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  #31  
Old 02-21-2019, 02:08 PM
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Savage Bacon Savage Bacon is offline
 
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Another instance where ford let's a guy down and changes his opinion on domestic vehicles. If you had taken a different path in life, your post may have been you bragging about how many miles you've racked up on your Silverado.
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  #32  
Old 02-21-2019, 02:19 PM
sdb8440 sdb8440 is offline
 
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"The Ridgeline is unibody junk, a soccer mom SUV with a bed instead of a back row of seats. You want to run it in the bush, it needs a frame.[/QUOTE]

I have put many a kilometer offroad in my Ridgeline, clearly you haven't experienced how capable it is. It has a fully locking diff and can get anywhere it doesn't high center.

https://youtu.be/xcIgvxvTch4
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  #33  
Old 02-21-2019, 03:46 PM
cdnrokon cdnrokon is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: eastern prairies
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I have had a few Toyotas over the years and they are great, they go down trails that quads go. the heat and ac usually great , parts from rock auto.com and you are good to go. Check the frame where the rear leaf springs mount common rust area. and keep the oil clean and fluids topped up good for 500,000 kms
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  #34  
Old 02-21-2019, 04:26 PM
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Talking moose Talking moose is offline
 
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Last truck I bought was a year ago. 2009 f150 4x4. 190,000km paid 5 grand exactly. Not a dent or any rust anywhere. Put on 50,000 km now. Nothing has gone wrong.
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  #35  
Old 02-21-2019, 04:39 PM
260 Rem 260 Rem is offline
 
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Location: East Central Alberta
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Life has taught me ... don’t compromise on things you can afford. Two vehicles is false economy. Put the $7K on a next to/new Tacoma double cab. Keep a length of chain in the box so you pull out high centered Subaru’s.
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  #36  
Old 02-21-2019, 04:48 PM
amosfella amosfella is offline
 
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For what you're talking about, look into getting a 2003 to 2005 Mercedes ML500. Has 4x4, will take more to stick than the subaru, is really comfortable, and is actually quite a capable vehicle. It'll do everything you want to car to do, and most of what you want a truck for.

The engines and transmissions are really solid in those vehicles. You can buy an engine for it off of ebay for $500, and a transmission for $600. One of the local wrecker guys here said that he was losing money on the engines as they didn't tend to go... Told me that he had just shipped a whole load of good ones for metal recycling as they weren't selling.transmissions are a bit more common to sell, however there are many adapting them to vehicles with weaker transmissions. A transmission rebuild kit for that is about $600 US and easily simple enough to do yourself with youtube videos.

If you need a truck for a few days, just rent one.

Last edited by amosfella; 02-21-2019 at 04:54 PM.
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  #37  
Old 02-21-2019, 05:59 PM
jstubbs jstubbs is offline
 
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Location: Parkland County
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I vote get the car and buy a cheap beater. For $7k you can get a surprisingly nice 4x4 if you don’t mind something older. I highly recommend buying a late 90s GM truck—very cheap and simple to fix, parts are available everywhere, very stout and reliable and they can be had for dirt cheap. My ‘97 GMC 2500 4x4 I bought in essentially mint shape at just over 200k km with no rust or damage, just a few dings and scratches, for under $5k. I’ll probably keep driving that truck for another 5+ years. Never given me a problem yet. Only issue is the fuel mileage is... poor.

Buying used off Kijiji is simple and generally with some common sense you can get a good buy. Find something owned by someone who has had it for awhile, bonus points if owned by a senior, try and get a feel for how they treat things in life (if their property or other vehicle are a mess, good indicator that’s how they treated the vehicle they’re selling), service records are invaluable, and don’t be afraid to pay a little more for what seems like a really solid vehicle.

Another honestly good piece of advice is sometimes getting a “good” deal is paying a bit of a premium for something that is in tip top shape that will save you potentially thousands in the end. There is a well documented theory of adverse selection in economics titled the “lemon problem”. Essentially as a buyer you don’t know for sure whether a vehicle is a lemon or not, but the seller will. A seller of a lemon (but that appears in good condition) will be much more flexible on the price than someone who is selling something in top mechanical shape. Since the buyer cannot tell which is better, they choose the vehicle they can get the cheaper price on, and then wind up with a lemon.
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  #38  
Old 02-21-2019, 08:00 PM
ak77 ak77 is offline
 
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I would vote "careful" to buying turn of the century GMs. I have a '02 suburban, had it for 8 years by now, paid 8k with 200k in the clock. First 3-4 years was a dream (albeit a little thirsty one). Then got a work truck and used mine quite sporadically... One day my sister took it camping and HVAC crapped the bed, hadn't worked right since. It has some kind of stuff learning computer to control HVAC, and it's not learning very well. Also, needs new heater cores and a major pita to change, and i heard them are relatively common problem.
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  #39  
Old 02-21-2019, 08:21 PM
kinwahkly kinwahkly is offline
 
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Got a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder Chinook edition wuth 158000 kms and new tires for 4500.
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  #40  
Old 02-21-2019, 09:39 PM
MyAlberta MyAlberta is offline
 
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Absolutely you can find a reliable 4x4 for 7K or less. Problem is they are surrounded by unreliable vehicles, which you have to weed out. Paying more often gives us a false sense of security. I say, be prepared to fix something, on almost any vehicle, regardless of purchase price. I do all my repairs so I'm good in the 5K and under category.
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  #41  
Old 02-21-2019, 10:03 PM
jstubbs jstubbs is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ak77 View Post
I would vote "careful" to buying turn of the century GMs. I have a '02 suburban, had it for 8 years by now, paid 8k with 200k in the clock. First 3-4 years was a dream (albeit a little thirsty one). Then got a work truck and used mine quite sporadically... One day my sister took it camping and HVAC crapped the bed, hadn't worked right since. It has some kind of stuff learning computer to control HVAC, and it's not learning very well. Also, needs new heater cores and a major pita to change, and i heard them are relatively common problem.
This is true I will admit. Had an 05 Yukon where the heater core died in it (at 120,000 km!)--most shops wouldn't touch the job for under $1200. I finally found a shop that specialized in vehicle HVAC repair and it only ran me $700. After watching a how-to video on it, I sure considered that money well spent.

As an aside though, I have had four other mid 2000s GM trucks, with mileage ranging from 170,000-320,000 KM and none had any HVAC issues.
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  #42  
Old 02-22-2019, 02:12 AM
ak77 ak77 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jstubbs View Post
This is true I will admit. Had an 05 Yukon where the heater core died in it (at 120,000 km!)--most shops wouldn't touch the job for under $1200. I finally found a shop that specialized in vehicle HVAC repair and it only ran me $700. After watching a how-to video on it, I sure considered that money well spent.

As an aside though, I have had four other mid 2000s GM trucks, with mileage ranging from 170,000-320,000 KM and none had any HVAC issues.
How long ago was it? And which shop? I've already sunk in pretty penny into that problem without the solution, but if they can figure it out i might consider fixing it. I'm pretty happy with the rest of the truck
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  #43  
Old 02-22-2019, 06:17 AM
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58thecat 58thecat is offline
 
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