If I really had it narrowed down to a Tundra I would be on the horn to my local rental places to see if I could find one to rent and live with for a few days before making a final decision. You will probably find that it is a perfect match but as we are all aware, buying a new vehicle is a huge waste of money, so all we can do is try to waste (invest) wisely.

Are you looking at an existing Tundra or the NEW one about to be launched in a few days? They're comparing the new one to a Dodge Ram in size and power. The current one is about the size of a Dakota.

If you're looking at the current one, wait until the new one is launched. Because after that, you possibly will get a better deal on the "old" Tundra if Toyota dealers even know the words "below MSRP". Our local dealer is known for wanting as much as $2500 OVER sticker for a Prius. I shudder to see what he wants on the new truck. I've already heard reports of as much as $5000 over sticker!

Our local dealer is known for wanting as much as $2500 OVER sticker for a Prius. I shudder to see what he wants on the new truck. I've already heard reports of as much as $5000 over sticker!

In fairness, the Prius is the poster child for the conspicuously green consumer. :-) There will be Prius buyers at almost any price.

A customer could get a better feel for the likely markup on the new Tundra by looking at markup for Corollas and Solaras -- nice vehicles, but not the most popular in their classes.

The new Tundra will be selling into a market in which most buyers have chosen one of two sides: Ford or Chevy. The Tundra also will be selling into a market that, traditionally, has not been that "friendly" to foreign cars (even if it is built in Texas). Toyota has its work cut out for it. They certainly will not make any inroads by pricing their product more expensive than Ford or Chevy.

Do check about the recent recall regarding Tundra's--you want to make sure the problem is fixed on the vehicle you buy, before you take it home. Especially since it's a defect that affects steering.

I like the idea of renting one for a week or so, to try it out. We once rented a car, were given a small SUV instead (our rental place always upgrades us), of a brand we'd never have considered buying. We were very pleasantly suprised and impressed by the car. We still didn't buy one, when we did buy our last new car, but it did make the 'short list' of vehicles we were considering, BECAUSE we'd had the opportunity to try one out for a week.

Hi, I've had a tundra for the past 4 years and also have a T-100 that I've had even longer. Although I think toyota reliability and quality has yet to be beat, there are some things about the tundra that I'm not all that fond of.
I will paste below my review that I submitted to edmunds.com
I suggest you look over the other reviews there too.
Review: Owned since aug 03 and now at end of lease term. Chose to keep. I'll skip what has been covered. Turn radius is awful, 45 feet... takes 4 and a half lanes to make a U turn. Still just too small. Add 5 more inches it will make a world of diff. Gas mileage on my v6 is not very good. Very comfortable. I use for long hwy trips and never need to stop to stretch. A serious work truck? Yes. Work truck capabilities? No. Styling on 03 looks too imported. Paint not too good. V6 is SLOW! No mech probs. No chk eng. No plastic parts falling off. As good as it gets.
Favorite Features: Comfy w/ cap chairs. I like suicide doors. Height above ground is very good. Smooth ride. Actually handles well on windy mtn rds. Crossed a river and engine continued to run! Storage space is great w/ console. Fun. Fuel tank decent size despite poor mileage. Interior well laid out. Nice big buttons.
Suggested Improvements: Turning circle, HP on V6 bad. Go back to previous body/grill style. Better A/C, Make a v8 with 5 spd manual. Make an access or crew cab with 8 ft bed. Add a few inches.

I'm pleased to see that model of tundra that is coming out is supposed to be very large, comparable in size with dodge ram and increased capacities.
I can't wait til they get to my local dealership so I can go look at them. It's like toyota read my comments and started making a truck for the North American market.

"...Toyota has its work cut out for it. They certainly will not make any inroads by pricing their product more expensive than Ford or Chevy..."
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I can guaranree that Corporate will price the new truck competetively with Ford and Chevy. I've seen pictures of the new Mega Cab priced at $36,000 base. That's right in line with the Ram Mega Cab. It's those dealers that have a terrible reputation for ripping off the customers.
I heard where somebody actually spent 6 HOURS negotiating a deal on a Toyota. 6 HOURS going back and forth. Maybe he had fun, but the average Joe doesn't want to do that and the Toyota dealers know this.
The new truck is GORGEOUS! I want one! But I'll NEVER pay over sticker for it. Let alone 5 grand!

That was probably me LOL. I have mentioned before how long I spent at the dealership but you have to understand that I read EVERY WORD of EVERY PIECE OF PAPER and every time I say, hey can you waive this fee or get this interest rate down a notch or two, the finance manager would disappear for 20 minutes at a time. That time also included test driving and getting my key sets and my free umbrella and waiting for them to finish spit polishing the truck.

I paid around $19,5 for what was equivalent to an F-150 XLT or a Chevy LS level of trim. I did however need a manual transmission for the work I do, it's a must and the only way to get that was to go with the v6 engine. I couldn't find a domestic Chevy with that configuration at the time anywhere close to that price unless it was a really stripped down base model. Going with the smaller engine saved some though. What I always complained about with toyo dealers is they don't want to give you the time of day unless you have poor credit and are willing to pay anything and sign anything just to get your wheels.

But what this boils down to is having more configurations and more to choose from at the dealership and hopefully this will be improved too.