Best Pickup for ~$25k

[hcoles]

Maybe there is a PP thread on this but I couldn't find it.
My brother-in-law wants a pickup truck and is thinking $20-25k for a budget. I'm trying to provide advice by reading reviews and posts on issues. He lives in a fairly remote mountain town (~70 miles north of Reno) that has snow say 3-5 times per year. He will have a backup car (old Toyota 4WD 4cyl pickup). Some "constraints":

Wants:
- budget $20-25k
- 4WD
- extended cab, not crew cab
- 6 foot bed or maybe a bit longer, not sure seems like different brands have different bed sizes
- reliable
- brands: Toyota, Chevy (per what the local mechanic said), there are no car dealers near the town, my thinking was get what the good local mechanic can or wants to deal with, local mechanic said no on Ford, not exactly sure why
- comfortable (he is 6ft tall)
- we are thinking automatic trans. (after reading re. all the issues people are having with Toyota auto. trans. I don't know) This "new" vehicle will be used to drive to San Francisco and Bay Area say 5 times per year so a manual may not be good if stuck in traffic, this could be revisited

My input is biased toward reliability and ease of repair by a local mechanic.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds like you already have it narrowed down. For that money he will have his pick of dozens of nearly new Toyota or Chevy extended cab trucks, all should be under factory warranty still. Pretty simple car shopping experience, just pick color and find a nice one. Really all of the new full sized trucks are good, it's just about your personal preferences.

[unclebilly]

Get a Tundra. I've had minor issues with mine but for the most part, the last 6 years (and 200,000 miles) has been pretty painless. It still is tight and drives like new on the original tie rods, ball joints, U-Joints. These are great trucks and very capable. I have towed over 12,000 lbs with it numerous times (it get thirsty when I do that).

[VincentVega]

You didnt mention hauling or towing capacity, just pick which one you think is most comfy. They are all good transportation at that price point.

[vash]

i run in the tacoma circles.

i have no issues with my transmission. i did do the fluid flush at 70,000miles. my truck is about to pass 150,000 miles. i just drove it back and forth to TX twice in three weeks. dont ask

it is solid. i have the access cab with the 6 foot bed. a similar truck will be well within the budget.

it is parkable in san Fransisco.

[ckelly78z]

I am of the Ford camp, millions of F150s have been built for a good reason, it's not just the advertising.

[911 Rod]

People are having trouble with the Toyota Automatic Transmission?

Does he want a full size?

[aigel]

I would shop new. Add 10k and you get a decent brand new truck, warranty, new tires, new everything ...

[hcoles]

He was thinking non-full-size but is now open to it I think.
Maybe the treads online are overblowing the Tacoma auto. trans. issues.
Question for Tacoma owners - is the I4 a good or not so good idea? The only hauling he plans to do is one of those tear-drop trailers. He has a tree business but is able to haul all his stuff with a small truck.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by aigel

I would shop new. Add 10k and you get a decent brand new truck, warranty, new tires, new everything ...

Good point - that has a lot going for it esp. the warranty and say 5 years of driving with little worry. I'll mention that to him again.

[aigel]

I was shopping for the EXACT same spec 3 years ago and came to the conclusion that about 10k extra will get me a brand new truck over a questionable used, just out of warranty, run hard and put away wet trucks with 75k miles on them, needing brakes, tires and soon shocks / suspension work. I doubt it is different up there, but trucks don't seem to lose much value the first 5 years.

In the Tacoma, Toyota mastered maximizing the outside dimensions while keeping the cabin as tiny as possible. I sat in a new model in 2015 and hit my head on the way in. Crammed once inside. It would be cool if it was still the size of a 2003 era, but with the bloat on the outside, no thanks.

G

[LakeCleElum]

Everyone has different needs in a pickup. What recently worked for me in his price range:

2015 Tundra, 4x4, extended cab, standard bed for $22,500.......Took a lot of shopping to find one that new at that price.....After reading up on fuel size, engine choice and gearing, I went with the 4.6 as I only usually tow one snowmobile. Last weekend, I got 20.2 mpg driving from Montrose, Co to the mountains of WA state. Cruise set on 77-78 when limit was 80. YMMV

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by aigel

I would shop new. Add 10k and you get a decent brand new truck, warranty, new tires, new everything ...

That's what I did. 50 g's later .....

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

That's what I did. 50 g's later .....

yes - I think there is a slippery slope there. E.g. it's only $X,000 more to get the blah blah blah - next thing you know your at +$20k

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

People are having trouble with the Toyota Automatic Transmission?

Does he want a full size?

fair amount of griping on the taco drivetrain of late.

[berettafan]

what is the intended use? pickup because he's towing or hauling stuff? what's he towing? hauling?

if he's getting a bed mount camper he wants a 2500 chevy with the 6.0.

if he's looking to pick up fat chicks at the bass pro shops he wants a diesel of some sort with retarded ass roller skate wheels.

if he's towing 6k or less he's fine with any 1/2 ton.

tundra in that price range has the sorriest looking gauge cluster in the history of vehicles (in context of year of mfr) but is a generally reliable vehicle with plenty of power. google AIP issues.

GM 5.3 motors with AFM (07 or so to current) are plagued with oil burn issues but smooth and sound great.

Ford STILL hasn't figured out how to make a pickup ride nicely but the current 5.0 V8 is a wonderful motor. not sure when it was introduced. current models (most likely out of price range) are beer cans. google aluminum body repair.

Ram supposedly has gotten their stuff together as of late but I'd be wary of the rusted rear wheel arch.

[onewhippedpuppy]

2011 was the first year of the 5.0L and Ecoboost in the F150. The 4.6 and 5.8 up through 2010 are gutless wonders, I wouldn't even consider one of those. I had a 2012 5.0 SCrew 4x4 XLT and now have a 2013 Ecoboost SCrew 4x4 FX4. The 5.0L is a very nice motor but has to downshift a lot when towing, the Ecoboost drives like a diesel with a ton of grunt down low. I love towing with my Ecoboost, and overall really like the F150. I test drove all of the options and ended up with the same truck twice. Both have been basically flawless.

Btw, whatever you buy, Bilstein 5100 shocks transform the ride.

[berettafan]

I remember test driving the prior F150 V8 (I guess the 5.8 you mention) and I was stunned at how gutless it was. I did very much like the exterior design of the truck though. great look IMO. current f150 is a great looking truck as well. Ford really did a great job on that. ended up with the 1st gen Tundra and the 4.7 in that baby had some GIT!

still think that truck set the bar for a light duty pickup and it has yet to be surpassed.

[vash]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

2011 was the first year of the 5.0L and Ecoboost in the F150. The 4.6 and 5.8 up through 2010 are gutless wonders, I wouldn't even consider one of those. I had a 2012 5.0 SCrew 4x4 XLT and now have a 2013 Ecoboost SCrew 4x4 FX4. The 5.0L is a very nice motor but has to downshift a lot when towing, the Ecoboost drives like a diesel with a ton of grunt down low. I love towing with my Ecoboost, and overall really like the F150. I test drove all of the options and ended up with the same truck twice. Both have been basically flawless.

Btw, whatever you buy, Bilstein 5100 shocks transform the ride.

what size ecoboost..?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by berettafan

I remember test driving the prior F150 V8 (I guess the 5.8 you mention) and I was stunned at how gutless it was. I did very much like the exterior design of the truck though. great look IMO. current f150 is a great looking truck as well. Ford really did a great job on that. ended up with the 1st gen Tundra and the 4.7 in that baby had some GIT!

still think that truck set the bar for a light duty pickup and it has yet to be surpassed.

When I was new truck shopping in 2012, I really liked the Tundra 5.6 and the F150 5.0 equally. Both were very nice driving, had huge back seats, similar power, etc. The F150 ultimately won because there was more flexibility in options, the 5.0 was rated for better MPG, and the F150 was about $4k less. At the time I wanted a bench front seat, but then some of the higher level options like a backup camera. The way Toyota packages everything meant that I would have been adding aftermarket stuff to get it optioned how I wanted, whereas Ford is really good about ala-carte options. I really liked the 5.0 but ultimately the Ecoboost I have now is better for towing.

Originally Posted by vash

what size ecoboost..?

The big one, 3.5L. I've done quite a few upgrades, it should be at about 450 HP and 520 lb*ft of torque based on similar dyno sheets. It hauls ass and tows like crazy.