Which to buy, your opinion?

[InhalingBullets]

I am the go to car guy in my family and I have my preference but I want your opinion. My nephew is looking at purchasing one of these two vehicles for a work truck (HVAC and Plumbing). He is a truly extraordinary 20 year old that makes a good living.

#1: 2011 Reg Cab Toyota Tacoma longer bed, 4 cyl- 30k miles, $15,000.00
#2: 2004 Ford Ranger reg cab 6 cyl 4.0 liter, 19k miles (Yes 19,000) $9000.00

 

[NHHEMI]

I would get the Ranger myself.

 

[SatinSilver]

Get the Toyota. If you have a chance can you send me the seller's phone number for the Ranger?

 

[Tdbo]

I'd go with #2 and save 6K.

 

[surfstar]

I'd talk them down on the Ranger. $9k is too high for a 2004. Was probably $12k new!

Make sure the bed will be big enough for his use, though.

 

[TheBig2003]

Ranger. Decent engine and the Rangers have been know to last a while with proper maintenance. Save the cash.

 

[Rand]

a 4.liter reg cab? thats rare.

most had 3.0

The 4.0 should be very strong in a reg cab. expect
19-23mpg if its 2wd 16-20mpg if its 4x4

with regular tires on it.

I'd go with the ranger but thats way too high.
7000-7500$ maybe.

At 9 years old mileage doesnt mean much. infact it might have additional issues due TO the low mileage.. sitting to much etc.

2004 should have the updated timing chain guides and was pretty bulletproof. 5sp auto or manual?

The autos 5r55e? were good as long as they got fresh fluid occassionally.

The manual M5OD-R1HD? have known issues with clutch slave cylinders going bad around 8years/100k miles.
m5.

The actual clutch and transmission is usually pretty bulletproof. but it all has to be dropped to change the slave cylinder. not cheap esp on 4wd models.

 

[dishdude]

15K for a 4 cylinder regular cab Tacoma? Not enough savings over new for me.

 

[renegade_987]

If he could, but a new Tacoma. Much better deal. If not, I still say get the Tacoma

 

[Voltmaster]

Saving 6k with low miles seem like the right choice, you sure thing is wrong with it?

I'd go with 2 if you can be sure nothing happen to the car.

 

[badtlc]

I hate going away from your list, but most of the HVAC peole in my area have gone to Ford Transits. I got to look inside one for my HVAC company and they can pack a ton of stuff in those things and they get good gas mileage.

Considering they are fleet vehicles, there should be a ton of used ones out there for good prices.

 

[EricF]

I'd definetely go with the Ranger. the 4.0L is solid and known to easily hit minimum 300,000 miles. Just keep the oil level on par! These engines don't like being oil starved.

Personally though, I'd look into a van instead. A plumber's livlihood is in his tools & equipment. A van can secure these things, even with a camper shell, you can still do more with a van.
I'd look into an Astro van, they're ugly, but that 4.3L v6 never dies and the mileage isn't to bad.
Eventually he'll move into a full size van, maybe a Transit like was mentioned earlier.

 

[InhalingBullets]

I didn't really want to get to long winded in my explanation. When doing the A/C stuff he will be mostly using the truck for delivering new HVAC units to the job site's and making parts runs, etc. So the truck really works best for him. It is a family business in East Texas and they have two vans as well, one for plumbing the other for HVAC.

BTW I love the Transits...we are looking at buying some here at work for some specialty jobs.

 

[Vikas]

Are we comparing 2011 with 2004? Am I missing something here?

The last time somebody mentioned upgrading his Tacoma, he got $27K as trade-in! Or was that a different Toyota truck?

 

[InhalingBullets]

Just comparing 2 solid pick-ups! I really believe either is a good choice.

 

[RF Overlord]

Ranger.

 

[01rangerxl]

Ranger. $9K is too much though. $7500 would probably be about right. Aren't trucks everywhere in Texas?

 

[oilmaven]

For the money, the Ranger is a good choice...but I'd negotiate that price. Still, the Toyota is a LOT newer and the 2.7L 4 cylinder is a proven performer (my nephew had an older version...late 90's I believe with the 2.7 4X4...awesome truck up to the point that Toyota bought it back for rusted frame issues as part of a "silent warranty buy-back" they had recognizing the danger. He received far more than the truck was worth with close to 200,000 miles. You could almost push your fingers through the thickest part of the frame...nothing left due to rust...Toyota trucks have had excessive frame rust issues for years...you'd think they'd have corrected it by now). If the truck is in Texas, rust won't be an issue. Personally, I'd buy the Ranger and look forward to years of good service and bank the money I saved over the Toyota.

 

[supton]

Hard call. I've read of "soft" springs in the Tacoma. I think the rust issues have been resolved; I'd still check, and then treat it so as to avoid rust. But I suspect the Ranger would be better. The Tacoma might be better for a lightly used vehicle that will see lots of miles; but I think the Ranger is going to have cheaper parts (if it breaks) and cost less to run overall.

That said, how much stuff is he carrying around? I'd think a van in general would be better.

I hate buying cars, because I wonder if these prices include haggle room. Priced high to find the suckers.

 

[InhalingBullets]

Thanks for all of the input guys, I have passed it on and it remains to be seen what decision the 20 year old will make. Fortunately he has a good head on his shoulders and he started looking a while back and wasn't rushed to make a quick decision. I will let u guys know what decision he made.