When people talk about pickup trucks, the first image that usually comes to mind is a construction site, a farm or someone who needs to move heavy equipment every day.
Damilare’s 2012 Toyota Tacoma shifts that picture a little. His truck still has the size, stance and presence people expect from a pickup, but his reason for owning one comes from a less obvious place.
Why Damilare might keep this TOYOTA TACOMA Forever | OWNER’S CORNER EP 5
Damilare Bought the Truck Because His Work Needed It
As an art dealer, Damillare moves pieces often, and some of them come from production in Ogun State before they are brought to Lagos for finishing. Paintings also need space, especially when they are framed or too wide for a regular car.
That was why a truck made sense. He needed room, flexibility and the freedom to move work without hiring a Sienna or waiting on someone else’s schedule. If a request comes while he is already out, the flatbed gives him enough space to go straight to the pickup and handle it himself.
The truck also has the kind of presence that suits him. In his line of work, people often form quick impressions. The car is not everything, but it can add to how he is seen when he shows up.
The Tacoma gives him the room his work demands and still feels like the right vehicle to arrive in.
He Made the Tacoma Feel Like His Own
Damilare’s truck is a 2012 Toyota Tacoma, part of the model’s second generation. He bought it in 2022 for ₦7 million, and today, a similar truck could go for around ₦25 million to ₦26 million. After years with it, the Tacoma does not feel like something he simply bought and used. It has slowly taken on more of his taste, his work and the way he moves around.
One reason he likes this generation is that it gives room for changes. For Damilare, those changes are not exactly ‘upgrades’. He prefers to call them modifications because he is not trying to turn the Tacoma into something else. The point is to build on what was already there.
The smaller changes started inside and around the front end. The fabric seats were changed to leather, with his brand logo added to the headrest. The headlamps were also replaced with LEDs because the original lights were not bright enough for night driving, and the fog lamps followed.
Then there are the more visible touches. The grille was changed, the front of the truck now has a more aggressive look, and the flatbed cover was also replaced. That cover was not just about looks. The old one made it harder to carry bigger items, while the current one gives him more flexibility when he needs the space.
The colour is the most obvious change. It is not the kind of colour most people expect on a Toyota pickup. Damilare said the idea came partly from a Porsche GT3 RS, which he described as his dream car, and partly from the Tiffany dial on a Patek Philippe watch.
For a truck built around utility, the colour gives it a more personal edge.
Past Cars Made Him Appreciate the Tacoma’s Reliability
One thing Damilare did not expect was how easy the Tacoma would be to live with.
Before buying it, he thought a pickup would cost more to maintain, especially because of parts and the size of the vehicle. But after years of ownership, the truck has rarely given him trouble. He says he has not done any major engine work since buying it.
That calm ownership experience hits differently when you know the kind of automotive chaos he survived before the Tacoma entered the picture.
The first car he mentioned was a Toyota Previa, which he shared with his brother. He remembers it as a good car, but he later wanted something of his own.
Then came the Hyundai XG30, and from the first day, it started showing him ‘pepper’. After buying it, the car got stuck in gear while he was driving back and refused to accelerate properly. He had to manage to get it home, and that became the pattern. The car broke down in different parts of Lagos until he had mechanics’ numbers saved for emergencies across the city.
There was even a moment when he took the car to his pastor for prayers. After praying, the pastor felt led to start it. The car refused. At that point, even the prayer session had become part of the diagnosis.
The Toyota Camry ‘Big Daddy’ that came after was a better chapter. Damilare remembers it as loyal, easy to maintain and strong on comfort. The AC worked well and the car gave him peace after the XG30 experience. His wife even cried when they had to let it go.
So by the time the Tacoma came in, he already knew what a good car should feel like. It needed to work hard without turning every week into a mechanic visit.
So far, the Tacoma has done that. The main things he mentioned were replacing the propeller, dealing with a fan belt issue and later fixing a rear noise problem linked to the frame area. He also said he has not changed the shocks since buying it, though he has replaced the spring once.
For a truck that serves as both his daily driver and work vehicle, the Tacoma also benefits from the kind of owner Damilare is. He is a car guy, so a scanner is never too far away, and warning lights do not get to sit comfortably on his dashboard. The truck may be reliable, but it is also in the hands of someone who notices things early.
Bad Roads Feel Different in the Tacoma
The Tacoma gives Damilare the kind of confidence many Lagos drivers want, especially on bad roads.
He does not like getting stuck, and some of his trips take him away from regular smooth roads. Since his work can involve moving art pieces through different routes, the truck’s ground clearance and four-wheel-drive ability make a clear difference.
That difference is personal too. He had been stuck in the Camry before, so rough patches feel different now. If the Tacoma starts struggling, he knows he can switch the system and get himself out.
The truck also changed how he feels around certain road situations. Damilare shared how he once felt helpless in the Camry after being robbed and later intimidated by roadside boys. When a similar thing happened in the Tacoma, he did not feel as exposed. The size and stance of the truck gave him a different kind of confidence.
His wife has even told him he drives more aggressively in it, though from his stories, it sounds more like confidence than carelessness. Nevertheless, one of his scariest Tacoma moments had nothing to do with bad roads or roadside boys.
Damilare and his wife had gone out to a restaurant on the Island and used valet parking. Somehow, the hood was opened and not properly closed. Because of the truck’s shape, it still looked shut from outside. While they were driving on Falomo Bridge, the hood suddenly flew up and smashed the windscreen.
Many drivers could lose composure in that kind of moment, especially on a bridge. Thankfully, Damilare maintained control of the truck and eventually drove it back from Ikoyi to Ogudu with the damaged windscreen.
That experience made him more alert, but it did not change how he felt about the Tacoma. It simply became one of those stories that now sits with the truck.
Damilare Would Only Replace the Tacoma with Another Tacoma
If Damilare had to replace this truck, his answer does not move far from what he already owns. He would likely go for the 2025 Toyota Tacoma.
Damilare’s dream car is the 2025 Toyota Tacoma
Not a Tundra. Not a Hilux. Just a newer Tacoma. For him, the newer model makes sense because of the added technology, better comfort and improved interior features. But even then, his answer stays close to what he already owns. After years with this truck, he is not thinking of a completely different vehicle. He is thinking of the same idea with newer features.
That also explains why his only real complaint sounds small. The back seat is not very roomy, especially for tall passengers. Even with four doors, the rear space is not the Tacoma’s strongest point. For now, it works because his children are still young. By the time they are too big to sit comfortably there, he joked that they should be old enough to move out of his house.
Apart from that, he struggled to name what he disliked about the truck. He tried to think about it but still came back to nothing.
For a truck that carries his work, handles rough roads and still fits his daily life, the Tacoma has earned its place.
