Looking to buy a used truck.

I am in the market for a good used truck. Living in AZ requires me to have one since my 350Z is not gonna cut it when i go out shooting with friends, not to mention that where i work, the parking is less than forgiving to my car's low clereance. I am eyeballing a Ford, though I am also considering either a Nissan Frontier or a Toyota Tacoma; but my heart is set of an F-150, preferably 4 door crew cab; 6 or 8 cylinders (preferably 6) and low miles.

Any and all help and advice is greatly appreciated.

What is your budget?

What do you consider "low" miles?

Don't bother with a V-6 in a 1/2 ton truck. They're vastly underpowered for their weight and you're not going to gain any gas mileage because the engine will be overworked all the time.

Get the V-8 and you'll have better power, better resale value, more towing capacity, and the same fuel mileage.

Tacomas and Frontiers are a whole different class of compact trucks, so decide first if you want/need a compact or a 1/2 ton.

Are you actually looking for a pickup, or just something with a lot of ground clearance? 4 door trucks are a compromise with the bed size, IMHO.



There's always the Ford 300.

Which they stopped making 20 years ago.

I survey used car prices as a sideline, and truck prices are friggin nuts compared to cars. Expect to pay twice what a comparable auto is worth, and you'll be lucky to find anything under 10 grand. This is on the east coast, where mot people buy trucks for toys. I'd imagine out there in AZ and NM where a truck is actually a necessity, it's even more so.

I've owned pickups and one Blazer since 1975. My experience is this: If you buy a truck, sooner or later you will use it like a truck. You are gonna end up hauling shit and going off road more and more. Half ton trucks are a car with a big open box for a trunk. they have light duty suspensions, lighter frames, and a driveline lifted from a full sized RWD car. If you are gonna buy a truck, spend the extra money and buy a 3/4 ton rig. They have MUCH tougher frames and suspension systems and will take a beating if necessary. Get a 4x4. Trucks are notoriously light in the ass end and there is no more helpless vehicle than a 2wd truck on wet grass. With a 4x4, any desert trails are easily driveable and a 3/4 ton suspension will easily handle rough terrain without breaking or bending anything.

If you are gonna spend the kind of money for a 3/4 ton 4x4, go the extra bucks and buy a diesel. You'll get nearly double the fuel mileage as a gasser, have incredible power for towing, and more plentiful fuel. diesels also last MUCH longer than gassers, Also remember the Rita bugout from Houston TX. Gas stations went dty immediately, while the diesel stations had plenty. You may have to look different places, but at tome poiont you will find that diesel in far moreplaces than gas.
I've seen Dodges with the Cummins engine with well over half a million miles on them. The diesels, while they cost more, hold their value much better. $10k will buy you a 10 yr old diesel 4x4 in nice shape with about 200k on it. Ford's 7.3 engine and the GM Duramax also last a longtime. Be careful of auto transmissions, diesels tend to beat them up a bit, so sniff the fluid and be alert for any malfunction on your test drive. The problems for diesel engines/auto transmissions are well known and easily addressed on a rebuild.

Get a long bed. the 4 door shortbox trucks are a real compromise and do nothing well. (I know, I own one) Also rethink why you want a 4 door truck. IMHO if that is the case yo need a Suburban or Excursion, not a pickup. Had I to buy another truck, it'd be an 8ft bed, regular cab truck so I could actually haul something in it and get the tailgate up.

Take this FWIW.

Ops

I disagree with all of this. OP is considering a Tacoma or Frontier, and you are suggesting he buys a 3/4 ton diesel? If he isn't even sure if he needs a full size truck, then he certainly doesn't need a 3/4 ton diesel. That's like someone coming in looking for a 10/22 to plink with and telling them they need to buy an AR-10 because the 10/22 sucks for killing terrorists in Afghanistan.

As far as 1/2 ton durability, they're much tougher than any car suspension and will hold up to a lot of towing/hauling and offroading. The drivelines are NOT from a full size car. They are designed for 1/2 ton trucks, and they're capable of towing 7-8k lbs, which is more than the OP will ever do.. There are a few sporty production cars that have seen 1/2 ton truck powertrains put in them (like the Pontiac GTO), but that's irrelevant. The trucks are designed to be fully capable, full size trucks, not a modified car with a bed.

As far as being off-road capable, a 1/2 ton is generally going to be better off. They weight a lot less, have a lower center of gravity, and are more nimble across difficult terrain. 3/4 ton trucks shine when it comes to heavy duty towing, but they're no better equipped for 4-wheeling than a 1/2 ton.

And the 3/4 ton diesel will not save anything on fuel or maintenance. A diesel will get double the mileage of a comparable gas-equipped truck. But when the OP is comparing a 1/2 ton gasser that weight 1500 lbs less than a 3/4 ton diesel, the gasser will get better mileage and the fuel will cost significantly less. Then you have to consider the fact that the diesel option is about $5k more on a late model used truck, plus the increased maintenance costs of fuel/oil/filters/etc. There's absolutely no justification for the OP to buy a 3/4 ton diesel truck.

As for bed size, that's just preference, but a lot of people don't need an 8 foot bed. A crew cab truck gives you 4 doors and plenty of passenger room, and the bed is still big enough to haul a full pallet of anything you want. On top of that, you could have up to 8k lbs of towing capacity on a trailer, which you don't get with a car or small SUV. If you're going to be hauling people more than you haul Sheetrock or plywood, there's no reason for you to buy a truck with an 8 ft bed. The only benefit you gain is closing the tailgate when you have 8 ft sections of lumber/building materials. In most cases, a 4 door 1/2 ton with a 5.5 foot bed will still give you enough room to haul more than the truck is capable of.

I'm going to agree with graysonp's posts above.

This is one of those situations where you get your ass down to the dealership and buy a truck...or get online and shop around for a truck..or get the newspaper and look for what you want...or look for one parked along the road with a 'for sale' sign...or whatever...

Buying vehicles works like this: figure out what you want...find what you want...pay for it with your money or the bank's...drive it home and get insurance..then drive it as much and when you want...putting fuel in and pulling maintenance as required to keep it servicable.

That's pretty much the gist of it.

My requirements are:

4-doors (so i can pack passengers in the back for trips to the range)

High clereance (for the trails and rougher roads of AZ)

Good towing capacity (in case i ever have to tow my Z, not a major requirement, but something I want to have in a pinch)

Good torque (for the above)

Decent bed size (I am not plannning on raiding the Home Depot to build a house, so a huge bed is not that neccesary for me, just enough to load up my guns, ammo and stuff to hit the range; I might put a cover on, so it can double as a half decent camper for overnighters, maybe have it set as a BOV)

My budget is not a bad issue, i am willing to spend up to 20K is the vehicle is good and gives me what i want. Looking at one in particular that isparking my interest...



http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/default.html?AVi=0&id=8232287&D=50&ASTc=ford F 150&zip=85614&pD=0&pI=0&pT=400&pC=200&pB=0&No=0&Ep=homepage:homepage&Rp=R&PP=20&sV=List&CD=662+14+966+240+9&Q=49e8e221-43ff-4f45-825c-52c504f2f1c1

But I think 23K is too much to pay for an 07 truck with 70K. What do you think?

I'd look at either a few year old v6 doublecab tacoma or 2000-2006 (05-06 4.7's have a bit more power) doublecab tundra with the 4.7l 8 cylinder engine.

And yes, 23K is a bit much for an 07 f150 with 70k.

That sounds about right for the current used vehicle market. Demand for used vehicles (especially trucks) is pretty high right now and prices are pretty steep. A new F150 like you posted is probably $45k, so there are people lined up to buy one that's 5 years old for 1/2 that price.

Keep checking around and get a feel for prices in your area, but I'm guessing CarMax will be pretty in-line with other used dealerships on that truck.

I bought a 2010 F150 crewcab in 2010, and can tell you that getting 8-9grand off sticker is easy, so don't overpay for used. I paid 25800 for a new truck stickered at 34500, and dumped my old tacoma for it.

I like it. Ford builds a good truck these days. I went with the 4.6L V8 and think I would still get that over one of the newer ecoboosts. Gets me an average of 19.8 mpg and I have a record of every gallon I've put in the truck.

Heads up, if you didn't know about the 04-08 engines and the Ford two part sparkplug fiasco, read up a bit. If you buy one, make sure the plugs have been changed.

With your requirements, it really sounds like you'd be better served by a truck-based SUV.

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