Best Used Pick Up

Author
Discussion

FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Monday 14th January 2019
quotequote all
May have a change in circumstances shortly and be looking for a Pick Up.

I've always loved the look of these things but now would also be for a small amount of commercial use.

So i'd be looking for an auto no more than say 35k miles that could tackle the mud and tracks but will happily cruise for a few hours.

Whats best for all round usage plus MPG etc ...

Tks in Advance

doubble99

38 posts

125 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
Double or single cab?

Toyota make a great pick up in either configuration, regularly expect 30+mpg

I think that the Ranger is pretty good value for money against the Toyota though and our engineers have both single and double cabs getting high 20s in the mpg stakes.



LarsG

991 posts

82 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
I had a Ranger (21mpg mixed) for a week to test out. Also tried out the Isuzu (26mpg) (truck like gears poor ride) The Mitsubishi L200, (25mpg) (cornering was like tipping over)

Hated the fact that it was almost impossible to find a parking space that it would fit in, hated the wallowing handling round corners, hated the fuel consumption, the dog hated it and couldn't climb in. Over priced and you may have to add vat to your costs. Hated that I'd have to plan overtaking a car the day before and in triplicate.

Tax man is suspicious of businesses that buy them for 'work'.

Overall it just wasn't practical.for the U.K. roads. I was going to buy one for my business but I do a mix of North Wales roads and city driving.

I really wanted one but living with one fr a week I realised it wasn't for me.
Instead I got a van (55 mpg) to help,with work, superbly practical, and an estate car for family transport and the dog can get in too.

They look great until you try and park it in the supermarket car park and have to do a 68 point turn to get out of the space.



Edited by LarsG on Tuesday 15th January 02:25

LarsG

991 posts

82 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
FocusRS3 said:
May have a change in circumstances shortly and be looking for a Pick Up.

I've always loved the look of these things but now would also be for a small amount of commercial use.

So i'd be looking for an auto no more than say 35k miles that could tackle the mud and tracks but will happily cruise for a few hours.

Whats best for all round usage plus MPG etc ...

Tks in Advance
There's also a reason why there are so many nearly new second hand pick ups on he market, what seemed like a good idea wasn't. Good work vehicle for some though.

normalbloke

7,712 posts

226 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
LarsG said:
I had a Ranger (21mpg mixed) for a week to test out. Also tried out the Isuzu (26mpg) (truck like gears poor ride) The Mitsubishi L200, (25mpg) (cornering was like tipping over)

Hated the fact that it was almost impossible to find a parking space that it would fit in, hated the wallowing handling round corners, hated the fuel consumption, the dog hated it and couldn't climb in. Over priced and you may have to add vat to your costs. Hated that I'd have to plan overtaking a car the day before and in triplicate.

Tax man is suspicious of businesses that buy them for 'work'.

Overall it just wasn't practical.for the U.K. roads. I was going to buy one for my business but I do a mix of North Wales roads and city driving.

I really wanted one but living with one fr a week I realised it wasn't for me.
Instead I got a van (55 mpg) to help,with work, superbly practical, and an estate car for family transport and the dog can get in too.

They look great until you try and park it in the supermarket car park and have to do a 68 point turn to get out of the space.



Edited by LarsG on Tuesday 15th January 02:25
There’ll always be someone along to stab the thread to death in good time...
We’ve got a 6 month old 3.2 auto Ranger. Prior to that we had a 3.2 manual for 3 years. It’s our main vehicle, we don’t do any commercial work with it. We have it because I am building a yank ‘ot rod, and need to be able to to throw the odd gearbox or engine in the back, and still have a comfy chariot. Mpg is pretty much 30, everywhere, regardless of what I’m doing with it. That’s crunching the numbers, not looking at the comedy onboards. As for the parking comments, I’m afraid that’s tosh. I cannot remember the last time I found a space that it wouldn’t fit into, including multi storeys. Yes it’s a big lump, but it’s perfectly manageable. We have also used it for several cross continent trips and it’s very comfortable.We will run this one for another couple of years, and take stock then(next Ranger is 2.0 turbo diesel) and I prefer the bigger grungier engines. Ford claim the new motor puts out more torque everywhere than the 3.2, so why does it need a 10 speed auto? Anyway, the point of the waffle is that we’ve had very little go wrong with ours( split seat cover,heated windscreen). Good luck on your search.

FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
Tks for all the comments.

Spoke to a mate last night that said "expect big fuel bills" which i had suspected. He also mentioned how slow they are but to me who cares i wouldn't buy one for the speed. My main concern is doing a stack of cash on fuel all the time.

I did think about buying a Landie Defender or similar but then it's manual and the economy wont be great in that either plus comfort on long journeys is compromised.

Oddly enough at the mo we have a Mini All Four and it goes through everything. Last winter i spotted some 4X4's stranded and the mini was a real little hero.


The Navara loosk to be more in my price range for a used vehicle at the mo if i go down this route

anonymous-user

61 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
LarsG said:
I had a Ranger (21mpg mixed) for a week to test out. Also tried out the Isuzu (26mpg) (truck like gears poor ride) The Mitsubishi L200, (25mpg) (cornering was like tipping over)

Hated the fact that it was almost impossible to find a parking space that it would fit in, hated the wallowing handling round corners, hated the fuel consumption, the dog hated it and couldn't climb in. Over priced and you may have to add vat to your costs. Hated that I'd have to plan overtaking a car the day before and in triplicate.

Tax man is suspicious of businesses that buy them for 'work'.

Overall it just wasn't practical.for the U.K. roads. I was going to buy one for my business but I do a mix of North Wales roads and city driving.

I really wanted one but living with one fr a week I realised it wasn't for me.
Instead I got a van (55 mpg) to help,with work, superbly practical, and an estate car for family transport and the dog can get in too.

They look great until you try and park it in the supermarket car park and have to do a 68 point turn to get out of the space.



Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 15th January 02:25
Interesting. I live in north Wales and have a double cab navara with a hard top conversion and I love it.

Yes it's big but generally get 30mpg and never have trouble parking it. Supremely comfortable for 300 mile trips into Essex and swallows an immense amount of stuff in the back.

My dog loves it too. Travels in the front but will jump in the back at every opportunity


Bisaule

1 posts

70 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
A good, used, low-ish mileage, 1/2 ton Ford or Chevy 4wd truck is very easy to find...

But you have to be willing to pay for it, and $10k isn't going to cut it. $15k is starting to get into the decent mileage range for base models, but if you are looking for a nice rig with some options you're into the $20k+ range. These are always in demand and the prices reflect that.

Mammasaid

4,321 posts

104 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
keirik said:
Interesting. I live in north Wales and have a double cab navara with a hard top conversion and I love it.

Yes it's big but generally get 30mpg and never have trouble parking it. Supremely comfortable for 300 mile trips into Essex and swallows an immense amount of stuff in the back.

My dog loves it too. Travels in the front but will jump in the back at every opportunity
Agree with above, I've got a L200 and have never had an issue parking it. Standard rear camera helps! Again I get 30mpg everywhere, no matter how I drive it, and with 180 bhp and 430 Nm of torque, it's not slow, just supremely versatile!

FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Tuesday 15th January 2019
quotequote all
keirik said:
Interesting. I live in north Wales and have a double cab navara with a hard top conversion and I love it.

Yes it's big but generally get 30mpg and never have trouble parking it. Supremely comfortable for 300 mile trips into Essex and swallows an immense amount of stuff in the back.

My dog loves it too. Travels in the front but will jump in the back at every opportunity
Interesting as my occasional journeys would be longer distance and from Essex to places like Devon and Cornwall as well as heading north at times.

30Mpg isnt shabby and fuel is paid when on Business but round town may be a ball ache on fuel and the usage not sure.

The cab would only be used to cover light bulky stuff more often than not but i like the idea they are comfy on long journeys and have the 4x4 capabilities.

What alternatives are there ?

As said previously i like the Landies but maybe a drag for a 300 mile journey

FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Friday 18th January 2019
quotequote all
Had a jump around in a Ranger Limited last night.

The owner had from 6 month old ex demo full loaded paid 28k

He loves it said he gets 27/28 Mpg and had hit 130 at one stage on way to see me.

Great looking bot of kit

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

197 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
quotequote all
LarsG said:
There's also a reason why there are so many nearly new second hand pick ups on he market, what seemed like a good idea wasn't. Good work vehicle for some though.
There are loads of nearly new BMW's and Porsches on the market too, guess they must be pretty ste at what they do too rolleyes

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

197 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
quotequote all
FocusRS3 said:
Tks for all the comments.

Spoke to a mate last night that said "expect big fuel bills" which i had suspected.
What do you consider big fuel bills?

Pretty much any proper 4x4, i.e. something with a transfer box and likely one or more live axles is mostly going to be a mid 20's mpg vehicle. Less when working hard and into the low 30's on a sensible run. If it's a diesel. Less for a petrol.



FocusRS3 said:
He also mentioned how slow they are but to me who cares i wouldn't buy one for the speed.
Slow in what context? Sure most won't be winning drag races against a BMW M4. But all will run at illegal speeds and have more than enough acceleration to out run regular traffic.

anonymous-user

61 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
quotequote all
I've never thought my navara double cab was slow. yes it is compared with a porsche but if you use your right foot they have plenty of torque for the traffic lights grnad prix, and it will sit at 90 indicated on the motorways (well it would but obviously thats not legal)

average 30 mpg over the last 20k miles, only things its required were new 4x4 sensors as the originals got water in them, but easy to fix and buy on ebay, and the air con cabin sensor failed, again a £10 ebay replacement, hardest thing was working out how to get the old one out.

Starting to burn a little oil on start up now but it sailed thru mot emissions a couple of months ago, and following the recall check I also know its not going to fall in half :-)


FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Tuesday 22nd January 2019
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
Slow in what context? Sure most won't be winning drag races against a BMW M4. But all will run at illegal speeds and have more than enough acceleration to out run regular traffic.
Low 20’s he suggested.

I’m chewing over ideas at present but I’m a fan !

CardinalFang

664 posts

175 months

Wednesday 23rd January 2019
quotequote all
Ran 2 x Rangers as company vehicles over the last 6 years, both with hardtops. A Limited for around 80k, then a Wildtrack for around 20k. Mainly motorway trips & avg mpg for both was around 28. Zero issues with reliability: couple of bulbs & that was it. The Wildtrack was a much better engine (around 200hp I recall?), smoother (5 cyl) with a lot more torque. Pretty good spec on the Wildtrack - better interior finish, plus carplay, although the Limited had a better stereo (DSP processor had been sacrificed on the Wildtrack, for Carplay), Bluetooth, auto wipers/lights, 2 zone climate, heated/elec seats, heated windscreen, cruise, bigger touchscreen. Yes they are big, but it never bothered me to occasionally head for the far reaches of the supermarket car park (Ok I'm a crap parker, but what's a hundred metres?). Never had a problem with multi storeys for some reason. Multiple single day trips of 300+ miles, with no issues.

Prior to that, the company had run several Isuzu's, but the Rangers felt a generation ahead in terms of NVH, equipment, steering, comfort etc. Haven't driven any others I'm afraid, but I'd definitely have another Wildtrack. Only downside was the graphics - a bit too flashy for my taste. Huge amount of Ford dealers & cheap servicing costs too.

Chs, CF

Speed addicted

5,707 posts

234 months

Sunday 3rd February 2019
quotequote all
I bought my Navara new about 18 months ago, it’s the tekna (top spec) so has leather, nav, heated seats etc. All round cameras are really handy for tight parking spots.
I’ve done some pretty long runs in it like Aberdeen to Liverpool for work and it’s comfortable all day.
Fuel consumption is generally low 30s.
I suppose big fuel bills are relitive, my other car does 18mpg!

I test drove the Ranger, Amarok and Hilux.
Note that the ranger and amarok are both over 2t so have lower speed limits, where the Japanese trucks don’t. They’ve just put average speed on a load of the roads I use regularly so this influenced my buying!

The ranger was nice, Amarok was also good but spec was crap and it was loads more money than the Nissan.
The Hilux felt a little underpowered but it was a close thing, so getting 6k off the Nissan for pre-reg tipped the balance for me.

Overall I can’t really fault it. It’s fast enough for any situation I’ve been in so far, handles reasonably.
It’s large but still fits in spaces and I park miles away out of habit as I like unmarked doors.


Edited by Speed addicted on Sunday 3rd February 09:52

FocusRS3

Original Poster:

3,411 posts

98 months

Sunday 3rd February 2019
quotequote all
Oddly enough I had a trip with the wife To Scotland and whilst in Edinburgh as the weather looked awful I asked for a 4x4 and they gave me an LS200 with full length hard top

It was an 18 plate auto with 4K miles and I loved if . Loads of space obviously and the fuel economy seemed pretty good .

It had one annoying flashing yellow light on the dash that I couldn’t fathom it turn off . Looked like a car with one side door open is the best way I can describe it

snowey13

10 posts

69 months

Tuesday 5th February 2019
quotequote all
I had a series 5 Mitsubishi L200 warrior. Which got used for towing plant chucking all sorts in the back but also used it for going away to Cornwall in.

It did everything I asked of it and was brilliant for towing, felt like there was nothing on the back. It chewed motorway miles up with ease, whilst being very comfortable to drive with all mod cons in the cab. I'd definitely recommend one.

Willhire89

1,367 posts

212 months

Tuesday 5th February 2019
quotequote all
Speed addicted said:
Note that the ranger and amarok are both over 2t so have lower speed limits, where the Japanese trucks don’t. They’ve just put average speed on a load of the roads I use regularly so this influenced my buying!
Edited by Speed addicted on Sunday 3rd February 09:52
Did the salesman at Nissan tell you that?

I would like to see that confirmed from somewhere real - in seven years of Amarok ownership and tens of thousands of miles I have never been fined at 70

It is a non articulated GV under 7500 laden