I just bought a new 2018 Tacoma 4x4. They are making the Tacomas bigger now almost identical to the old Ford F-100 from 1950's and 60's. For my needs a perfect size truck.

I meant no offence. That is what I was told by some Americans and I have also read it just a few days ago here on this forum.

In my experience most American car users make sure that their oil is changed on time to the total exclusion of almost everything else.

Ignore the other poster - Americans cannot drive (because they have no cause to have to learn, the road test is a joke) and driving here is dangerous. It's a fact of life.

I am not sure even that is the case. I have recently looked at the Carfax reports on some used vehicles and have been staggered to see that first oil changes have not been done until 40/50,000 miles. These are cars at reputable dealers.

I would not rely on carfax to collect all the service details.
I'm pretty sure quickylube ect does not report oil changes to them.
Maybe just the dealerships.

For instance, looking at a local used cars dealership I found these pre-owned cars:

2016 Jeep Compass Sport, 22860 miles, $15,980
2015 Toyota RAV4 LE, 30600 miles, $19,980

Do these sound like good deals? If I buy cash, how likely it is to negotiate a rebate with the dealer?

I wouldn't personally buy an ex-fleet vehicle (like a former rental car) because it might have been thrashed, and they all tend to be brands I wouldn't usually be interested in (Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Nissan, etc).

Buy German or Japanese and you're good to go. Well, Japanese. Honda,. Toyota are the reliability gold standard.
Use a car broker if you want. Or do a private sale. Good thing is modern cars don't really need a break-in period.

And no offence taken. I was being curmudgeonly. And ignore that other poster 'civilservant'. She doesn't know a thing about cars or anything really.

So I should look for pre-owned cars, right? I found good deals at the local Thrifty Car Sales dealership, but I assume it's all former rental cars.

Look at edmunds.com or Kelly Blue Book. It'll give you a good idea.
I wouldn't buy a Chrysler product, unless it was a Wrangler.

The RAV4 is small, but an excellent vehicle.

Start studying your future state's driving laws a bit in advance so you can get the licence as soon as you like (Idaho here: https://itd.idaho.gov/wp-content/upl...ver_manual.pdf)

Even though a lot of it is common sense, it helps to know some of the distance-related regulations, and what all the road signs mean.

A state-issued drivers licence is extremely useful for things other than driving, eg, boarding a domestic flight

Private sales are good. You can probably save a grand or two. 30,000 for the Toyota is like a new car. Still under warranty, I'm guessing.

Seriously, depreciation is significant on American models. You spend 50,000 on a fancy Ford, Chevy and Dodge pick-up, and two years later, it's worth 30,000. They even sell underwater insurance at dealerships, because you'll owe more than the vehicle is worth.

Also, another tip based on my experience of having had a regular sedan and now a SUV. Get an SUV. You already seem to be favouring this option anyway, but I thought I would reinforce it.

Every other sucker is out on the road in one, so if you are sat at car-driver height, you have obstructed vision. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I have to get an SUV and AWD/4WD is mandatory too. The place where I am moving has snow on the ground from December to March, and it can get 10in of snow overnight.

So much for people wanting to move to the USA for the milder climate...

Also keep in mind that unlike the UK, the price is almost always exclusive of tax, title and license.

For example in Texas, expect to pay the cash price + around 7%

Of course you can always negotiate the actual price down, but keep that in mind.

Pfft, just an F250?

This is a real truck. (F350 Dually)

Edit: Also, if it's not lifted, you're the odd one out in Texas, especially East Texas.