Used Pickups — Please comment : Ford Ranger, Dodge Dakota, Mazda B series
Question:
> I bought A Dodge Dakota convertible brand spanking new in 1990. I > still have it. I’ve never had a serious problem with the truck, just > standard maintenance stuff — oil changes and tires. [snip]
My ‘94 Mazda (Ranger) has >100K and has only needed gas/tires/oil/shocks. I’ve been very pleased with the reliability. -falconfixer- — Motto: "If i can’t fix it – i’ll fix it so no one can!"
Response:
> > I bought A Dodge Dakota convertible brand spanking new in 1990. I > still have it. I’ve never had a serious problem with the truck, just > standard maintenance stuff — oil changes and tires. [snip] > My ‘94 Mazda (Ranger) has >100K and has only needed gas/tires/oil/shocks. > I’ve been very pleased with the reliability. > -falconfixer- > —
My 86 Mazda B2000 (Mazda) has not given me a serious problem. If you can find a later B2200 or B2600, especially extended cab, you will have a comfortable riding truck. In this area, they are very popular in the low rider set, so they may not be easy to find.
Response:
I’ve owned both a 93 Ranger XLT with a 4.0 and a five speed and an 89 Dodge Dakota with a 3.9 and auto. The Ranger was a great truck, giving me no problems over the five years I owned it. It was reasonably powerful, got good gas mileage (19.5 mpg commute/23.5 on the highway), rode very smooth and was ultra reliable. The Mazda pickups from 93 onward are just Rangers with different sheetmetal. The Dakota I only owned for a few weeks, but I thought it was a pretty well-built truck. The engine ran quite strong, despite having over 100k. I’d say you really couldn’t go wrong with this either. The one advantage these have over the other small pickups is that they are considerably roomier in the cab. It’s the only small pickup I would consider owning without an extended cab. Greg
Response:
I bought A Dodge Dakota convertible brand spanking new in 1990. I still have it. I’ve never had a serious problem with the truck, just standard maintenance stuff — oil changes and tires. Even the convertible top is in terrific shape after 8 years. The only major problem I have with the truck is the paint job. I’ve never owned a car for 8 years before, so I don’t really know what a good paint job looks like after 8 years — but since the vehicle has always been parked in a garage and the variations in weather aren’t very severe in California, I feel the paint shouldn’t be as dull as it is. James McIllece – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve owned both a 93 Ranger XLT with a 4.0 and a five speed and an >89 Dodge Dakota with a 3.9 and auto. The Ranger was a great truck, >giving me no problems over the five years I owned it. It was reasonably >powerful, got good gas mileage (19.5 mpg commute/23.5 on the highway), >rode very smooth and was ultra reliable. The Mazda pickups from 93 >onward are just Rangers with different sheetmetal. > The Dakota I only owned for a few weeks, but I thought it was a >pretty well-built truck. The engine ran quite strong, despite having >over 100k. I’d say you really couldn’t go wrong with this either. The >one advantage these have over the other small pickups is that they are >considerably roomier in the cab. It’s the only small pickup I would >consider owning without an extended cab. >Greg
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I bought a 1988 Ford Ranger XLT 4×4 automatic extra cab a couple of years > ago. > It had a paint delamination problem. It had a few small electrical problems. > It still has water leaks, probably from a shoddy windshield replacement. > It rides a lot more comfortable than Chevy’s. I really enjoy the vehicle. > It’s quiet, comfortable, and quite solid. I can tell that they put the extra > effort > into making it an enjoyable driver. It was worth putting money into it to > keep > it healthy. I believe Mazda’s are the same as Ford Ranger’s for certain > years. > Good Luck, > -keith > > Thinking of buying a budget used pickup truck to be used as a daily > > driver > > as well as hauling stuff occationally. Appreciate if some of you could > > comment > > on these small trucks. I am most concern about economy and reliability. > > Thanks. Henry
If you want something a bit smaller, I’ve been quite satisfied with my 86 B2000 extended cab. You would probably want to look for one of the later ones, like a B2600 with a bigger engine. It has a good ride, and the seats are comfortable. I’ve had to put on brakes and spark plugs, tires, wiper blades, and headlights, in addition to normal fluid changes. The B2000 gets 20MPG in commute traffic, and 28-30 on the road.
Response:
I bought a 1988 Ford Ranger XLT 4×4 automatic extra cab a couple of years ago. It had a paint delamination problem. It had a few small electrical problems. It still has water leaks, probably from a shoddy windshield replacement. It rides a lot more comfortable than Chevy’s. I really enjoy the vehicle. It’s quiet, comfortable, and quite solid. I can tell that they put the extra effort into making it an enjoyable driver. It was worth putting money into it to keep it healthy. I believe Mazda’s are the same as Ford Ranger’s for certain years. Good Luck, -keith – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Thinking of buying a budget used pickup truck to be used as a daily > driver > as well as hauling stuff occationally. Appreciate if some of you could > comment > on these small trucks. I am most concern about economy and reliability. > Thanks. Henry
Response:
> >> Thinking of buying a budget used pickup truck to be used as a daily >> driver >> as well as hauling stuff occationally. Appreciate if some of you could >> comment >> on these small trucks. I am most concern about economy and reliability. > The Ranger and B-Series are the same thing. All 3 are great trucks, but > Ford/Mazda have a slight edge in safety and reliability from what I’ve > heard.
Just don’t buy any of the B trucks from before Ford got into it. I’m not sure what year that is, but you’ll know the old ones by their very car like look. When I went truck shopping I drove 5 or six of them before I found my GMC S15. Every one of the Mazda’s were burning oil. In all fairness they were 4 cylinders and probably overtaxed throughout their lifetime. — TREAD Online! Cycle Magazine – Authoring & Image Scanning. http://tread.pair.com/ – http://tread.pair.com/treadpub/.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Thinking of buying a budget used pickup truck to be used as a daily > driver > as well as hauling stuff occationally. Appreciate if some of you could > comment > on these small trucks. I am most concern about economy and reliability. > Thanks. Henry
Response:
>> Thinking of buying a budget used pickup truck to be used as a daily > driver > as well as hauling stuff occationally. Appreciate if some of you could > comment > on these small trucks. I am most concern about economy and reliability.
The Ranger and B-Series are the same thing. All 3 are great trucks, but Ford/Mazda have a slight edge in safety and reliability from what I’ve heard.
