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Recommend a used truck

2007 GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado. New Body style, 5.7 or 6.0. 16mpg, up to 19 or so if you get a FlexFuel model.
 
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
GMC / Chevy also gets my vote unless you're looking for compact in which case I'd say a 4.0L Ranger Edge.
Click to expand...

I was about to say Ranger/ mazda b4000 when I saw the headline but he did say he wanted a "decent sized bed".


I got a B4000 but wanted a Full size GMC/Chevy. Price was just to good to pass up.
 
Definitely a 1500 Chevy or GMC.

You won't have to spend nearly that much either.

I got a 2004 Chevy Silverado Z71 with the 5.3 V8 last June for $7K. It had 119K miles though.

There are a lot of deals to be had on these trucks and the drivetrain is solid. There are some electrical quirks.

My advice:

Check the steering... does it bind or make noise when you make complete rotations... if so the intermediate steering shaft needs to be changed or re-lubed.

Make sure the dual-zone HVAC works correctly on both the driver and passenger.

Looks for the 5.3 V8. It will yield better mileage than the 4.8 V8. Forget the 4.3 V6.

Look in the glovebox. See if it has the RPO code G80. This is the auto-locking rear end and it will help tremendously off-road and even if you launch boats etc..

Most of the quirks were worked out with that generationby 2005. 2003 was a major change to the electrical system of these trucks and a lot of them had bad speedometers which requires the entire cluster to be changed or repaired.

I believe in 2006 some 5.3s were all aluminum where mine is an iron block with aluminum heads. I also believe the 2006 had electric fans instead of clutch types.

PCM tunes really wake these trucks up and will yield better mileage. Check out blackbearperformance.com if you get one.
 
What are you wanting to do with the four wheel drive? If you want 4x4 for just snow or gravel it would be fine.

The ridgelines will make it through some muck, but the fully independent suspension won't be that strong. I think it would be easy to break stuff on them.

The engine will feel relatively weak compared to a full-size's V8, but it will be a lot nicer on the inside.

I think a Ridgeline would be much closer to the 20K mark even at auction.

You might be able to find a new body style GM fullsize around the 20K mark with four wheel drive. Those interiors are much nicer especially in LTZ trim.

The rigeline will hold it's value better, but they don't seem to be selling all that well either. There's a guy at work with one and it seems nice and he really likes it.
 
I don't plan on doing any off real off roading. I'm not going to be on unfinished work sites with it either. I really need this for business purposes distributing some goods to customers. And other "light" work.
 
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
I don't plan on doing any off real off roading. I'm not going to be on unfinished work sites with it either. I really need this for business purposes distributing some goods to customers. And other "light" work.
Click to expand...

Then I definitely recommend looking at a non-Edge Ford Ranger with the 4.0L V6. The 3.0L barely has more power than the I4 but sucks down a bit more gas. The 4.0L is a considerable power boost with marginally worse gas mileage. The 4.0L is also bulletproof and the 4x4 will get you out of any sticky spot if you ever encounter them. The ridgeline is certainly a comfortable vehicle buy hondas are a good buy if *you* buy them new and then sell them. Anyone actually buying the used ones are just getting suckered in because there an infinite number of options that can equal them without the 5-6k markup.
 
Just how big of a truck are you going for? Tacoma's are nice but potentially too small for what your wanting.
 
Get a new F150. I think they give them away with a large slurpey at 7-11.

My son picked up a brand new 150 just over a year ago for 16k otd. Not a bad deal at all.
 
Originally posted by: Greenman
Get a new F150. I think they give them away with a large slurpey at 7-11.

My son picked up a brand new 150 just over a year ago for 16k otd. Not a bad deal at all.
Click to expand...

Wow that is good. I could probably get a 2 year old one off auction for like 8 then. That would be great. I like the F150 too.
 
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
Originally posted by: Greenman
Get a new F150. I think they give them away with a large slurpey at 7-11.

My son picked up a brand new 150 just over a year ago for 16k otd. Not a bad deal at all.
Click to expand...

Wow that is good. I could probably get a 2 year old one off auction for like 8 then. That would be great. I like the F150 too.
Click to expand...

The reason it was so cheap is Ford was letting them go at/below cost as there were so many they could not role out the new model.

So I really doubt you will find a 1-2 year old truck for 8k that is not junk.
 
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
GMC / Chevy also gets my vote unless you're looking for compact in which case I'd say a 4.0L Ranger Edge.
Click to expand...

I was about to say Ranger/ mazda b4000 when I saw the headline but he did say he wanted a "decent sized bed".


I got a B4000 but wanted a Full size GMC/Chevy. Price was just to good to pass up.
Click to expand...

What do you get for gas mileage out of that? I've been looking for a compact truck. Lots of rangers for sale around here, but there's lots of chevy 1500s too and the ranger seems to get the same gas mileage as full size 1500s. Only thing I saw going for it was maybe cheaper tires and easier to park.

Compact truck tradeoffs for mileage seem lame mostly, only the tacoma and I think the colorado I4 get much of an improvement over larger trucks for gas mileage.

Edit: I'm looking only at 4WD myself.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
GMC / Chevy also gets my vote unless you're looking for compact in which case I'd say a 4.0L Ranger Edge.
Click to expand...

I was about to say Ranger/ mazda b4000 when I saw the headline but he did say he wanted a "decent sized bed".


I got a B4000 but wanted a Full size GMC/Chevy. Price was just to good to pass up.
Click to expand...

What do you get for gas mileage out of that? I've been looking for a compact truck. Lots of rangers for sale around here, but there's lots of chevy 1500s too and the ranger seems to get the same gas mileage as full size 1500s. Only thing I saw going for it was maybe cheaper tires and easier to park.

Compact truck tradeoffs for mileage seem lame mostly, only the tacoma and I think the colorado I4 get much of an improvement over larger trucks for gas mileage.

Edit: I'm looking only at 4WD myself.
Click to expand...


The gas milage is not much better but you should see 1-3Mpg of mixed driving. 1-3Mpg does not sound like much but when you are already in the teens then it adds up.

We only use our truck for hauling home repairs, wood, mulch, etc... it is not a daily driver. So gas milage was never a big concern.
 
Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
I don't plan on doing any off real off roading. I'm not going to be on unfinished work sites with it either. I really need this for business purposes distributing some goods to customers. And other "light" work.
Click to expand...

Why the need for 4wd then?

I picked up an 06 Ranger XLT I4 with 40k miles a few months ago for $8k OTD including about $800 of taxes.

The duratec I4's are nice engines, plenty of power. It won't tow a whole lot but I can pull my VW or bikes with it and load up the bed for hardware runs.

It seems to be a really solid truck, it hasn't been redesigned in a while, so you have non digital gauges and there is no bluetooth heated seats and it doesn't wipe my behind, but it's a truck.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
GMC / Chevy also gets my vote unless you're looking for compact in which case I'd say a 4.0L Ranger Edge.
Click to expand...

I was about to say Ranger/ mazda b4000 when I saw the headline but he did say he wanted a "decent sized bed".


I got a B4000 but wanted a Full size GMC/Chevy. Price was just to good to pass up.
Click to expand...

What do you get for gas mileage out of that? I've been looking for a compact truck. Lots of rangers for sale around here, but there's lots of chevy 1500s too and the ranger seems to get the same gas mileage as full size 1500s. Only thing I saw going for it was maybe cheaper tires and easier to park.

Compact truck tradeoffs for mileage seem lame mostly, only the tacoma and I think the colorado I4 get much of an improvement over larger trucks for gas mileage.

Edit: I'm looking only at 4WD myself.
Click to expand...

My 04 Tacoma gets horrible gas mileage. For a compact v6 you should expect more than 17-19 highway. Maybe the newer generation (05+) gets better mileage, but there are v8 fullsize pickups with teh same gas mileage. My next truck will be either a used F150 or Silverado/Sierra. No more of this premium $$$ for Toyota brand name crap.
 
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