TOYOTA TACOMA vs. FOR RANGER

hindsite · July 1999

Why waste your time at a dealership. Word of mouth travels around which are the good dealers and the not so good dealers. Likewise that goes for cars and trucks. Actually I have had no problem when I did service my old 89 Camry, but then again I took it in once in its 175,000 miles. In fact I had the original timing belt change at 173,000. I had always suspected that the mechanic at the gas station I went did not change it. On my former 92 Mark III conversion van and present F150 4x4 I never had a problem with servicing. While I don't take my two Poncho muscle cars to be service I have been to the parts department and they have been helpful. They may not find the part, but they always give it a shot.

trent · July 1999

While looking at trucks I noticed the Tacoma's doors seemed less substantial than the Ranger's. Is there any data that goes into the differences in construction and strength of the two trucks. Maybe this is a misperception on my part.

hindsite · July 1999

Trent,
Take a bat and take a few swings on the door of the Tacoma and the Ranger.

barlitz · July 1999

I know the mazda is a ranger, I owned a 4.0 5 speed 4x4 shortbed one of the nicest and most reliable trucks I have ever owned.I since traded that in for a F150 SVT lightning which is about as american as you can get "a muscle pickup truck".I don't think you can compare my truck to any other pickup although its a truck its high performance and no other truck maker builds anything to compare it to,although I would prefer american I think almost everything built now a days has a little bit of a lot of countrys in them.look at Ford they own volvo,aston martin,jaguar,lincoln mercury,mazda.same with chevy and dodge.Some day you may drive a Toyota made by Ford or vise versa ,and in a couple of years we all could be driving hover crafts made by Tonka.

bsa · July 1999

All U guys have very valid points. I just switched back to Toyota after 4 Chrysler products, ie: 1 Ram truck and 3 Mini-Vans. I had trouble with all three vans, but the Ram truck never gave me any trouble at all, and in fact I got within $1,000 of what I paid for it when I traded it in after 1 1/2 years, and 35,000 miles. The dealers however in my area suck,,,so,,back to Toyota. So far my Tacoma Pre-Runner has been superior...

rotorray · July 1999

Response to #655:
All I'm saying is that if you buy a new vehicle you are going to need warranty work. Independents don't do it for free, so the dealer is your choice of choices. Around my area (Pleasanton, CA) the dealers SUCK big time!!! Dependability/reliability, whatever you want to call it is top on the list for me. I've been to independents who call the dealers for how to repair my veh. I don't like paying $$ for an independent to learn how to work on my vehicle. A dealer has the parts and expertise working on them everyday. I have had better luck with independents but they have gone out of business and I'm searching again for a good one. I like the Prerunner and Ranger and this site has helped me a great deal. My local Ford dealer is fair for Ford but Sucked when working on my Jeep GC. Local Toyo dealer a turnover shop with lousy service center. I will have to travel 35 miles for the good service center until the warranty expires. You paid good $ for a timing belt change that you aren't even sure was changed!?!? I don't think that I would go back to that "gas station". When going in for repairs such as that you should mark bolts, or whatever has to be removed, in some way to detect if the part to be removed was touched. If it wasn't you've been had. Your Toyo was a good deal for you. My 76 SR5 P/U was burning a qt of oil from new every 400 miles. Dealer said to "wait" and see what happens. I said "FIX IT!!" They did but it was never the same. Try sitting at the dealer on Monday. It's an enlightening experience. If you have a good one you're in luck. If not and you still like the vehicle you're better prepared for the service experience. It's just another tool at your disposal for your consideration.....

hindsite · July 1999

Actually the mechanic & gas station owner I had worked at a Toyota dealership previously. He was very good, but somewhere down the line he did not do the work as he claimed he did. I never went back to him after the timing belt. He has since sold the gas station and is working at a Ford dealership. I don't plan taking my F150 there for servicing

For complicated things to be done I have gone to the dealer, but for those routine things a mechanic will suffice. I have found a very good independent that is fast and the price is reasonable. Most of the dealers here in Westchester, NY and White Mountains, NH are decent. Westcher county where I live part of the year is affluent and the dealers always give extra to keep the buyer or customer happy. Unfortunately with that there is a downside. The prices for vehicles are higher than other portions of the country.
That old camry of mine I see it once a while still going strong. Talked to the owner last month and he had almost 200,000 on the odometer. By the way not that I should have marked the bolts, but I should have asked him for the old timing belt. Still do the work on my two muscle cars. No electronics, pollution control devices, and computers makes work a snap

etag · July 1999

Hi

I'm driving a Nissan pickup-174,000 miles
leaks NO oil, burns NO oil, body has alittle
rust,I pull 17' foot IO runabout (slowly),
I have replaced brakes(2), belts(1), bulbs(4)
thats all folks.

RP

deltoid1 · July 1999

Today I traded my '97 Ranger for a '99 Tacoma.I don't want to knock the Ranger too bad because it was a nice truck, but after going to the dealer three times this month with problems, I'd had enough.
What sold me real quick on the Toyota was my neighbors with 288,000 miles and a guy at work with almost 350,000 miles on his '88 with the original, never rebuilt engine.
I hope mine will be as good.

spoog · July 1999

I'm not sure if the newer Toyotas are as super-reliable as the 88's, but they are certainly built better than the Ranger.

What options and style did you get?

deltoid1 · July 1999

spoog,
I know I'm in the minority here, but I got a '99 2wd reg.cab with auto.,value edtion pkg.plus,and a NO CHARGE distributor pkg. consisting of P/215 Bridgestones and Enkei wheels.It's Horizon Blue with gray int.

The dealer took approx. $1775 off list on the truck, which I feel is pretty good on a basic model like this.

Like I said before, I liked my Ranger.It has alot more on it for the money, but all those little extras don't mean much when your spending time sitting in service departments.

This Toyota doesn't have as much on it, but I'll gladly take reliability this time.

jd2u · July 1999

Just replaced the trans in my dodge mini van with 125,000 miles and it's for sale. But now shooping for used wheels. pickup reliability questionable as many bullitin brds show ranger trans and dokota every thing, toyota engine and trans combo are good? Also GMC just another chevy drive train? Have owned all big three and toyota in the past. Toyota was a throw a way, when the thing had 89,000 on it it wasn't worth fixing so bought a new one. it was great. Then bought used since. Tacoma reliable for work?

meredith · July 1999

This topic has been split....

for performance purposes. Please continue in Topic 867 Toyota Tacoma vs Ford Ranger.

The original will be frozen, and eventually archived.

Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host

spoog · April 2000

Just dont take any sharp turns above 48 mph
or you could flip easily and rip apart your tires.
see above URL.

The ranger is a little bit more comfy tho.
Gotta agree with you there.

I dont know about "more fun " tho.

TOYOTA TACOMA vs. FOR RANGER

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