What do you think about a pickup?

[ma96782]

What do you think about a pickup?

She tried to get me to follow her with a promise of candy. But Mama always told me not to go with strangers.

Aloha, Mark

PS.....IMHO....ATCclears is on the right track.

 

[teflon6string]

Read your post twice Gunny. Buying new? Used?

I've had a few brand new motorcycles over the decades, but always bought used cars and trucks with pretty good luck. Here's a little something I put together to share with friends looking for used vehicles. It's always helped me make objective choices lest emotions take over and I buy something I wish I hadn't. Let us know!

Used Car/Truck Checklist
Year___ Model ______ Color______ Miles _______ Eng Size ____ Trans ___ AC ___
Asking Price ______
Seller ______________ Contact ( ) -
Address _________________________

Brakes/Tires/Alignment/Suspension:
Tires - Uneven wear
Parking Brake
Brake Noise
Pulling
Vibration/Pulsing during braking and just cruising
Suspension Noises

Engine/Trans:
Check engine light (Does it work? Is it on?)
Battery Terminals
Smoke/Odor
Look under for leaks
Oil condition
Coolant condition
Engine Sounds
Cold Start

Exterior:
Windshield
Dents/Scratches
Doors, hood, trunk open/close properly
Headlights, markers, signals, emergency flashers, lenses
Rust

Interior/Instruments:
Dashboard lights/gauges (Check Engine Light)
Windows up/down
Door locks (inside/out)
Wipers/washer
AC, heat
Stereo
Alarm
Odors
Upholstery

Various:
Clear title - And Available?
Extra keys/remote
Sunroof function - leak
Water damage
Service Records
Visible Repairs
Spare condition/inflation
Jack

 

[made in china]

Nissans are awesome. Till
There not. Hahaha!!

11 years into owning a 14 year old Nissan.

When is it "not"? How much longer do I have? If it fell apart tomorrow I'd have got all my money out of it. Feels like it's gonna go another 14 years without any issues. Time flies.

 

[ORhutner]

You have a good reliable rig you have owned and know, I wouldn't trade that comfort and security earned through years of service. Unless you need two daily drivers I would keep the truck as your work horse like it is currently and replace the Mercedes with a more universal rig that suits all your non-truck needs.

Wife has a 2018 Tacoma quad cab, TRD off road. It is a beautiful truck on the outside but the interior is behind the times and the driving experience is awful. The V6 has no power unless you ring its neck and get into the upper RPM's. Transmission keeps the rpms down because Toyota can't build a truck that gets even decent fuel economy so they shift as low as possible in the RPM range in an attempt to eek out a few extra MPG's. Her truck averages 19mpg, is the size of a F150/Tundra/1500 and just doesn't do it for me. I am sure it will run forever but who cares if you don't enjoy the ride. Fortunately she loves it and that is all that matters.

I drive a 2016 Ram 2500 Cummins and absolutely love it and won't go back to a gas motor. I average 21mpg in a truck that weighs 3,000 pounds more than the wife's Tacoma. Cruises on the highway all day long and it is very pleasant doing it. The truck is a joy to drive. I have driven Ford and Chevy diesels also and would drive either but I just preferred the Ram.

If you have to replace your truck I would highly recommend going with a mid-size of your preference, Ram/Chevy 1500, F150, Tundra. The F150 and Tundra have the best resale value in case you buy it and end up not liking it in the future. Something else you might consider is an SUV and a nice utility trailer. A good utility trailer beats the hell out of trying to load everything into an elevated pickup box. You also don't have to worry about scratching the paint, denting it, limiting what you put in the box, etc.... I wish you luck in your search.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

11 years into owning a 14 year old Nissan.

When is it "not"? How much longer do I have? If it fell apart tomorrow I'd have got all my money out of it. Feels like it's gonna go another 14 years without any issues. Time flies.

I'm kidding Kind of. I have though known of several titans that had blown head gaskets.

 

[revjen45]

We have a '03 F-250 with 47.5K original scrupulously maintained miles. Bought it in '03 to tow the '49 Burb to TX and then back in '06. (OMG how I miss TX). It gets 12 mpg under any and all conditions - uphill or down, 40 mph or 80, towing or not. It cruises @ 80 mph with power for a strong surge when you step on the gas. I will probably keep it for the rest of my life.
New pickup trucks cost more than a house used to.
You may only use it once in a while but it's yours (and you can wash it as long as you want ) and there is no substitute for a pickup truck when you need it. Same for 4WD. I'm old and FUBAR too, but I really enjoy driving the Scharnhorst - more that than our '14 Sonata (last year for 276 hp) which I also like.
If you don't need the $ why not sell the MB and keep the truck for those times when you really need a truck?

 

[HaveGun]

I'll be honest though, I am anxiously awaiting the 3rd gen Tundra. I LOVE my 1st gen Titan, but I think Toyota has it's "mojo" back. Current Tundra would be slapped-around like a $10 hoe by my 2007 Titan, though.

The 3rd Gen Tundra has been out since 2014 and exceeds your Titan in every category including HP, reliability ratings, and tow capacity.

 

[HaveGun]

I'm kidding Kind of. I have though known of several titans that had blown head gaskets.

And the latest generation of Titan get awful reviews for reliability. Nissan has gone waaay downhill in terms of reliability since the early 2000's. I used to be a Nissan fanboy and owned several when I was younger. My girlfriend drives a 2018 Rogue and nothing but problems. My buddy bought a new Titan diesel 4x4 extra cab for $35k. Brand new. Couldn't believe he got it so cheap. Now I know why; he gets 15 mpg and has a couple of electronic issues that the dealer is struggling to figure out.

I hope they get their heads out of their butts and put out consistently reliable vehicles again.

 

[HaveGun]

Used truck prices are crazy. Mid-sized pickups are just as expensive and nearly as big as a full-size.

I was looking at new pickups a couple of years ago and the local Toyota dealer had a couple of 4wd extra cab Tundras on sale for $33k. The cheapest F150 at the Ford dealer was $44k.

If you want a reasonably reliable pickup that is less than ten years old with under 100k miles, then be prepared to spend at least $20k. At least around here. I know on the west side there are a lot more deals, so maybe $15k?

 

[made in china]

And the latest generation of Titan get awful reviews for reliability. Nissan has gone waaay downhill in terms of reliability since the early 2000's. I used to be a Nissan fanboy and owned several when I was younger. My girlfriend drives a 2018 Rogue and nothing but problems. My buddy bought a new Titan diesel 4x4 extra cab for $35k. Brand new. Couldn't believe he got it so cheap. Now I know why; he gets 15 mpg and has a couple of electronic issues that the dealer is struggling to figure out.

I hope they get their heads out of their butts and put out consistently reliable vehicles again.

I hate the new Gen 2 Titan, that is why I am looking at the next Tundra. The Gen 2 Titan stole a bunch of styling cues from F-150, and the engine has a cylinder 7 issue that Nissan does warranty, but they have never shared what is the root cause of cylinder 7 failures. Also affects Armada and QX80.

I won't consider American FS trucks because we have them at work, I've been driving all 3 brands for 13+ years now and my experiences with them make me happy with my old Titan OR looking at the 2022+ Tundra.

BTW, you are mostly correct, Nissan has been a terrible car company these last decade or 2. The Renault connection did not help. Modern Nissan FWD-CVT vehicles, including the Rogue are terrible.

Nissan has divorced Renault and we'll see if they turn things around. I, for one, am buying the new Twin Turbo Z car they have coming out next year. My Q60 has been rock-solid, Nissan makes one or 2 good vehicles!

I'm kidding Kind of. I have though known of several titans that had blown head gaskets.

That is definitely not an issue with the VK56DE engine in the Titan. I've been on the Titan forums since 2004, HG failures are extremely rare. The biggest issue for Gen 1 Titans is the exhaust manifolds.
However, I have also found that RAM and Tundra has exhaust manifold issues also. So, yeah....

The 3rd Gen Tundra has been out since 2014 and exceeds your Titan in every category including HP, reliability ratings, and tow capacity.

Most people call the current Tundra a "2.5 Gen" as it is basically the same truck as 12+ years ago.

So, for discussion sake I can refer to the 2022 Tundra as a "4th Gen".
I consider the current Tundra to be a gas-guzzling, outdated machine. There's no AWD option like some domestic trucks, and I am hoping the 4th Gen Tundra offers AWD option. There's no rear locker option like most all other trucks, including the Titan. Tow capacity is barely better, and really, these max ratings on full size trucks are kind of misleading. Towing over 10K with 1/2 ton truck is not really a good idea and for everyone's sake upgrade to a 3/4 ton at that point.
I'm not impressed with Tundra vs. Titan Gen 1 reliability as I've never had any reliability issues in 11+ years, and that's with frequently towing long distances at 80% of max rating (like 7500 pounds) and many times towing at max rating. I've had a blower motor resistor fail, and one rear axle seal. I even used a Tundra part to resolve that issue!

No doubt, current Gen Tundra is much much better than current Titan. We bought a 2020 Corolla for my wife, and I am so impressed by Toyota's turn-around, they are really making some great new designs since Mr. Toyoda took over a few years back. I think the next Tundra will be an excellent vehicle. Current Tundra....eh..super reliable is about all it's got going for it!

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Well, I'm on my 4th Tundra. All bought brand new. SR-5 to Platinum models.
Here's the issues I've had.
Brake rotors can warp. Just like all American made pickups do.
The controller for the trailer went out on me.
I haven't had to change pass till 100,000 miles.
Other than that gas and oil and scheduled maintenance.
They eat gas.
They are built well. The longest owned one had 179,000 miles. Zero issues.

 

[XoXSciFiGuy]

I would love to own a brand-new, full-size truck, but signing up for years of expensive payments adding up to maybe $35,000 or so just makes me ill thinking about it. Like trying to swallow a golf ball, although I must be in the minority because you see a lot of these nice trucks on the highway. So SOMEONE is buying them.

My daily driver is the truck you see in my avatar pic to the left. It's a 99% restored 1997 Nissan King Cab hardbody. Has AC/PS, two wheel drive, manual and absolutely ZERO issues with 122,000 original miles. I could drive it to Miami and back tomorrow and not worry about a thing. I keep up the maintenance to ridiculous levels, even changing the oil every 1,500 miles using HyPerLube as the first quart in the crankcase. I paid $2,500 for it three years ago and could probably get close to twice that for it today. I'll probably drive it until the wheels fall off...and then go get some more wheels. It gets exactly 27.5 miles highway and about 25 combined city/highway. Runs the four-cylinder KA24E fuel injected motor. And since it is a 97, it does have the driver airbag, rear ABS, and a plug in for a code reader.

But...I will admit I SURE like driving my brother-in-law's rig. HE has a completely restored 1970 Ford F-100 in white with red interior. That thing looks and drives just like brand new. Six cylinder, four speed with the granny gear. I would love to have that thing as a part-time truck, but he won't sell, no way. Picture below of what the website Infamous Nissan calls the 'Teal Terror,' which is a sort of joke. All lights except headlights converted to LED, Lund moonshade above the windshield, and Hella off-road lights installed up front. The headlights were switched out from sealed beams and now use replaceable bulb housings with Osram Nightbreakers.

 

[DeanMk]

I have a Ford F-250 crewcab that is 2 wheel drive and is a Lariat model (all the bells and whistles.) The only thing I use it for is traveling back and forth to AZ where we spend the winters. I opted for a V-10 rather than a diesel simply because I didn't want one. The truck has 87,000 miles on it and is serviced at a local garage. This truck can pull just about anything. I have a 38' Montana 5th wheel and it tows very easily. My bride and I are giving some consideration to parking the 5th wheel on our property in AZ and selling the truck. Now I need a truck' cause I'm always getting lumber, etc. for projects. I'm thinking maybe a Chevy Colorado crewcab or something like that. maybe a six cylinder engine with an automatic. Does anyone own one? What do you think?

In another post you mentioned that at this point, you're looking to downsize the vehicle and maybe add a few creature comforts.
I can dig it.
You mentioned a lightly used Toyota Tacoma and I think you're on the right track with that.
Toyota still boasts a pretty fair track record for reliability and even the "mini-truck" models (i.e., what we now call a Tacoma) is a pretty fair sized vehicle these days, so it can do the work (not that they never could).
Sell the Ford, get the Toyota, enjoy your life.
Good luck.

Dean

 

[USMC1911]

While not a Ford fan at work we have a ton of F150 with the 3.5 turbo. They seem to be very reliable and seldom see one going to the shop. We have probably 30 or so of them but they go to auction at 150k so past that not sure about reliability. My Chevy has been fantastic so far and she has been towing heavy!