I had a Ford Ranger for a company work truck for several years, and my only beef with the thing was that the ball joints couldn’t be greased, and they showed noticeable wear after only 50,000 miles. By the time the truck got to 200,000 miles, the ball joints were much looser and had a horrible “dry-squeak” sound in operation. On the other hand, I’m on my second Chevy S-10 pickup with 200,000 miles, and with ball joints that can be greased, they both held up just fine with no noticeable wear (I do take the precaution of unloading the joints when greasing, which helps a lot to encourage the grease to go where it is needed. No quick-lube place would do such a thing).
A friend of mine went through three Ford Rangers, and being a lot rougher on vehicles than I am, he wore out the ball joints (and tie-rod ends too) on each truck in about 20,000 miles.
@Johnnysmoke said:
A small pickup with cap, especially a Tacoma, is pretty standard amongst outdoorsy types.
Taco is what she really wants, but that’s unlikely. Too spendy. 4runner is a close second but also generally irrationally priced in the secondary market. She’ll be thrilled with anything really.
I had a 2005 Subaru Forester. I traded it off with 150,000 miles. I think I had to replace the battery, tires and a head light. It got 25 highway and 20 in the city. Never got stuck in snow, mud or the beach. It started up first crank after sitting in a garage for 4 or 5 months one winter up north.
Subarus are a gamble. Some (like my 78 DL) are fantastically reliable and last for years. Others, like my '02 Outback, are complete lemons. Problem is that people that have the good ones rarely sell them.
@willowleaf said:
Subarus are a gamble. Some (like my 78 DL) are fantastically reliable and last for years. Others, like my '02 Outback, are complete lemons. Problem is that people that have the good ones rarely sell them.
That’s the conclusion I’ve reached. Just not a risk I’m willing to take.
Take look at Rangers maybe. I used to own a 2003 4 cyl barebones one. It was simple, great clearance and seemed pretty sturdy. I only had it for a couple of years though, but still if I was on the market for something you are looking for I’d look at Rangers.