Tacoma vs. Ranger

I'm looking to buy a good used pickup in the $6,000-$8,000 range...This will get me a toyota pickup that is 7-10 yrs old with 100,000+ miles on it. I can get a Ranger that is 5-6 years old with 60-80K miles for the same price. All I ever hear about is how reliable Toyotas are, but they are so expensive...If I'm planning on doing all the repairs I can myself anyway, is it worth it to spend an extra $2,000-$4,000 to get a comparable Toyota?

toyota engine will go 300,000 miles + w/ proper maintenance....as for Fords...well I dunno...

Tacomas are actually very easy to work on

Id buy the tacoma

Buy a Tacoma. I've got a '98 Limited, and I bought it around the same time my old roomate leased a Ranger. The Ranger got taken back to the dealership at least 3 times as often as my Tacoma. The only major thing Ive had to take the Toyota in for was leaking rear axle seals, which were under warrantee. The Ranger went in for alignment problems, heating problems, power steering problems.

I traded my 98 Tacoma (2.4L, 2WD, Reg cab, 5spd manual, Rhino Liner and Sliding rear window with AC and CD player) on a 2004 Chevy Silverado Z71 Extended Cab last July.
My Tacoma had 65,000 highway miles on it and it was in "MINT" condition. Always parked in garage at home and in covered parking at work. Changed the oil every 3K miles with Mobil 1 synthetic, flushed the brake fluid and coolant every 2 years, drained and replaced rear differential fluid and transmission oil every 15k miles. There wasn't a fluid leak or scratch anywhere on that truck.
When I traded it in, the Chevy dealer gave me $6,000 for it (Which was the Kelly Blue Book Trade-in Value) The kid who bought it from the dealership for $8,900 totaled it 2 months later.

Just traded in my 01 Ranger on an 04 Xtra Cab Taco. Best vehicle decision I ever made.

My room mate had the same dilemma, he got a ford ranger. Since then he has spent more then the truck cost on repairs (Probably closer to 2X the truck cost with labor), and several things are broken right now. The AC pump has failed (second AC failure), the gas tank leaks gas if you fill it over half, oil leaks out from a few places, when you start it up it will die if you touch the gas pedal during the first minute or two, the transmission makes lots of noise and can be hard to shift. Tons of things have failed; I don’t think it’s ever been without a problem of some sort for more then a month. He could have had a Toyota, lots of cash in his pocket, and many saved days and tows by now, and the Toyota will still be worth something when you sell it. Parts for the rangers are also excessively expensive, just like the Toyota parts, but without the quality. I’d advise against the ranger, go for a Tacoma. There is a reason the rangers are so much cheaper.

you say "it's so expensive" no not really, only a matter of a few more bucks compared to forking out money every other month on repairs. My family has been with toyota since '84 and with the proper maintenance required these toyotas will last you a very long time. And these cars/trucks dont give you any bullshit problems like most others.

I know of a couple mid 90s Rangers that are doing fine with semiannual preventative maintenance. It's a nice truck.

I think the extra money for a Taco is worth it, though. I have one, and it's been trouble free for the first four years. Not a single day in the shop, and I just do periodic maintenance on my own (just a bit delayed, as I do mostly highway driving).

Now I'm experiencing a strange squeak at 73k. I'd say that's a good track record so far. I expect to spend a bit of money replacing parts in the coming year, just as a preventative measure. Despite these few issues, this is the most trouble-free vehicle I've owned.

The ride is good, for a truck. It has nice suspension, and feels somewhat car-like. The only fault is the seats, which are pretty truck-like. :-)

i would definetly by a tacoma. i work for a ford lincoln mercury dealership
(sorry guys) but am driving my third toyota,1 89 pickup with 221,000
when i totalled it, a camry with a little over 200,000 and my third and
current is a 97 tacoma 4x4 5 speed with 95,000.this thing has been great with no problems.Take it from me who works in the service department and
see the problems with rangers.By a tacoma. the resale value is so much
higher also so by the time it is paid off it is still worth something.

Get the Tacoma, even though it is slightly older with more miles, it will still last you longer with a lot less problems. Heard stories of 500k miles on the 2.4L Tacomas.

I had a 99' Ranger 4x4 paid 14,999 for it and that thing was on the tow truck more than I drove it. Now I'm sitting sweet in a 04 Tacoma Prerunner v6 Double Cab with a SUPERCHARGER!! Bring it on FixOrRepairDaily's.

F*#ked Over Rebuilt Dodge!!