, check with taxi or limo drivers on who they recommend, and balance price with convenience. With all this information, it really helps to have the repair manual from THEMOTORBOOKSTORE.com, to not only gain knowledge and we all know knowledge is power, but to reduce the risk of being taken advantage of by a mechanic, which also reduces repair costs.
5. The Toyota Tacoma is a very dependable vehicle and will last a lifetime, if treated correctly. By following all the information listed above, you should get great results, as well as maximum performance from your vehicle. Even though the service intervals do not say you should use a 100% synthetic oil, I personally use AMSOIL for the engine, transmission and differential. Other great synthetic oils are: ROYAL PURPLE and MOBIL 1. These are just a few more ideas that will extend the life of your vehicle and reduce repair costs even more.

All of the information listed here should be helpful and make your life a little easier by having more time to focus on other priorities. Having all the necessary knowledge and references, like the repair manual by our side, will help us to make informed decisions in the future. Whether you decide to do it yourself or have a mechanic do the work, you will have all the tools to do so. HAPPY MOTORING EVERYONE!!!!