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OT - truck decision

C

chuck t

Member
looking for a used mid-sized pickup. Looks like Dakota vs. Tacoma. I drive them a long time. In general, are Toyota parts more expensive that Dodge?
 
your thinking is arcaic toyota is the most most made in AMERICA vehicle today .Your thinking angers me,there are good Americans working hard to build these vehicles,guess you better quit with J D and Case also cause a lot of their parts are made in Korea and Japan.
 
The profits from the vehicle sale are, however, sent to Japan which are in turn loaned back to the US to finance our debt. We LOSE twice when you buy foreign.
 
Nah, man! Lets put those American workers out of a job right now! They dont deserve to work because they work for a foreign owned company! They should be drawing unemployment and welfare!!!
 
If you are interested in a 97 Ford 150, SWB, v6, stick, 2WD,21 mpg, stepside box, reg cab 55k miles one owner. Never spent a day or night outside. Probably weighs less than the Dodge Dakota and gets much better mileage.

Gordo
 
check the lower radiator support on the dakota for rust thru. we have seen 2 year old dakotas at the shop that the bottom rusts out, and thats what holds the rad/ac condenser in. spendy to section in the lower support.
 
wrong Jason those nieghbors of yours that work for yota spend their money on mainstreet of your town get your head out of the sand
 
I have 99 Dakota sport 4wd and I love it 157,144 miles on it, ya its needed some work over the years, but my friend worked for a Dodge dealer, so he can fix anything on it. I could never buy a Toyota, they may be great, but not for me.
 
Had to give Tom ay Moore's a jab today. The front passenger's side wheel bearing in my 97' F-150 self destructed this morning, so I when up to Moore's and got a new bearing/hub assembly. This was the only one in town. Every other place had to order one. Genuine "Made in China". Had to take it to get going again. Tom told me the only way I'd likely find an American made assembly was a NOS part from Ford. (the local Ford dealer didn't have any on hand and stated it would likely be a Chinese part as well.
So it goes!
 
That may very well be (however I don't consider Wal-Mart mainstreet), but the problem is by buying foreign you are aiding the enemy. By buying GM you may be buying a vehicle made in Mexico, but at least the higher paying engineering and design jobs are being kept in the US along with the thousands of mexicans on the assembly lines of mexico south of the border.
 
There isn't much of a decision they are both owned by foreign companies. DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU THINK IS BEST ONE.
 
I never said anything bout Wal Mart and since when is Japan our enemy how bout Mexico where the felons are coming from I gues if you want to live in the 40's that is your choice Good Day
 
Tacoma wins in my opinion. In my neck of the woods (including the Alberta oilfield), Tacoma's will outlast any other compact pickup. A little pricey off the bat, but very reliable and for a good many miles. My folks swore they would never drive an import. Guess what they drive now - a Toyota Camry. The small things made the difference; a little more care and attention on the details.

That said, would you go wrong with a Dakota? No. A fairly well proven little truck. I have friends who like their Dakota, and it holds up fairly well.

If I decide against buying a 3/4 or 1 ton this summer, there will be a Tacoma sitting in my garage. (Or a newer F150 :oops::roll: )

My 2 cents worth (less exchange fees),
Lyndon
 
My Dad has had 2 Dakotas, my brother in law has had two, my daughter had one, and I just got my new 2011 Dakota that is my third one. I also had a Mitsubishi Raider, which is a version of the Dakota that Chrysler made for Mitsubishi. These pickups have been both 2wd & 4wd.Club cabs, crew cabs, & standard cabs. 4,6,& 8 cylinders. Automatics and standard transmissions. They have all been great little trucks. Any guess what I'd recommend?
 
Yes, they are the ones. Friend of mine drove his Tacoma well over 100,000 miles. It looked good on the outside. Frame was all rotted. Toyota gave him $16,000.00 towards a new Tundra. He couldn't complain about that deal.
 
I wouldn't buy a new Tundra if Toyota gave me $16,000 towards a new one right now. Kind of like somebody giving you a free horse.
 
Did you check the mileage vs. a fullsize?

I've looked into some of those little buggers and it looks like a cramped little toy often gets VERY little better mileage than a reasonably-equipped fullsize pickup!

The EPA mileage site is linked below. I used to think the EPA figures were a JOKE, but they've refigured them a time or two in the last couple of years and they now seem pretty realistic to me, in most cases.
Mileage
 
A friend has owned 4 of these feather haulers in the last 15 years.Theres no room in the cabs,when Ive driven his trucks I have trouble with the midget foot pedals.The best milage he got out of the Ranger was 22,I can get 19 from my F150.The Ranger was geared too high and stalled often when pulling away from stop signs.We put 6 bales of mulch hay in it and he had much trouble getting it moving.It had fiberglass rear springs that flattened out with the slightest load.We put 10 bales of straw in it and I thought we would have to push it to get it moving.The rear spring hangers were rusted away at 70000 and the chassis was rusting so you couldnt put a light trailer on it.The best of the 4 was a Mitsubishi except that the trans mission cover would come off once in a while,It was held on with 6mm bolts, the holes were stripped out so I tapped them for 5/16 bolts.Put some loctite on them.The cramped cabs and their small load space plus poor gas milage makes them a lousy choice.My 77 Chevy C20 was a far better truck.My 96 F150 suits me fine.It hauls loads of lumber,grain,hay and fire wood with no problem.
 
Not even considering GM? I've got an '06 3/4 ton gas with 460k miles, never been in a shop, all original less 1 water pump, 1 alternator, 1 wheel bearing. Total repair costs over 5 years and nearly half a million miles, less than $400.

Toyota huh?
 
All depends what type of use you will be doing? Heavy loading you will have to step up to a full size half ton model. Just riding around in a standard cab the toyota would be my choice. Have a Tundra and so so on gas and haul used tools that I sell. The box level full of hand carry tool boxes put the truck down to the bottom. Truck before this one was F 150 short box club cab could haul more weight, but not that much. Cab company paid my insurance Co. for it over a little thing of a red light.Friend has a new Dakota with the tie rods ends already replaced only city driving 33,000 miles. So this gave me a heads up on Dodge trucks. They are put together in Mexico. Friends full size Dodge truck was down till the part was found in Mexico.
 
If GM would ever have made a truck of that size a lot of people would have bought one but they did not consider us important. Just bought a truck last summer and Dakota was the only consideration. It has enough cab room and is not too big overal and I can actually get in it without using a ladder and I got the V8. I plan on pulling trailers with it and has more trailer tow capacity than either of the GMC or Chevy trucks I curently have. The only thing I don't like about it is thay should have put a 8' bed on them instead of the 6 1/2'. No Toyota around in used. Gas milage was the least important item to consider. I had a Ford F250 that is in the same body size as all the full size GM and Ford trucks that are currently being built and that thing was just TOO BIG to handle and I needed a step ladder just to get in the durn thing. Health was better then as well. And both the GM & Ford compacts they do not put a 8 cylinder in and the 6 cylinder just is not big enough. I had a S 10 Chevy with small 6 and size wise I liked it but they do not have enough power so the Dakota is the only thing ever built that fits my requirements.
 
What about the GM situation with the gas tanks? Would never have taken them up on there offer on new truck. And I own one that was in there gas tank problem style and one from before the style that caused there problem that has the gas tank behind the seat and that would be a worse design.
 
Is your money. Get the BEST DEAL that you can AND the BEST WARRANTY for what YOUR NEEDS ARE. It will be your truck and you will be paying for it with your money. Not my money or anyone else's money, hopefully. In any event, don't do something that will have you kicking yourself every time that you go out and look at it in your garage, barn, or driveway.

Good luck in YOUR DECISION.

Mark
 
We have two Tacomas in our fleet. One a 2002 and the other a 2004. regular cab, 4x4s with 2.7L engines. Absolutely the most trouble free trucks I have ever heard of. Each has over 200k. Have used Mobil I since new and greasing every 5000. There are not very many trucks with greasable drivelines. Keep those U-joints and cardan joint lubed and they're good for at least 500k. All I know about "other" trucks are the horror stories. Friend's Dakota had the front ball joints go at 70k. Friend's S-10 had the driveline U-joints go at 100k, etc.
 
(quoted from post at 07:38:36 02/13/11) If your 5ft tall and 90 lbs. they probably arent cramped!
Click to expand...

Guys, step into the new millennium! Compact pickups today aren't the little tiny tin cans of the 80's. I haven't driven all the compact pickups, but I've driven a mid-2000's Ranger and a late-2000's Tacoma. Both were comfortable. The extended cab Tacoma had more driver room than the 2003 reg cab Chevy I drove. And I'm 6'1" and 260 lbs.

Lyndon
 
What year trucks? Dad's got a tacoma, I think it's an '01.They had a recall on the frames, so his 10 year old truck just got a brand new frame put under it about a month ago.

Might be worth looking at the Tacoma if the frame is solid or not. It may just qualify for the recall. If it does, they may offer 2x what it's worth for trade, but if you're not willing to buy a new truck and it needs a frame, you get a frame.

Dad's truck has had most of it's body worked on now, as he hit a deer about 8 years ago and took the whole front end out with that, and 2 or 3 years ago he hit black ice and put it in the ditch taking out the drivers side box quarter.

Almost has himself a new truck now! :wink:

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
I've got no problem with a Dodge.

And I guess I'm already old-fashioned at 44, but I just believe in buying American. Especially autos. I understand what your saying, though.

People will argue that they are made here, and that's all well and goood. But all the profit goes to Asia, and that hurts Detroit and our economy as a whole. Granted, they brought a lot of it on themselves, but still, I gotta go with an American make.

Plus it's a family thing too. IH and GM is all that we've ever had.

And now I think I have a magic truck. Nearly half million miles and not one failure, other than water pump and alt, both after 400k. And all I tdo is tow and haul everyday. Makes me think that Lucas isn't just snake oil.

Best to you.
 
Is the actual size of the truck why you want a midsize? When you consider the fuel economy, might as well have a full size 1/2 ton. More towing, more cargo...
 
I was 5' 7" shrank some over the years and right at 200# and I have to have the seat halfway forward to reach the pedals, have pleanty of sholder room so anybody under 6'7" should not even think they are cramped.
 
Im 6'2" and I think they are cramped! Notto mention I dont feel safe in them with my knees nearly in my gut! I guess I have longer legs than most people my size.
 
So have I. I test drove a Ranger and a Dakota and a GMC Canyon. I found all 3 cramped. The dakota was better, but stil cramped, to me! The Canyon was accually pretty comfortable, but had it been a regualr cab, then Im pretty sure it wouldnt have been. But Im claustrophobic anyways.
 
(quoted from post at 14:32:53 02/13/11) So have I. I test drove a Ranger and a Dakota and a GMC Canyon. I found all 3 cramped. The dakota was better, but stil cramped, to me! The Canyon was accually pretty comfortable, but had it been a regualr cab, then Im pretty sure it wouldnt have been. But Im claustrophobic anyways.
Click to expand...

Lol, I guess it depends on what you're used to to. I drove an 80's Western Star daycab for a while, so all the newer pickup cabs seem really roomy to me.
 
FYI the colorado/canyon are available with the 5.3 v8 in extended and crew cab models. i have driven the v8 and it is a rocket! lots of power

I had a 4 cyl colorado and thought it to be very dependable and roomy, I am just a little taller than you and about your weight.
 
If you think they are cramped then you could never get by with my FULL SIZE Chevy C10 as I believe the Dakota has more leg room than my Chevy has, the only thing the Chevy has is room for 3 cramped in the seat instead of 2 in the Dakota. And I never have the need for 3 in the seat.
 
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