Buying a used truck! ?

Hey guys, so i am recently on the hunt for a fun yet fuel efficient manual truck, i found a 97 s10 with asking price of 2500, they are accepting offers - it has 154k miles on it, the body is in great looking shape minor rust, would you trust a s10 with that many miles? think i could get them down to 1800-2000 cash ?

4X4? 2X4? V6? I4? Auto? Manual? ext cab? reg cab? regardless of any of that, I would trust it if its not a rot box

v6, rwd, reg cab - short bed. claiming 22 city 30 hwy mpg

I doubt you will see those figures with the 4.3 it is a gas hog for such a small engine you may eek out 24 highway down hill with the wind at your back on a sunny day but it sounds like a good deal for a homedepot/parts runner/ scrap removal truck

http://www.inventory.theinternetcarlot.com/detail-1997-chevrolet-s~10-reg_cab_108_3_quote_wb_ls-used-13367375.html heres the link for pictures and what not

Thats rough. 1800 tops and only if a true zq8 truck.

I'd say for beater truck purposes you'd want a 2wd 4cylinder with a 5 speed and then buy the cleanest Ranger or S10 you can find.

kinda want for driver and money saver purposes, which i know the 4.3 would not be amazing on gas, but it would be better than my 02 highlander.

Jackk wrote: kinda want for driver and money saver purposes, which i know the 4.3 would not be amazing on gas, but it would be better than my 02 highlander.

Not much. Buying a 4.3 truck to save money on gas does not compute.

Beyond that, that particular truck looks beat up. The rocker/cab corner rot will progress fast. The clear tails, missing bumper tabs, and banged up nose tells of an abusive PO.

ah, well okay then, i guess my hunt continues!

And a V6 probably won't be that much faster than a 4 cylinder. I wouldn't think the difference in power is enough to make up for the difference in mpg. Any inline 4 is also easier to work on, in my experiences, than any V6.

true, it is much easier to work on 4 cylinders than it is my v6.

$2500 in Nebraska quick CL hunt shows a few contenders. $2500 is plenty to work with to find a clean old '90's mini truck.

4-banger stick shift 2WD Toyota with only 115K on it for ~$2K: http://lincoln.craigslist.org/cto/4984713896.html

Also, the Mazdas can fly under the radar. A Ranger by another name (and a different grill). Example: http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/4922879593.html

damn!

good deal on that Toyota, 1990 Should come with the 22RE which, in my opinion, is one of the most reliable engines ever created

I am a Chevy guy, by most accounts.

I would look for Hardbodies, Toyotas and rangers first. Probably in that order.

I wouldn't trust that place anyway. They say it's a v6 until you get further down and it says it's a 2.2.

Don't count out the old Dakotas. RWD with a 2.5 and 5 speed aren't the fastest, but they're reliable and get good gas mileage.

Or you could get one with a 318 and manual, get the same if not slightly better mileage than the 4.3 and have some fun with it.

woah, just noticed that grizz! thanks for pointing that out!

Dusterbd13 wrote: Thats rough. 1800 tops and only if a true zq8 truck.

You're far more generous than me.....I wouldn't give half their asking price even, especially without proof the intake gaskets had been changed.

just checked the vin is the 4.3, and im going to take it the intake gaskets go early on these then ?

well the 4.3 is a chevy 350 minus two cyl. Very common problem on the vortec models. kind of a pain in the ass if youve never done them before, not sure how the 4.3 sits in an s10 but in my fathers silverado, i can stand on the cross member inside the truck and do them, im also 6 ft 230 lbs hahaha

I am looking for the same vehicles, it is hard to find one in the NE/MW that isn't beat to H3ll. I have started to look at F150's, few of them have manuals, bigger then I need but according to Edmunds they make the same MPG in the V6 and V8 is one to two difference.

That's a $1200 truck, tops, if the frame and bed crossmembers are still all there.

That looks amazingly rotten to me, but I'm from the south. If everything up there is that rusty, I'd be looking south.

STAY AWAY FROM THE 2200 IN THE CHEVYS, ITS A PIECE OF GARBAGE.

you were warned. timing chain, fan clutch, head gasket, water pump bearings, starters, cam bearings...just get the 4.3L if you want the mini-chevy.

-J0N