Do you know any reliable trucks?

I need help please!

Some of you may not like what I’m about to say but I want to get rid of my tacoma, buy another truck and I don’t want it to be a Toyota. Let me explain…

For many reasons that I can’t get into right now, I would like another vehicle.

Toyotas are absolutely the best but they have flaws.
Tacoma’s are too small for my needs and tundras drink gasoline like an alcoholic. So I have no choice but to get another brand.


I don’t trust any of the other brands because I think they are all junk but I have no choice, since they are bigger and use less gasoline.

I was leaning towards f-150s (v6 turbo) (big and uses less gas) but I don’t trust their reliability, I off-road every now and then. I don’t want to be Found On Road Dead.


I’m a college student so I will have to buy it used (which is why reliability is so important), cause I don’t have a huge budget (~30k). I have a friend who has a license to get access to car auctions, so that’s where I’ll get it from. I just need to know what to get.


Is anyone here an expert on non-Toyota trucks that’s can tell me which brand may be as reliable as Toyota?

Can anyone vouch or tell me what vehicle (what years of that truck are good too) they would recommend? Any help or resources would be fantastic!

I’m looking for reliability, spacious interior, good mpg, and preferably an off-road trim with locking diff option (not too necessary).


Thank you all who help. I’ve been struggling about this for some time now.

 

Honda or Nissan as an option?

edit: midsize is too small

 

I'm in for the fireworks....!!!



IMO your best bet is to try to find a high mileage, well cared for Tundra. $30k will get you pretty far. You get the Toyota reliability you're looking for with the utility and size you need. The other OEMs have hit or miss reliability depending on the truck and generation, so you roll the dice there vs Toyota.

Good luck. Let us know what you end up doing.

 

Honda doesn't have a full size and the titan also has an appetite....

Sounds like you have comprises to make.

 

Maverick or Ridgeline. But good luck finding a new one

 

Need to know why exactly you need a larger truck. What are you using it for that you need a different larger truck? Would a newer double cab long bed Taco not meet your needs?
No truck large or small truck is going to give you great gas mileage, they simply aren’t built or designed for that. The truck you are searching for may not exist. So tell us exactly why you need a larger truck other than a Toyota. Do you plan to haul heavy equipment or tow trailers or what???
One other thing , why can’t you tell us the many reasons you want another truck?

 

I’m just looking for something similar to the mpg that a tacoma has and that can handle off-roading. That’s why I was looking at f-150s. Again if anyone knows about the reliability of them, that would be a great help because I know close to nothing. I also prefer to extra space for carrying large (usually light) objects, inside the cab and in the bed.

 

V6 Tundra with the 5th gen 4Runner engine?

 

I would have purchased the F150 if I needed a full size truck. The new Tundra is much better on gas than the old one was.

Toyota may be known for reliability, but it isn't like the Ford or GM vehicles are having failures every other day. I'd also venture to point out that Ford and GM tend to be much more state of the art than Toyota, which naturally means they'll have a few more failures.

 

I don’t get why you don’t want another taco. A double cab long bed, 4x4 Off Road fits all your criteria. You can definitely get a gen 2 under your budget. And Tacos are great off road. Depending on how serious your off roading is you may have to do some mods but you’d have to do that on any truck. I guess I really don’t see why you want a truck other than a toy. I’m sure someone will chime in with suggestions.

 

F150 is probably the only Ford I would buy, and is still my first choice as a light-duty fullsize. 250/350 class and/or diesel, nope, not in a million years, Ram over ford any day. But the 150 class is Ford's bread and butter. They outsell everyone for a reason.



...However, I wouldn't buy anything from an auction if reliability was a priority. Auction cars are the trade-ins that the used lot doesn't want to sell. I'd stay well away from an auction lot unless I was willing to make some expensive mistakes.


Also, if I were a college kid, I'd stick with the car I have, not the car I want. Few things are worse than taking on a car note when in school. It severely limits your already limited finances. I did it and regretted it. All my friends went to mexico for spring break, I paid my car note.

 

A spare $30k floating around to spend on a vehicle as a college student? To replace a perfectly good vehicle that you apparently just don't like? (you won't give any details) Again, as a college student? I cannot relate to you at all.

If you're taking out a loan for this then go for it lol, by all means enjoy life beyond your means.

 

I can tell you from experience to not buy a Ram or Chrysler product. Like, never ever.

 

I don't think you can have your cake and eat it too. In the real world a big truck = low MPG regardless what engine is in it. Your V6 + turbo will work just about as hard as a full V8. Pulling a load with either will give you about the same MPG - at least not better to worry about. You'll save money with reliability over the long haul. If I had to chose from the 3 "domestic" brands I would choose the Ford F150 with a tried and true V8. The Ram 1500 is the bang for the buck but not if you're going to keep it longer than 5-6 years. It will start falling apart. I wouldn't touch the Chevy 1500 with the garbage transmissions and full of Chinese components. If we go up to the Heavy/Super duty models my opinion changes but they require a mortgage to buy.

(Here comes the flames).

 

I second everything here


That said:

For what it's worth, I've put about 350K miles collectively on two F-150 work trucks over the last decade. 2012 FX4 3.5l Ecoboost and 2018 Sport 3.0L diesel. Not much off-roading, but they spent their entire lives split between highway driving and rock quarries/underground mines. Only issues of note were on the 2012: misfire/stumble at 160K and the front passenger wheel bearing went out at 178K. Can't recall the cause of the former, and the latter was due to work environment rather than build quality. 2018 is going strong at about 135K right now.

Fuel mileage on the 3.5l turbo was about 16mpgs. They're tuned for torque/pulling, not economy. Newer 2.7s are getting better mileage, from what my coworkers say.

If a turbo goes out on a higher mileage truck, consider it totaled

 

I wound not touch a Ford. I have had bad luck with them. I would go with ram v6 in your case great mpg and it has the best transmission of any of them.

 

A friend of mine daily drives a 1978 Square body GMC 4x4 p/up with a built 383 sbc and has been averaging 15.8 mpg , that's not bad for a 44 yr old truck

 

No such thing 1st gen tundras had the 3.4 which is 3rd gen 4runner or 1st gen tacoma engine same for the t100

 

Older Nissan frontier or used 3rd or 4th gen 4runner/end thread. Any other vehicles (full size domestics) too big to off road plus none of those come with a factory locker (until recently but those start at 60 to 80k)

 

When I was your age, I became a single father within six months of my ex-wife giving birth so like others have said I can’t relate to your situation except that that is a crap ton of money to be spending on a new vehicle when there’s nothing apparently wrong with your existing vehicle (that you’re willing to tell us).