Toyota pickups looking to buy

[NavyVet88]

Hey guys! I've been scoping out an idea for a used truck and at first I was wanting a Dodge Ram(early 2000s) or a Toyota pickup. I was raised around both types of trucks all my life and they served my family well so there's no complaints I can throw at either.

With that said, the Rams tend to be a little more expensive mainly because of the year differences that I'm looking for.
My questions for you guys is, is there a particular year for Toyota pickups within the 1980s-1990s you would reccomend? Any potential issues a particular year might have had? I know one of the late 80s models Toyota pickups had turbos for just that one year.

I've been told that just about any Toyota pickup truck within those years is worth it's weight in gold I'm just looking for as much due diligence beforehand as I can get. The truck would be used as a weekend fishing trip type truck and a budget of about 3500-4500 to buy with.

Thanks guys

 

[Trav]

The Toyota's are great trucks if they are clean, in your area rust is probably not a big issue but check them carefully especially the frames, bed, floors and rocker panels.
Be careful buying these from used car dealers there are a lot of rehashed auction pigs from the rust belt out there.

 

[NavyVet88]

Originally Posted By: Trav
The Toyota's are great trucks if they are clean, in your area rust is probably not a big issue but check them carefully especially the frames, bed, floors and rocker panels.
Be careful buying these from used car dealers there are a lot of rehashed auction pigs from the rust belt out there.


Owner only purchase

 

[Nate1979]

How many of these 30 year old trucks are still out there and for sale?

 

[supton]

4x4 or 2WD?

IIRC people complained that their 2WD Toyota's did not do much better on mpg than a full size. But a full size has a disadvantage off road. I'd think domestic would have cheap parts and lots of vehicles available. I'm guessing you are looking for a small truck, no full size?

I'm not clear on vintage you are after but I recall the 22RE having some issues with timing chains. The 3.0 V6 has issues also with head gaskets after a certain year.

But all 30 year old vehicles are apt to have issues of one sort or another...

 

[Wolf359]

I thought for trucks, domestics were better than foreign. It's where the domestic car makers still dominate. Ford and GM still sell the most trucks.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I thought for trucks, domestics were better than foreign. It's where the domestic car makers still dominate. Ford and GM still sell the most trucks.


I tend to agree, but moreso for full size. Today that is. Older, smaller ones it's a bit of a tossup. Lots of high mile S10, Ranger, whatever the pre-Taco was called. All of them had plenty of issues too (mostly rust), but those issues are well known.

 

[surfstar]

In that price range, you should just look for any decent, well-maintained example. Don't search out only a specific make/model.
A ranger or frontier might pop up that is a much better vehicle than a tacoma. It all depends on the trucks you can find available nearby.

 

[Andrew1972]

Around here they all rotted away into dust.

The smaller ones ride horridly as my family owned a 1989 toy 4x4. The 1990s brought little improvement.

Not sure if budget allows but a 2000+ tundra is like a luxury vehicle and quite well made. My family has one now.

 

[expat]

I am on my third 2wd Toyota in 30 years of driving them.

The current truck was bought off Ebay for $3200, it is an 84 extra cab 22r carbed, 5 speed.

The truck was in heated storage for 23 years before being serviced and put up for sale.

The truck has been my daily driver for the last 7 years and now has 95k miles. The only repairs in that time has been front brake pads, exhaust tail pipe and contacts for the starter solenoid ($2.95)
It has never let me down.

It consistently gets 32 imp mpg in mixed city hwy driving. I will use the truck today to pick up 1/2 yard of sand and gravel.

My first Toyota, an 82, I kept for a little less than 500k miles before giving it away (it was looking ugly)

My advice: get a rust free 4cyl and keep the rust at bay, and drive it forever!

 

[NavyVet88]

It would be for the 4x4.

My dad has had 3 in the last 25 years in the 83-88 category of years made. He drove each of them well beyond 250k miles and were his daily drivers both on road and off. The first one had a bad transfer case and saw the least amount of time in the family and the other two were bought for a mere 15-1800 a piece and drove fine up until the day they were sold.

It's part nostalgia that I want one of these plus adding the fact that I have seen them in use in my family for awhile.

 

[thunderfog]

I think that price range might not get any Toyota pickup that's really in a good, driveable condition.

 

[01rangerxl]

Even in AL, $3500-4500 might be pushing it for a Toyota 4x4 that's decent. You might find some in that range, but they will get snapped up quick. As available as they are here without rust, it's still a Toyota 4x4 pickup. A lot of Rangers, S-Series, Frontiers, etc. are also in that price range with 4WD.

I spent $2900 a little over a year ago on my 1994 Ranger 4x4 from a little used car lot here, and while it has been reliable, that's in large part because I did a whole lot of catchup maintenance and minor repairs as soon as I got it. See my rear brake backing plate thread in the photo forum for an example of what to expect on 20 year old trucks down here...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4072804/Good_job,_previous_owner...ben#Post4072804

That type of problem has nothing to do with the brand or model. That's just rednecks tearing stuff up. I have seen some seriously ragged out Toyotas too. We don't have a lot of salt here, but we do have mud, rocks, and no state inspections. I think someone already mentioned that rust buckets from up North also get hauled down here and resold. I have seen a 2001-2003 Ranger 4x4 driving around here in the last couple weeks that has bad body rust, which is unusual on these trucks even up North. There's usually at least a couple trucks in the local Pull-A-Part with broken frames.

Any 20 year old truck is pretty good if it's still on the road, but it's still a 20 year old truck. Condition, condition, condition...