Best vehicles for $1000 or less?

[renegade_987]

Hey guys,

Like I posted before, I'm looking for a 4WD truck under $1000. Anyone know what my best bets are? All of them that I find are either banged up or rusty. I don't mind if it needs some work, but I would like it to be in at least good condition. Any suggestions on what I should look for? TIA

 

[simple_gifts]

Does it have to be fullsize?

Ranger/Mazda seem to be reasonable.

 

[renegade_987]

Full size is not a requirement at all.

 

[oggb]

Ford Rangers and their Mazda equivalents seem to live long, happy lives. Chevy S-10's with manual transmissions also seem to run forever.

Anything that says Toyota will have 300,000 miles and be overpriced.

 

[MNgopher]

At $1000 or less, that is what you will find in pickup trucks - beat up, work trucks. General rule of thumb on a pickup: If it runs half way decent, its $1000. Doesn't matter how beat up the body is, there is still utility to the vehicle.

If you can get by with a Ranger or S-10, you may find something less expensive. Of the two, I'd choose the Ranger only because I have experience with a similar driveline in my '97 explorer.

 

[Dave Hess]

Ford Escort

 

[55Test]

A 4wd Escort truck would be a strange looking beast

 

[Spazdog]

Since someone said Escort:

That is if you can find one.

We had one as our shop vehicle years ago. I cannot say enough good things about this car. I took it to TX Motor Speedway when parking was still in an open field and it extracated itself from the mud without any drama while several real SUVs were clawing and fighting their way out. It carried everything. One of the other workers filthed it up and tore the headliner carrying a wrecking yard engine in the back but it soldiered on and got great mpg doing it.

 

[Spazdog]

Or a Suzuki Samurai.

It will go anywhere a regular variety Jeep Wrangler will, albeit much more slowly than a Jeep equipped with a 4.0 or 4.2... but with fewer dings on the rocker panels.

It's [darn] hard to kill a Suzuki G13. I beat the one in my Swift relentlessly and it just kept going

 

[sciphi]

Agreed on the Ranger or older S10. The 4.3 S10's are a tough truck to kill. An acquaintance just hydrolocked his S10's 4.3, and it's back from the dead after emptying out the water and replacing the IAC. The dealer didn't believe it when they fired it up after removing the water, and it ran like nothing had happened.

 

[The_Jeff]

I got this for $500. Needed a few hundred bucks just in parts! Fuel pressure regulator, rear brakes-- shoes and drums, brake lines, 02 sensors, front drag link.

Was a fun truck. Lousy lightweight mazda transmission whined in third gear.

1994 Ranger/B4000 4 liter.

Naturally, what you find locally will vary condition wise. I got the truck from a city kid who had car-ADD.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

I got this for $500. Needed a few hundred bucks just in parts! Fuel pressure regulator, rear brakes-- shoes and drums, brake lines, 02 sensors, front drag link.

Was a fun truck. Lousy lightweight mazda transmission whined in third gear.

1994 Ranger/B4000 4 liter.

Naturally, what you find locally will vary condition wise. I got the truck from a city kid who had car-ADD.


i love the blue paint on the side

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Was a fun truck. Lousy lightweight mazda transmission whined in third gear.



The shop I worked at repaired a print shop's fleet of Vulcan powered Rangers with M5ODs. Every one of them still had the factory ATF fill or some mix of 80W90 and ATF and every one of them whined loudly between 100,000 and 125,000 miles.
I wish just one in the fleet had observed the transmission change interval so I could see what happens to an M50D(light duty) when properly maintained
See lots of F-150s with the heavier Mazda M5OD live long lives

 

[hattaresguy]

Unless you get lucky for $1k your just going to get junk trucks that are not quite ready for the junk yard.

Just find one that's less junky, your best bet is probably looking for an S10 or Ranger, or a larger 1 ton. Any half ton is going to be pretty shot.

 

[occupant]

I would look for an 87-91 F150 with a straight six and a stick. Expect electrical issues and lots of annoying small problems, but a reliable easy to drive truck will make up for it. 92-96 are also good choices. Anything older and it's carbureted and I'm not sure if you're in emissions land or not so that could be an issue.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

In central Iowa? Not a chance.

You might find a couple reasonable 2 WD pickups that don't need major work for that price. But even a junk 4 WD pickup in central Iowa goes for more than $1000.

You "might" get lucky and find an old farm truck on Craigslist in some of the outlying areas like Mason City or Fort Dodge, but chance are it'll be very rusty and pretty well beat up.