Questionyup , thanks for all that advice. i looked around and it sounds about right. I would like to go from the extended cab and canopy to something enclosed, which was why i was thinking small suv or wagon but they do seem out of $range. it just seems that the durangos and explorers are so huge. Why are mid 90's Ford Explorers so cheap? It kinda scares me off from buying. I guess I'm now back comparing the Explorers, Forerunners, Pathfinders, Rodeos, etc. Any suggestions for best reliability and low repairs costs? Thanks again. I appreciate your help!
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
its a toyota pickup, sorry pu in the title and i thought it was in toyota section, sorry first time asking! i love having the pickup its really useful but am thinking that i would like to go a little smaller, more economical, practical for around town, and perhaps with out the occasional leaking canopy, so a pickup, compact suv or wagon?? but something that will have the 4wd. To be more specific, I can figure out the cost for private sale or tradin values of my truck, but, if i go to trade it in, i would either have to know exactly what new, fairly car, i wanted or alot about used trucks/ suv etc, and am not sure i have that much time to research! i also dont want to get a big loan situation... 5,000 or less would be ideal. thanks again. hope that clears it up. -------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...
-----Question-----
hi, my 92 4wd well loved, meaning a bit beat up, V6 extra cab, may be on the way out. if i were to get something new, i would like 4wd, because i live near the mountains, it doesnt have to be a truck or suv, but i do have a dog with me most time and want to be able to cart gear, move something if i need to, BUT of course, i dont have much $ to work with, what ever i could get for the truck plus maybe 2 grand and not good credit. i dont even know what to look for, for my next vehicle. i looked forever for this truck and paid 6 grand from private owner, had it for about two years.. any suggestions? thanks, i know its alot!
-----Answer-----
May I ask what your 92 is? If I know what kind of truck, the miles, the condition.. etc... I can get a better idea of what price range we are working with... to give some general suggestions for a next vehicle - go to "consumerguide.com" and check out: 92-95 toyota pickups, 96-up toyota tacoma's, all year ford rangers, 88-96 ford f-150's, jeep wranglers, toyota 4 runners, ford explorers, 90-2000 year chevy silverado's and CK1500/2500 ... Thats a good starting point, browse around and see what ones strike your fancy... for a well built truck with a bullet proof engine a 4cyl toyota tacoma/pickup (the 22RE... great engine) is king, and they can be bought for under 10,000 plus the mileage doesn't matter as much on those trucks... the rangers are cheaper and not as bullet proof but still good trucks... the f150's with the 300 straight 6 cyl and 302 v8 are good trucks... chevy's engine as good as usual but the interior doesn't hold up too well... the jeep is fun if you are in the mountains and they hold value really well... I guess aside from knowing what kind of truck you have now, i need to know how far you want to go in debt for this? 5000? 10,000? 20,000? ... give me a ballpark, we can figure out a good ride for you.. I come from a small town where 4wd is about the only way to get around so I know alot about what's out there and what is good (even though I moved to the city and like to drag race cars... I was the black sheep I guess).. Anyways.. get back to me - we'll figure something out...
-----Answer-----
Well in this case I would sell your truck, that model may have a much lower book value than popular demand causes them to sell for... those trucks are known for being amazingly reliable, well built, affordable, and easy to modify for offroad purposes.. thus... let me put it this way.. blue book for one with 150,000 miles is probably.. 2,500 or so? but when I was shopping for one the cheapest I found 4wd was nearly 4000.. some with 200k were asking 4000... so check out your local "autotrader.com" "oodle.com" and "cars.com" and see what similar vehicles are going for in your area... My car is blue booked at 3000 but because its a very in demand car for drag racing platforms and wanna be racers, i could probably sell it for over 5000... supply and demand... blue book doesn't factor that in on most low end cars.. the exotics i am sure it does.. but not on your toyota pickup or my 5.0...
If you want something smaller, well you already have a small pickup - even smaller by today's standards... so if you want something even smaller than that you will have to lean towards a small SUV or car/wagon... Most small SUV's have the offroad abilities (and chassis') of cars so you may wish to aim for the cheaper car segment... finding an AWD car in your price range will be tough... you are pretty limited... Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX/Eagle Talon Tsi (same car.. different brand.. rare car though), and well.. that pretty much ends the segment on cheap AWD cars... an SUV will work but only recently have they gotten so small, so any one that would be in that range will be just as big as your truck... wagons.. well.. aside from subaru having some AWD family car & wagons over the years... (consumerguide.com - look under subaru, almost all their vehicles are AWD) the AWD revolution wasn't around.... you may have to consider a jeep, or another truck.. just for practicality reasons... finding a used AWD car these days is very difficult if you cant spend over 10,000... they are rare cars by 1990's standards... you may find an early 90's ford Bronco II... they are fairly rare but may be exactly what you want... smaller than your truck, an SUV with room, and should be in your price range... you can google search "bronco II" and see if you like how they look... search for those on the previously listed car shopping sites.. you may be forced into another pick up just because all the other options are hard to find for ~5000-7500... and I hate to say it... but as for pickups in that range you have one of the best.. may opt for a better condition newer model.. but it will be the same for the most part... Let me know your thoughts on the bronco, impreza, gsx, jeep, etc... and see if you can find any in your area or close to it, i'll keep trying to think of other alternatives...
AnswerWell once you get to that segment things get interesting in your price range... The izuzu rodeo/ nissan pathfinder/ honda passport are all almost the same vehicle (only I believe izuzu sourced out the passport's design from honda and used slightly lower grade materials to keep its price lower)... I personally owned a 96 explorer which was a surprisingly well built vehicle, but from all my readings are only average in reliabilty. If you want to try a small size SUV the Izuzu amigo, honda cr-v, and toyota rav4 may be worth a look (but price may be an issue with the honda and toyota)... As far as midsized.. the pathfinder seems to be a good truck, my uncle has had his for years and swear up and down he'll never sell it.. they seem to be well built and moderately reliable... and because the izuzu rodeo and honda passport share the same platform its a matter of quality there.. the honda will be a little better but for the money the izuzu may be more appealing (lower miles for the money)... Dodge durango is one I am not a huge fan of, the engine is good but compared to my explorer they feel cheaply built... 4runners are nice, and basically the same vehicle as your truck so if you like your truck that would be a good idea, they are well built and just as bulletproof... Its almost a matter of opinion when it comes to 90's SUV's... but for my money I would be looking for a passport/pathfinder/4runner most likely.. maybe an explorer if I can get a good deal (the gas mileage will be poorest on the explorer though). And keep an eye out for good conditioned bronco II's in the area, one drive in one of those and you may think its the best compromise between space/size/& off road ability...
