Hacker News Reader

Comment by dillondoyle | Hacker News Reader

And it's so hard to find a 2 door. A giant 4 door with a HUGE cab, but a tiny bed?! What's the point of that over an SUV.

I'm buying a car for first time in a decade. I used to want to dirtbag out of a tacoma and have been looking for one but it's hard. Even a 13 year old one seems big - and also crazy expensive ;)

View on HN

Because companies aren't buying trucks anymore, they're buying vans instead. Manufacturers have realized that people are buying trucks for their daily driver, so they've optimized the product around that. They've moved to a more car-like comfortable interior and they've stopped selling the regular cab (2 door) models because they don't sell. They pretty much make mostly double cabs because you need a backseat to drive around kids (again, car like). The 5 foot bed is fine because you're not hauling a 4x8 sheet of plywood anymore and a 8 ft 2x4 fits diagonally fairly comfortably.

The old Ranger was the last small truck in North America. A clean, low miles 2011 would still have some good life left in it.

i havent seen that one been focused on toyota. It sounds reliable? That's the old size I love!

For you what would be the max miles you'd buy a Ranger? A tacoma?

I have a 2004 that has done 210K in rust country. They can last to 300K. I would shoot for anything less than 80K. Many retirees buy them and leave them garaged with little miles put on. the 4 liter engine was made in Germany and comes with upgrades to the transmission internals. The truck is half Mazda and benefits from that relationship (unlike on the car side).

thanks for the info! Buying cars is hard. I know nothing about cars and haven't owned one in 10 years so trying to learn. Getting one so i can get out climbing outside more (mountains) so that's why I was leaning toward a tacoma with the larger engine. The climbing gyms here are no joke 10% 100k+ sprinter vans, 40% subaru, 20% tacoma, the rest mixed ;)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com