Help Me Choose a New (Used) Car

[Anton]

The vehicle I've got now is on its last legs and I never really liked it to begin with so I'm looking into getting a new used vehicle.

Here's what I'm looking for:
1) Must be a 4x4
2) I don't have a family so a large SUV is unnecessary
3) Must be able to pull a trailer (decent horsepower)
4) Reasonably fuel efficient
5) Not a piece of shit that falls apart for no reason like my current vehicle
6) Ideally under $10k so I don't have to finance, I have no debt and would prefer to keep it that way but for a good vehicle I'm willing to take on a little.

I'm not really a fan of Fords but beyond that I don't really have any brand preferences. I really like the look of the crew-cab Nissan Frontier (although its somewhat lacking in horsepower) and Chevy Colorado but they're both really difficult to find used.

So what type of vehicle fits my requirements?

[Colorado Osprey]

The vehicle I've got now is on its last legs and I never really liked it to begin with so I'm looking into getting a new used vehicle.

Here's what I'm looking for:
1) Must be a 4x4
2) I don't have a family so a large SUV is unnecessary
3) Must be able to pull a trailer (decent horsepower)
4) Reasonably fuel efficient
5) Not a piece of shit that falls apart for no reason like my current vehicle
6) Ideally under $10k so I don't have to finance, I have no debt and would prefer to keep it that way but for a good vehicle I'm willing to take on a little.

I'm not really a fan of Fords but beyond that I don't really have any brand preferences. I really like the look of the crew-cab Nissan Frontier (although its somewhat lacking in horsepower) and Chevy Colorado but they're both really difficult to find used.

So what type of vehicle fits my requirements?

Working in the trailer and truck industry, the Colorado and Frontier are very lacking in the towing department. Even the Nissan Titan is a poor choice with it's V8 for a towing platform due to it's small brakes.

Have you looked at the Cummin's Dodge trucks? It it pretty easy to find a 3/4 ton w/ the Cummins diesel in your price range although it will not be a 'new' truck as those are now close to $50-60k! I was gonna also point out the 7.3 diesel Ford Super Duty 99-02 because with 3.73 gears 20-24mpg is pretty easy to obtain, but you said you didn't want a Ford. They are in your price range too.

[Anton]

Working in the trailer and truck industry, the Colorado and Frontier are very lacking in the towing department. Even the Nissan Titan is a poor choice with it's V8 for a towing platform due to it's small brakes.

Have you looked at the Cummin's Dodge trucks? It it pretty easy to find a 3/4 ton w/ the Cummins diesel in your price range although it will not be a 'new' truck as those are now close to $50-60k! I was gonna also point out the 7.3 diesel Ford Super Duty 99-02 because with 3.73 gears 20-24mpg is pretty easy to obtain, but you said you didn't want a Ford. They are in your price range too.

I should have clarified a little. Its a fairly small tandem axle trailer. A typical use is hauling my brother and I's camping stuff (dirtbike, ATV, a toolbox, and a couple random containers of fishing stuff, food, etc.). Nothing heavy-duty really, a Cummins would probably be overkill. Thanks for your input though.

[Graves]

Jeep Grand Cherokee (5.7 or 4.7) I have a 2007 that I've beat the living chit out of it for the past 48k and all it has to show for it is an exhaust leak which I plan to fix some time soon. I noticed the exhaust leak after I ripped through a small stream last spring, looked at it and found a bolt head on the exh. manifold broke (fairly common with the 4.7L) but other than that I love it. I can manage 22mpg and it feels nothing like your average SUV when it comes to some high(er) speed bends.

[Graves]

BTW, don't count the Cummins out, you'd be surprised when you compare it to the Triton or Vortec in terms of fuel economy; let's not forget the gobs of extra torque it has if you ever find the need to really pull something.

[Anton]

BTW, don't count the Cummins out, you'd be surprised when you compare it to the Triton or Vortec in terms of fuel economy; let's not forget the gobs of extra torque it has if you ever find the need to really pull something.

I'll definitely have to put the bigger trucks back on my list now that I think about it. A couple of my cousins have Cummins Rams and they're nice trucks.

Damn it, this thread was supposed to make it easier to pick something, not harder.

[opie011]

I have a cummins and love it. I do tow about 95% of the time so it gets used very well. I just turned 162,000 on my '03 and haven't had any real problems. The first common rail cummins is in the '03 which gets the best fuel mileage since it doesn't have extra injection timing like the '04.5-'07 5.9 cummins. If you choose a cummins, there's several different engines in '03 to early '04. There's also a California legal engine in the '03 models....don't get this one but I'm sure they're hard to find here in CO.

[Birddog1911]

I just replaced my old '99 ZR2 Blazer with the FJ Cruiser. Love the FJ like there is no tommorrow. That said, the ZR2 was a hell of a tough little 4x4. 20mpg, could easily tow our camper, and pretty darned dependable. You could probably find an '03-05 for around or under 10K; the only problem is your mileage will be pretty high most likely.

If you don't mind financing, check out the FJ Cruiser. The best factory 4x4 made these days, IMO.

[ThunderSquirrel]

+1 on a Blazer. I have a '99 4Dr that is great. I use it to pull a trailer with a 4 wheeler and gear up to hunting camp every season.

I was lucky though, I bought mine 2 years ago and it only had 68k Miles on it. I still haven't turned it over the 100k mark.

[Birddog1911]

Funny story from last winter. I'm coming home after work, good snow on the hill to the house. Right in the middle of the road is a Suburban that has had a 4x4 transfer failure. I just got bumper to bumper with him, and pushed him right up the hill in 4Low without a care in the world. That ZR2 is a tough sumbitch; too bad they discontinued it for soccer mom crossover shit. One reason I didn't buy Chevy again.