Buying a cheap-ish truck or 4x4

firewaterword

Hey you wonderful H&A denizens. Looking for some advice regarding getting my hands on a decent vehicle to be used primarily for getting to and from Tahoe from the bay once in a while, the occasional camping trip, and the option to be able to haul stuff around if necessary. My daily driver is an '05 g35 coupe, which I absolutely adore! However, if you know the car, you'll know it's pretty much only useful for getting from A to B (and getting speeding tickets, though I've been pretty lucky so far...).

Since I'm only planning on using this thing a dozen times or so a year, I'm not looking to spend too much money. In this case, too much money is anything over around $5k (not including taxes / rego). I'm not really sure what I'm looking for - my buddy has an '00 wrangler, but he's not a huge fan of it. Some dude in my neighborhood is selling an '03 liberty for about $8.5k, but I don't really want to drop that much. One of the guys I rafted with in NZ had an old Toyota Hilux that seemed pretty much indestructible. No idea what the comparable model in the US is though. That's pretty much the entirety of my knowledge of non-sports cars.

So, H&A, what say you? What sort of target years/models would you suggest? Anything to avoid? I want something that isn't huge (short cab? Is that right?), but has 4WD. Diesel would be rad, but from a cursory look at craigslist, they seem pretty expensive. I bought my last car off CL and it went swimmingly, though I know the place is rife with scams. My jeep-owning buddy suggested checking out a government auction - anyone have experience with such things?

Thanks much for the help folks.

L Ron Howard

How much size do you need, and what would you be hauling with it?
Why do you need the 4WD? Do you do actual off-roading, or do you drive in the winter, or what?
Do you tow things? Tiny trailers, snowmobiles, full-sized boats?
Ultimately, what's more important, the size (bed, cab, etc.) or the price?

mts

i would try and find a used subie. should be able to handle all but true 4x4 roads you will find in tahoe. unless you are tryly looking for backcountry rockhopping, the subie will serve you better and you won't kill yourself on gas

firewaterword

L Ron Howard wrote:

How much size do you need, and what would you be hauling with it?
Why do you need the 4WD? Do you do actual off-roading, or do you drive in the winter, or what?
Do you tow things? Tiny trailers, snowmobiles, full-sized boats?
Ultimately, what's more important, the size (bed, cab, etc.) or the price?

Hm. Size wise, the largest/most awkward thing I could envision would be something like a sea kayak. I'd want the 4WD primarily for getting up and down Donner pass in the winter. I have fantasies of awesome off-road camping adventures, but most of my friends hate and fear the outdoors. Still, a guy can dream. Wouldn't be hauling anything, though you can bet your ass I'd haul a snowmobile or jetski if I owned one. Because damn they're fun.

Ultimately, I'd say the price, because this is pretty much a total "luxury" purchase.

firewaterword

mts wrote:

i would try and find a used subie. should be able to handle all but true 4x4 roads you will find in tahoe. unless you are tryly looking for backcountry rockhopping, the subie will serve you better and you won't kill yourself on gas

Thanks man. I kayaked with a guy who had an outback and it seemed alright. What would you suggest looking for as far as years/models go? I assume it'd be a choice between an outback or a forrester, right?

mts

late 90s had some head gasket issues but I think it only applied to certain engines. The outback or Forrester will give you the most storage.
You should easily get some sea kayaks on either. I have gotten over 4 Whitewater kayaks on one.

I personally like the 2005-07 outbacks but they won't be as cheap

Noquar

firewaterword wrote:

mts wrote:

i would try and find a used subie. should be able to handle all but true 4x4 roads you will find in tahoe. unless you are tryly looking for backcountry rockhopping, the subie will serve you better and you won't kill yourself on gas

Thanks man. I kayaked with a guy who had an outback and it seemed alright. What would you suggest looking for as far as years/models go? I assume it'd be a choice between an outback or a forrester, right?

Depending on how old you go it could be a Brat. For what you may want in the future with going off the beaten path - look for a Forester. A Forester has better approach and departure angles than an Outback. But, the Outbacks tend to be more comfortable and have more room. Both are very capable, it's just the Forester angles tend to help more if it gets rough.

Iceman.USAF

Don't get a Wrangler if you're looking for towing capacity. The short wheel base ones (2 door) top out at around 2000 lbs max and the longer ones (2 door Unlimited and 4 door's) top out at 3500 lbs. I love mine, but its not for serious towing.

I loved my Tacoma (which is the US Hillux...mostly). The older ones tended to rust kinda bad, but if you can find a good one you'll be fine. I'd buy an older one in a heartbeat.

For towing capacity/bang for buck you can't beat a properly outfitted Ford Ranger. With the tow package they can pull like 10,000 lbs or something ridiculous like that. Not a lot of room in the cab though.

EWom

If people drive their Tacoma's where you live anything like they do here in MT, you want to stay away from used Tacomas, or if you do look at one have a mechanic thoroughly check it out first.

firewaterword

Great advice, thanks guys.

@mts - yeah, we fit 2 bliss stick tunas on top of this guy's outback no problem. I doubt longer boats would be a problem. I just might end up buying a WW boat this summer, depending on how far I'm able to progress, so that's all part of this thing too.

@Noquar - gotcha. When you say a brat, do you mean just a beater, or something more specific. Comfort isn't too much of a factor, given I won't be driving it much.

@Iceman.USAF - no plans on towing. Thanks for the heads up about the Tacoma!

firewaterword

EWom wrote:

If people drive their Tacoma's where you live anything like they do here in MT, you want to stay away from used Tacomas, or if you do look at one have a mechanic thoroughly check it out first.

I'm in the bay area, so I figure the market will mostly be weekend warriors like me, and soccer moms/dads. Will definitely get my dude to look at anything local that pops up.

mts

You will pay a bay area premium for a subie or taco. If going light truck, the older frontiers are just as good as three taco and you could probably find one cheaper

illig

Try a ford ranger or chevy s10, or a jeep cherokee classic. Cheap trucks to start with, and damn reliable bc they were built with only minor changes for decades.

Toyota trucks command an insane premium for some reason, even if the frame is full of holes.

VulnoX

Definitely agree on the Ranger. I had a 2004 Ranger XLT 4x4, and that thing was great. Amazing in the snow, even in 2WD with just some weight in the bed (sandbags), and that is during Michigan winters. The engines in them have been around forever, and replacement parts if you need them are everywhere and cheap.

They run forever, easy to maintain, and you don't have to feel bad about roughing it up. I had my XLT and a friend of mine had an FX4. A bunch of us go up to Canada for a ski trip every year and I was following them. We got turned around on a back road and he thought he was making a turn on grass, but it was a very snow covered deep ditch. His Ranger was about sideways in that thing. I hooked a tow rope to mine and his, and yanked it out and we just continued on, no damage to his truck or anything, and although I was only pulling out another Ranger, mine handled it like a champ.

I may be biased because I have such great memories of mine, but maybe that's a good sign for you as well. I seriously considered getting a cheap one since Ford was discontinuing them in the US to have as just a fun weekend vehicle.

Noquar

firewaterword wrote:

Great advice, thanks guys.

@mts - yeah, we fit 2 bliss stick tunas on top of this guy's outback no problem. I doubt longer boats would be a problem. I just might end up buying a WW boat this summer, depending on how far I'm able to progress, so that's all part of this thing too.

@Noquar - gotcha. When you say a brat, do you mean just a beater, or something more specific. Comfort isn't too much of a factor, given I won't be driving it much.

@Iceman.USAF - no plans on towing. Thanks for the heads up about the Tacoma!

Brat was an old old Subaru model. Kind of like the El Camino of Subaru. They brought it back a few years ago for a limited run, but I'm not sure how well they did.

mts

you mean the baja?

Noquar

mts wrote:

you mean the baja?

That's it. The new version was called the Baja. The old one the Brat.

firewaterword

Thanks for the info @VulnoX, I'll keep it in mind. I think that may be a little more than I'm looking for size-wise though.

Saw a new-ish looking Tacoma in the city last night, and it looked pretty clean. Good size too. But like mts called, most of the ones I'm seeing in CL are bloody expensive. I'm not really in a big hurry to swoop on anything, but definitely keeping my eyes open.

schuss

Taco's are super expensive, as people become obsessed with them. Sadly there's not a lot in the "active 4wd/AWD" segment that's cheap right now. Also, what sports are you into? Just moved to the bay area in september, and try to get out quite often.

mts

schuss, you could try to get hooked up with Outdoor adventures people from davis, if you want i could hook you up with some people depending on what you are interested in

firewaterword

schuss wrote:

Taco's are super expensive, as people become obsessed with them. Sadly there's not a lot in the "active 4wd/AWD" segment that's cheap right now. Also, what sports are you into? Just moved to the bay area in september, and try to get out quite often.

Yeah, makes sense. I'm sure there are heaps of folks looking for the same thing. I don't want to end up with "too much car," but I can see there's a premium for that. Anyway, yeah, welcome! I'm mostly into hiking - primarily in the north bay - but I'm also (slowly) getting into kayaking (WW and sea). Camping too, though not when it's this bloody cold. Also would like to learn to rock climb - been debating getting a Planet Granite membership, but I'm not sure how much use I'd end up getting out of it. Anyway, feel free to shoot me a PM or something man - always looking for new stuff to do.

Pel

The ranger is a great 4wd vehicle and can be had for virtually a song compared to Toyotas or Nissans (both of which are awesome despite the price, btw). I can't recommend the s-10 as enthusiastically. I had a S-10 blazer which just didn't seem to cut it no matter what I did.

saltiness

In my experience, putting a kayak (especially one that is 10' long or more) on a Subaru is cheaper and easier than on a pickup truck.

With a pickup, you're either strapping it down in the bed and letting it hang off the tailgate which gets hairy with something over 10' or you're buying either a roof rack, work rack or a shell to put the kayak on.

An Outback already has a roof rack so you don't really need anything more except for tie-downs and foam pads to protect the bottom of the boat.

firewaterword

saltiness wrote:

In my experience, putting a kayak (especially one that is 10' long or more) on a Subaru is cheaper and easier than on a pickup truck.

With a pickup, you're either strapping it down in the bed and letting it hang off the tailgate which gets hairy with something over 10' or you're buying either a roof rack, work rack or a shell to put the kayak on.

An Outback already has a roof rack so you don't really need anything more except for tie-downs and foam pads to protect the bottom of the boat.

That makes sense. I spent some time looking at local ads, and it looks like the '00-'04 outbacks fall right around what I'm looking for price-wise. I'm pretty sure a full-size truck/pickup would be overkill for my purposes.

saltiness

Just be sure to do some research and have the outback checked out at a subaru mechanic before you buy it. The one major mechanical problem these cars have is head gasket failure in the 2.5L engines. Fixing it can cost $1,500-$2,500. Your best bet is either a low-mileage example or one which has already had the HG replaced.

mts

you should head out to point reyes for hiking and sea kayaking. lots of good stuff and you can see teh pt reyes elk

firewaterword

saltiness wrote:

Just be sure to do some research and have the outback checked out at a subaru mechanic before you buy it. The one major mechanical problem these cars have is head gasket failure in the 2.5L engines. Fixing it can cost $1,500-$2,500. Your best bet is either a low-mileage example or one which has already had the HG replaced.

Thanks for the info - always good to know the major issues to watch out for.

mts wrote:

you should head out to point reyes for hiking and sea kayaking. lots of good stuff and you can see teh pt reyes elk

Yeah man, I love it out there. Bear Valley hike is one of my favorite day hikes in the area. I've been kayaking in Tamales bay before, and that was great fun. Lots of cool bird life too. Thanks for the OA info too - much appreciated.