Trucks

I'm interested in buying a newer truck.

My problem arises from the fact that the options today aren't what I'd care to get.

I don't want a Dodge becasue their quality isn't great, to the point where I've met Chrysler builders who are unimpressed with their quality.

I don't want a GM becasue of their quality issues and my experiences with them (something is always wrong).

I also don't care for the fact that those two companies accepted the bailouts from Washington.

I don't want a Ford becasue of all the people I know who have nothing but problems with them.  (Although I think that they're still better than Dodge and GM.)

Then there's the fact that I know people who've spent time in many of the car manufacturing facilities on the continent, who'll say that the American car companies will cut corners when no one will notice, and the Japanese companies do what is right even if no one will ever notice.

One coworker has been stranded 3 times in his F-150, but "it has a hundred thousand miles on it."  My uncle will say that a friend of his is always having issues with his F-350, as he himself just spent several grand to replace the transmission in his wife's Chevy Trailblazer.

I don't want a Nissan becasue they seem to be not quite as good as Toyotas.  (My last car was a Nissan, and it was fine other than I needed to replace the window winder motors 3 times before I sold it at $400 a go.)

Which leaves me with Toyotas.  And I like Toyotas.  Dad's '05 Tundra has 280,000 miles on it and its only unscheduled maintenance so far was, I think, a starter a month or so ago.  My first car was a '99 Tacoma which was fantastic up to 170,000 miles when I sold it. 

So that leaves me with a Tundra or Tacoma, at at least $27,000.  Which leaves me with a used Tundra or Tacoma.

A Toyota truck's biggest issue seems to be that the oxygen sensor on its (government mandated) catalytic converter always goes bad.  So the check engine light on my current Tundra is always on because I know it will go bad and its not worth the $70 part every so often, so I only replace it when I need to to pass my local emissions test (up yours government regulators).

The other problem that was revealed to me about the new Toyotas was becasue of all the new environmental regulations put on cars now.  Pre-2007 Toyotas are darn near bulletproof.  Post-2007 cars have much more stringent emissions requirements which have resulted in lots more electronic fiddling with how things work in order squeeze just a bit more fuel economy out.  All the new electronic shit means more things to break.

The new Ford's ecoboost is a turbo charger which gets a bit more fuel economy but is at the cost of replacing the turbo every few years at a cost of a few thousand.

Have you noticed the lack of new Ford Rangers, Chevy S-10s, Dodge Dakotas, or Chevy Colorados?  Because of the new CAFE environmental regulations a car manufacturer's range of cars must meet certain fuel economy standards.  This means that a car company cannot have two trucks that do not meet the requirements, and they can't get rid of the bigger better selling version, so the smaller ones need to go.

(This is interesting in how someone may prefer a smaller, better fuel economy Ford Ranger, but is left with the only option of worse fuel economy F-150 becasue Ford cannot make Rangers anymore.  Producing the opposite result of what the regulators claim to have wanted.)

I've considered getting something like a mid '90s Toyota as my daily driver, but I'm informed that once cars get old enough the wiring will get bad and become a major headache.

So, I'll get a Tacoma or Tundra.  And one no newer than 2006.  What will my options be in 10 years?  Will there be any options?

And I'd still like to build my own MK4.