About to buy my first used pickup. I Know very little about prices and mechanics.

[Xeriscaping]

Hey!
So i am about to buy my very first vehicle and am pretty excited about the whole deal. My budget is no more than 5k and I am looking to get me a used small pickup truck. It seems like my best options are either a T100, Tacoma, frontier or a b2500. Are those considered reliable used pick ups?

What kind of year/mileage y'all think 5k could bring? I am thinking a 2000 with about 120000 miles. Does that seems reasonable? The truck should be very reliable and could take some abuse, I don't really care about towing much because it will be used mainly for tools.

I know VERY little about cars and mechanics and wouldn't even know the first thing to look out for when looking at a potential truck...

I've been told to insist on a clean title, see that the engine and transmission are in good order, and pass it by a reliable mechanic. Anything else? Thank you for your time!

[MagicRat]

Some observations:

In my experience, compact pick up trucks, like the kind you mention, seem to not hold their value as well as the full size trucks. This is good for you, since you will pay less for a truck of equivalent condition.

You just mention import trucks. However, the Mazda B2500 is actually a Ford Ranger with a Mazda nameplate. So you should consider the Ranger model as well.

You may also want to consider the Chevy S-10 and the Dodge Dakota. They are fine trucks, but with a few idiosynchracies that are well-known, (ie the Dakota wears-out the front end ball joints fairly quickly.

As usual, the domestic brands tend to have somewhat lower resale value, the Toyota the highest..... although the Toyotas are notorious for rusty frames.

Anyways, my suggestion is to buy the best-condition truck you can find, regardless of brand. I think that a 12-year old truck with 120,000 miles is overpriced at $5000. That money should be able to get you a lower-mileage truck.