new truck?

[natedawg120]

Hey all, I am looking for a used truck so that i can haul the bike on long trips and me and the fiance can ride together in the truck.  My original plan was to find a good used import because I don't need a huge truck and would like to get a little better MPG.  Basically I have desided that i would like a Toyota Tacoma because it has everything that I need and gets great gas mileage for a truck.  The only problem that I had is that I wanted to buy used and any fairly recent Tacoma is selling for big bucks.  Like the best one that I saw was an 01 xtra cab, 4cyl, 5spd, 4x4, 71400 miles for 16900.  Now mind you this is used and now warranty aside from the usual deal 30 day.  I can go to the dealer and get a brand new reg cab 4x4 with the standard options package for 19750 or somewhere there abouts.  So what would you do keep searching for a used pickup that is cheaper and probably american built or go with a new vehicle?

[Alphamazing]

My father got an '02?? Tacoma XCab 4cyl 5speed without 4x4 with low miles (20k, maybe???) for $10k. Look around, you can find better deals than that.

Also - the Tacoma is in-f%$king-destructable.

[natedawg120]

Around here they are hard to find used and for a decent price.  Dealers have then but they are charging out the but.  I have been looking everywhere and havn't seen one under 12k that didn't have over 120k miles.  For example there was a 97 with 188k miles for 11,000.  Curiousity got me and i called and said i would give him 9 cash for it if it met my expectations, cause 188K is a lot of miles.  He said hell no my price is firm.  And 2 WD trucks are hard to find around here cause of the winter, there are a lot of bad roads that you need a 4x4 in the winter.  I am going to keep looking but i don't want to buy something with high miles just because the something will break or someone didn't take care of it like they should have. 

[blue05twin]

Same problem down here.  It's up to you really either keep looking eventually you will find a good deal.  Or just bite the bullet and get a new one for the few thousand more.

Took my friend about 4 months to find a good used one at a resonable price.   

[natedawg120]

yeah, i am going to keep my eyes open.  Just need to get a second cage before mid August.  My fiance uses mine for her work and all i got is the bike since her parents gave the car that she was using to her brother who is just starting college.

[scottpA_GS]

I bought an 89 toyota 4X4 Pickup for $500!!! last year

It is in sweet shape.. had 89,000 on it when I got it. Runs like new.. even the AC works GREAT! And it hauls the GS like a champ 

[ashman]

A 4wd TACO will not get much better then 20 mpg. I drove a 98 reg cab 2wd 2.4ltr 5spd TACO and averaged 23 MPG. Nissan hardbodys are pretty cheap and reliable, back in 97 or 98 when they redesigned and called them the Frontier the value of the older models dropped and in 01 or 02 when they changed it again, the 1st gen Frontiers got pretty cheap, G'luck

-ash

[ryusan]

I have a 1994 Toyota Pickup 2WD.  It's the one right before tacomas came out.  I bought it for about $3K and 130,000 miles on the odo.  I've had it for a while now and it's probably the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.  The only thing you have to do to the truck is switch out the timining chain ($$$) at around 150,000 to 200,000 miles and your good to go for another 150k to 200k.

[blue05twin]

Totally different vech.  Saturday we also went to the Honda dealer took a look at the Ridgeline.   They were offering 5K off sticker prices on the 06's with 2.9-4.9% financing about the same gas mileage at the Tacoma he's getting the basemodel for 21K OTD.  Just a thought.

All Ridgelines are 4x4.

[Stephen072774]

All Ridgelines are 4x4.

Automatic all-wheel drive... its really a front wheel drive

[blue05twin]

Damn more false advertising from an Auto maker    I got the 4x4 from the ridgeline booklet 

[manofthefield]

I bought by 98 Tacoma 4wd TRD 2 years ago with 111000 miles on it for 8600.  I think I could sell it for more today.  It usually gets 17-21mpg and I even saw 23 a couple weeks ago on a trip.  Recently it's crossed my mind to sell it since I take my bike or the bus to work and I usually drive the GF's car everywhere else.  I figure I could get a cheaper car or 2wd truck and bank some $$ since I don't get to take the TRD off road anywhere around here and I'm not moving as often as I used to.  I'll probably hold off for a bit though

More related to this post, If I were to get a 2wd truck, my first choice would be an older Tacoma, but I would also strongly consider a ford Ranger... they've made millions of them and AFAIK they are pretty reliable, even though I tend to avoid american cars.  I hadn't thought about it before, but I would probably consider an older Nissan pickup like ashman suggested too

[natedawg120]

I am looking at nissans too, there are fewer of those around here than the toys and any one of the two that are under 8k have been beaten up and have really high miles.  I would like to keep to a lower mileage vehicle since if i get one that still has some sort of value to it I am going to have to finance it.

[Grainbelt]

No shame in towing. Buy a Rav4 or CRV or pathfinder (if you want a real transfer case) or somthing and a small trailer.

Tacomas have unreal resale, buying them used is not cheap.

[natedawg120]

I have thought about that but i want something with a rear axle, towing with a FWD primary isn't goot on those little CV axles.  Hell if it wasn't that we needed another vehicle i would slap a hitch on the stratus and tow away

[Dr. Love]

What you really want is:


or


They are great. 

[Alphamazing]

A 4wd TACO will not get much better then 20 mpg. I drove a 98 reg cab 2wd 2.4ltr 5spd TACO and averaged 23 MPG. Nissan hardbodys are pretty cheap and reliable, back in 97 or 98 when they redesigned and called them the Frontier the value of the older models dropped and in 01 or 02 when they changed it again, the 1st gen Frontiers got pretty cheap, G'luck

-ash

That's true. My dad averages 24mpg around town with his. However, consider this: Hauling 900 lb of bike, 200+ lb of gear, and 350 lb of father and son 2400 miles, we averaged 24mpg pretty much every fill up. Our truck has a weight limit of 1550 lbs; we were close and still getting 24mpg.

[natedawg120]

the VWs are cool but uber rare.  I think i have only seen a handfull of that type in my life.  A beater would be nice just have to find one that isn't falling apart, get a lot of that around here because people use them as farm trucks or play trucks then sell them for cheap right before the wheels fall off

[12thmonkey]

What you really want is:


or


They are great. 

Heck yeah.

[GeeP]

If you're looking for cheap and effective transportation where "style" means nothing to you, have a look at an early 90's Dakota with the 2.5L four.

Mine is just shy of 600,000 miles, having been driven on a 2-hour commute each way for years.  It's a fleet vehicle, so the only option it has is a heater.  I have NEVER dropped below 27 MPG and generally average around 31-32.  Then again, I don't have a lead foot.  I'm a long distance driver, not a drag racer.  It left me on the side of the road once - the alternator self - destructed halfway home.  I had it changed and was back on the road in 20 minutes with an adjustable wrench and a pair of pliers.

You might have a look at the newer Dakota 4cyls too.  I've been thinking about buying a slightly later model as I need a second pickup.  I haven't researched yet, but I would suspect that a number of the main components are interchangeable.

Hell yes on a Rabbit pickup!