You need to find the ‘family discount’. Maybe a relative dies, or a trusted one offers their vehicle as they quit driving.

It’s like the one that, ‘only wants to pay $300 for a Ruger Security-Six’. Yes you may find that deal, most likely from a friend or relative.

When I retired I sold my 2007 Ranger 2wd with the 4 cylinder engine…wish I still had it. It was as close to a maintenance free vehicle as I’ve ever owned. I still see it driving around town…4 years later.

My budget isn't "only" $2000. I can pay more, but that doesn't mean I want to. My rant was aimed more at people/places asking $5-10k for cars that need motors, transmission work, body shot to hell and rusted through, etc. I saw one on ebay where the thing straight needed to be junked for $4500, and another that actually sold for $3000 with an engine that needed a full rebuild (as noted by the seller).

Honestly, I wish I hadn't sold my other Mustang, as it was paid off and I could get onto the farm with it (though I did get it stuck a few times in the mud). Still couldn't fit a 80 CF argon tank in it, but I was overall significantly less worried about the interior.

I'm keeping my eyes peeled for that goldilocks deal, but I have my doubts.

Check car trader or maybe Craigslist weekly and see what you're able to find and don't be afraid to travel a bit for the right deal. Even at 5 to 10 grand you're looking at a high mileage vehicle that probably needs work. Before I bought a potential money pot I'd save my money and buy a decent truck in the 20 grand range +/-. You can also try auto auctions if they have them in your area.

First off you folks don't know what a Small Pickup is. Back in the mid 70's the Big 3 were importing small pickups from Japan. In the case of Chevy it was an Isuzu small pickup based on a Isuzu Sedan. It was called the LUV and weighed in at only 2450 lbs. Power was a bit meager at just 75 HP but it would yield 33 mpg on the highway. While rated for a full half ton with that smaller engine limiting weight in the back to just 500 was wise. Fact is that anytime you overload a pickup the weight on the front wheels can get light enough to make the handling distinctly "squirrely".

However they were actually quite useful if you kept the loads reasonable. The biggest issue was a box that was only 39 inches wide.

The market for pickups is simply outlandish. If I drive for fifteen minutes in any direction from home, I would say I see 200 pickups on the road!
Yes I live in ranch country but you can bet here ( like everywhere else ) 80+% of those pickups are pampered daily drivers that never see cargo or get dirty. Much like how much I hate to see a spotless clean jeep wrangler. They are meant to get dirty!
And prices on new are hard to fathom- full size with all the bells and whistles are in the 70k+ range.
There was a time in the not too distant past that a basic pickup was about the least expensive vehicle you could buy, now I can buy 2 entry level euro sports sedans for the price of one pick up

I bought a '98 Nissan Frontier in excellent condition from my brother-in-law's Aunt for a spare and for the wife to run errands in. Everyone... including my Brother-in-law... said those things were good for 300k easily.

At ~20 years old it had 107 miles on it. At 147k it jumped time and bent the valves...

LATER, after the fact, my BIL and a couple others said "oh yea, the timing chain is supposed to be replaced at 125K". BIL said one he had did that too except it didn't bend the valves.

Not blaming anyone but myself for the lack of due diligence...

I guess this is a warning for any used car you look at.

Until prices come down at the dealers,
It's going to be tough.

I looked at a 13 year old half p.o.s. half ton regular cab.

His price was $2,500.00 too high .
It was too high because he had to buy a newer replacement truck that is still priced too high.


Well his half crappy truck is still for sale three weeks later.

I can't imagine pricing coming down except due to age and mileage stacking up with time. The high price of new trucks cuts into the number of those sold which by consequence reduces the number of good used trucks. Doesn't Ram have months of new inventory waiting for a buyer?
The truck doesn't cost more. Your money is now worth less. (Or is that worthless?)

Turns out that out here in the weeds ( agriculture ally)
There is a little known unwritten extension of neighborly curiosity that states if you are getting rid of your pickup,

It's only proper to notify at least six of the neighbors first.

It will get sold within ten days no problem.

I think your rant is a lot of why I see a lot of side-by-side UTVs around here. They've really taken off since it's been legal to run them on secondary roads.

Lumber would be kind of tricky...