Aron9000

You know, just something to haul trash, mulch, the greasy engine in your project car to the machine shop. Something to drive in the occasional snow storm with some ready mix concrete bags in the bed if you live in the south like me(ie 2wd, anything 4wd is going to be a POS at this price point).

For me its been the old 2wd/5 speed/89-94 Toyota truck. My 93 is unkillable, runs like a top with 169k on it, despite the body being absolutely beat to hell. Its taken a minor lick in the front, crooked bumper, core support, headlights, grill, fenders, driver's side door is caved in, bed has a bunch of dents, rear bumper is pushed in from being rear ended. Still I keep her around, no rust on all that ugly primer black sheetmetal. Paid $500 for the truck with a slipping clutch. Put a new clutch, master and slave clutch cylinder, plugs, wires,cap, rotar, new radiator, hell I've spent more on her in parts than that original purchase price.


I have no need to tow anything right now, so this truck is perfect for me. I drive it a bunch in the winter, because it gets 25-27mpg. Summer, it stays parked unless absolutely necessary because the a/c is broke.


When I was looking at trucks for the first time I really wanted an 88-98 full size Chevy, until I realized what sort of stupid prices those go for. Something hit in the front, 150k miles, falling apart was going for 3-4k.

geko29

For me it'd be an early '90s to early 2000's Ford Ranger (or Mazda B-series, though they're a bit less common). Great little trucks. 4 cylinder and the 4L V6 are positively unkillable, though I'm not a fan of the 3L V6. Space is a little tight on the regular cabs for my 6' 4" frame, but the supercabs aren't impossible to find. 4-banger gets great fuel economy to boot, especially with the 5-speed. There's even a smattering of 4x4s available in the sub-$3k price bracket if that's a priority.

corradoMR2

For me, all the way, a Tacoma, or Toyota pickup like you have. They are TANKS.

ArmyofOne

Toyota Taco or Older Nissan frontier.

A ford ranger is a good one too, if and only IF, you can find one with a manual. At that price, an auto is likely to be nearing death, and the auto trans in the ranger is garbage from the get-go.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Agreed, a manual Ranger is a very versatile little truck and gets decent mileage

nikko2jzge

Mitsubishi Mighty Max V6?

jimbosr1

i just sold my 2001 tacoma with 79k miles regular cab i bought a few years ago for $7800 and sold it for $7200.those trucks hold excellent value.
it would be tough to find a tacoma for $3000 that isnt on life support.

mnewxcv

f150 lightning.

redjeeper

Toyota T100

thekhmer

iTrader: (2)

If you can get a Tacoma newer the better do it . It has to be the all time reliable truck out there I'm at 320k on a 2006 lol original everything all routine maintenance and recalls done that's it

Lil4X

My daughter bought a neighbor's brothers' 83 Dakota, 4WD, V6, and no air conditioning for $500. It's paint is faded and scratched, but at 140K miles, runs great with only a few minor issues that were easily fixed for a few hundred bucks. The thing is tough as nails - sustaining NO damage after ramming a Bentley that had the temerity to pull out in front of her. I don't want to know what the insurance paid off on that one, but it was probably somewhere close to the GNP of a small country.

It ain't pretty, but it's a hauler, and she loves the cowgirl-rockchick image it exudes. It's sorta the hardtail knucklehead Harley of the pickup crowd.

corradoMR2

It being a rebadged Mitsubishi Raider helps

84Cressida

Toyota. Easily. I have a '94 Toyota Pickup, Xtra cab 5-speed 2WD. Awesome little truck, only has 75,000 on it and runs like a top.

However, $3k will get you a really old or high mileage/clapped out one. Toyota pickups, Tundras, Hilux, T100, Tacoma, all hold their value better than anything else. If you want a good one, prepare to pay a premium for it.

Lil4X

Sorry, thanks to my typo I aged the truck ten years. It's actually a '93, and equipped with a band-sawed V6 that was cut from the venerable MoPar 318 V8 engine that was in their lineup for forty years or so. I'm convinced that it, the old Torqueflite automatic, and Chevy's stove-bolt 6 are the closest things to immortal in motordom.

As a veteran of a couple of 4X4 trucks, I'm encouraging her to take it down to an offroad specialist and have them rebuild the locking hubs every couple of years. Not every grease-monkey understands a dog clutch. I had a K-20 Suburban thoroughly embarrass me when I headed out across a muddy pasture and bogged down. Seems that the moron who rebuilt my hubs the previous week Murphied* the job, assembling the locking dogs backwards. They don't work that way. At all. Thanks a lot! I had to be towed out by a little Ford Ranger that was about the right size to be my hulking Suburban's lifeboat. At least HE had 4WD.

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* Murphied, past of "to Murphy" - for the inventor of his own law that states "what can go wrong, will" and its corollary, "what can be assembled wrong, will, and usually fail at the most inopportune time."