Fistful of dollars. . . . . . .
 

well, its almost time. got around $15,000. to spend on a truck and here's what i've learned so far.
not much.
seems like the chevys hold their value better, followed by ford and finally dodge.
looking at the 1500 crew cab shortbed. not thrilled with the avalanche but it's still in the running.
if YOU had $15,000. and were getting ready to buy a fullsized 4 door pickup, what would you do? and why?
looking for reliability and mileage wouldnt be too bad either.
where will i find the best value?
HELP?!?!?!?!

If it was me, I'd find a good $25,000 F150 Crew Cab w/a 5.4 litre, use the 15 grand you got toward the purchase which will result in a quite small monthly payment...I had a good experience at Car Max w/my F 150... :sand:

how many miles a year do you put on vehicles and how long do you keep them?
i drive dodges because you can get them cheap and drive them till they drop, but i use them for work trucks. if it is a family vehicle, i went with chevy 02 or later. more money, but better ride & much better gas mileage. i have always heard the best bang for the buck is a 5 year old vehicle every three years.

CT that is what I had, to spend and bought new with it, not sure if that is what you are considering or 15 g's as a limit.
For me it depends mostly on what you are doing with it. Three major decisions are - 4x4 or not - towing, and how much - and number of people and miles you will be driving.
For me the F150 was the best all around.
If I was not towing I might of thought different. If I was looking for something to carry mostly two people with a lot of miles probably a Toyota Tacoma, any year.
Weigh the bang for the buck for your uses.

Damn there you go again thinking just like me! My good friend is looking for a truck and I told him the other day I'd love to have a tacoma but just can't because of the boat.

Love those trucks.

phat, i plan to drive this one until i, or it falls down dead in the street. whichever comes first.
willy, i will be towing but the main purpose will be a second family vehicle. loading the bed with bikes or firewood or camping gear or whatever. i also like the tacoma but i hope to tow something in the 24 foot range at some point in the not too distant future. as for mileage we dont drive more than a low to average amount, other than a few road trips here and there. it will mostly sit and wait for me at some of the local train stations. 4x4 might be the way to go as i figure it will give me a little bit more insurance at the local (and not so local) boat ramp. also, any more winters like this one, it certainly couldnt hurt.
reel, when i bought my wife her minivan i took the same approach. $15,000. max, and then ended up buying her a brand new $30,000. sienna. this time i plan on sticking with the $15,000. (or so) max. i guess i could go a couple grand more or less but going much higher is not an option this time.
and blue, again, i do love the tacoma, and toyota in general but i figure a V20 would be the limit of towing capacity for it. i'm hoping to go a bit larger for my next one.

Yeah I would not recommend a tacoma for towing a V except for short distances on flat terrain. I tow long distances on hilly terrain so definitely not for me!

I personally would go with a 1500 CHEVY with the 5.3L in it. The quad cab has plenty of room in it for actual adults and is a solid tow rig made in the USA. The late model FORD with a 5.4L is also a good contender. GM has the edge for comfort and milage in my opinion, but that's just me. The DODGE is also a decent truck, but they are not known to last for the long haul very well due to there interiors being reliant heavily on plastics. The biggest thing is to find the one that is comfortable to you though.

Chuck, there's plenty of 4-door trucks out there in that range that'll do the job...Willy's right about the 4-wheel drive...do your ramps require it?...if not, you can get more truck and better mileage by far goin 2-wheel drive...mine is 2WD...whatever you come down on, be sure it's got the factory tow package

from what I found out from dealing with my Ford van, all the Ford triton series motors can be real expensive to work on labor and parts. Look up directions on repairing a cylinder head on a Ford pick up and the first thing they tell you is to pull the cab off the frame to get to the engine. Ever tried putting plugs in one? The chevy LS engines aren't cheap but they are easier to work on and have a good aftermarket following. I've allways been a chevy guy, but the newer GMC's look better. I'm not real thrilled with eth way GM handled the banckruptsy adn my hats off to Ford for not taking stimulos money. But I would still buy the GM truck just because I like it better.