I would buy the Ford as the other manufacturers got baAilout money or suffered too many recalls. Honda doesn't make a small pickup, to my knowledge. Nissan hasn't been the same since they changed from Datsun.

The Mazda is just a Ford ranger under their badge.

 

Just sold this one this one a few months ago. I think I'm going to miss it, even thought it was a little weak for pulling. It would be weak for pulling much weight with just a 4 banger.
Date is wrong on the pic. Seems I have to check the date evrytime I use the camera.

Btw That is the new Home Builders Association building just up the street from the house.

I got very good service out of this little truck all the years I had it. I just wanted something a little bigger and stronger. I may have made a mistake.

 

Ford is decent, Toyota is probably the best but IMO if you are looking for a used, cheap to drive and repair yet reliable truck i would say the Dodge Dakota. I drove a 93 Dakota with the 3.9 5spd 2X4 extra cab for yrs and when i sold it the truck had 264k on it and still ran like a swiss watch. The A/C still worked and empty the truck would get 19-21mpg. I had an aluminum cap on it with a ladder rack and that truck had no problem carrying 2k in the bed.

 

I have never had a small truck but I do see a ton of the little yotas on the road and the owners all seemed really happy before all the recalls....:whistling

 

I drove that '97 Mazda for about 10 or 11 years, I guess, for about $5000 when you subtract what I sold it for. I did put new brakes rotors on the front and a slave cylinder for the clutch, tune ups, oil and gas. Bty, it does have Ford on the winshield.
Oh yeah, It had gotten to where it would idle a little rough sometimes. The guy that bought and I were looking at it and discovered a bad vacuum hose. It happened to be the same size I had bought a little of for the vacuum switch on my central unit. Put it on and he drove that baby home for $2500. My son had this truck before me. He also had the '88 I had before this one. That little truck was put through the mill! Some call them junk, I call them good little trucks.......... for their intended purposes.

 

I'm a big fan of the Tacoma. I had a '94 that I rode for 351,000 with only a $600 transmission overhaul. It finally blew a head gasket and I sold it for $400. Now I have a 2009 that's a over 1 year old and have had no problems. As for the big Toyota recalls: they sent me a warning about the floor mats sliding under the pedals, but other than that, the Tacoma has not been part of them.

 

:clap:

 

any thoughts???

 

Find a toyota for that price.

Fairly easy to fix and keep on the road and the accelerator pedal's only started sticking after american's started building them.

 

My 81' pedal would always stick in winter.

( I guess it wasn't a pedal, the little metal stick on the right)

 

rangers are good ive beat the piss outta them and abused more than one

 

I also believe maintenance costs are cheaper on a Ranger. That version has been out so long now, most of the parts will span quite a few years.

 

http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/subaru_go.html


GMOD

 

GENE!

You been on vacation again or what buddy?

Haven't seen you around in a while.

 

Yea buddy camping for a few weeks, then back a pushing out the work, good to see you and the gang, G

 

for 3k I'd recommend a ranger.

A 3k toyota will be OLD and have a BILLION miles.

 

I agree. At that price just look for the best deal for mileage/condition forget about the brand.

 

I have a 2003 S-10 crew cab 4x4. Use it to pull 14' haulmark trailer, loaded with tools.

 

There's a guy near me that has an old toyota that he's been driving forever. A couple of years back, he got tired of driving it, so he decided to kill it. He drained the oil out, and started driving. He got to logan (about 25 miles away), and the truck was still running fine, so he turned around and declared that if it made it back, he would keep it. When he got back, he poured the oil back in, and he's still driving it today.
If that's not impressive enough, check this out:

The Rangers are excellent as well. A guy I work with has had two, and they have converted him from a die hard bowtie fan to a die hard Ford guy. He got the first one since he was low on money, needed a truck, and here was one for $200. despite having over 200k on the odometer, it seemed to run way better than all his old trucks that never reached that mark. When he had a little more money, he decided that he could really use a 4x4, so he sold his ranger for the same amount as he bought it for, and bought the same exact truck in 4x4. Both trucks have the 2.9L, and both were extremely reliable. People that have worked with him and know the truck's history were genuinely shocked when they heard that it broke down. (it was some simple electrical thing, and he was back on the interstate 5 min later.) pretty impressive for a 20 year old truck with better than 300k on the odometer, a good percentage of which was off road.

 

There's a guy near me that has an old toyota that he's been driving forever. A couple of years back, he got tired of driving it, so he decided to kill it. He drained the oil out, and started driving. He got to logan (about 25 miles away), and the truck was still running fine, so he turned around and declared that if it made it back, he would keep it. When he got back, he poured the oil back in, and he's still driving it today.

They were the days when Toyota made vehicles better than the other brands in the same price range. They been riding on that ever since the mid 80's.

 

I have had two Rangers so far. An 88 and my 96. the 88 had 156 on the clock when it got retired....it just plain rotted out...but the motor was still good, and this was after running with no air filter for over a year. My 96 has 210 on the clock and still going strong.

 

I have a '95 F150 that gets about 26 MPG (300/I6, MT, 2wd, SWB). Maintenance costs are very reasonable, and the mileage is about the same as a Ranger, Yota, etc. It's geared too high to haul much of a trailer, but is very reliable. It's fine up to about 4k pounds, but anything bigger requires some clutch magic.

 

Very good point. If you could find that body style that hasn't yet rotted out, the I6 300 was about the most bullet-proof motor Ford has ever built. Earlier years had a tendency to stretch the timing chain.

 

Ranger all the way. I have a 99 S10 and man I have damn near replaced the thing.. as in almost everything on it at least 1 time over in 5 yrs. It is on it's 3rd engine and 2nd tranny. No not from poor maintenance either.. **** design. I have around $1000.00 I just spent on the suspension, front end linkage, rear drums, and shocks. This brch better last me quite a while more. Bodywork is next.

I am a Ford guy, and this S10 is my thorn in my side.

 

S10 with 4.3 motor.:thumbup:

 

Generally considered by numerous magazines to be one of the worst used trucks you can buy. Same for the blazer. What a pile of junk.

 

I call bs on the 26mpg part.

To clarify, that is on the highway without a load. Blended mileage is in the low 20s. This thing is geared high, and has the Mazda tranny (4sp OD) like the Rangers.

I had another 95 before this one, and 21 or 22 was about the best I could get out of it on the highway.

 

If you go the route of the Ranger, and are looking to use it to move yourself and or whatever you can fit in the bed, do yourself a favor and get the less powerful, but WAY more reliable 3.0 motor... the 4.0 has more power, but the 3.0 is near bullet-proof.

 

It was the 4.3, after a while you may get pretty good at swapping intake gaskets.:laughing:

 

or replacing pistons when you drop a valve

 

EDIT: Watch rangers for rot in the rear suspension. I just lost a spring hanger last night. I knew it was rotted but not that bad. I am lucky to have a place near me that stocked everything. I got all new hangers, shackels, hardware and H.D. springs. For $400. Took the day off and started working on it. I am also replacing any brake lines that look the slighest bit iffy, as well as the U-joints are all being replaced(found one with a little rough spot in it). New shocks as well.... If I am gonna be there, I might as well get it all done.

http://www.stengelbros.com/SpringShackles.htm

 

That is kind of ironic TBF, my brother just did the same thing to his 95 f150.

 

It was nice to take it for a test ride. The right height is a little taller, and with all new shocks, bushings and what not the truck is super quite over the rough roads...no more sqeaks, rattles, bangs, clunks etc