First Truck for a Tractorman

[GrantMO]

Glenn,
I don't know if this has been addressed yet but one of my considerations when buying the last two trucks/SUVs was getting it fixed when needed. I live right near a big metro area with a bunch of Toyota dealers. But, my luck is always that I break down or need a part or something on Saturday or Sunday when I'm about out 15 miles from the edge of nowhere. I'm sure Connecticut is different but in rural Missouri you have much better luck getting a Chevy, Ford or Dodge fixed even during business hours than a foreign make. It's certainly not the main decision when buying but something I have to think about around here. If you do get a Toyota, keep us posted on how you like it.

 

[scruffy]

Glennmac, all I can say is my 95 RAM now has 95000+ miles on it, with the last 30000 having oversized tires, and the odometer being off .1 of a mile per mile. This adds another mile actually traveled per 10 miles registering. Point? 3 catalitic converters replaced in the 65 to 70000 mile range....the only repairs done to it. Oh yeah, it did have the radio replaced at 13 thousand or so, and new sheet metal on the front end (due to an accident). It has been reliable and basically trouble free....to back up Bird's point.

 

[cp1969]

The only thing I ever bought on CR's recommendation was a Whirlpool dryer, which turned out to be a piece of lint-slinging junk.

I, too, think they are a shill for Japanese products, especially Toyotas and Hondas. I have had (and know many others who have had same experience) too many products which they say to 'avoid at all cost' turn out to be reliable and trouble-free. VW diesel rabbit--bought it used at 29,000 sold it at 238,000 after nine years. The only thing I ever did to it was change timing belts (four?) and glow plugs(once), CV joints(once). Nothing else, not even brake pads, yet if you perused CR prior to buying one, all you would see is columns of solid black dots.

I also owned a Toyota Corolla. Bought it used with 3,000 miles, sold it with 144,000 miles. Paint completely faded and rusted. Front end shimmied. Engine knocked on start up. Heater controls never did work right, and at the end, neither window would roll up or down. It was the second worst car I've owned and CR rated it very highly.

Based on my own personal experience, CR has been wrong on every count.

 

[CVHoss]

Glenn,
Won't say anything bad about the Toyota. It should make you a great truck. If you keep your vehicles past the warranty period, I would suggest though, that you check on the cost of some common and not so common parts. I've only owned two foreign vehicles (neither of them a truck) but I'll give two quick examples.

Wife just had to have this Merkur she saw. One of the repairs it needed (one of MANY) was a new master cylinder. Car had to set for three weeks while we waited for one to be sent from Germany.

In 1990, I bought a new Acura Legend LS. This was a fantastic car. The only trouble I had with it was at less than 2000 miles, the electric motor that tilted the back of the driver's seat went out. That's all the motor did, tilt the seat back and forth. Of course, it was covered under warranty, but the service manager made a comment that I should be glad it went out under warranty as the cost of the motor alone (not the labor to install) was $425.00. That stuck in my mind and with 2000 miles of warranty left, I traded it off.

The point of this is that while some of the foreign vehicles are extremely reliable, repairs outside of warranty can get really expensive.

Good luck with your truck.

Hoss

 

[jwstewar]

Just thought I would add my .02 in this discussion. I've got a '99 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab shortbed 4X4 w/ the Z71 and trailering options. It has the 5.3 liter engine and 3.73 gears with a locking differential in the rear. Granted I got the LT packaged so it is loaded up like a luxury auto (in fact the dealer added the 5th wheel trailering package to it because it was the only option I didn't get). It now has 50k on it. I've done quite a bit of towing and 4 wheeling with it. When we first bought our property it was a soy been field. I then started work on clearing this with a weedeater and lawnmower. I then determined that I needed to pull in some big dogs to help. I then borrowed my cousin's Ford 3000 tractor with 4' rotary cutter to help knock down the soy beans (didn't have time to wait for them to be harvested). I towed this with the Silverado. Got a few looks when I pulled into the parking garage at work with mud all over the truck and soybeans/grass hanging out of the bottom and the doors. I then started work on preparing the driving and doing some light landscaping. I borrowed my cousin's Toyota Skid Steer. I also towed this with my Silverado. I know I was way overloaded by probably double, but I just made sure to balance my load and allow plenty of distance for stopping. I guess what I'm saying is for only occasional towing with the weight you are looking at you will do fine with your Toy or for that matter any other 1500 series pickup. My wife drives our truck more than I do and actually likes driving it better than our Honda Accord, I do to but that is beside the point. The truck easily gets 18 - 19 MPG and if I run it easy it'll get 20 - 21. Still not quite as good as the Honda's at 30, but not bad considering the power the truck has compared to the Accord. Only wish had one of the new 2500 HD Crew Cabs with the Duramax diesel and Allison 5 speed. The back seat is a bit cramped with 2 car seats and only 1 rear door. The fourth door wasn't available on the '99 Silverados.

 

[jwstewar]

BTW, I did say Parking Garage. I used to park it in a couple of different parking garages. Both with 6' 8" clearance. One was actually a pretty tight garage, but the truck was agile to take it quite easily, much easier than my '97 Chevy K1500 ext. cab. I've done nothing to the Silverado in 50k other than change oil and rotate the tires. The '97 didn't have anything done to it other than front pads at 60k and 2 new tires. Did I mention that I also tow a 32' camper?