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Will used pickup truck prices ever go down?

mrzuzzo said:
There's already plenty of small trucks and chinese trucks for sale in Mexico that are cheap.

The closest we have here in the USA is the Ford Maverick.
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Not sure if you are aware, but the resale market for trucks into Mexico is fucking HUGE.

I don't know the logistics of it, but I know a lot of guys who just buy a used truck, use it for work for a few years, then take it down to Mexico and get what they paid for it back.

I knew one guy who made his whole living that way. Just used to buy real shitty beater trucks that ran in the Bay Area, drove them down to Mexico and sold for a profit. He was saving for an Auto Transport rig so he could get his Driver's license to do it it volume down there.

No need for a dealers license since they are all sold outside the US.
 
I got admit that my '02 toy taco 2WD 4 banger w/auto tranny is super comfortable. Gas mileage sucks, but other than that it's been a great little PU. When it dies I may cry. I bought in 2006 to do track days so I looked for a PU with low bed height that I could drive with one arm and one leg. In October of 2012 when I broke my right collar bone at Sears it paid off.
 
Eldritch said:
Not sure if you are aware, but the resale market for trucks into Mexico is fucking HUGE.

I don't know the logistics of it, but I know a lot of guys who just buy a used truck, use it for work for a few years, then take it down to Mexico and get what they paid for it back.

I knew one guy who made his whole living that way. Just used to buy real shitty beater trucks that ran in the Bay Area, drove them down to Mexico and sold for a profit. He was saving for an Auto Transport rig so he could get his Driver's license to do it it volume down there.

No need for a dealers license since they are all sold outside the US.
Click to expand...

I lived in Mexico all winter and didn't see many US trucks at all.

Then again I was in a poor part of Mexico.
 
Buying a used truck off facebook or offerup is impossible. Seems like 9/10 listings are by flippers.

I am thinking of buying from a dealer that offers lifetime warranty on the drivetrain. Feel like that would be my best value, just need to pick a truck with a cheap service schedule (ie no timing belts jobs) and when the engine or tranny goes, get it replaced by the warranty.
 
Eldritch said:
Not sure if you are aware, but the resale market for trucks into Mexico is fucking HUGE.

I don't know the logistics of it, but I know a lot of guys who just buy a used truck, use it for work for a few years, then take it down to Mexico and get what they paid for it back.

I knew one guy who made his whole living that way. Just used to buy real shitty beater trucks that ran in the Bay Area, drove them down to Mexico and sold for a profit. He was saving for an Auto Transport rig so he could get his Driver's license to do it it volume down there.

No need for a dealers license since they are all sold outside the US.
Click to expand...

Not just trucks. I cannot tell you how many salvage vehicles I see with in-tow signs on them going back to Mexico down I10 here in the swamps. There is one serviceable car in the lead and it is usually towing 2 mostly messed up vehicles. It is weird when I don't see at least 4 when on the interstate.
 
mrzuzzo said:
Buying a used truck off facebook or offerup is impossible. Seems like 9/10 listings are by flippers.

I am thinking of buying from a dealer that offers lifetime warranty on the drivetrain. Feel like that would be my best value, just need to pick a truck with a cheap service schedule (ie no timing belts jobs) and when the engine or tranny goes, get it replaced by the warranty.
Click to expand...

What dealer is offering lifetime drivetrain warranties on used vehicles?
 
Kornholio said:
What dealer is offering lifetime drivetrain warranties on used vehicles?
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Gill Group.. so Livermore Ford, VW, etc

I looked at the terms, the only condition is that you either keep receipts for parts and a log or do the service at a shop and keep receipts.
 
Crazy. I bought a new Ranger from Livermore Ford and knew they did it with new vehicles, but awesome to hear that they'll do it with used vehicles too.
 
Kornholio said:
That’s the point…it’s a great platform if you’re a drinker of the Toyota Kool-Aid. Besides, don’t the cult members rant about how the engines last forever with little more than basic maintenance? :twofinger
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Frontier's are the value Japanese brand, despite being lower quality than a Yoda. Still, they sell for deep enough of a discount used...

mrzuzzo said:
Buying a used truck off facebook or offerup is impossible. Seems like 9/10 listings are by flippers.

I am thinking of buying from a dealer that offers lifetime warranty on the drivetrain. Feel like that would be my best value, just need to pick a truck with a cheap service schedule (ie no timing belts jobs) and when the engine or tranny goes, get it replaced by the warranty.
Click to expand...

If you want to go hit the dealer auctions (you're a cash buyer?), I can put you in touch with a friend (BARFER) who has a dealer license too. I'd help you, but I don't have the time currently.

There's deals to be had on www.gsaauctions.gov as well. Pricing doesn't make sense/ get serious until about 12 hours to go on an auction. I've done well there in the past.

mrzuzzo said:
Gill Group.. so Livermore Ford, VW, etc

I looked at the terms, the only condition is that you either keep receipts for parts and a log or do the service at a shop and keep receipts.
Click to expand...

inclusionary or exclusionary warranty?
 
Holeshot said:
Frontier's are the value Japanese brand, despite being lower quality than a Yoda. Still, they sell for deep enough of a discount used...
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Bingo. The last remaining value in small pickups. I lost track of how many I have owned, with basically zero problems. One clutch, one steering link, nothing else.
 
We've had a few in the fleet too...been awhile, but they went forever. Cheap to buy used too.
 
Holeshot said:
Frontier's are the value Japanese brand, despite being lower quality than a Yoda. Still, they sell for deep enough of a discount used...
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They're also the fail to innovate brand...what, like three generations since 1997 with only the recent one having any major changes? However, they're the only small pickup manufacturer that really gets called out for that. Toyota hasn't exactly been the first to the update game either, other than appearance changes. The Atkinson cycle engine is a joke in the Tacoma since it's not tied to a hybrid system (like the Prius where it works well) and it lacks low-end torque that pickups need. The use of that engine in the Tacoma has never amounted to anything that Toyota claimed it would. It's not even more fuel efficient as they promised it would be. It's like they just assumed because the platform works in a small car, it'd work in anything else. The duty cycle in pickup trucks is grossly different.
 
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mrzuzzo said:
The closest we have here in the USA is the Ford Maverick.
Click to expand...

Ha good luck getting the cheap version anywhere near MSRP.... from reading the online forums for the last year the FORD dealers f-d so bad with the customers who pre-ordered ($5k+ markup etc... even after those people had paperwork in hand, all the dealer was trying to make them walk away from the delivery so they could sell it with the markup), I'm pretty sure those folks aren't ever going back to a traditional dealer again.

Just wait until Amazon starts selling cars in bulk, that will REALLY change the game for franchise dealerships.....
 
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Kornholio said:
Per a quick Google search, the cheapest Hilux sells for $26,475, obviously not in the U.S..
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Just for a Dollars -> Donuts comparison, when I bought my '87 Toyota SR5 "club" cab (whatever their term was for it then), it was $10,000ish. It had that immortal 22R motor in it, with a 5 speed manual, no A/C, cloth seats and an AM/FM radio.

According to the inflation calculator, that's over $27K right now.

I really liked that truck, I dunno at what point I would have sold it. It was stolen around 100K miles on it, at best I think it needed some suspension bits for it. I think you could steal Toyota trucks of that vintage with a paperclip. I just put a $400 radio into it, but I had the dash plate with me, ostensibly making the radio worthless. WHO GOT THE LAST LAUGH NOW, BUCKO!!11!?

Of course the good news was I took that insurance check and bought a VFR :thumbup. Some of the best money I ever spent.
 
Old news about used trucks,
Back in the sixty's, any truck that ran was worth $500.
Old rusty beaters from the forties, with any life left at all in their flathead hearts, bux, cars not so much, all about the bed/haulin
 
Eldritch said:
Not sure if you are aware, but the resale market for trucks into Mexico is fucking HUGE.

I don't know the logistics of it, but I know a lot of guys who just buy a used truck, use it for work for a few years, then take it down to Mexico and get what they paid for it back.

I knew one guy who made his whole living that way. Just used to buy real shitty beater trucks that ran in the Bay Area, drove them down to Mexico and sold for a profit. He was saving for an Auto Transport rig so he could get his Driver's license to do it it volume down there.

No need for a dealers license since they are all sold outside the US.
Click to expand...

No need to cross the border. Just advertise in San Diego and they will make the trip up. I sold my SR5 club cab auto/AC pick up for $2500 5-6 years ago. That same truck is $6K today. 22r of course. It was never re-registered in the states and his test drive was 3 minutes long. Regrets, now that I want a pick up again.

Right as I was about to order a basic model new from Toyota I reached out to a few friends with trucks. Mind if I borrow your truck for a dump run? 3/3 said sure, anytime. So it’s a want, not a need. Full size, mid size, and compact. In a pinch, I’ll rent one.
 
I sold a 1987 22-RE single cab auto with A/C for $4,000 in 2008...in the Bay Area.
 
you can get 05's with like miles for the same price roughly wholesale.
 
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