Reliable trucks/suvs?

I'm in the market for a vehicle again. I'm leaning towards a truck or SUV under the $10,000 US price range. Does anybody know of any particularly reliable ones that would fit a 6'8 gentleman like myself? Style is important too. I'm currently doing a lot of research on the topic, so just some suggestions would be great. Thanks,

Rick

ford ranger/mazda b-series. I've got a friend who's parents bought it(an old one), then passed it to her brother, then to her, and now it's her boyfriends because the only thing wrong with it is that the door doesn't close so you need to hold it. and they drive the hell out of it.

my dad bought one (a '96), we haven't replaced anything on it other than some tie rods. they'll last forever if you maintain it. and it'll take a beating, i don't drive it anymore but when i did i drove the hell out of it. plus it'll do a nice one wheeled burnout lol.

What happened to the Jag?

Look at CRVs. Should be very reliable.

Jeep Wrangler. Unlimited headroom if you get the soft top. Hard top has plenty also. I'm 6'4" and have at least 4" of room left overhead with the top on. Between my wife and I, we've had four of them, 91, 97, 02, and 04, and had no problems whatsoever(aside from one faulty clutch part replaced under warranty on the 02).

Toyota something.


'Nuff said.

96-99 2 Door Chevy Tahoe. Sexy, classy, perfect size, reliable to the end of the world. It can tow, it can go off road, it can haul five people and all their luggage, I've fit a full size house front door and casing in my 94 blazer, which is almost identical to them.

Head over to fullsizechevy.com and go to the forums if you want to talk to anybody about them or see some of the custom ones people have done up. Well worth it.

96-99 2 Door Chevy Tahoe... I've fit a full size house front door and casing in my 94 blazer, which is almost identical to them...


Isn't the Tahoe quite a bit bigger than a Blazer? I've never been in a Blazer, but I used to drive my boss' Tahoe around all the time. Its hella big inside... even for my 6'6 self. The Blazer always looked a considerable amount smaller to me. Maybe its rounded shape made it look smaller :dunno:

tahoe is bigger. i'd look into a used 4runner if possible. they are stylish and reliable.

Toyota 4Runner, but careful, those transmissions can get problematic
Toyota Land Cruiser, they hold their value pretty well, so they might be too expensive, same with the Lexus alternative...plus I'm sure you don't need something that big for you
Chevy Tahoes/GMC Yukons aren't bad
Honda CRV
Jeeps can be unreliable and expensive to fix
You can get a Land Rover Disco II, or a P38A Chassis Range Rover on the 2nd hand market for a not too bad price under 10k, but they may kill you in reliability and repairs, but more so the CLassic Range Rover and earlier Disco IIs will kill you. The Later years 97+ Discos and Range Rovers are significantly better in comparison to the older ones
Ford Explorers are decent, I personally like the 2 door Sport, and the Sport Trac isn't bad either
You can get an Expedition, but again, why something that big for you
Chevy Silverados, GMC Sierras....good ones, they'll last for quite a while like the Tahoe/Yukon
Infiniti Qx4 or Nissan Pathfinder, good trucks
Ford F150


Edit: Oh, and the one I'd really recommend is a Toyota Hilux/Tundra or Tacoma in the states. They are friggen indestructible, as proven by Top Gear.


that'sa ll I can think of right now...

Jeeps with the 4.0L I6's are reliable, they usually just need to be maintaned and can last a long time. The wranglers sound like something you might be interested in.

definitely a wrangler! toyotas rule in the truck department, but you're gonna have to go old old old to find one in that price range or just basic, that means no bedliner. you might find a deal.

I got the '99 cherokee for $8500. good so far. but i couldnt find any wrnaglers at the time under 10. i will though soon cause ill this and get me a wrangler.

my friend has a 1992 (i think) Hilux. somewhat modified but in the stock form it was aslo incredubly durable and reliable. we regularly jump it and such. it takes nose-dives in its stride. whatever we throw at it it takes, without prublems.

I would look at Chevy Full size trucks/SUV's but. most likely will be much more for a newer model year.

Isn't the Tahoe quite a bit bigger than a Blazer? I've never been in a Blazer, but I used to drive my boss' Tahoe around all the time. Its hella big inside... even for my 6'6 self. The Blazer always looked a considerable amount smaller to me. Maybe its rounded shape made it look smaller :dunno:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a388/k5supersport/croppedfrontblazershot.jpg

thats my 94 blazer. the name of the blazer switched to the s10 style in 95, as the 4 door s10's were called tahoes in 92-94. they still made 2 door s10 blazers between 92 and 94, but there was a distinct difference. there were a series of changes made on the 95-99 2 door tahoes. hope that clears it up. its basically your boss' truck sans the rear doors.

If you can fit in it, check out a first-gen Subaru Forester. Basically a tall Impreza wagon: reliability is excellent, and gas milage is pretty good. Hauling: mediocre, but not lousy...

Ah so. I guess I was comparing different generations in my head. I was thinking

Tahoe
http://user.mc.net/lindy/main/images/car/tahoe.jpg

VS

Blazer
http://home.nc.rr.com/snarleydog/blazer/Blazer1.jpg

wow. Thanks for all the generous responses guys. A couple people were right; I'm not looking for a huge gas hog like an excursion or anything. The tahoe sounds nice, but I need better mileage. These are my top picks so far.

91' Land Cruiser for $8500
00' Cherokee Laredo for $10,000 obo
98' Cherokee Classic for $6,000 (They look great lifted on 33"s)
There are several 99 and 00 Pathfinders in the 7-10,000 range
a 96 Cherokee with 93K mi. on 20" rims for $4900
95' 4Runner v6 $5800 (says it runs great, so I'm concerned about the low price)
I'm already kinda drooling over an 86' CJ-7 on 38" swampers for $9000 but I tried to fit in an 02' Wrangler and didn't fit my knees at all. So I'm kinda worried that I won't be able to get any wrangler or CJ-7.


oh and to answer the question about the jag: it got repo'd. I'll spare you the "woe is me" story, but nothing in Florida worked out for me. My dad is gonna help me get this next car/truck.

Does anybody know of a good website where I can read consumer reports on specific makes/models/years? I've tried to find them, but mostly I just get used car sites and blogs. Thanks again. ALL input is appreciated.

I like the pathfinders and frontiers/pichup myself. as for a review site, try www.epinions.com (very good site) or www.edmunds.com if its a newer car.
Good luck w/ your purchase Rick.

Get the Landcruiser, they're as reliable as an SUV will ever come.

trust me rick, i just went and look for a truck or suv under 10000. your best bets are frontiers (before they changed almost), tacomas (old or basic models), wranglers, or cherokees.

i got lucky and found a 4x4 with the 2x4 swap so gas aint so bad. if you really want a truck and you aint dyin for a vehicle, scan everywhere for a tacoma or wrangler. i wish i waited, but i couldnt with my job. but im still happy about finding piper. her named changed due to reasons regarding who owns a cherokee in charmed...

i think i just typed that out loud

I dont see a single chevy in there. Go back and brainstorm.

Get the Landcruiser, they're as reliable as an SUV will ever come.

yep, landcruise FTW!

my friend rolled his on a ditch, we got it back the right way up, and drove it home. all it needed was a new front windscreen!

I dont see a single chevy in there. Go back and brainstorm.


There's probably good reason for that :p

There's probably good reason for that :p


They're proven to be the longest lasting vehicle out there. You can't beat their reliability and performance. My '92 truck constantly gets 16-19 mpg and I've beatin the piss out of it. Those two door Tahoes are hard to beat for off road performance for stock vehicles.

I have a friend about your height rick that drives a Ford explorer and as far as I'm concerned that's really a prett decent SUV, it's a Ford, but it's not too bad.

Same thing with a Hilux/Tundra/Tacoma.

They're proven to be the longest lasting vehicle out there. You can't beat their reliability and performance. My '92 truck constantly gets 16-19 mpg and I've beatin the piss out of it. Those two door Tahoes are hard to beat for off road performance for stock vehicles.




The day the use of GM trucks in the third world/Outback becomes widespread, I will agree with you.

The day the use of GM trucks in the third world/Outback becomes widespread, I will agree with you.

I'm with Jimmy...get it? GMC Jimmy? HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!1!11onE!11!1EelEVeen!!1111


:disappoin

96-99 2 Door Chevy Tahoe. Sexy, classy, perfect size, reliable to the end of the world. It can tow, it can go off road, it can haul five people and all their luggage, I've fit a full size house front door and casing in my 94 blazer, which is almost identical to them.

Head over to fullsizechevy.com and go to the forums if you want to talk to anybody about them or see some of the custom ones people have done up. Well worth it.
I have to agree. Although you could probably find a newer body style Tahoe for around $10k as well.

My parents have 2 Tahoes, a '99 and an '01. I'm currently using the '99 as my daily driver since I sold my truck.:frown: It's pushing 160K miles and still running like a champ, and I drive the piss out of it. Original tranny as well. Which it pulled a boat almost weekly for the first 2 years of its life. Every single Chevy we've owned has had no trouble, minus a few small issues.

I still don't understand why every puts reliability with Toyota as though their the only ones that will ever last past 100K. My parents sold their '87 Astro van in '98 with 155K on it. A few years later my dad ran into the guy and he said he was approaching 250K and had just replaced the a/c. Other than that everything was running great. As long as I've been alive my parents have owned nothing besides GM, except when my dad bought a Volvo 240 which he quickly grew out of as his business expanded and his need to haul boxes grew. Every single one we've owned hasn't been sold until the 150K mark, minus my truck which had 84K and ran strong everyday.

I have nothing against Toyota, but they make better car than SUV's. I do like the Tacoma though, that thing is pimp.

One last thing Rick, I would stay far away from Chrysler SUV's they get the WORST gas mileage out of any car manufacturer. And their last in quality imo.
Good luck with your decision.

If you are leaning towards a truck, find a Ford F-150 with a 300 inline six. The damn things are bomb proof. The engines aren't much for speed but you could pull a house down with one. I had a 1990 4X4 short bed and pulled a 3/4 ton Chevy with a bed load of wood and a flat tire 2 1/2 miles up and down hills on a gravel road and it never lugged down once. SUV, I agree with everyone else. Wrangler.:2cents:

Yeah I say go with a chevy silverado or a the small blazer.. ive been around Chevy's all my life and I know most of them have the crap beat out of em and they just cruise right along..

CHEVY FTW

Oh and the reason they arent in the outback is because they're better than that. :p

* Dependability based on longevity: 1981–July 2005 full-line light-duty truck company registrations. Excludes other GM divisions.
(http://chevy200k.com/)

See how that excludes other GM divisions, so just Chevy, in itself is proven to be the longest lasting truck, this does not include all the GMC pickups running around either. I'm not trying to display their 200,000 club, more in the fact that they can last that long easily, and if, IF, something does go wrong they aren't expensive to fix. The Chevy smallblock engine is quite possibly the best engine ever.

Yeah I say go with a chevy silverado or a the small blazer.. ive been around Chevy's all my life and I know most of them have the crap beat out of em and they just cruise right along..

CHEVY FTW

Oh and the reason they arent in the outback is because they're better than that. :p


I have to agree. Although you could probably find a newer body style Tahoe for around $10k as well.

My parents have 2 Tahoes, a '99 and an '01. I'm currently using the '99 as my daily driver since I sold my truck. It's pushing 160K miles and still running like a champ, and I drive the piss out of it. Original tranny as well. Which it pulled a boat almost weekly for the first 2 years of its life. Every single Chevy we've owned has had no trouble, minus a few small issues.

I still don't understand why every puts reliability with Toyota as though their the only ones that will ever last past 100K. My parents sold their '87 Astro van in '98 with 155K on it. A few years later my dad ran into the guy and he said he was approaching 250K and had just replaced the a/c. Other than that everything was running great. As long as I've been alive my parents have owned nothing besides GM, except when my dad bought a Volvo 240 which he quickly grew out of as his business expanded and his need to haul boxes grew. Every single one we've owned hasn't been sold until the 150K mark, minus my truck which had 84K and ran strong everyday.

299k miles on the original motor, and the tranny only went 25k miles ago. yea, and it drove itself to the dealership after it finally blew.

Keep the conversation going if you like, but I just got one today.

I got a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport with 33K mi. They were asking $10,777.00 + tax, title, and fees which came out to approx $11,636. I talked them into giving me the truck and a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty for $12K out the door.

Thank you all for your responses, you were very helpful. I'll have pics soon.

Keep the conversation going if you like, but I just got one today.

I got a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport with 33K mi. They were asking $10,777.00 + tax, title, and fees which came out to approx $11,636. I talked them into giving me the truck and a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty for $12K out the door.

Thank you all for your responses, you were very helpful. I'll have pics soon.


That is a good choice there and I think you'll be happy with the decision. I don't think you'll have any problems with it, as my buddy who has one never has. Other than when we flopped it on it's side.

I personally think you made the worst choice out of your list you had going, but you're a ford person and you repeatedly buy terrible cars.

:)

Keep the conversation going if you like, but I just got one today.

I got a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport with 33K mi. They were asking $10,777.00 + tax, title, and fees which came out to approx $11,636. I talked them into giving me the truck and a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty for $12K out the door.

Thank you all for your responses, you were very helpful. I'll have pics soon.
Seems like you made a quick decision. Glad it didn't take you too long to find something that you liked.:thumbsup:

I personally think you made the worst choice out of your list you had going, but you're a ford person and you repeatedly buy terrible cars.

:)

yea, well done. real mature.

on a serious note, seems like a good choice to me. i've heard good things about the Ford Exploders.

Congrats on the buy Rick. I'll be waiting for the pics.

yea, well done. real mature.

on a serious note, seems like a good choice to me. i've heard good things about the Ford Exploders.

The ford exploder is probably one of the worst SUV's ever made.

The ford exploder is probably one of the worst SUV's ever made.

Do you have some source of reputable data to support this statement you wish to share with us?

id say not to buy a suv gas guzzler

Do you have some source of reputable data to support this statement you wish to share with us?

I dont need data. I've seen it firsthand. Go look at any pre 00 exploder. Look at how the stance in the front is messed up. Or, you can look at the rust.

When some of those trucks look anywhere as clean as my truck does after 12 years and 299K miles, I will listen.

Or, you can look at the rust.

Wait a minute, are you saying older chevys don't have rust problems... ?? :lol:

I had a '92 Ford Explorer 4X4 and traded it after 191,XXX miles and its still being driven on a daily basis. The front tires are still were they were when they came out of the factory. And the only rust is on the bottom of the door. I also had a '90 Ford F-150 4X4, traded it at 188,XXX miles and it is still being drven on a daily basis. Damn good reliability if you ask me.

Well, I think the 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty makes it okay. To say that I repeatedly buy terrible cars is kinda.... whatever. My t bird was reliable. My jag was crap. My corrola was reliable. And my Exploder has a full warranty.

It was a real quick decision, but my dad was the one shelling out the cash that made it possible, and I was having a hard time getting him to like anything I wanted. He kept pointing out stuff like a pewter sentra gxe, kia sorento, ford escape. At first I didn't want this truck, but we really talked them down, and got the warranty so I'm happy. A week ago I thought I was gonna be buying myself a $1500 beater.

I dont need data. I've seen it firsthand. Go look at any pre 00 exploder. Look at how the stance in the front is messed up. Or, you can look at the rust.

When some of those trucks look anywhere as clean as my truck does after 12 years and 299K miles, I will listen.


There's probably a Ford Explorer owner out there in the exact same situation as you saying the same thing about GM trucks.

I think Ford has more of an inconsistency of longevity than GM.

I had a friend who has an 03 Tahoe and managed to rack up 320k miles on it. He lives in CO and has a house in NC, so you could imagine where most of the driving comes from. He hasn't had one major problem to report. We also used to have a 97 Tahoe. And didn't have one problem to report. All I know is we used it alot to bring my siblings to college and for vacations. Another friend who lives in Vermont has a 98 Tahoe and is running it with 250k miles strong.

My old babysitter had two 00 Explorer Sports and had no problems to report. Yet, I had a friend whose torsion bar suspension on his 4-door 99 Explorer rusted all the way through, however it didn't show it visibly and rolled several times on the highway. He had like 100k miles on it. The same friend who has the Tahoe in vermont, said his landscaping job has Ford F pickups and they're starting to fall apart at 60k miles...

Ford build quality is pathetic. My friend has his dad's old ford focus. The car is three years old, never beaten, 5 speed, has 90k miles, and it shows age consistent of a 300k mile car.

Spend more money with gm, get a better vehicle. End of story.

Oh, rick, i wasnt saying you consistently buy bad vehicles, i meant all ford owners because they keep on buying ford crap.

I will say, for the record, F-250's and F-350's are still decent trucks.

Let's not turn this into a Chevy VS Ford flame war. Keep the discussion level headed.

I'm sure that as auto enthusiasts, we take much better care of our vehicles than the average person out there. So if we own Chevy, ours will last and be in better shape than other makes. If we own Ford, same thing - ours will be better over time than an older neglected vehicle.

Of course there are some things that come bad from the factory, for all automakers (mid 80's hood paint, anyone?).

Ford build quality is pathetic. My friend has his dad's old ford focus. The car is three years old, never beaten, 5 speed, has 90k miles, and it shows age consistent of a 300k mile car.

Spend more money with gm, get a better vehicle. End of story.

Oh, rick, i wasnt saying you consistently buy bad vehicles, i meant all ford owners because they keep on buying ford crap.

I will say, for the record, F-250's and F-350's are still decent trucks.



Knocking Ford quality and praising GM quality is idiotic, simply if either were any good they wouldn't be succumbing to bankruptcy and Toyota/Honda/Hyundai.


People are more than capable of getting huge reliable usage out of anything, be it a Toyota or a Chevrolet or a Fiat.

Ha, Fiat. :lol:

Jeeps with the 4.0L I6's are reliable, they usually just need to be maintaned and can last a long time. The wranglers sound like something you might be interested in.
:iamwithst

Knocking Ford quality and praising GM quality is idiotic, simply if either were any good they wouldn't be succumbing to bankruptcy and Toyota/Honda/Hyundai.


People are more than capable of getting huge reliable usage out of anything, be it a Toyota or a Chevrolet or a Fiat.

if it wasnt for chevy and ford, where would the highway department be?

Ha, Fiat. :lol:



Ban.