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  •  » Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

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    6/28/2013 12:57 PM  #1

    McStang
    I FYI 24-7

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    From: Benicia, CA
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 495

    Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    Recently lost our trusty old Nissan hardbody to a rotten driver. Thinking about a 2000-2005 for mostly daily driver use with frequent light, and occasional heavy, hauling (full load of drywall within 20 miles of destination). She doesn't want a 4x4 or full-size but does want an extended (Super) cab as she's a school teacher and regularly gets stuck with kids that need to go somewhere at the end of the day and is also the school camping trip organizer/leader - her vehicle gets stuffed with tents and sleeping bags a couple of times a year. She would prefer a slushbox which I think are pretty good by this vintage even though I’d prefer a stick if it were mine.

    Anyway, I've been doing the research and although I have a pretty good idea what I'm looking for there are about a million variations of these trucks and I thought I'd ask here for personal experience / suggestions / stuff to watch out for, better years / worse years (including those outside of the indicated range) etc. Don’t have the money for a brand new one.

    Any input much appreciated!

    (Pinto!)
     

    6/28/2013 1:33 PM  #2

    Steve69
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    From: Madison Wisconsin
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 2,727

    Re: Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    Iv'e driven 2 Chevy Venture Vans since 2003.  They Get 27mpg on Hwy you can haul 8 in it and the seats fold down easy for loading or you can take them out.  I've hauled 80 2x4s,  4x8 sheets of Drywall, 650 pound wood Spliter.  I had use my Engine Hoist to load the Splitter that was boxed up..LOL.   My first Venture was a 03 that I sold at 185K because my wife wanted a SUV its still going strong with over 200k of miles.  Im driving her 05 Venture and I have 135K on it.   You can pick them up with 100K for in the $4k to $5K.  

    Steve69

     

    6/30/2013 2:55 PM  #3

    Fastbackbhoy
    FYI Addict

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    From: St. Catharines Ontario Canada
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 156

    Re: Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    I love the Ford Ranger Pick up Trucks ,
    I've had a few (3) but they are Brutal on Gas both 3.0 and 4.0 the 4.0 was slightly better mpg sup, both my  I had  2 extended cab and one short box none of them were 4x4.

    jimmy O

     

    6/30/2013 9:37 PM  #4

    Redvert67
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    From: Coon Rapids, MN
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 104

    Re: Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    I've had 2 Rangers, really liked both of them. I had a 1999 with 4 cylinder auto, great milage (26 to 28 always) but probably not strong enough for power. Also had an 04 with 4.0 auto. Very strong motor but crummy milage(17 to 19 best). No trouble ever with either of them except I had to replace E-brake cable on the 1999 one.

    It's easier to add horsepower than it is to lose weight.
     

    7/01/2013 3:55 PM  #5

    McStang
    I FYI 24-7

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    From: Benicia, CA
    Registered: 4/01/2013
    Posts: 495

    Re: Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    Chevy Van! Blasphemy! Actually though we had an Astrovan for many years and used the snot out of it, they do work pretty well, but we haul a fair amount of debris now & then and after doing that in an upholstered van a few times it'll never be the same no matter how careful you are (even if half the stink in that one was probably from dogs & kids).

    Found a good deal on a 2002 2wd XLT this weekend - only 89k, well-maintained - with the 4.0. Drove a 3.0 and it took a lot more pedal to get on the highway than the 4.0 which might explain why overall mileage with the 4.0 might be a little better but we're not gonna be doing a lot of longer distance commuting in it anyway. Besides that, the trusty old Nissan 4-banger, although dirt cheap to maintain, was about as fast as an old tractor (not like the ones Hakan posted about awhile ago!), was worthless for towing and it only got 19-20mpg max., never could figure that, so as long as the Ranger doesn't fall apart we're actually a couple of steps ahead of where we were. Thanks for the feedback.

    (Pinto!)
       •Thread Starter
     

    7/01/2013 4:35 PM  #6

    Pablo
    FYI Addict

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    From: Georgetown, Texas
    Registered: 4/12/2013
    Posts: 248

    Re: Looking to buy a Ranger for the Wife

    I had a '96 Mazda B4000 extended cab - Same as a Ranger but different name tags - as one of my fleet trucks years ago.  It was 5 speed manual, and A/C.  And it was the cheapest to operate of all the trucks.  It just kept on going. I used it to pull small (3500# gross) trailers, no problem.   If I were to buy another small truck, I'd get a similar Ranger or Mazda.
    Good Luck

     

     

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