Looking to buy a small truck, Rangers good?

[paqman]

I'm looking to buy a pickup for daily commute, and wondered everyone's opinion. My budget is under $5K, and I've seen some ok Rangers with around 100K miles on them for that price. It's between that and a Toyota Tacoma of around the same age and miles. I am leaning towards the Tacoma because of Toyota's reputation, but can anyone give me their opinion on the two?

[inafogg]

altough ford is a great truck
im with ya on the toyota
i think foriegn(nissan/toyota honda...) has a longer lifespan

[paqman]

Originally Posted by inafogg

altough ford is a great truck
im with ya on the toyota
i think foriegn(nissan/toyota honda...) has a longer lifespan

Thanks, that's the way I'm leaning.

[inafogg]

Good Luck

[Stoneve]

Having owned four Ford Rangers I am biased and say you can't go wrong with buying a Ranger. I like the Toyota too, but I have seen many as they age have issues with the beds rusting and they don't seem to be as comfortable as the Ford. You can't argue with Toyota durability, but I have seen many Ford Rangers with the 2.3 liter engine with well over 225,000 miles on them and they get mpg's in the upper 20's . I currently have a V6 4.0 liter and have seen many with over 200,000 miles on them. Look at ebay and search based on mileage and that will give you an idea about the durability. Although each individual truck is treated differently and maintenance is key - inspect a used one thoroughly. But either way, the Toyota or Ranger you can't go wrong.

[paqman]

Originally Posted by Stoneve

Having owned four Ford Rangers I am biased and say you can't go wrong with buying a Ranger. I like the Toyota too, but I have seen many as they age have issues with the beds rusting and they don't seem to be as comfortable as the Ford. You can't argue with Toyota durability, but I have seen many Ford Rangers with the 2.3 liter engine with well over 225,000 miles on them and they get mpg's in the upper 20's . I currently have a V6 4.0 liter and have seen many with over 200,000 miles on them. Look at ebay and search based on mileage and that will give you an idea about the durability. Although each individual truck is treated differently and maintenance is key - inspect a used one thoroughly. But either way, the Toyota or Ranger you can't go wrong.

Thanks for the advice, you've successfully evened the playing fields for me on the two trucks. :-) Which has now made my decision harder, lol. But I guess I'm just going to keep searching for both and find the one that's in the best condition with the lowest miles.

This one has a salvaged title, but looks pretty decent for the price, I don't plan on selling it anyway. Let's just say I plan on driving it till it rusts or my 5 year old learns to drive in it.

This one actually looks pretty good, I'm going to probably go take a look at it today.

What would you say if I threw an F-150 in the mix?