Yeah, I know...I'm way late to this party. The market is crazy for no good reason. But I'm coming into some cash and wanted a second vehicle that:

- keep miles off the BOSS
- allows me to save a little bit on fuel
- allow me to get to the farm I shoot at without risk of leaving my front/rear bumper behind
- allow me to transport large objects (lumber, tools, argon tanks, etc)
- allows me to have a vehicle with an automatic transmission at the ready for when my back gives me the finger
- doesn't cost a lot ($2000 is a tough sell right now to me)

I've wanted a 2000-2010 Ranger forever and can finally divert some funding that way. Too little, too late as everyone seems to want $7000-8000 for 20 year old trucks with 100+k miles that originally had SRP of around $10000. These aren't even premium grade examples, either. Just "user" grade at best.

I've found a lead or two but even those are a bit on the high side.

I can do a lot - I don't want to do it but I technically do have the capability to weld body panels so it's not like I need everything to be PERFECT prior to purchase, and I'd be just as happy with a 150k mile motor that's mechanically sound as I would with a 50k mile motor, but I'm not going to spend a lot of money on it, and I'm going do my best to minimize the amount of work it needs.

Everyone who wants one is destined to overpay, and the folks who had them already likely won't sell.

I've been having basically the same experience with the used market in my area, only I'm looking for an S10. Either scrap metal for $1500 or a decent truck with 100k+ for 6k. Or the ever popular 2000s show truck with air bags, big stereo and wild paint with 70k for $10-20k.

I've pretty much given up and started looking for a Civic/Corolla. I'm shopping for a daily not my second car. And I actually want a 5spd.

Pick up trucks in general, small ones in particular, have high resale value which is good if you're buying new. But if looking at used you'll generally pay more money for a pick up, in worse condition, with higher miles, than most any other used vehicle.

Have you looked at minivans?

You are in TN, can you get by with 2 wheel drive? I know everyone wants 4wd, I have that also, but I used to be content with 2WD. They are usually less sought after.

I made up the difference with Blizzack Winter tires and ‘inverted V’ tire chains. Once chained up, my 2WD Tacoma would almost climb a tree.

An added bennie, the maintenance is less with a 2WD vehicle.

At least you aren't looking for a cheap Tacoma
Quite older & 300k miles and you're still near $10k

2WD, 4WD, don't care. Most reasonable price gets the cash. I'm used to 2wd anyway because Mustang. The issue isn't what I'm looking for, it's the price tag for what's on the market.

I haven't looked at minivans, but a smaller cargo van did cross my mind.

You might also search for the Mazda B-series trucks, which were pretty much just Rangers with Mazda badges.

Fails the ground clearance test, but a Chevrolet HHR SS Panel would cover most of the rest of the points.

12 years ago my daughter wanted a red step side Ford Ranger as her first vehicle. We looked during the year period of when she was 15 before getting her license at 16.

We found 2. One was quite nice but they wanted $7k and the other wasn't quite as nice and they wanted $5500. We settled at $5k and it had 90,950 miles on it.

We still have that 2002 Ranger and it now has 160k miles. We replaced the engine at 109k when it seized - there was a long thread on this disaster in the past.

Best of luck because even in 2012-2013 they were hard to find!

"Trying to find a reasonably priced used small pickup" = Unicorn

Man oh man brother, I'm there too.
.

At least here in Florida, I heard those small pick ups are hard to purchase because it is what every single pool guy in Florida uses as a work truck.

Those guys buy them used, put a ton of miles on them driving around town all week, after a certain number of years the trucks are so beat and corroded from chemicals that they are junked and the pool guy starts over with another used one.

Hence the reason I'm putting a new engine in mine at 340K.

On the one hand, there may not be a lot of reasonably priced pickups out there.

On the other hand, I'm not sure $2,000 has been a reasonable price for a good used vehicle since the early 90s.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
You might also search for the Mazda B-series trucks, which were pretty much just Rangers with Mazda badges.

Fails the ground clearance test, but a Chevrolet HHR SS Panel would cover most of the rest of the points.

The Mazda has been on my radar from the start. Unfortunately those seem to be at even more of a premium from the limited searching I've been able to do.


I did seem to find a few more potentially viable candidates when I expanded my search. If I can get a vehicle from a dry/warm climate it would be a grail car because I don't want to deal with rust when it comes to dealing with wheel bearings, et al, but I don't know if I have that luxury. Heaven forbid I should end up with something like I frequently see on Just Rolled In or Mechanical Nightmares with frame damage, though. I've already come across one guy in NY trying to sell a 2002 ranger that should be headed to scrap for $4500. It needed: driver's side floor pan, brake hoses/calipers, gas tank straps and more. Like I said, I can TIG, but that's just right fucked.

Unfortunately a very large portion of the driving factor for this is ground clearance. Of all the variables in the equation this is by far the least negotiable.

I surf CL from time to time.

Probably less loved, and maybe a bit more easily sourced. Explorer Sport Trac
Just don't get the manual, one of the worst manual vehicles I've driven, really odd clutch throw & just weird ergos.

In Hawaii, I found a used Nissan Frontier 4WD that lasted me the time I was there. Not wild about Nissans, but used Frontiers are a lot cheaper than Tacomas.

Thanks...I forgot about the Explorer Sport Trac and the Frontier. Those are definitely ones to look at now.

Maybe not easy to find, but I've always liked the Subaru Baja too

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
"Trying to find a reasonably priced used small pickup" = Unicorn

Man oh man brother, I'm there too.
.

That’s the way it is where I live in NC. Truck prices are ridiculous. I have settled on used Subaru(s). I drive them until they die.

Regular, routine maintenance and changing the timing belts on schedule. Closing in on 300,000 miles on a 2nd one.

I tried the small pickup truck idea in 2002, buying a 2001 Ford Ranger for work. 2-wheel drive, 2.3L 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual, with A/C but no other toys. Drove it for a couple of years, regular maintenance, no particular problems. Not great for performance or comfort.

In 2004 I replaced the Ranger with a new Ford F-150 XLT SuperCab, 4-wheel drive, 4.6L V-8, overdrive automatic, A/C, cruise control, the usual toys and comfort features. Much more comfortable, more load capacity, seating for 4 adults, easily towed my camp trailer. Miles per gallon went from 15 city/17 highway with the Ranger to 17 city/21 highway with the F-150.

Drove the F-150 for 12 years, 170,000 miles, good regular maintenance and no major problems or repairs. Collected $5700 for hail damage, spent a few hundred replacing windshield, slapped a new set of tires on it, gave it to my grandson.

I found no economies in the smaller truck; just the opposite with less gas mileage to compensate for reduced capacities and comfort in everyday use.

Don't expect too much and you may not be disappointed.

quote:

Originally posted by vulrath:
Yeah, I know...I'm way late to this party. The market is crazy for no good reason. But I'm coming into some cash and wanted a second vehicle that:

- keep miles off the BOSS
- allows me to save a little bit on fuel
- allow me to get to the farm I shoot at without risk of leaving my front/rear bumper behind
- allow me to transport large objects (lumber, tools, argon tanks, etc)
- allows me to have a vehicle with an automatic transmission at the ready for when my back gives me the finger
- doesn't cost a lot ($2000 is a tough sell right now to me)

If your budget is a mere 2000 dollars it's unlikely you're going to find any pickup truck worth buying. Trucks and SUV's seem to hold their value better than cars and it can be hard to find a decent used truck for under 15 grand unless it's a piece of junk that you end up pouring money into to keep it running.