Recommend me a truck

I have been toying with the idea of getting a pickup truck for daily use. Primary motivation is that I bought a house that was built in the 1920s. Just about every weekend a truck would come in handy.

I currently have a WRX wagon. It's a great car and the cargo area is big enough most of the time but I still end up borrowing a truck from someone at least once a month. It also doesn't get very good gas mileage so if I get a compact truck it really will be a wash. I'm not really interested in getting a utility trailer.

Right now I have it narrowed down to Chevy Colorado, Toyota Taco, and Nissan Frontier. I'm looking to spend around $10k. The Colorado is the lowest price point and since the biggest engine is a 5 cyl it gets the best mpg. The Toyota is probably the best overall truck but it's hard to find one around here for a decent price. The Frontiers that I usually see around here are crew cabs with a 4 ft box. Need something longer than that.

If anybody has any advice, or other suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks

Buy an older truck for cheaper. Like the Hardbody-based Frontier. Easier to find in regular cab/bed models, cheaper, smaller outside with the same size beds and lower loading heights.

My wife had a Colorado work truck. Said it was a piece of E36 M3, but maybe its because she liked to do doughnuts in the parking lot with the red and blues flashing on the roof.

Unless you really want to, I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a supplies-fetcher.

I recently bought a $2500, 140k mile 3/4 ton van. Granted with all the deferred maintenance stuff it's going to be closer to $3500, but that's about 1/3 of what you're looking at for a vehicle on fresh tires, rebuilt front suspension, and with many, many years worth of lumber run miles left on it.

I LOVE my Frontier. It tows my 78 malibu on an open trailer with no problems.

I would think you could get one cheaper than $10,000.00. Mine still runs great with 140,000 hard miles on it. (2008). I only paid around $17,000.00 for mine brand new! (no power windows, no power locks, no cruise) Mine is even 4wd and has the 4.0.

BTW, you can get the colorado with a V8. I can't remember if it is the 4.8 or 5.3.

I get about 19mpg mixed driving. 21 to 22 on the highway.

I'd say find the best looking Ford/Chevy/GMC with a 300/302/350 1/2 ton you can for $1K and be done with it.

The Frontier was also sold at Suzuki dealerships as the Equator. Sure, you have likely never heard of it and therefore you may be able to buy it cheaper. Of course, you will need to pay low for it because you will have to sell it for low to get rid of it (because no one has heard of them and no one is looking for one.)
Of the few that are out there, they were likely Enterprise rental cars when they were new. I remember seeing them on their lots and it would make sense that Suzuki would dump them their cheap to try to keep up their volume commitments.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Equator

Find a 4.2L v6 F150 in a single cab for 5-6K and call it a day. Much more truck for less money, reliable as gravity, and unlike the little trucks you actually sit up with your legs going down not out.

I love my 1st gen dakotas. 4x8 sheet of plywood fits in the longbed between the wheel arches, v6 has ok power, 91-96 had v8 as an option. 5 speed available with all engines. Best of all it fits in 9K under your price.

Plenty of older S10/Ranger/Dakota/F150/C1500 available, in many flavors, for under 3500 bucks.

If a compact truck, Ford Ranger all the way. Good, tough trucks. Endless stories from family and friends about their reliability and toughness. Looks good in 2001+ form. Oh yeah, I own one. I believe the Colorado is on the worst list on CR. Never heard anything good about them from owners I have talked to. For the same price but bigger bed, F-150's. Ranger's do come with 7' beds as a option, but I don't see too many of them.

wearymicrobe wrote: Find a 4.2L v6 F150 in a single cab for 5-6K and call it a day. Much more truck for less money, reliable as gravity, and unlike the little trucks you actually sit up with your legs going down not out.

This. Unless you have specific reason for wanting a little truck this is a better choice.

Would you be selling the WRX to get the truck? If you were I would keep the WRX and just buy some old '70/ '80s Ford for $1-$2k and keep the WRX for daily.

93EXCivic wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: Find a 4.2L v6 F150 in a single cab for 5-6K and call it a day. Much more truck for less money, reliable as gravity, and unlike the little trucks you actually sit up with your legs going down not out.

This. Unless you have specific reason for wanting a little truck this is a better choice.

I would agree with these two unless you want a compact.

I'm on my second Colorado. Both have been, and are capable and reliable trucks. The Ranger is a lot cheaper. It's a reliable truck as well, but smaller and a lot less truck. If that's what you want, they're good. My 4 cylinder 5 spd Colorado has plenty of power.

I'm just going to completely ignore your requirements. I have slowly escalated having gone from Nissan Hardbody 4cyl to a newer 6 cyl model, to a POS dodge, to a Tundra v8 and finally... just cut to the chase.

Get a Chevy 2500HD loaded with a Duramax diesel. They are about 19k used w/ less than 100k on the odo and every option ever. It is overkill for almost everything you could possibly do with it and despite it being a huge monster it is pretty economical, seats the whole family in comfort and can haul your house camping with you. It will save you the price of atleast two, possibly three intermediate steps. Parts are almost free compared to Toyota parts.

Hell for $10k i'd be looking at ~07 V8 F150s.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I'm just going to completely ignore your requirements. I have slowly escalated having gone from Nissan Hardbody 4cyl to a newer 6 cyl model, to a POS dodge, to a Tundra v8 and finally... just cut to the chase. Get a Chevy 2500HD loaded with a Duramax diesel. They are about 19k used w/ less than 100k on the odo and every option ever. It is overkill for almost everything you could possibly do with it and despite it being a huge monster it is pretty economical, seats the whole family in comfort and can haul your house camping with you. It will save you the price of atleast two, possibly three intermediate steps. Parts are almost free compared to Toyota parts.

OTOH, if you could still buy an original S10 sized truck, I'd rather have that than my much bigger Colorado. That, and I guess "economical" is subjective.

I know you said you are not interested, but a trailer hitch for the WRX and a Harbor Freight trailer is the best answer.

I picked up a 96 f700 for 4k with 65k mi. Will haul anything I can think of it even has a liftgate.

PeterAK wrote: I know you said you are not interested, but a trailer hitch for the WRX and a Harbor Freight trailer is the best answer.

There is no kill like overkill.

Fletch1 wrote:

93EXCivic wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: Find a 4.2L v6 F150 in a single cab for 5-6K and call it a day. Much more truck for less money, reliable as gravity, and unlike the little trucks you actually sit up with your legs going down not out.

This. Unless you have specific reason for wanting a little truck this is a better choice.

I would agree with these two unless you want a compact.

+2

A truck being purchased primarily for go-fer work w/o an 8' bed?

Does not compute.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Get a Chevy 2500HD loaded with a Duramax diesel. They are about 19k used w/ less than 100k on the odo and every option ever. It is overkill for almost everything you could possibly do with it and despite it being a huge monster it is pretty economical, seats the whole family in comfort and can haul your house camping with you. It will save you the price of atleast two, possibly three intermediate steps. Parts are almost free compared to Toyota parts.

You have no idea how tempted I am to just put my Cummins on eBay with no reserve and do this. I'm tired of buying proejcts. I have no time for more projects. I just need a truck that works.

I appreciate the feedback, about what I expected to hear from this crowd. I want a compact truck because it fits in my garage and gets about the same mpg as what I currently have. I don't want a full size because I don't think I need one. I don't tow anything, ever. I don't want to get god awful gas mileage.

I have been borrowing my mom's Ranger for most of my projects and that is about the right size. If I was going to get a Ranger I would just look for the cheapest one I can find. They have been about the same since '93.

I would be selling the WRX if I get a truck. It's a nice car but I am tired of it. They hold their value so well it seems like a good time to get rid of it. I could get a truck for $10k that would be paid for with lots of usable life left in it. Plus if I have a reliable truck for daily use I could get a fun car for cheap. I have been pondering this for the last 6 months or so. I might change my mind again tomorrow.

The modern V6 trucks don't do any better on gas mileage than the V8s, and in some case a few mpg worse.

Owner of a 2011 Crew Cab Frontier.

I can get 30 MPG(US)/ 8 L per 100 km in my Colorado