Found - Once again, Looking for a Vehicle $6k or less

[Johnny Monsoon]

No Nissans (please don't try to convince me), no school busses, no econoboxes. A little bit of cosmetic work required is fine, but no project vehicles. Needs to be nearly daily-driver reliable.

[el_chupo_]

Deja vu...

[mlp911]

i have this for sale http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3303972033.html

[shanedman]

Originally Posted by Johnny Monsoon

No Nissans (please don't try to convince me), no school busses, no econoboxes. A little bit of cosmetic work required is fine, but no project vehicles. Needs to be nearly daily-driver reliable.

Didnt bother to look up where Fate, TX is..... and i havnt officially listed my vehicle yet, but i have been seriously considering selling my 99 honda accord, if i got the right offer.

[ABP]

Sent you a PM about a GS300

[BrucerZX14]

Don't know if a truck is in your list. Selling a 2004 GMC Canyon with 53000 miles on it here in Abilene. Great condition. Single cab version. $7K is the asking price. Blue book is over $8K.

[TwoSmokeDS]

A friend is selling his Accord with 150,000 miles. It runs excellent and is well maintained by dealership. But paint is in bad shape and interior is kind'a dirty.

[Johnny Monsoon]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

A friend is selling his Accord with 150,000 miles. It runs excellent and is well maintained by dealership. But paint is in bad shape and interior is kind'a dirty.

Econobox.

[Johnny Monsoon]

Originally Posted by BrucerZX14

Don't know if a truck is in your list. Selling a 2004 GMC Canyon with 53000 miles on it here in Abilene. Great condition. Single cab version. $6K is the asking price. Blue book is over $8K.

Trucks are certainly on the list (maybe at the top), however must be crew cab and very preferably 4x4.

[pschuyler]

Is a 2000 Suburban to big for your needs?

[Texfire]

PM sent.

[NPHLYT]

Originally Posted by Johnny Monsoon

Econobox.

If an Accord is an econobox, then you must be looking for a Lincoln Towncar.

Civic = econobox

Doubt you would find a truck for $6k that is A: reliable, B: extended cab or C: 4x4. When I was looking at used trucks I found various combinations of the above, but none with all 3 that did not need an interior or major body work.

[on1wheel]

Originally Posted by NPHLYT

If an Accord is an econobox, then you must be looking for a Lincoln Towncar.

Civic = econobox

Doubt you would find a truck for $6k that is A: reliable, B: extended cab or C: 4x4. When I was looking at used trucks I found various combinations of the above, but none with all 3 that did not need an interior or major body work.

This type of comment is why his other thread got closed.

[TwoSmokeDS]

I curious about your hate for Nissan. Can you elaborate? I'm thinking of getting the Frontier crew.

[NPHLYT]

Originally Posted by on1wheel

This type of comment is why his other thread got closed.

I don't understand the issue with my comment. A Honda Accord is more mid-sized than economy, especially since they are not priced in the "economy" range.

Regarding the truck, I searched high and low for a 4x4 extra or crew cab truck. All but the ultra-high mileage or ex-work trucks were closer to $8k.

I did not mean to hurt anyone's feelings.

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

I curious about your hate for Nissan. Can you elaborate? I'm thinking of getting the Frontier crew.

I love my Frontier (Pro 4X, 4-door, 6-speed).

[on1wheel]

Originally Posted by NPHLYT

I don't understand the issue with my comment. <snip>
I did not mean to hurt anyone's feelings.

I doubt you hurt anyone's feelings but Johnny's last thread went off into discussions about 4wd wranglers & etc, and ended up disappearing. I'm guilty of posting in that thread so that's why I mentioned it. I don't want to have the same thing happen with this one...

[WoodButcher]

The other one disappeared because I didn't jump in and keep it on track and clean it up. This one was started before that happened. So it was simpler to just let this be the main thread. Thanks for working together to keep on topic. I'll clean it up if necessary. Johnny seems to have a specific criteria of the vehicle he's looking for so let's keep it in that area.

[NPHLYT]

Most of the ones I looked at were found on autotrader.com. I would avoid Craigslist as I replied to one or two and got into a month-long conversation with a little old lady who had very few miles on her truck, but it was in a container waiting to be shipped to it's new owner, so she could not show it to my "cousin" who lived in the same city (interestingly enough) and could not send pictures of specific parts of the truck. Her grasp of the English language was tenuous at best.

Toyota

Ranger

At this level of truck I would avoid automatic transmissions, you never know how often the fluid was changed or if the screen was cleaned. Repairing an auto is far more expensive than replacing the clutch in a manual.
Also, if you buy a 4x4 make sure you switch it in to 4-low and then back out. I have heard of people going out for a test drive and they were unable to get the transfer case back into 2-hi.

[Johnny Monsoon]

I've had 4x4s before (actually, for the last couple of decades) and trucks in general with a couple of Jeeps sprinkled in there.

I agree that Honda Accords aren't everyone's definition of econobox, however it is doubtful you've ever walked past one and thought "Man, that's a ride I'd really like to have".

I had a little better criteria listed in the other thread, but it was lost. Basically, I am/was all over the map. I'd like something amusing but not a major project; should be 5 day daily driver ready if needed. A little spit and polish is okay, but I don't want anything that has major body damage (door dings, fine) or a shredded interior.

Practicality (at least so far as meeting my needs for both fun projects and my fondness for the outdoors) is winning over outright economy which has always been a secondary consideration. I'd really like to find a diesel crew cab (true 4-door) 4x4. That covers it. A second consideration is something whimsical. The Jeep comes into play there as they're generally not so pleasant vehicles to live with as a primary, but can be fun and capable when you need them to be Jeeps. Unfortunately, you can't haul anything in them and they're not fun for long highway stints. The big truck wins there.

Ideally, I'd find either a Tacoma 4x4 Quad cab that someone loathed so much they were giving away...

I may have just earned myself a bit of a bonus for an atta-boy. That could potentially bump the price range up to somewhere around $8k. Then again, it could come in the form of the Jelly Of The Month Club. Who knows?

I'm also looking at some midlife crisis mobiles. Laugh all you want, young bucks, but I'm happy to have arrived (even if I'm technically a little early). Been eyeballing some Jag XJS and Corvettes. Even an old '68 semi-custom Impala. I have an odd fondness for a very well executed tuned Miata, or even Mercedes SLKs (though I'm a little sketchy on those).

My dream cars are: TR4. TR6. MGB. 21 Window VW Van. Karmann Ghia Convertible (I miss my 1970). Various old muscle cars (prefer the smaller end of the spectrum here). I also have a soft spot for old trucks (C10s of the very early 70s or older trucks).

Still, the full sized quad cab 4x4 tops the list. I've found a few but have had to search. I'm very interested in TXfire's Jeep, but it's 4 hours to see in person from where I live, and I need to drive one similar to see if the negatives are still so negative.

[Rockjockey]

Tell us what you really want....