I notice your Avitar ID shows both FL and HI. Both states have very humid climates with warm temperatures and a lot of salt in the air near the coasts.....perfect for corrosion. Whatever you check out, look it over throroughly for rust/corrosion....especially the exposed bare-metal parts underhood and underneath, in the chassis.

As far as the indvidual vehicle selections go, in general, the Japanese-brand ones will be more reliable than the domestic-brand ones, but some Ford models are OK in reliability. The Nissan Cube has an interesting little cargo-van version, and should be reliable, but it may (?) be too small, and not old/cheap enough for your tastes.

 

I have a Sprinter 3500 a Express 3500 and a dakota quad cab, The sprinter is an amazing vehicle it drives with the agility of a sedan the turning radious is great. Its the longest vehicle in class and tallest in its class. The mpg is great The Chevy gets filled up 3x a week the sprinter gets filled up once both cover the same amount of miles a week roughly.

The sprinter can tow a decent a mount, but thats where the chevy comes in that thing is a beast when it comes to towing.

The dakota is our service truck that drives around the plant.

 

I thought the Sienna was available in CV (cargo van) version for a few years (the 1st Gen Sienna).

What about a Dodge Caravan C/V? Are those sold in the U.S.? You can pick up a last gen one.

 

Old ford cargo van.. Econoline I think it's called. Big reliable adequate power tons available and cheap.

 

While a Japanese vehicle will generally be more reliable than a Ford/GM, you also have to consider repair costs. Parts for Ford/GM are abundant and cheap, there's a ton of aftermarket and used parts. And also most mechanics are familiar with these Ford/GM trucks so repair costs are low as well. So while a Toyota might break down less often, but when it does, the parts and labor costs are gonna set you back quite a bit.

 

thanx for chiming in everyone, heres a little update, i might invest in myself a little and get a loan for a new cargo vehicle after seeing the options that are available in my area, heres what i was looking at (please tell me what you think), http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/ ,

 

oh that so should be their new slogan.

funky, but functional?

 

funky, but functional? [/QUOTE]

cool, thats kinda what i said, it looks weird but its growing on me, and having a factory warranty will be a plus over a used vehicle

 

I just recently saw one of these on display at the recent Miami Autoshow, and it is actually very roomy on the inside. I'm sure they'll do very well since the smaller size = better fuel economy (or at least one would think). I believe these are very popular in Europe.

 

yeah the only real downside i seen besides it being a ford and looking a little fugly was that its a 4 banger, but i wont need to really haul anything besides my fat @$$ and some tools so i think i might be ok