What kind of truck? I want 4wd, 4doors, auto...

[Capt Jay]

I've had my '04 Titan since new and couldn't be happier. 305 hp, 379 ft/lb. I tow my 17' boat and don't even realize it's there. I also tow my off-road truck with zero problem. I get around 18 mph. As a bonus.............it's made in America (canton, MS). I'm not bashing American BRANDED trucks. I'm just saying that the Titan is everything your looking for and 6-7 year old Titans are relatively inexpensive. As a bonus, their customer service has been wonderful to deal with, on the rare occasion that I've had to go down that route and the last time I dealt with Ford's customer service they basically told me to pound sand. Good luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

 

[darkspork]

I'd go with the Toyota Tacoma, they're nice trucks. Also, you can get them with a full sized bed.

 

[AgPete139]

I agree, my buddy has a 97 with a 6 speed manual.

Off topic: Sorry, I read "97 with a 6 speed manual" and got a woody." My siggy has a 97 w/ the M5OD-R1.




On topic: Tacos are great, too. Yota is a great company, but I would veer away from the temptation of a fullsize diesel. Great trucks, no doubt. Awesome numbers. Undisputed. But diesel is more than gas here $ and you are leaving the small/midsize market and practicality. Will you really use it to its full capacity often?




Pete

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I've had my '04 Titan since new and couldn't be happier. 305 hp, 379 ft/lb. I tow my 17' boat and don't even realize it's there. I also tow my off-road truck with zero problem. I get around 18 mph. As a bonus.............it's made in America (canton, MS). I'm not bashing American BRANDED trucks. I'm just saying that the Titan is everything your looking for and 6-7 year old Titans are relatively inexpensive. As a bonus, their customer service has been wonderful to deal with, on the rare occasion that I've had to go down that route and the last time I dealt with Ford's customer service they basically told me to pound sand. Good luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

What kind of dealers you have makes a big difference and obviously can vary wildly.

My brother is the #2 tech at the local Ford dealer, so I get pretty good help there. They bend over backwards to try to help people. The closest Nissan dealer is over an hour away in Omaha (couldn't tell you where exactly, but I see their commercials on TV), Toyota is the same way. Kind of a PITA to get up there IMO if you have a probem.

So for me imports are pretty much out by default, but until recently we still had the big three domestics in town and they are all good dealers. GM just pulled the plug on their dealer of 50 years and now they are just a used dealer with a shop, but they still know GM's inside and out.

 

[Capt Jay]

What kind of dealers you have makes a big difference and obviously can vary wildly.

.

Unfortunately I was dealing with corporate and not a local dealer, so the problem wasn't a local business man trying to make a buck. It was a corporate culture that was/is the problem.

 

[91stranger]

just test drive some trucks. u wont know what u like till u try some options. u know ur basics like 4wd, 4 door, with the ability to tow a 16' boat. in my opinion a 16 foot boat isnt much to tow. ive towed bigger shit than that with my ranger. yeah i said it ive towed bigger lol. ive hauled a car trailer twice, one time with a MUDDY 89 s10 ex cab with extra tires in the back, one time with my 04 dodge stratus and ive also towed my 24' camper that was filled with a bunch of stuff b/c we were moving. so all in all u should look for something simple as opposed to a full sized diesel. i love turbo diesels but if u dont need a truck that big all the time then dont get one. in my personal opinion. i love the way a v8 dodge sounds! pretty ballsy with lots of room b/c they r a little wider than ford or chevy. o yeah tacos r good.

 

[RumpRanger98]

thanks for everyones inputs..

Im going to some places tomorrow to do some shopping. I've been looking around online and reading reviews...I like what I've heard about the Nissan Frontiers. Plus I've noticed the early 2000 versions have manual shift 4x4 which I think is nice being ive seen so many problems with auto 4x4 system.

Im going to test drive a f150 fx4 supercrew, the 5.4.....as well as some frontiers. And any thing else that catches my eye...I just hope I can get something for trade in for my current truck...has CEL light on for misfire on cylinder 1 due to low compression...almost wondering if I should disconnect the battery when I take it in, or if they even care.


Ill let you guys know what I find out tomorrow.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

F-150's are available with a manual t-case too.

Mine has it and I love it.

 

[gribly]

Don't get a frontier with anything but the 265hp 4.0. All the other motor options really suck bad. I had a '97 Hardbody with the 2.4, that was alright with the 4.62 gears, but when they moved to the Frontier, the DOHC version of that motor is too weak for the heavier truck. The 3.3 or 3.0, whatever it is, is massively underpowered with no torque. The supercharger option is a must, and even then, it doesn't compare to either Ranger 4.0, the ohv or ohc.

 

[RumpRanger98]

so I was looking at this 08 frontier 4wd super crew today <click here for the specific vehicle and picture of tailgate dmg>. it already has 54k miles on it. The salesman was 'claiming' he was the 1 owner of it, as the carfax shows one owner. I mapped out where he works vs where it was registered and the mileage adds up as if he used it for daily drive to work, so it must of got alot of highway miles, but 54k miles on an 08 is alot in my opinion... This thing was still brand new on the inside, and outside was almost perfect....

the tailgate at one point was down and backed into something, if your looking at it from the back, the top left corner got bent in pretty bad. Probably needs to replace entire tailgate....any ideas what a new tailgate goes for on these? So I was talking to him about that being an issue and he was willing to haggle, said about $1500 off, or maybe work a deal to wheree they fix it if I was to buy it. I would guess a new tailgate painted to match would be like $2500 but I have no idea.

I would also be trading in my 99 4x4 ranger ext cab xlt. They are asking $22900 for it. Which, with that tailgate dmg is not going to happen.

I really like the truck, I planned on buying something 05 or newer because of the 4.0 v6. The price is high for the dmg and the miles in my opinion. It looks like MSRP is $24,700 on it now....

What do you guys think? I didn't test drive it as I was looking around and just stopped in at this dealership because I saw it on the front of the lot, it was stuck in behind other vehicles and raining outside, didnt want to wait for them to clear room for it, figure i could go back and test drive it after looking more.

What I have in mind for an offer is...for them to fix the tailgate either somehow getting that fold out, or rreplacing it and painting it to match...them to take my 99 ranger, and lower the price to $19000. What do you guys think?

 

[feellnfroggy]

If you did decide on the 4 dr f150 make sur eit has the 5.4l.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

I would say stop looking at nissans. Look at Ford F150's, Toyota Tacoma's (they are really nice I admit), Any chevy i would stay away from in that year range (cheesy pieces of junk), the new Dodge 1500's i think look freakin sick in a 4 door and would possibly last (again don't like the interiors).

Best in interiors is the 09+ F150's, Toyota Tacoma

Best motors as well.

 

[RumpRanger98]

I would say stop looking at nissans..

Why are you saying stop looking at nissans? I've read nothing but good things about them and did research on how many problems people have complained about them,.... I really like the Ford F150's, but they appear to have more problems with them, reported by conusmer guides and all over the internet, compared to the nissan frontiers...

One particular report had a rank of 33/100 for engine problems, 20/100 for transmission problems, 7/100 for electrical problems, then a couple for other minor issues...all this for the Ford F150's...

The Frontiers on this same source of report had, 1/100 for an electrical problem...thats it...

My dad has an F150 and some of the interior parts are ****ing CHEAP...the door handles are plastic and break easy. I really really like the truck tho, but I like the frontier better and from what I've been reading through research is they are pretty reliable trucks.



So Update: I found a white 2008 frontier 4x4 like the one i linked previously. This one only has 40k miles and it was repo'd from my bank I go through for my mortgage...They want $20,500 for this one, it looks in mint, going up there to test drive it.

 

[04sd]

I've had an 05 F150 SCrew, 5.4, 4x4 w/ a short box since new. I love the truck. FWIW, w the tailgate down it's almost 8' floor length. Stock tires, 3.73 gears, I've gotten 18-21 on long trips. I have one of those extender bars to go in the hitch and have hauled 10' drywall and 12' lumber. The shorter wb makes it easier to park than the Super Duty crew cab, and it rides much better. It's rated to tow ~9000lbs, I've hauled ~6K+ w no issues. I've owned/driven Ford pickups since the 70's, Rangers to F350's and everything in between, 2.8V6 to 460's and a 6.0 diesel. All I can say is the F150 SCrew is one nice truck.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I had to replace a coilpack on my F-150. I buried the truck in a snowdrift (the front wheels \-o-/) and it spent the night in a snowdrift and #7 spark plug well filled in with snow. I take credit for that, I had no business out there that night... it was the kind of storms that if things don't come out just right you don't come home from.

I also had rust fixed on the bottom of three doors, it was about $50 a door because I caught it early.

Aside from that, a third tail light bulb and a license plate bulb, light switch knob, battery, brakes, tires, oil... that is it for repairs over 5 years and 50k miles. As it sits right now with 80k miles I wouldn't flinch at driving it any distance, it has been as reliable as a hammer IMO (knocking on wood) The only time the engine gave me a problem was my fault and it still didn't leave me stranded.

Nothing since the mid 80's has had anything but plastic door handles. Never broken a handle yet.

Here is what I got mine for, figure 5k for the tractor and just under 2k for the trailer. It knows it is back there but it pulls it fine. 3.31 gears with 255/70-16 tires for towing. Keep in mind a 7k camper pulls different than a 7k tractor/flatbed combo. I am only dragging a radiator and two tires thru the air.