Thinking of getting a puttering around truck

[AZjeff]

I bought my 96 Ram Cummins back in August. 437k miles of use......

You're a brave man. Everything is suspect unless you got a stack of receipts with that truck. I couldn't buy it, don't need the suspense.

Pretty big leap from a new mid-size to something even 1/2 that old and mileage.

 

[Malo83]

Good little put put truck.

 

[JHZR2]

You're a brave man. Everything is suspect unless you got a stack of receipts with that truck. I couldn't buy it, don't need the suspense.

Pretty big leap from a new mid-size to something even 1/2 that old and mileage.

At this point I’d drive my CTD across country. I trust it enough now. You DO need to scrutinize the seller carefully, and expect to spend some bucks. For example, I did all new front brake lines (hard lines). OP had replaced the AT and tires were pretty new.

You’ve got to search and learn about what you’re searching for...

But the main thing is the definition of puttering around. To me, it means a vehicle that won’t go far or be all that “mission critical”, just going here and there occasionally. If op has another vehicle, why sink huge money in a truck that will be used for puttering around now and then? That’s kind of the point.

If my CTD failed tomorrow, I’d be no worse for wear. Because it’s my puttering around truck... at least now that I’ve done most of my major hauling...

Of course now I’m tempted to take it to 500k...

So my point to OP is if it’s not all that critical, not the daily, look for something interesting and different and older. Find a big block work truck or something. If it’s not going to get big mikes, the bills aren’t going to be huge.

 

[skrypj]

I drove a the Taco, Frontier, GMC Canyon V6 and Chevy Colorado Duramax back to back to back to back a few years ago.

Couldn’t stand the Taco. The V6 had no low end power and literally couldn’t stay in 6th gear on the freeway because of a headwind. On top of that the price seemed quite high for what you get and the dealer was just arrogant. It rode fine, but nothing special.

The Frontier Pro4x was the older 4.0 V6 which has since been replaced by the 3.8L. Its a stout motor but gets pretty poor MPG and range due to the smallish tank. The other huge complaint is the the turning radius. Its soooooo bad for such a small vehicle. It literally is almost as big a radius as my supercrew F150. The rear seat is also tiny in the crew cab if that is a concern. No way could we fit a baby seat back there.

The Canyon V6 was really nice. Smooth, powerful, good transmission. Ride was a bit harsher than the Taco or Frontier. Its the only mid-sized cab that can fit a baby seat comfortably.

The Duramax colorado was similar but obviously had the most low end and best mpg.

I have never driven the ranger but have an ecoboost F150. That 2.3L ecoboost with the 10 speed is a great combo.

 

[AutoMechanic]

The only new smaller truck I would consider is the Tacoma. No real issues and they hold their value well. Though definitely test drive it and set in it for a good while before purchasing because some people don’t like the way the seats set.

 

[manicrodder]

A friend of mine just got rid of his Tacoma last year that he bought new in 2001 and loved the truck. He also owns a Nissan Frontier that is about a 2010-2012 and really likes it as well. He bought that one new as well. Both trucks have been super reliable.

He bought a several year old Nissan Titan to replace the Tacoma. He wanted a little bigger truck to pull his bass boat with.

Don't overlook the frontier especially if you're interested in the midsize range. I had one and sold it to my granddaughter. If I bought another truck it would be a Frontier.

 

[manicrodder]

I drove a the Taco, Frontier, GMC Canyon V6 and Chevy Colorado Duramax back to back to back to back a few years ago.

Couldn’t stand the Taco. The V6 had no low end power and literally couldn’t stay in 6th gear on the freeway because of a headwind. On top of that the price seemed quite high for what you get and the dealer was just arrogant. It rode fine, but nothing special.

The Frontier Pro4x was the older 4.0 V6 which has since been replaced by the 3.8L. Its a stout motor but gets pretty poor MPG and range due to the smallish tank. The other huge complaint is the the turning radius. Its soooooo bad for such a small vehicle. It literally is almost as big a radius as my supercrew F150. The rear seat is also tiny in the crew cab if that is a concern. No way could we fit a baby seat back there.

The Canyon V6 was really nice. Smooth, powerful, good transmission. Ride was a bit harsher than the Taco or Frontier. Its the only mid-sized cab that can fit a baby seat comfortably.

The Duramax colorado was similar but obviously had the most low end and best mpg.

I have never driven the ranger but have an ecoboost F150. That 2.3L ecoboost with the 10 speed is a great combo.

The big drawback for my frontier is it did have the turning radius of the Titanic.

 

[JimPghPA]

I have not been in either of those trucks, but in general, Nissan makes great seats and there vehicles deprecate fast, and Honda makes reliable vehicles that hold there value.

But if you really want something that deprecates fast get a Ram. I think the attitude of Chrysler is why put a part on a vehicle that will last 60,000 miles when we can put a similar part on it that cost a little less and will wear out in 25,000 or 30,000 miles and the customer will still buy it. And if you have a dealer replace those parts when they go bad the OE replacements are also the low quality brand that wear out fast.

 

[Skippy722]

I have not been in either of those trucks, but in general, Nissan makes great seats and there vehicles deprecate fast, and Honda makes reliable vehicles that hold there value.

But if you really want something that deprecates fast get a Ram. I think the attitude of Chrysler is why put a part on a vehicle that will last 60,000 miles when we can put a similar part on it that cost a little less and will wear out in 25,000 or 30,000 miles and the customer will still buy it. And if you have a dealer replace those parts when they go bad the OE replacements are also the low quality brand that wear out fast.

The 1980’s called, they want their outdated stereotype back. Still patiently waiting for my ex-rental, 70,000 mile Grand Caravan to just start falling apart like the internet says it will, but all it’s needed is gas, oil changes, and tires

 

[Rmay635703]

Puttering around and new, does not make sense, especially when you don't drive often anymore. Unless of course you're rich. Puttering around vehicle is something in the $3-6K range. Otherwise just rent one when you need it.

Puttering around is a Rabbit Diesel pickup, got a clean one at the plant as someone’s daily

 

[Texchappy]

Puttering around is a Rabbit Diesel pickup, got a clean one at the plant as someone’s daily

I’d love to have one of those actually.

 

[Rmay635703]

I’d love to have one of those actually.

As would I,

Their not hard to find but a good one can be given how old they are now

 

[2EHA]

I’d love to have one of those actually.

you could build yourself one of these with a 5 speed and the tdi motor

 

[LawrenceGazebo]

The 1980’s called, they want their outdated stereotype back. Still patiently waiting for my ex-rental, 70,000 mile Grand Caravan to just start falling apart like the internet says it will, but all it’s needed is gas, oil changes, and tires

The anti-Chrysler sentiment is tiring.

My 130k mile Ram just keeps going and going. It hasn't "deprecated" any faster than any of the other 1/2 tons.

 

[michaelluscher]

The 1980’s called, they want their outdated stereotype back. Still patiently waiting for my ex-rental, 70,000 mile Grand Caravan to just start falling apart like the internet says it will, but all it’s needed is gas, oil changes, and tires

My 2013 300 stood on both sides of this argument

 

[OVERKILL]

I have not been in either of those trucks, but in general, Nissan makes great seats and there vehicles deprecate fast, and Honda makes reliable vehicles that hold there value.

But if you really want something that deprecates fast get a Ram. I think the attitude of Chrysler is why put a part on a vehicle that will last 60,000 miles when we can put a similar part on it that cost a little less and will wear out in 25,000 or 30,000 miles and the customer will still buy it. And if you have a dealer replace those parts when they go bad the OE replacements are also the low quality brand that wear out fast.

Nope.

How Much Do Pickup Trucks Depreciate Each Year? (With 16 Examples)

Want to know how much your pickup truck will depreciate each year from the point that you buy it? Here are 16 examples using depreciation values.

truckomize.com

The fastest depreciating pick-up is the Nissan Titan, followed by the F-150.

 

[Texchappy]

Nope.

How Much Do Pickup Trucks Depreciate Each Year? (With 16 Examples)

Want to know how much your pickup truck will depreciate each year from the point that you buy it? Here are 16 examples using depreciation values.

truckomize.com

View attachment 46660

The fastest depreciating pick-up is the Nissan Titan, followed by the F-150.

That’s interesting on the F150 and it surprised me. What’s the explanation?

I like the look of the Ram and the Gladiator but I just don’t trust them. Not from personal experience but just the weight of anecdotal over the years. Of course the new ‘83 dodge pickup we had was total garbage but a lot has changed since then. besides my bias, the glad also has price working against it.

 

[OVERKILL]

That’s interesting on the F150 and it surprised me. What’s the explanation?

I like the look of the Ram and the Gladiator but I just don’t trust them. Not from personal experience but just the weight of anecdotal over the years. Of course the new ‘83 dodge pickup we had was total garbage but a lot has changed since then. besides my bias, the glad also has price working against it.

I'd assume sales volume on the Ford, there are a lot of them out there.

 

[02SE]

I'm considering selling my '17 RAM dually, as I've had offers that are nearly what I paid for it, 4 years ago. Pretty good depreciation rate...

 

[Delta]

So here we are a day later and people bringing up the whole full size thing even though that's not what the OP wants. Seems to be the BITOG standard now