ask best used truck for daily drive

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I'll repeat: surf the web at a couple sites mentioned so far and you will get off the diesel thing and then find an affordable gas pickup from a more basic era - not as likely to be GDI ...
 
Stay away from a Diesel there no more fuel efficient then a gasser, I've owned both, I have both at work, they cost more and are not build any heavier then a gasser in equal form and cost twice as much plus fuel is more then gas right now and has been.

People like them because how they sound and they can proudly brag and say I have a "Diesel", wow....(yawn)
 
I would love to own a nice pickup truck, but my long commute doesn't allow it to be a practical thing.

I know some of these new full size trucks get "decent" highway fuel economy, but I've found that the actual decent mileage varies quite a bit from what they claim. And I've also read some reports that people aren't too happy with these things.mthe Ford Eco Boost V6 has had some problems and people aren't getting anywhere near the mileage they expected to get. So why buy it then? The direct injected GM trucks are getting good fuel mileage - within reason - but I'm hearing of transmission problems. So that's a big risk. The Mid sized GM truck have a four cylinder diesel, but it's slow and I don't know if I'd trust a four cylinder diesel long term. I've talked to diesel techs and they swear to me that small passenger car and truck Diesel engines are nowhere as durable as the ones you see that are in big trucks. The V6 in the Colorado looks somewhat promising, but it's relatively new and get maybe 25-26 mpg on the highway, but I hear it can be a bit of a gas guzzler around town.

My commute is mostly highway, so I'd probably do better than most with gas mileage commutes, but I drive 600 miles a week. I need something that is reliable as [censored], practical and good on gas. I just don't think that's out there yet. The Ford F-150 with the 5.0 intrigued me but it doesn't get the gas mileage I thought it would/could. I figured it'd be reliable...nice looking truck, but people are only getting low 20's if they're lucky on the highway.

I'd pay almost anything to find a reliable, nice full sized truck that averages 27 mpg on regular fuel.
 
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.
One of our mid level managers is in transfer from overseas back to Houston. Has ordered a maxed out Silverado Duramax - I can tell you that truck will pull a Polaris to the deer camp twice a year ... it's his car 99% of the time.
 
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Originally Posted By: 4WD
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.

Yes and the most work that thing does is pull in and out of the garage, what a joke.
 
Think the OP has checked websites and is asking about a good car for $10k ... maybe even a small CUV is a worthy option.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.

Seriously? Are you that jealous of and concerned about what someone drives?

Take my brother, for example; the guy lives in shorts and Sperry shoes when off the clock in the summer, and wouldn't even have a hitch ball in when running around town. In other words, exactly just like the guy you're talking about.

Guess what he does though with that sharp, spotless Denali when you're not there to judge him...

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Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: 4WD
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.

Seriously? Are you that jealous of and concerned about what someone drives?

Take my brother, for example; the guy lives in shorts and Sperry shoes when off the clock in the summer, and wouldn't even have a hitch ball in when running around town. In other words, exactly just like the guy you're talking about.

Guess what he does though with that sharp, spotless Denali when you're not there to judge him...

TLX0GL7.jpg



He has no balls, he has a plate, and I don't mean a dinner plate
 
It sounds like you won't be towing much, you won't be hauling much, but you might want a vehicle with a bed for moving furniture or other larger items that won't otherwise fit in an enclosed vehicle. You want it to be comfortable for longer drives. You want reasonable fuel economy. It sounds to me like you want a Honda Ridgeline. You can buy a decent Ridgeline for $10,000. It'll likely have over 100,000 miles, but they're out there. They're designed, first and foremost, as passenger vehicles, so you will have no worries about cabin comfort. They're designed, secondly, to haul things. Payload is 1,500 pounds, so it'll physically carry more than you'll ever put in it. They fit this kind of use case quite well.
 
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: 4WD
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.

Yes and the most work that thing does is pull in and out of the garage, what a joke.


Little judgmental are't we guys. You make your own money, you drive what you please. No approval needed.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
It's funny to see people with too much money buy these trucks. I see this yuppie yesterday - pulls up to store in a sharp Denali 2500 HD diesel. he's wearing shorts, Sperry dockers (no socks) and a classy sweater. This big beast was spotless and did not have a hitch ball.
One of our mid level managers is in transfer from overseas back to Houston. Has ordered a maxed out Silverado Duramax - I can tell you that truck will pull a Polaris to the deer camp twice a year ... it's his car 99% of the time.


Winner winner! Chicken dinner!

I agree 100%. I guess if you have that much money, hey why not? But I see a lot of people who don't have that kind of money...and have almost ZERO use for a truck...go out and mortgage themselves into a $60,000 dollar truck. I have a friend who does this, I swear I've never seen him tow anything - probably because after buying the truck he can't afford to buy anything to tow - and I've never seen him haul anything, plow, he's not in construction. He just wants to drive in a big time, loaded truck. I see it all the time. One day on my way to work I was bored and decided to count how many over $35,000 dollar trucks people had parked in their driveways, I counted 42 in a seven miles stretch and excluded anything that had a plow, work rack, or toolbox in the back.

To each their own, but I can't stand hearing these same people say...oh I can't afford my bills...my parents paid for the kids to do gymnastics and my mother paid for their clothes this year. We can't go on nice vacations like you, how do you afford it?

On the other hand I have friend that makes so much money that his accountant told him to go out and spend $75,000 on a loaded diesel Denali because he was going to get crushed on his taxes if he didn't. It's a write off for him. The guy owns his own successful business in which he makes $200,000 a year, he's also a school teacher making another $90,000 a year and he owns commercial rental property in which he brings in another $80,000 a year...plus his wife makes $100,000. So for him the truck is no big deal - he even finds a way to write off the fuel. It's a nice problem to have....beautiful truck too.
 
2wd ext or regular cab 2.3L Ranger? You could even find one with a manual transmission. It will get near midsize car mileage and be simple to work on if needed.
A 2wd Escape is also dirt cheap available with a 2.5L 4cyl and had a manual trans too.
 
Exactly - we have a new breed of cattle in Texas - the Beefmaster is being replaced by the Taxmaster - so 50 acres and ten cows and the 2500 HD Denali is now a work truck and all the good stuff at TSC is tax exempt ...
of course they tend to have a real job to earn the spend ...
 
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I had a Ford Ranger that was an issued work truck. I drove that thing 253,000 miles in all sorts of conditions. It was 4x4 and I did off road trail surveys (erosion) so it saw 10's of thousands of miles of 4x4 use w/o a whimper. It got a few repairs along the way, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was more comfortable for me than most of the other trucks in the fleet. I'd always take it over Dodges, big Chevies, or even F150's.

Easy to park, good A/C - and since I had a small camper shell, I could sleep in the back if it needed to. Usually it carried tools and a ice cooler with my food for lunch when out on the trail. Often with enough food for the crews at mid-day. I think it was a really good unit and I know why they are so popular
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A few years before that I was issued a Dodge D50 (Mitsubishi) 4x4 Turbo Diesel. That was an OK truck, but did not get the kind of mileage I was expecting and it was not all that comfortable either.

I've ridden in VW diesel pick-ups and even toyed with getting one. But they do not have enough load capacity, they're noisy and not all that comfortable. But they get great mileage
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All in all, if I was the OP, I'd fly into Los Angeles and buy a nice used S-15 or Ford Ranger off Craigslist. Could get a really nice used one for $6,000 and have it serviced by an independent Ford shop. There are 100's in the LA area. Then drive it to Texas and enjoy school. you'd get to see some of So Cal and Arizona on the way and you'd have a nice truck at less than TX prices
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You could get a small camper shell to keep your "stuff" dry in the south eastern rain storms between TX and Florida when you go back and forth ...
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Originally Posted By: nyumski
Originally Posted By: eljefino
what part of the country do you intend to reside in?


i will live in Texas
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Welcome to Texas!!
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