Today, I will talk about used pickup trucks you should and shouldn’t buy. I will describe the trucks as small, medium, and full-sized. I’m not going to talk about giant trucks like the F250 or any higher-end model. I’m talking about the typical pickup truck that ordinary people would love to own.
Five Best Used Trucks You Should Buy
The used trucks you want to buy need to be reliable and reasonable. Repairing these trucks should be easy because there is no point in having a pickup that is expensive to repair and breaks down frequently. So here is the list!
1. Ford F-150
Ford has been making pickup trucks for a long time, so they’ve been perfecting them over time. The Ford F-150 has done pretty well over the years.
Of course, they have worked on a suspension system that handles better and rides better. You can get one from the EcoBoost V6, and it’s got Turbochargers and GDI. You can get traditional V8 engines and some other V6 engines on them.
Recently Ford even had a turbo diesel in the F-150, but many people prefer the traditional 5-liter V8 engine. If you’re a tech freak, they even have a backup assist pro.
I know how much aluminum they put down; it weighs about 700 pounds. So they’ll get slightly better fuel mileage for the big pickup truck lines.
One of the great things about pickup trucks is that you want one ready and easy to fix if you want one. Ford has been around for a long time, and parts are everywhere.
Many people know how to fix their pickup trucks. You’ll be able to fix it, you won’t be waiting for parts, and someone even knows how to do it.
2. Toyota Tundra
In 2016 Toyota bought back a Toyota Tundra from a 2007 Tundra customer, and they have a million miles on it with the original engine and transmission. Tundras have the reliability of classic Toyotas to last a very long time.
But I put Tundra at number two on my list rather than number one because when they break, they have some design flaws that make them very expensive to repair.
For example, you get a V8, and then you have to check the intake manifold separately to get a starter behind the engine; it’s a real pain in the change.
Also, when the axle bearings wear out at the rear, they have a crazy design that requires all kinds of special presses to get them in and out.
I’ve seen more people screw it up because the wheel bearing goes out. Then after 3,000-4,000 miles, it happens again because it’s not pressed correctly with the correct equipment, so they can become a bit difficult to repair as your pickup gets older.
Of course, they wouldn’t just give it away because it was pretty expensive. After all, the Toyota Tundra is a well-made pickup if you’re looking for something you can drive for a long time.
Now you might be thinking about getting a used Toyota Tundra. You can get a V6 in this Tundra and still use decent horsepower. It got 278 hp with the V6 plus, getting better mileage.
Also, as your truck ages, you won’t have to worry about vehicle maintenance like what happens to a V8 engine.
3. Toyota Tacoma
Toyota Tacoma could run forever! In the past, experts have said Toyota created problems with the frames.
But now Toyota has given a lot of people new frames on vehicles because of it.
It was just a problem in the past, and Toyota doesn’t have that problem anymore.
The Tacoma used to be a small pickup. Today there is a medium-sized truck, much bigger than the old one. So you can get a wide variety of Tacomas.
People can buy new ones because used ones are costly. You’ll be driving a Tacoma for 30 years, you’ll buy a new one, and you won’t have to think about anything.
The six-cylinder is much more expensive than the four-cylinder. So if you want a basic one, you’ll get a four-cylinder one. But if you don’t mind spending the extra money, you get a six-cylinder, get a more extensive and faster engine, and can pull a little more.
That’s why the difference between a Tacoma and, let’s say, a Nissan Frontier.
Frontiers cost a lot less, but if you don’t mind paying that extra, you get much better pickups with the Tacoma than you would with the Frontier if you’re going to keep it for decades.
I laughed it off because I’ve seen places that rate the Tacoma as a terrible pickup truck which makes absolutely no sense. You know, a Toyota Tacoma can run forever if you take care of it.
4. Ford Ranger
The Ford Ranger has been around for a long time, and no one can get a 270 hp four-cylinder engine connected to that excellent 10-speed automatic transmission. Of course, you can get a Ford Ranger with four-wheel drive capability.
Not only that, the Ranger is big enough to haul stuff, but with four-wheel drive, it gets a lot more clearance in the factory design. So you can gently take off-road stuff to get the optional Touring Package.
You can tow 7,500 pounds with the Ford ranger, so you know it can be an excellent mid-sized work truck. I’ve seen a lot of Rangers with 350,000 miles or more, and they still run pretty well.
Also, if you like modern technology, you can get terrain management settings for vehicles. For example, you have gravel, grass, snow, or even other mud and sand routes settings.
Ford has been making pickup trucks for a long time, constantly perfecting them. In my opinion, the Rangers are an excellent choice for a midsize pickup truck class.
5. Nissan Frontier
Nissan Frontier is on the list because they have been in this segment for a long time. While the Frontier hasn’t changed much over the years, it’s a truck you can rely on. In 2017 Nissan sold 74,000 Frontiers.
Now, you might want to compare it to the 2017 Toyota Tacoma. Toyota sells about 200,000 Tacomas in the United States. But even on a basic level, the Nissan Frontier is $6,000 cheaper than the Toyota Tacoma.
I have some friends who own Frontiers. Guess what? They were pleased with the deal because they paid less, and their truck lasted quite a long time without any severe problems.
From my experience, Nissan’s pickup trucks are better than their cars. So the Frontier doesn’t have all the problems, especially if you get a standard transmission truck.
However, the weakest thing from Frontiers is in their automatic transmission. But with a standard Frontier transmission, I’ve seen 300,000-400,000 miles and only needed essential maintenance.
So, the Nissan Frontier is a decent midsize pickup truck. You can get a four-cylinder, or you can get a V6 engine. Nissan always makes fast engines for pickup trucks, and you get a decent ride.
Nissan has always been pretty good at cornering and driving. The Nissan Frontier is not a bad pickup truck, especially if you want to buy cheaper ones.
If you’re looking for a midsize pickup truck, you might think economy. You know you’re not going for one big giant truck. You’d go for a midsize truck, and it’s not a bad truck, so I think the Nissan Frontier is fine.
So now you know what I think. I have a list of the five best-used pickup trucks because there are a lot of them out there, and you need to narrow your focus.
You need to understand what type of truck you want, which you will use to tow heavy goods that you won’t tell me about. Do you want better mileage? Or do you want to buy a truck that is cheaper initially? Or do you want to pay more and get a higher-quality pickup truck? Well, now you know how to choose which truck to buy logically.
Five Used Pickup Trucks You Shouldn’t Buy
I will talk about five used pickup trucks that you should never buy.
One of the main reasons I started making this article is to help people up because I’m like everybody else; I hate buying something that is just junk.
Now I want to warn people not to buy them in the first place. So here is the list!
1. Mercedes X-Class
Mercedes does make pickup trucks, and luckily for Americans, it’s not sold here in the US. So you don’t have to worry about buying one because they don’t sell it here, but Mercedes trucks do in Europe.
I guess they are looking for a snob pickup truck in Europe. Mercedes was never that big about pickup trucks. For example, you rarely see pickup trucks in the UK because they use more panel vans.
You might call Mercedes making pickup trucks, but Mercedes has worked closely with Nissan to create the X-Class truck in actual production.
The Mercedes X-Class trucks have Nissan engines and Nissan automatic transmissions. But, that Jatco is one of the worst automatic transmissions in the world.
So come to think of it, folks who buy this Mercedes X-Class pickup truck are getting a Mercedes? It’s Nissan technology, and it starts at $50,000!.
You know, if you want to buy a Nissan car, buy a Nissan. At least you’re not overpaying just because there’s a Mercedes star badge on the front.
Lately, you see that every car company is trying to break into someone else’s market so they can fill all the corners.
But really, the Mercedes-Benz pickup truck is just a Nissan disguise. It’s a foolish idea to waste your money on something like that. That pickup truck with snob appeal is a bit counterintuitive.
2. Dodge Ram Daytona
The first used pickup you should never buy is the Dodge Ram Daytona. If you’ve ever seen them, they have a permanent spoiler at the back of the racing line.
The Dodge Ram Daytona are racing pickup trucks, and they aren’t a working truck with a ridiculous spoiler permanently in the body. You can’t get much room in the truck bed because the spoiler blocks it.
The Dodge Ram Daytona is fast great for drag racing. But you know that’s not the actual pickup truck, which is supposed to work.
The Hemi V8 engine is powerful, but the rest of the vehicle isn’t as good as other Dodge products. Thus, ball joint breaking, electronic failure, and air conditioning problems occur frequently.
I have a friend who bought two Dodge pickup trucks, a regular Ram and a Daytona. My friend said that Dodge had made a good truck with the Daytona.
Then in less than two years, I told my friend about the performance of the Dodge truck. Surprisingly enough, he told me a long list of spare parts replacement or service costs he had to pay for repairs.
But he also said that he liked the style and speed of the Dodge truck.
After all, speed is excellent when your truck is working as it should!
3. Hummer H2
Hummer H2 is not like the H1, which has an engine built relatively solidly. The H2 is just a cheap copy of that vehicle. Hummer wanted to sell more, so they decided to make things more affordable but is that a good decision?
Now, we don’t know if it’s a pickup truck and an SUV; it’s kind of characterless. The bed on her is tiny and almost useless.
Not only that, the H2 has all kinds of failure rates for the engine itself, and it doesn’t seem like an engine you can rely on. Lots of electronics problems, that’s what many GM vehicles have.
Hummer H2s are just unreliable, and sometimes they won’t start. The AC system will break on them and all sorts of other problems.
Of course, now they haven’t made Hummers in a long time. So if you want an excellent pickup truck to do the job of hauling goods, don’t buy the H2.
4. Honda Ridgeline
One of the used pickup trucks you shouldn’t buy is the Honda Ridgeline.
Honda started as a motorcycle company, then they made small cars, then they made better and better ones.
But let’s face it, Honda was never a trucking company.
I have to say the newer 2018 Honda pickup trucks and the newer ones seem to make better than the previous ones.
But in this article, I’m talking about used pickup trucks that you shouldn’t buy. So I think you don’t want to buy one of these Honda pickups.
I’ve seen Ridgeline engines blow up for pickup trucks, and they aren’t very good at hauling stuff. You don’t have the power, especially in the United States, where most people get automatic transmissions and are weak; that’s the case with Honda products.
There are many other pickups, and there should be no reason to buy a Honda pickup. It just doesn’t make sense. Honda trucks don’t have an excellent track record, and they’re not the full-size pickup trucks in the county.
5. Chevy SSR
The next pickup that shouldn’t buy is the used Chevy SSR. It was a miserable failure from the start.
You don’t know if it’s a hardtop, a convertible, or a pickup truck?
What exactly did they want when they made the SSR?
Does it fit the style and design in a bed that’s so narrow you can’t haul a lot of cargo into it?
It was the world’s first convertible pickup truck ever built.
But as history shows, it was the only convertible pickup truck in the world, and they didn’t make it that long.
The Chevy SSR is expensive and heavier than the Dodge Ram Pickup.
But the Chevy SSR doesn’t haul that much, and it’s a crazy idea GM has.
Chevy makes enough so that almost every dealer can have one on the showroom floor.
So I guess it’s a show truck.
Well, it’s supposed to stay as a concept show truck and build nothing, like the one at the auto show.
But, if you want a truck to get around, buy used, and haul stuff, don’t go for the Chevy SSR.
Now you know five pickup trucks you shouldn’t buy second-hand. Trust me, if you stay away from them, take my advice. The next time you look at your bank account because there are tons of great pickups out there, stay away from these five used pickup trucks.