Dad is fed up with his '97 F-150 & needs replacement; **Update 7-11** Frontier XE V6 Crew Cab **PICS**

[NFS4]

Ford is looking to charge my dad another $900 to fix some hydraulic bullcrap on his F-150. I forget what it is, but he basically said "Screw you guys." He just put out $2,000 recently for some engine transmission work, and had to pay a couple hundred bucks to fix the ABS light (fixed multiple times) which keeps coming on even though Ford said they fixed it. Damn thing only has like 120,000 miles on it. And it's not like my dad abuses the thing. My dad is really anal about taking care of his vehicles. He's been the only owner of the truck. His company bought it for him to drive for work use, and he bought it back from them a year ago. He's had all the routine maintenance done on it like he's supposed to and the thing has 95% highway miles as he commutes from Burlington, NC to Cary, NC and back everyday to work. The truck hasn't seen a rough day in its life.

He doesn't need anything as big as the F-150 anymore anyway, so he wants to ditch the POS. So he called me this morning and told me to do some research on a Tacoma DoubleCab for him b/c that's what he's gonna trade the F-150 in for. Anyone here own one? How do you like it? Does it get decent gas mileage? And is the acceleration adequate with the 6-cylinder/auto combination?

 

[Eli]

I say go for it. I doubt you can go wrong with the Toyota.

Sorry I can't answer any of the specifics.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Eli
I say go for it. I doubt you can go wrong with the Toyota.

Sorry I can't answer any of the specifics.

That's the reason why he wants the Tacoma. His Highlander has been great and my Camry is going smooth with 124,000 miles.

But the 4-door 4WD compacts are PRICEY (~23k - 24k). Heck, I priced out a 4-door S-10 and it's just as expensive.

 

[LordThing]

After pricing F150s, Silverados, Rams, Dakotas....I kinda am leaning towards a Tacoma, Tundra, or even a nice Frontier. You really seem to get alot more bang for the buck. Not only is the styling nicer, but you get a more powerful 6 cyl. Even though I do like Dakotas.


Kinda in the market myself rightnow, but I am looking more for a 1 or 2 year old vehicle. Problem is, even a 1 year old Tundra is still 20+

 

[Analog]

Ewww! Buy American!!!

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

obviously, it's not needed for work IE hauling stuff if he's getting 6 cylinders. and you say he's never abused or used the ford. Why does he need a second vehicle?? I say he get a 1-2 year old Dodge 1500 V8 extened cab, or Chevy Silverado. When it comes to trucks, the American ones will last just as long if not longer than the imports. This is U.S.'s bread in butter in the automotive world.

 

[LordThing]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
obviously, it's not needed for work IE hauling stuff if he's getting 6 cylinders. and you say he's never abused or used the ford. Why does he need a second vehicle?? I say he get a 1-2 year old Dodge 1500 V8 extened cab, or Chevy Silverado. When it comes to trucks, the American ones will last just as long if not longer than the imports. This is U.S.'s bread in butter in the automotive world.

A nissan fanboy not pushing for the fronteir? Man, their truck must suck.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: LordThing

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
obviously, it's not needed for work IE hauling stuff if he's getting 6 cylinders. and you say he's never abused or used the ford. Why does he need a second vehicle?? I say he get a 1-2 year old Dodge 1500 V8 extened cab, or Chevy Silverado. When it comes to trucks, the American ones will last just as long if not longer than the imports. This is U.S.'s bread in butter in the automotive world.

A nissan fanboy not pushing for the fronteir? Man, their truck must suck.

Nah, just that the Titan isn't out yet

 

[Chadder007]

Trucks cost way too much now a days.... Also buy true American built, get the Tacoma. Not the mexican Ford/Chevy.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero
Ewww! Buy American!!!

I guess you didn't read the first post, did you?

Trucks cost way too much now a days....

Damn man the new tacomas can be had for like $12k (barebones of course). That ain't too much!

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: yellowfiero
Ewww! Buy American!!!

I guess you didn't read the first post, did you?

Trucks cost way too much now a days....

Damn man the new tacomas can be had for like $12k (barebones of course). That ain't too much!

Should I have said "buy Canadian"? Oshawa Ont. is a big producer of GM trucks....

 

[rubenswm]

he should reconsider his vehicle needs since 95% of his miles are highway.

 

[DarkManXY2G]

I have a Nissan Frontier. I test drove just about every compact truck out at the time too. If you go with a Frontier just make sure it the supercharged version (SC or SVC). When I compared prices for the major brands only Dodge came close and Toyota was a lot more expensive. Bang for the buck Nissan gave me a fully loaded truck with everything for a lot less than a not as equipped Toyota. The killer of the Dodge was the terrible gas mileage. One of my co-workers has one and he says he averages about 14 mpg and 15 if he's really lucky. I get close to 18-19 on mine. All I can say is test drive them and see which one you like better. For me the drive and the price was right with Nissan. Good luck to you and your dad. Let us know what you end up with.

 

[NFS4]

Sorry for taking so long to get back. I was doing some networking/cabling down in Morrisville.

Originally posted by: rubenswm
he should reconsider his vehicle needs since 95% of his miles are highway.

95% of the miles are highway and he is ALWAYS hauling something in the back of the bed. Be it cabinets, or tables, or shelves or buckets. That truck has ALWAYS got something in the back of it.

There is no way in hell that he would get his Highlander "messed up" hauling stuff around. It's more of the "family sedan" that's used around town and on long trips to Baltimore. The Tacoma would be used to haul stuff in the back and drive back and forth to work.

obviously, it's not needed for work IE hauling stuff if he's getting 6 cylinders. and you say he's never abused or used the ford. Why does he need a second vehicle?? I say he get a 1-2 year old Dodge 1500 V8 extened cab, or Chevy Silverado. When it comes to trucks, the American ones will last just as long if not longer than the imports. This is U.S.'s bread in butter in the automotive world.

My dad is tired of American vehicles. We've shed them one by one. Got rid of the Chrysler Fifth Avenue (piece of sh!t), got rid of the Ford Explorer and trying to get rid of the F-150. My dad only has one other vehicle and that's the Highlander. But it's not a "hauling" vehicle.

 

[ElFenix]

loaded out compact trucks are damn near as expensive as full size trucks with the same equipment. the taco is absolutely tiny inside tho. maybe the 4 door thing fixes it but then you lose a lot of bed room. i'd get a tundra or a dakota before any of the compact trucks. thats just me. base V8 tundra 4wd is about 25K according to edmunds. dunno what that comes with tho. apparently 16" wheels are optional. doesn't the dodge come with 20s?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Ford is looking to charge my dad another $900 to fix some hydraulic bullcrap on his F-150. I forget what it is, but he basically said "Screw you guys." He just put out $2,000 recently for some engine transmission work, and had to pay a couple hundred bucks to fix the ABS light which keeps coming on even though Ford said they fixed it. Damn thing only has like 120,000 miles on it. And it's not like my dad abuses the thing. My dad is really anal about taking care of his vehicles. He's been the only owner of the truck. His company bought it for him to drive for work use, and he bought it back from them a year ago. He's had all the routine maintenance done on it like he's supposed to and the thing has 95% highway miles as he commutes from Burlington, NC to Cary, NC and back everyday to work. The truck hasn't seen a rough day in its life.

He doesn't need anything as big as the F-150 anymore anyway, so he wants to ditch the POS. So he called me this morning and told me to do some research on a Tacoma DoubleCab for him b/c that's what he's gonna trade the F-150 in for. Anyone here own one? How do you like it? Does it get decent gas mileage? And is the acceleration adequate with the 6-cylinder/auto combination?

you might suggest that you dad replace his fuses... a buddy of mine had a corroded fuse (still carried circuit) that caused ABS light to come on.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
loaded out compact trucks are damn near as expensive as full size trucks with the same equipment. the taco is absolutely tiny inside tho. maybe the 4 door thing fixes it but then you lose a lot of bed room. i'd get a tundra or a dakota before any of the compact trucks. thats just me. base V8 tundra 4wd is about 25K according to edmunds. dunno what that comes with tho. apparently 16" wheels are optional. doesn't the dodge come with 20s?

He doesn't want a loaded out compact. Just something like a base model.

I mean, the F-150 is about as bare as you can get. Roll up windows, radio (no cassette) and cloth seats. The only option the thing has is cruise control. Like I said, it's nothing but a hauling tool, not a luxury vehicle to parade around in.

 

[alkemyst]

F150 -> Tundra ... if he is using the F150 for it's capabilites the Tacoma may not be enough truck.

My father has a Tundra (extended cab, 4.7L) he likes it a lot, good towing capacity (23' Dusky Center-console Open Fisherman with double engines and 130 gallons of fuel sometimes)...he is looking into a SUV type vehicle now since the homeowners association is requiring all open bed trucks to be garaged.

The medium - large SUV market is ridiculous as far as pricing goes. He is leaning to a 1996 Bronco (last year) 5.8L

 

[Vette73]

If he does any type of work with it then get a GMC or Chevy. Ford is OK but always has some problem here or there, and dodge trucks always seem to be one step back.Toyota is a OK truck for driving around and doing light work.

My dads company has switched to all GMC/Chevy trucks and upkeep and repairs have dropped.

 

[amnesiac]

I have a Tundra SR5 and I love it. Great ride, great reliability, tons of power.

Probably not enough if you do heavy duty towing, etc. but more than enough if you were looking at a Tacoma.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I paid $19,470 for my V8 Dakota. Just the basic neccessity (ie: A/C) convinience options but EVERY power/drivetrain option but the 3.92 rear end, that I wish I went for. The only thing that's gone wrong is a cracked hose in the evaporating check system that caused the check engine light to go on. It was fixed under warrentee while I waited. It's over 30,000 miles now.

If you want something a bit on the full size end, look into a couple year old Dodge Cummins Ram. The engine will last forever.

Alkemyst: sounds like a yuppie neighborhood. Have your dad piss them off by covering his bed with cellophane

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
F150 -> Tundra ... if he is using the F150 for it's capabilites the Tacoma may not be enough truck.

My father has a Tundra (extended cab, 4.7L) he likes it a lot, good towing capacity (23' Dusky Center-console Open Fisherman with double engines and 130 gallons of fuel sometimes)...he is looking into a SUV type vehicle now since the homeowners association is requiring all open bed trucks to be garaged.

The medium - large SUV market is ridiculous as far as pricing goes. He is leaning to a 1996 Bronco (last year) 5.8L

Wtf kind of messed up homeowners' association is that?

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
If he does any type of work with it then get a GMC or Chevy. Ford is OK but always has some problem here or there, and dodge trucks always seem to be one step back.Toyota is a OK truck for driving around and doing light work.

My dads company has switched to all GMC/Chevy trucks and upkeep and repairs have dropped.

Import only for my dad. He's not buying anymore domestics.

And it is basically light duty stuff (afterall, the F-150 has the V6 so you can see he doesn't do heavy duty stuff). He doesn't tow. And another thing, he wants better gas mileage. Even with the 6, it drinks gas like a frat boy drinks beer.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis

Originally posted by: alkemyst
F150 -> Tundra ... if he is using the F150 for it's capabilites the Tacoma may not be enough truck.

My father has a Tundra (extended cab, 4.7L) he likes it a lot, good towing capacity (23' Dusky Center-console Open Fisherman with double engines and 130 gallons of fuel sometimes)...he is looking into a SUV type vehicle now since the homeowners association is requiring all open bed trucks to be garaged.

The medium - large SUV market is ridiculous as far as pricing goes. He is leaning to a 1996 Bronco (last year) 5.8L

Wtf kind of messed up homeowners' association is that?

Most require that now. Esp. if it is a gated community.

Landfall in Wil. has no pickup's or fences. There are more rules but it keeps home value up and everthing looks nice.

 

[Ryan]

NSF4 asking about car advice?!!!?!?!!? :Q Hell HAS frozen over

Tell him to wait, he NEEDS a Titan