Cheap Pick-up Trucks

Yes. I would imagine that any small truck will meet your needs, so the best approach is to drive several models and choose the model that you like the most.

 

older dodge with cummins and stick tranny. or automatic, but in either case be sure the tranny has been fixed as they all are a little suspect behind the muscular cummins.

it will get the same fuel economy as a little truck and tow the world (in a pinch).

tom w

 

A Toyota Tacoma, or even those older little Toyota's are great. Nissan small trucks are great too.

Personally, I'd go import for small trucks. If you wanted a large ranch truck or something, maybe a Ford, but their smaller trucks are POS.

 

Seems to me (without looking too far) that a 4-seater, 4cyl might not exist. Southern Cal may preclude the need for 4WD. But, don't know where the go-kart will be used. Probably a good idea to jump on Yahoo and see what's out there.

 

He's going to have to eat a ton of miles to get into any kind of diesel truck for the price range he's shopping. It sounds like he just wants to tow a go-kart, so a Cummins would definitely be overkill.

 

In my opinion, anything 5-10 years old is a bit of a gamble. I've seen plenty of Rangers and S-10s go several hundred thousand miles. I've seen others bite the dust long before that mark. I'd imagine that the same could be said for Toyota and Nissan, but both are pretty solid trucks in their own right. Personally, I think it comes down to your taste and preferance more than anything else. The Mazda pickup is the same as the Ford Ranger, so I didn't include it for that reason. Best of luck to you.

 

I drove a Tacoma and that truck was a pos. The brakes were ****, the thing rattled when you shut the door, and the list goes on and on. This was a newer truck too.

 

Toyotas seem to hold a better resale from what I've seen in my area....But, my 1994 Chevy 1500(350v8) hasn't had any issues....Just replaced my fuel pump, which I guess could be expected after 13 years.....154000 miles and all I've really had to do was buy new tires, shocks(installed myself), and the fuel pump.

 

Get a 96-98 GMC or Chevy 1500. Fully depreciated, rock solid if taken care of and cheap to repair if it needs it.

OR...get a an older FJ40 Land Cruiser that has had an American V8 swap. Should be able to pick one up well under $10,000 and it will hold its value like no other. A friend bought his two years ago for $6500 and it's been his daily driver, rain or shine with not a single problem.

 

Wow! That's wild. Never driven one. I was looking at them, and test drove an older one because I don't like the new body style. It seemed just like any other older truck..

Essentially they're all just trucks..4 wheels, a cab, and a bed.

 

I think it was like 04 or 05 so it wasnt brand new but it only had like 30k on it. America has the truck market and they produce some nice trucks simply. I love the new F150's maybe you should look at one. They also make great daily drivers. My friend has a 93 Chevy 1500 that has 240k on it and its still a nice truck that takes constant abuse so thats defiantly an option.

 

I drive a 2001. It's a Tacoma Prerunner, extended cab, automatic, 4cyl. It's absolutely fantastic. My brakes are great. Could just be an adjustment on the one you drove. I think if it was a manual it'd get slightly better gas mileage, but Prerunners only come in automatics.

Nothing rattles on my car. It's solid. I've had it since November 2000. I get GREAT gas mileage, low maintenance. Regular oil changes and checkups and that is all I've had to have done. I haven't had one problem with it.

Only things I've had to replace is a belt suffering from dry rought. Something that is common in AZ when the vehicle is parked outside all the time.

I'd be interested to hear the list that goes on and on, because I haven't experienced a single "pos" aspect.

 

The ride was rough and the trans wasnt that smooth, just the entire truck didnt seem that well put together. But the only other truck Ive driven is a 2006 F150 so I really have no small trucks to compare it to.

 

Fair enough. The ride can be especially rough on the road with the TRD package. The stiffer suspension isn't the best for street use. That's why I opted not to get it. As for the transmission, point taken. It definitely won't be as smooth as something with a larger motor, just because the motor has to work harder to get going. You will definitely notice the shifts more so than a larger motor vehicle. After all, it isn't a Mercedes or Chevy Vortec we're talking here!

My cousin has a Chevy S-10 Extreme with a 4-cyl. and I must say the Toyota is far more well refined. Maybe I'm biased, but I notice more power from my Tacoma. Though it could just have more torque that is doing it.

FWIW, strapping a TRD supercharger on the V6 Tacoma will push the power up to around 265, IIRC. With a manual, a light Tacoma with this can become VERY fun. I haven't gotten a chance to drive the S-Runner (or X-Runner, whatever it's called now), but I'm sure it's a blast to drive with a supercharger on it.

 

IMO, American trucks are very reliable. Namely Chevy's. I don't know where they picked up the rep of being unreliable. My parents have owned every make of car around and they're never been left stranded in their Chevy. Probably why they don't bother looking elsewhere everytime they're in the new truck/suv market.

I had an '85 S-10 as my first truck, okay, that thing sucked. The carb was horrible in it. But the newer S-10s are very reliable. I had a '99 Silverado and drove it like I stole it almost every day and it was bulletproof.

My uncle has '99 (i think) Toyota Tacoma and just rolled over 210K miles. The only thing he's replaced are the tires. He's one of the reasons I may consider a Tacoma as my next truck.

 

My parents use to own a '96 Chevy Suburban. It was great, but by 80-90K miles, it started to really chew through brakes. They had to replace them probably 5 or 6 times by 126K miles when we sold it. It got rediculous and it cost more money to maintain it than was worthy. So they traded it in and got a Honda Pilot. With both kids in college out of state, there was no need for a huge vehicle.

 

i had six burbs. newest was 94. brakes lasted a ridiculously long time.

either they are very hard on them or something was wrong.

if the dodge cummins does not appeal, then find a really clean chebby with the 6.2 diesel. i have never been impressed with any of the small pickups. although if forced to buy a small one i prob would go toyota.

tom w

 

I've always wondered about situations like this. When you say it "chewed through brakes" there's so many variables that can influence it, I find it hard to place blame on the car brand. They don't make the pads or rotors. If you replace pads with $20 pep boys pads, I have no doubt that they'd be crap. Same with rotors, filters, oil, tires, any of the consumables really.

Anyway, my whole family has always been partial to GM trucks, large and small. Yea, they may not be as "refined" as others (still unsure as to why you need a truck to be refined), but they are built tough (wait, isn't that the Ford slogan?), and they're cheap to own and fix. Can't say the same for my two friends' 4-5 yr old Tacomas who have a mysterious cracked frame after 60,000 miles in Georgia and another whose frame bent from a 10 mph rear end. I've never really been impressed by any Asian vehicle -- maybe because I've been lucky to only have a few minor annoyances with my domestics.

 

My '99 Silverado still had the original pads when I sold her with 74K miles, maybe it was 84K I can't remember. This is with lowered suspension 17" wheels for about 30K miles and 20" wheels for the remainder.

Everytime I took her to the mechanic for the bi-yearly check up I had the brakes/rotors checked.

 

I completely agree that there are many variables. For the record, my parents (my father in particular) has always opted to put factory OEM parts on his vehicles when they need replacing...unless it's filters, tires, etc. We didn't drive it any harder than anyone else would drive it on a daily basis in regular freeway and surface streets driving conditions.

I'm in no way trying to take away from GM trucks. By far, their trucks are better than any car they are putting out. These are my experiences and a few relatives and friends have had other problems as well. No car is bulletproof, not even a Honda Civic. Case in point, my father has owned a Civic as a commuter car, bulletproof. My brother got one a year newer, he's gone through 2 A/C units. Go figure.

Tacomas...they might as well be considered American because they are built in Freemont, California.

 

Don't know if you need an SUV but I have owned 2 Infiniti QX4s which are basically fancy Pathfinders.

A 98 that I regularly changed the oil (non synthetic), put front brakes, tires, new plugs and filters, ohm-metered the plug wires (fine), cap and rotor, flushed the coolant all at 60K and ran it another 50K with oil changes only. Oh - and I replaced the battery with a a Costco special - once - and it didn't need it.

Traded it on a new 2002 because it needed the whole shot again plus the timing belt, but I'll wager some mechanic in the shop bought it and it's still going strong. I did even less on this one - electronic ignition, timing chain and no new battery - it even got better gas mileage than the 99 with 70 more hp, a better interior and HID headlights (which I will never go without now). Sent it to my nephew in Hawaii and running great with 80K (and new 20"s I heard - lol)...

Both were used in Chicago stop and go traffic as well as 1 1/2 hour trips to my lake house, 6 hour ski runs to the UP, and tows of a (light) sailboat across the midwest for Regattas and they never failed me.

If Infiniti would have given the treatment to the new Pathfinder I would be on my third, but they didn't and the Q56 is HUGE - so I bought a new MDX instead and I'm quite enjoying it, actually.

These things are way under appreciated...