Good truck for a young guy

[laker1]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Is this going highway or city? How long you been driving it?

Highway, I've had it for about 1 1/2 years now.

[huntinstuff]

You are a student with a part time job.

Buy an older truck that you can fix yourself. No way you will afford a shop every time something goes wrong.

Older trucks in the Ford or Dodge class are less complicated to work on.

Gas mileage? Forget it. Trucks are trucks. If gas mileage is a huge concern, buy a car.

Get the truck inspected before u buy it. If the seller refuses to let u, walk away.

Paint, looks, interior, stereoz are irrelevant. You need reliability. Mechanical reliability.

I find Dodge and Ford are fairly easy to work on. Gm's ok too. I have very little experience with Toyotas so i cant comment.

When my son bought his Dodge dakota 1998, first thing i did was buy him coveralls. We drained every fluid out of it, removed all filters, and tore the brakes apart. Checked the front end for excessive play. Check tires for weird wear.

Take a photo of the vin and run a check at any MVB. Talk to the last registered owner.

Hope this helps. Chances are you knew a lot of this anyways

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by bb356

1991 -1998 1500 chev 1500 4x4 ... solid dependable truck's with decent gas milage and lotsa used part's !!!

X2. No doubt

[Moo Snukkle]

Bought a cherry of a truck for my 16yr old in April. 02 Chev ext cab 2 wd. Previous owner treated it like gold. Dual exhaust helps the 4.8 achieve 25+ on highway. Think twice about 4x4. Tire chains are cheaper and you want to keep your costs down. Full size 2wd. Final answer.

[Deer Hunter]

Originally Posted by bb356

1991 -1998 1500 chev 1500 4x4 ... solid dependable truck's with decent gas milage and lotsa used part's !!!

X3

I still have my 97 k1500 that I bought new. it is better than my new ones by a long shot.

[Alberta83]

I've got a mint condition 1997 Chevy Tahoe for sale if you're interested.

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ490625126

[leeaspell]

I'll toss this in to the mix. How about a little Chevy Tracker, pre fuel injection with the manual transmission. Toss a set of knobby tires on it and go anywhere.

[DiabeticKripple]

get a full sized truck. basically the same mileage and more versatile

[Gabriel S.]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

You are a student with a part time job.

Buy an older truck that you can fix yourself. No way you will afford a shop every time something goes wrong.

Older trucks in the Ford or Dodge class are less complicated to work on.

Gas mileage? Forget it. Trucks are trucks. If gas mileage is a huge concern, buy a car.

Get the truck inspected before u buy it. If the seller refuses to let u, walk away.

Paint, looks, interior, stereoz are irrelevant. You need reliability. Mechanical reliability.

I find Dodge and Ford are fairly easy to work on. Gm's ok too. I have very little experience with Toyotas so i cant comment.

When my son bought his Dodge dakota 1998, first thing i did was buy him coveralls. We drained every fluid out of it, removed all filters, and tore the brakes apart. Checked the front end for excessive play. Check tires for weird wear.

Take a photo of the vin and run a check at any MVB. Talk to the last registered owner.

Hope this helps. Chances are you knew a lot of this anyways

Best advice i read so far ...

[leeaspell]

And get an insurance quote before you buy. Some trucks will be cheaper than others.

[Colin_r6]

I like my '04 Tacoma, 20mpg in the city if you drive respectably. Also, if you dig deep enough, you CAN find a 4cyl & 4WD Taco. Single, Extra Cab and Double Cab. Be prepared to pay a premium for these trucks though, they are the last of the small pickups and are highly sought after! I paid $12500 for mine with 76000km.
Change the oil, and keep up on Preventive Maintenance (water pump & timing belt every 140,000km), and it'll run and run..

Gen 2 Tacomas (2005+) are worse on gas, and feel quite a bit larger. I had one, sold it and went back to the Gen 1 Taco. Much happier with my 2004.

[BGSH]

Originally Posted by Alberta83

I've got a mint condition 1997 Chevy Tahoe for sale if you're interested.

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ490625126

Thats actually very tempting. Don't show me these adds.

[Country_boy17]

Originally Posted by Andrew

so Ive been driving for a while now and my little sedan just isnt cutting anymore, and i want to jump up to my first truck. Im a student with a part time job, so im looking for something pretty good on gas, real reliable and affordable enough.

So far, ive had my eyes mostly on:

GMC Canyon/Chev Colorado
Ford Ranger
Mazda B3000
Nissan Frontiers and Toyota Tacomas (But its a stretch that i could afford one)

Does anybody have any experience with these trucks? average gas mileage, reliability? that kind of stuff.

Thanks alot for any help!

Andrew

I'd go with a ranger danger if you can, I own one a i beat the living hell out of it and it's still goin strong, Good mileage on it too, Just a little 6 banger but it hauls for a 6. Goodluck and hope you find something soon !

[Truck Norris]

Originally Posted by leeaspell

I'll toss this in to the mix. How about a little Chevy Tracker, pre fuel injection with the manual transmission. Toss a set of knobby tires on it and go anywhere.

I've rebuilt and modified many Trackers , Sidekicks, and Samurai's over the last 13 years and I'd opt for the fuel injected 1.6(16 valve) over the anemic carbed 1.3L . The Tracker is uber-cheap to purchase and supported by the aftermarket if one wishes to take it offroad but the lack of power is brutal ! Great gas mileage and easy to maintain but the junkyards are getting thin for these lil guys.

I'm a big fan of small trucks and after owning and driving many of them, the Ford Ranger(4x4) is still high on my list. Affordable to purchase used, plentiful in junkyards if someone needs parts, and fairly easy to work on with only a modicum of mechanical ability . My only beef? The TTB front diff(pre 98) and
the internal slave cylinder on standard transmissions.
The Toyota thing? I don't understand why some people ask for ridiculous prices for trucks with super-high kms and rusted bodies. It's the " quality" or it'll " last forever" . I've worked at Dodge, Ford, and Toyota dealerships as a mechanic over the years and I can honestly say that I've had my eyes opened about import quality.

[Smokey]

Originally Posted by Truck Norris

I've rebuilt and modified many Trackers , Sidekicks, and Samurai's over the last 13 years and I'd opt for the fuel injected 1.6(16 valve) over the anemic carbed 1.3L . The Tracker is uber-cheap to purchase and supported by the aftermarket if one wishes to take it offroad but the lack of power is brutal ! Great gas mileage and easy to maintain but the junkyards are getting thin for these lil guys.

I'm a big fan of small trucks and after owning and driving many of them, the Ford Ranger(4x4) is still high on my list. Affordable to purchase used, plentiful in junkyards if someone needs parts, and fairly easy to work on with only a modicum of mechanical ability . My only beef? The TTB front diff(pre 98) and
the internal slave cylinder on standard transmissions.
The Toyota thing? I don't understand why some people ask for ridiculous prices for trucks with super-high kms and rusted bodies. It's the " quality" or it'll " last forever" . I've worked at Dodge, Ford, and Toyota dealerships as a mechanic over the years and I can honestly say that I've had my eyes opened about import quality.

Isn't that why your suppose to do a Volkswagan TDI conversion. That's why I bought a new Jeep. 285 hp and 30 mpg's on the highway. me likey

[tri777]

Originally Posted by Deer Hunter

X3
I still have my 97 k1500 that I bought new. it is better than my new ones by a long shot.

I just must
X4
this chev talk stuff..