*WANTED* Looking for a real nice older (2000+) pickup truck.
 

Good morning all, I am in the market for an unrestored, non wrecked/repaired, non repainted, untouched replacement pickup truck. Also not interested in a Katrina or any other flood victim vehicle. Looking for a real nice older Chevrolet or GMC ½ ton 4X4 standard cab short box or long. Looking for as rust free as possible and low mileage. Something from about 2000 up in excellent condition. Any web sites you recommend, prefer private seller. I absolutely hate rust so traveling is not a problem for the right vehicle. Thank You.

Tim john---

Buy a Toyota Tundra from a dry state. Problem free, they last forever and you will thank me later.

Don't know where you are located, but https://www.texasdirectauto.com is where I get really good deals.

Thanks guy's, I am in Michigan. As for the Toyota, yes, I have heard nothing but good about them but I am from a car manufacturing state and I want to support our workers here so it really needs to be what is considered a made in USA vehicle, even though we have Toyota plants in the US, the home base is not here. I was born and raised on GM products. Secretly though I do like the Tundra's, their look and durability has an excellent reputation. I guess it is never to late to seek alternatives. Thank You for the advice and leads, much appreciated.

Tim john---

I spent a month or so recently exploring that market here in the northwest. I finally gave up. Everyone wanted too much. I'm sure there are deals out there. I found in the 10K market, extremely high mileage typical and beat up rigs. They all need stuff. So I stepped up to the 20K and up market. Again, high mileage. Or very high cost. Everyone wanted high book. I think people are buried under loans and have to sell very high maybe. I found people think Toyotas are the most valuable, and there were zero deals on them. The couple of apparent good deals I did find both sold almost instantly. I guess what was shocking to me was 10K was the "garbage" field.

It has nothing to do with people being upside down in their loan. The truck market right now is insane with no sign in sight of it going down. As long as new ones are doing 50 to 80 grand, used ones will stay high until the market gets flooded. As far as people thinking Toyota trucks being "most valuable", not really. Toyota trucks last as long or longer than diesel trucks so they basically follow suit when it comes to resale value. You don't buy diesels cheap, you're not buying a Toyota cheap.

The Chevy is every bit as good as the TOY truck in my opinion. I think the toy's bring a premium but generally require more expensive maintenance than the GM's. A dude I work with just dumped a PILE of cash into his used Tundra with just over 100K on it after the A/C died, etc...

I live in the Denver metro area. This is an awesome place to buy a vehicle. Dry climate and no salt = NO RUST on our vehicles. As previously mentioned the market here is extremely competitive but the deals are out there. For example I just found a '97 Yukon for a friend of mine who wanted a "mountain truck". The truck was a one owner loaded SLT with 97K miles. Truck was clean but needed tires. Picked it up for $3k. Couple dents here and there but NO rust and very solid truck for the $........ I put a 2.5" lift on it and some beefy tires. I drive it all the time. Everyone wants to buy it. Pic is from a fishing trip deep in the mountains.

I’m in Wisconsin where everything rusts in 10 years. I just bought a 2011 2500 Silverado with the Duramax. Not wanting an extra 8 years of rust on it, I bought it in Mesa AZ and had it shipped up here to Wisconsin.
I found a local guy down in the Phoenix area who was an auto mechanic. Every time I found a potential vehicle, on Craigslist, Auto Trader, etc. I would send him to look it over. Worked out pretty good in my case
Don’t know why pictures are upside down, but you get the idea

Looks like youre already upside with that truck purchase! LOL. Seriously though, it looks like a nice truck. The net has made the world smaller, and if you dont mind a weekend trip I def. would shop the country over for a deal. As you all know used truck prices are CRAZY!!! I was in the under 10k market a couple of years ago looking for a backup work truck. Im a ford guy (no comment needed, my f 150 has done me well) and that's what I was looking for. Anything in my price range had well over 300k miles and was what I considered junk. I ended up with an expedition with 100k miles for a little over $4k. Not really what I was looking for but I ended up falling in love with that thing. Been reliable, keeps tools dry and safe, rides half decent and was about 25% of the cost of a compatible pickup.

LOL! Like GM's A/C does not go bad. Fact is that it is rare for GM's A/C to make it past 50,000 miles. As far as Toyota's being a TOY, obviously you never went to Norwalk and seen the guy with the 30' plus enclosed trailer overloaded being hauled by a Tundra. Your Chevy would run and hide to pull a load like that, but I'm sure it has no problem navigating a MALL parking lot. ;).

Thanks for trolling this post with your "expert" opinion.. :rolleyes: Your handle should be "troll of the 60's". I appreciate the alternate viewpoints but what you say is NOT the gospel despite your arrogant know it all attitude.

I must have owned some RARE chevy's in the past because i've NEVER had an A/C problem (or any other major problem) in the almost dozen chevy's I've owned. Have taken many well over 100K. All have been remarkable in terms of reliability. Guess, what, the A/C in my 97 Yukon blows nice and cold!

LOL

If you say so.

The OP asked about websites or other resources where he can get a truck in good condition, I don't think he's looking for brand arguments.

I prefer Craigslist as far as sites for finding used cars. I havent really found any good alternatives to it - it is by FAR the best. You need to be OCD and look alot though and be ready to POUNCE on deals before they get trolled by folks who have nothing better to do than comment on others internet posts offering their "expert" opinion..... Many of the CL trolls will inform sellers that they are selling too cheap, etc and ruin deals. Have found many smoking deals there from private sellers including my example above....

Letgo and nextdoor are also places to find deals but they are few and far between. FB marketplace is also a good spot but the trolls are everywhere and personally I can't stand it and WILL NOT use it.

I own a Toyota 4Runner. It has 180K and a flawless drivetrain. It has had front suspension issues (we 4WD often). It has had electrical issues in tailgate, cruise, etc. While it is a pretty good vehicle, I don't elevate it to God-like status either. I looked at all brands in my month quest, I agree on CL being the biggest and hottest market to look in, to answer OP question. The "Get ready to pounce" suggestion above is right on. Just brace up for a tough market.

Tim, I'd look at Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Auto Traders online or CarGurus.
You can look at any area of the country with any of those.

Agree with the pouncing on a deal. I looked for months to get a feel for the market. When I had all my ducks in a row and the cash ready I had to act fast because any good deal is going to be sold quickly.
The one I bought that I posted pictures of was actually a fresh trade in at a dealership, and not posted on the internet yet. My mechanic was at the dealership looking at a different truck for me, and saw that one sitting there. It was a one owner truck, spent it’s whole life in the Phoenix area, and the car fax checked out clean. My mechanic put it through the wringer and it looked good to him, so I made an offer.

Agreed, he said what he was looking for, let him spend his money as he sees fit. Not a pissin match about different manufacturers....

John Glasgo is selling this 2004 on FB Marketplace out of Akron. Low mileage, super clean he's asking a bit over $10k for it.
He's a member here and a stand up guy.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...c4&oe=5DDD345D