Truck...

Sandwich · May 26, 2005

the gmc or chevy cyclone, i think

could be right up your alley, small, light, 5 cylinder, 2wd, and pretty affordable. I don't know much else about them, but my buddy seems to be pretty content with his.

jacksonpt · May 26, 2005

I assume you're looking at them used? Hard to find trucks under $20k, especially Toyota/Nissan, especially 4wd.

Of those, the tacoma far and away should be your first choice.

Next, a Nissan Frontier.

After that, GMC, Chevy are next, I wouldn't even consider a Ford or a Dodge.

luken8r · May 26, 2005

avoid GM like the plauge. way too many recalls, build quality is horrendous. the new colorado/gmc whatever is very uninspired and a POS.
car and driver actually did a comapro of the new compact PUs this month. http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=9470

honda has a new PU that may be worth checking out. no idea on $$ though, more along the lines of $25k i would imagine

Zark · May 26, 2005

I've driven the ranger 2wd, Frontier 2wd, Dakota 2wd and I have a Tacoma 2wd.

The Taco is very. very nice. I'd look at a couple year old one My MPG is about 20 city-24 freeway. Power is decent, room is OK. New ones get 20-27 MPG.

at 64,000 mi I've had to buy tires a couple times, wiper blades and regular oil changes. Freakin lovely maintenance record if you ask me.

schweino1 · May 26, 2005

i have a ranger, and had a tacoma....

IMO they are the same thing, tacoma looks cooler, but the ranger is cheaper...

BussaFrame · May 26, 2005

Check last years Tacoma's with a 4 cylinder engine and 4wd. I looked at those before I got my frontier and it was possible to get that configuration under 20K at that point in time. You should be able to find one now. If you can get a frontier those are nice trucks also. I love mine.

Ridemonkey · May 26, 2005

schweino1 said:
i have a ranger, and had a tacoma....

IMO they are the same thing, tacoma looks cooler, but the ranger is cheaper...

I don't agree with that. The Ford looks tough. The Tacoma looks like a truck designed like a sports car. Too many curves and flares for me.

I've had two Rangers and they were good trucks. Make sure you get the 4 liter engine, the 3 liter is gutless.

binary visions · May 26, 2005

Tacoma.

Better build quality, better reliability, better resale. I had the V6 4wd, and it had lots of power.

I loved mine. It was nice and compact so it wasn't a bear to drive around town, plus it was manuverable when off-roading. Oh, yeah, and it stood up to hundreds of miles in the woods without a single complaint.

I bought it for $14k with 35,000 miles on it, and sold it a year later (insurance was too expensive for a 20-yr-old) for $13k with 70,000 miles on it.

dan-o · May 26, 2005

Definately the Tacoma. The Dodges are thirsty (but a great size), the Fords really small, and my buddies have had great luck with the Tacomas. Subtract about 25% off the EPA numbers for real-world MPG numbers.

Westy · May 26, 2005

Rangers suck, get the Mazda B2000.

manhattanprjkt83 · May 26, 2005

My little bros picked up a dakota, with an extended cab...IMO perfect it gets killer gas milage...enough room for some DH bikes/Dirt bikes and you can put 4 people in it...

:thumb:

SkaredShtles · May 26, 2005

Go used, man. Use the money savings to buy gas. :thumb:

Can't recommend anything, as I've never owned a pickup.

-S.S.-

-dustin · May 26, 2005

Tacoma

my next oil change will be 100000mi. brings a tear to my eye.

--edit--

i loooove the shallow seating in Tacomas.

Mike B. · May 26, 2005

another vote for the Tacoma. I've got an '02 4wd V6 extended cab that has been absolutely flawless for the first 35k of its life. It can be a little small inside but everything else about it is great.

F.O.G · May 26, 2005

I've got an 04 Dakota Quad cab with the V8 and yes it does suck the gas around town but does pretty well on trips. I use it for work so not a big deal on the gas, it's a write off. The truck has been awesome!, my wife and I used it to go out to the Durango Fnals last year and took 4 bikes and a ton of crap and I couldn't be happier with the truck. The only down side is the bed length. It is a 5.5 foot bed so more than two bikes get tricky, but you can always get a bed extender to remedy the problem. I do have to say they definitly ruined the 05 though, is is really ugly and is only slightly larger. You sould be able to pick up an 04 with low miles for under 20k. Just my thoughts...

Andyman_1970 · May 26, 2005

I would recommend the Tacoma.

I've got a 2000 (orginal owner) Xtra cab, 4WD, V6, 5sp and love it (63k miles). It offroads great and I've had no problems with it.

The only downside (which is why I'm considering selling) is that it's not really baby/child friendly. It has however been a great bike hauler.

Incubus · May 26, 2005

For anyone who thinks GM is crap, there is a company out there called JD Power that begs to differ

This coming from a 4runner owner.

Jayridesacove · May 26, 2005

Tacoma...

I bought an 03 in July of 03 when I finished my 4+ years in the Marines. It's a great truck, I've got about 27,000 miles on it and all I've done is routing maintenance to it, oil change, air filter change, wiper blades, rotate tires.

I did have an issue regarding the driver's side power window. If I had the window all the way down, and I closed the door too hard, the window would fall off the track. This led to the window not aligning up with the seal when you tried to roll it up. I had to get this issue warrantied twice. But since they did the second fix, it's been fine.

For anyone who thinks GM is crap, there is a company out there called JD Power that begs to differ

GM crap...well they did recall 2 million vehicles
http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/04/25/gm_recall/index.html

and S&P didn't seem to care...
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/05/markets/bondcenter/autos_bonds.reut/

and the Japanese seem to be selling more cars, while U.S. automakers see some sketchy numbers
http://www.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/05/03/cars.detroit.ap/index.html

GM's ship is sinking fast...that's why they're trimming down their car lines to save some of their losses
http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/05/19/gm_brands/index.html

SilentJ · May 26, 2005

Incubus said:
For anyone who thinks GM is crap, there is a company out there called JD Power that begs to differ

This coming from a 4runner owner.

I drive an 04 GM Canyon. It's treated me pretty good. :thumb:

The engine is based on the Trailblazer's 4.2L I6 just with a cyliner lopped off. The interior isn't as nice as the Nissan or the Toyota, but its a truck. It's simple and functional. I get about 23mpg at about 80mph and around 18mpg in the city with a crew cab 4x4.

luken8r · May 26, 2005

Incubus said:
For anyone who thinks GM is crap, there is a company out there called JD Power that begs to differ

This coming from a 4runner owner.

do me a favor and google "GM recalls"
These are the from the first page

GM Recalls 4 Million Pickups

GM Recalls 824000 Cars to Fix Power Steering

GM Recalls Trucks and SUVs - 05/01/03

GM recalls more than 2M autos for potential safety defects - Apr ...

GM - GMability Safety: GM Recalls Some 1996-98 Cars

GM recalls 2 million vehicles - Autoblog - www.autoblog.com _

Im sure this has a lot to do with all of their bonds being changed to junk status
dont kill the messenger. i drive a jeep and they have their fair share of defects too :help:

srbeck · May 26, 2005

In my time as a mechanic I saw three toy's with more than 400,000 on them, and not a single domestic with more than 250,000. Plus many of the TRD's have an electronic locking rear differential, making them much more capable off road (though I think nissian and gm have done this on some 05 models).

SilentJ · May 26, 2005

luken8r said:
do me a favor and google "GM recalls"
These are the from the first page

igh:

toyota recalls

Everybody has recalls. I rank brand haters up there with religious fanatics in their close-mindedness.

Edit:
I come from the farm and we've seen our share of vehicles come and go:
of note that are still going:
86 Ford F250 2wd - Still running and pulling anhydrous tanks to the field - 476000km. the only part of it that totally sucks is the brakes..the MC goes pretty often - but its the best work truck Ive ever used.

74 international 3-ton grain truck - still going and still hauling grain (200000mi) (chevy 350 power) just needs a carb rebuild once in a while

94 gm sierra 1500 4x4 - 275000ish km - this thing gets the hell beaten out of it and has never had much go wrong.

dead:
you name it.

GM vehicles tend to make noise in the cab (i.e. rattle) and I suspect that this is where a lot of GM hate comes from. I've never had problems so I'll probaby keep with the GM stuff. I would love to have bought a toyota (265hp :drool:

), but theyre just too pricey for the new ones. In any case, this has gotten off topic.

spectaculardark · May 26, 2005

i like the ford danger ranger 4x4 off road

punkassean · May 26, 2005

Tacoma, Tacoma, Tacoma

Toyota OWNS!

GeoffW · May 26, 2005

My brother owns a 04 Dakota Quad 4x, nice truck, very roomy for a midsize. He has the 4.7L, not great on fuel, but not too bad either. Truck is nice, I'd buy one in the heartbeat. Owns the class in straightline performance. I bet you could find a nice year old one with less than 20K for less than $20K. Front ball joints were to all be replaced under warranty though, if your looking at a 'kota, check for service bulletins for this.
I really don't understand where everyone has this opinion that domestics are junk. My uncle owned a 02 Honda Minivan, at 47,000 km (~28,000 miles) both aluminum heads were cracked. At 64,000 km, two injectors decided to retire. His previous vehicle, a 98 CRV, tranny quit at 101,000 km. Everyone has their problems, realize it. My family has had good luck with the Dodge's. We have three shop trucks, one is a 96 Dodge 3500 Dually with Cummins power, pulls a 32' tri-axle fifth wheel. How many kms? 743,000 right now. We've changed the tranny filter a few times, regular oil changes, haven't touched anything else otherwise.
Food for thought..The majority of trucks in the Northern Alberta Oilsands are Fords and Dodges lately..very few imports up there

-dustin · May 26, 2005

rattles:

- the dash in my Tacoma rattled after 20k. took it in, and it was replaced.
- my keys tend to rattle while driving over bumps.
- Toyota's stock bedliner rattles. and it doesn't cover the rails...argh. i should've gotten a spray-in.
- my leaf springs squeak. i've heard that's a Toyota problem. doesn't bother me enough to do anything about it.

- compared to my friend's truck, i like the feel of braking and accelerating. his truck...i don't know. you can't really "feel" anything when pushing on either pedal. i guess it's hard to explain.

after 6yrs, i still love how my Tacoma looks. just need some black rims. i really, really, really like the 96s, too. damn. a friend of mine is looking to trade in his 98 Dodge 1500 4x4 for a 96 Tacoma and can't find any here in central TX.

Andy_B · May 26, 2005

I have spent a few 1000 miles in a Tacoma and GMC/GM thing...

The Toyota has it hands down. Comfort, Handling

The Gm Seats suck, there is a ton of cabin noise, and tons of body roll

I currently have a Honda Element 5 Speed AWD. Quite, ugly 26mpg

Barbaton · May 26, 2005

Incubus said:
For anyone who thinks GM is crap, there is a company out there called JD Power that begs to differ

This coming from a 4runner owner.

That JD Power report they're citing is this year's Initial Quality Survey, and GM has done fairly well. However, it'll take a few years to know if their effort toward initial quality reflects over the long term. Chevy/GMC did ok in last year's JDP Dependability Survey (the '05 one should be out in June), but most of the rest of the GM brands (except Buick) sucked it up. With them having to cut costs left and right I think quality will probably suffer.

As the guardian of a '95 Cavalier (GF's), I can say that I won't be comfortable owning another GM anything until they've been considered reliable for at least 10 years, if they're around that long. Same goes for Ford, after my experience driving around the crap F150 fleet trucks for a summer job a while ago.

My next car/truck will be a Toyota or Honda. My family has had Toyota/Nissan since 1987 and the GF's has always had Honda/Acura with the exception of the Crapvalier...

EDIT: I forgot my dad's 87 dakota (bought for 2k in ~1993, how's that for resale value) utility truck that we use once a year when we need a xmas tree. That's been another big strike against domestic for me...

dan-o · May 26, 2005

Durability wise, my '00 4.7l Dakota was a great truck with nothing but routine work up to 75k. My current '02 Chevy Silverado 2500HD is perfect at 40k. Official recalls don't tell the whole story: Honda's auto trannies in the Oddessy (sp?) and Pilot have been self destructing but Honda's done a great job of keeping it quiet.

Full Trucker · May 26, 2005

I drive a '96 Tacoma SR5 ExtCab 5-speed V6 and LOVE it. It's been nothing but pretty dang good to me, with a couple of notable oddities:

-somewhere around 100K or so the driver's side front hub wore out. I don't know specifics, I have the paperwork somewhere but I've got a broken leg and a case of the lazies. Cost about a grand. Mechanic said that they'd seen this kind of thing on Tacomas of my vintage before. Not a regular occurance, but not totally uncommon.
-recently, at 150K, the front driver's side wheel bearings seized, taking the steering knuckle out with it as well. Cost around $650 in the middle of Nebraska, where no one had parts to fix the thing. GM country there.

Other than that, I feel it runs like a top. I like the cabin space, including the low seat position. I get around 20mph hwy, nearly the same city actually. There's a couple of squeaks and rattles here and there, but I've also been run into a few times which may account for some of that. I'll own another one, for sure. That is, when this one finally dies somewhere around 500K or so...

speedster · May 26, 2005

Tacoma. I have an 03 and drive it pretty hard. I have upgraded suspension, wheels and tires and the truck handles everything I throw at it with ease. You just can't beat the build quality and realiability of the toyota. The new 05 models have been great trucks, and have great power for a v6. IMO go with the toyota and you won't be dissapointed. Plus, they look the best on top of performing the best.

gschuette · May 26, 2005

H8R said:
Some of the 05 Tacomas look like ass, as do some of the trim levels of the Ranger.

The Honda is OUT of the question. Independent suspension and a face like a Transformer toy.

I agree with you on these points. Toyota seriously missed the mark on the styling of the new Tacoma's. I hate the bubblish fenders, pink tail lights, overdone rear bumper, upside down grill, and ginormous headlights. It jsut doesn't do it for me. I really disagree with the car and driver article as well. They things they say suck about the Colorado I have no issue with. I have a Colorado with the 5 cylinder and it has great power. I also get 22mpg overall. I love the mileage my truck gets. It rides very nice when flying up roads to do some shuttle runs. I get compliments on it all the time even after owning it for a year. I think it looks great. The interior is squeak and rattle free and the simplicity is easy to clean. Some hate the Colorado interior and that is fine but since I use my truck to go riding and shuttling with the occasional off roading just for kicks it gets dirty. Even when it is nasty it is super easy to clean. I have the 5 speed and it shifts so nice. Very short throws with a firm not rubbery feel. A great car like shifter in a truck is a gem to me. To be used as a bike hauler I just don't see how my truck could be any more functional. I highly recomend it. BTW it is black and as I said before I think it looks great.

The Honda really has no business in a midsize shootout anyway when Honda claims it is a fullsize. Put the Honda up against a Titan, F-150, Ram, or Silverado and then see how it fares. Car and Driver seems very hesitant to give any praise to American vehicles of late so I am a skeptic of that article. Good luck and get a Colorado or Canyon.

gschuette · May 26, 2005

srbeck said:
In my time as a mechanic I saw three toy's with more than 400,000 on them, and not a single domestic with more than 250,000. Plus many of the TRD's have an electronic locking rear differential, making them much more capable off road (though I think nissian and gm have done this on some 05 models).

A great locker comes standard on all GM mid size Z71s. It works believe me.

T0mo · May 26, 2005

look around for an older, pre-tacoma toyota pick up. My '89 has about 160,000, and I know a guy up here who has over 330,000 on his(I think it's and '84 or '85). You can pick 'em up pretty cheap and they'll run forever. Good stuff, eh?

odiwik · May 26, 2005

Sandwich said:
the gmc or chevy cyclone, i think

could be right up your alley, small, light, 5 cylinder, 2wd, and pretty affordable. I don't know much else about them, but my buddy seems to be pretty content with his.

You definitely don't want to get a GMC Syclone/Typhoon for daily driving and hauling duties, however, it would be a nice track truck and money making street race machine.

Don't get me wrong, they are extremely nice if you have enough money to initially buy one and the same amount of money for future repairs and upgrades. A major major downside is that you will need a lot of time, as they are known as one of the most finicky street machines out there; you'd probably have to eventually choose between becoming a gearhead and riding your bike.

Syclones are 4700# gross, they are based off the 4.3L V6, turbocharged, intercooled, AWD (not 2wd), and they are ~$12,000+ for a decent one (12 year old vehicle). The parts are mostly common s10 components, but the parts that typically break are not. The turbo, intercooler, AWD components, and especially the transmission enjoy failing frequently.

I should know, I own and daily drive a Typhoon. You probably don't want one...

Does your buddy live in Portland?

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