Buying a used pickup - Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi?

General Discussion
1

I am looking to buy a used pickup and have been looking at late 80’s and early 90’s short bed Toyota’s, Nissans, and Mitsubishi’s. I will be commuting and carrying smaller loads. I just want something reliable with decent gas milage. Are there years or makes that are particularly better or worse than others? What should I keep my eye out for?

2

Service records, pre-purchase inspection and overall condition are more important than make, model year or miles. Buy the one in the best condition you can find.

Twotone

3

A 20 year old commuter vehicle is tough to find. How much can you spend? I wouldn’t spend more than a few hundred bucks for any of the trucks you mention because of age. Why would you expect a $500 vehicle to be reliable enough to commute in?

4

Ford Ranger

5

I had a Mitsubishi Mity Max (early 90s model, I think) for a while. I really liked a lot about the truck, but the block cracked in the original engine at less than 100k miles, then the used engine I had it replaced with did the same thing. An informal “parking lot poll” of people I happened to meet with Mitsubishi vehicles seems to show that their 4 cylinder engines didn`t have a very good life expectancy. Maybe a more extensive Google search would prove otherwise.

Ive been driving a 94 Toyota PU for the last 8 years. It has 230k miles so far and still hanging in there. Thats the only modern Toyota I`ve had, so maybe a fluke. Never had a Nissan PU, but a few 80s Sentras did well for me.

6

Toyotas with a stick shift are best. Nissans are OK but at that age the body will develop serious rust problems.

Agree that Mitsubishi trucks have other vices. A Mazda or Ford Ranger, bot stick shioft. would be a good choice as well.

7

Nissans in my opinion are not as worthy of being called a truck vs the toyota, lower payload etc. is my recollection for that vintage.

8

If it’s that old, keep looking at Toyotas. Don’t worry about the difference in years. Buy the newest you can afford. Good luck in your search.

9

Agree; but OP is mainly interested in commuting and carrying the occasional small load.