I'm looking for an older truck and I've found a couple that seem good.
The first is a 2002 Tacoma 4x4 extra cab with V6/Manual trans. Has 117K miles and no issues. Was given a 6" fabtech lift and some 35” Goodyear MT/R’s. I've negotiated the price to $13K. The truck has been in AZ it's entire life and has no rust. 4 owners.
The second is a 2001 F-150 supercab with the 4.6L V8, manual trans, 4x4. It has 166K miles and has new timing chain, water pump, oil pump, motor mounts, trans mounts, shocks, driveshaft, and Spark plugs among other things. It has had 9 owners, the price is negotiated to $6500 and has no serious rust.
It seems the F150 is a better deal, but it has 50K more miles, and 5 more owners. I figured the price difference is $6500 which is about the cost of a new clutch install, tranny rebuild, and new crate engine.
I'm in the military so the vehicle will likely be moved to a snowy area at some point so I'm worried about Tacoma frame rust. The truck will be used as a daily alongside my motorcycle. Gas millage isn't a big deal, I just want something that'll last and won't be a money pit and retain some resale value. I can do intermediate work myself and don't mind making some repairs over my ownership of the truck. Towing will be rare if ever and never heavy.
Thanks for any input!
The Toyota will hold it's value longer so when you go to sell it you likely will not lose much money, besides that I have owned both trucks over the years and the Toyota is a much better truck however they do have frame rust issues and should be inspected by a third party shop that you trust before spending that kind of money.
In short both are decent deals but the ford wont be if you end up doing any of the major repairs that you mentioned.
IMO the Toyota is a better truck and the price reflects that.
my 01 made it to 381k miles before the frame broke (salty state)
Go with the Taco.....all day long. Buy it, keep it, drive it and then basically sell it for the same price you bought it for. Its also bullit proof. I have an 2005 4cyl, 5 lug Tacoma and its a tank. Watch out for frame rust though as it was an issue for that gen Tacoma. It was so bad that Toyota put in a recall for the frame.
