I had a Ranger before my Tacoma. NO COMPARISON! THe Ranger was junk. The Tacoma is not.

 

:kookoo: if he didn't realize that already!!

 

Resale Value

Just look at the resale value of toyota vs ford :lol:

 

ranger vs. tacoma = bunched in the dick vs. BJ

 

It's all relative. I have owned a Chevy S-10 before I bought the Tacoma.
The Chevy was much more reliable than the Tacoma was so far. My Taco was in the shop for a total of 25 days or so in the first two years of ownership. The Chevy? zero. Chevy total over 8 years? 2 or 3 days.
But does that mean that I am unhappy with my switch? No, not yet! The Tacoma has proven itself to be much more refined, and smoother. More fun to drive. And hey, so far, all the repairs were under warranty.
But in plain terms of reliability? The Taco is the worst vehicle I have ever owned! There is no doubt about that, and I will shop more before buying my next truck, which hopefully will be some 8+ years down the road!

I am just honest. But we are on TN. An enthusiast site. Not the best for reliability comparisons.

 

i'v owned every generation of toyota truck/suv made and i think this current bodystyle is just as reliable as the older ones. then again, maybe i've just been lucky.

 

Now see, I had the opposite experience with my '98 S10. All kinds of problems with that turd.

You already know my Ranger history (recap: had '96 3.0 V6, some problems mostly involving manual trans; tons of rattles, squeaks, and other noises but that's common with Fords). I don't plan on buying another Ford even in the distant future, probably the same with GM products even though they're much better than they were from what I hear.

I've had zero problems in 8500 miles with the Tacoma, btw. I do have a weird "creaking" sound coming from the drivers foot well, like when I hit the brakes or corner, aka when weight shifts. I need to take a closer look and maybe I'll figure it out.

 

I've owned two Rangers in the past (a silver 92XLT and black 03Edge)
They were okay for a daily driver but it is basically a disposable truck, bag the shit out of it for 2-3 years and you'd have to buy another

there is no comparison to my 07 tacoma. I like it sooooooooooooo much better
Go for the Taco or else this could happen to you

 

I've owned two Rangers in the past (a silver 92XLT and black 03Edge)
They were okay for a daily driver but it is basically a disposable truck, bag the shit out of it for 2-3 years and you'd have to buy another

there is no comparison to my 07 tacoma. I like it sooooooooooooo much better
Go for the Taco or else this could happen to you

Seriously, what does the truck being on it's side have to with it's make?

 

Yep, I guess that's part of the game. Different people with different experiences. Of course, an individual will decide based on what happende to him / her. Wilson & 6shooter, I have zero doubts that what you are saying is true. But that still does not reflect my experience.

 

yep, i know-there's always an exception to the rule. as a general rule though, i don't think anyone in their right mind could argue the fact that the tacoma is a better truck than the ranger or s10.
it just sucks when you hear about someone who has had bad experiences with the tacoma.

 

Oh, absolutely. It's all in the personal experience. I just think in regard to you Tacoma, that you're in the minority. Of course, it SUCKS when
you're the one having the problems, something I can really relate too.

I didn't get the overturned truck pic either. As though a Tacoma has never been on it's side...

 

I didn't get the overturned truck pic either. As though a Tacoma has never been on it's side...

Pic just for effect
The rollover was my fault but if I had the Tacoma back then I would have been wheeling it instead of rolling it.
Just before that pic I had started up a trail that the Ranger could not handle because of ground clearance. I had to turn around which put me on that gravel road and then shiny side down

The Fords I've owned never made it past two years (almost to the day)

 

I was surprised at how much flex they can get out of those TTB though. Of course they poured lots of money into it and who knows the reliability.

Anyways, Tacoma ftw.

w00t


-Max

 

^LOL! Silly us, we should've figured that out.

 

Ive had a ranger, 01 edge reg cab. Had it for 5 years about a hundred thousand miles, It had some problems, but I am superhard on a vehicle. I destroyed 4 rear ends, 35's Super Swamper TSL's and a lead foot dont mix. The tranny went out, but that was caused by the rear end locking up on the freeway. Other than that it was a great truck, and I really dont hold any of that against it, I should have did a rear end swap sooner. I really dont think that my tacoma will do any better with the same treatment, its just a nicer more refine truck. Two totally different animals in my opinion.

 

tacoma > ranger by a longshot

 

my dad has a ford ranger and i have the tacoma.
i would ever consider buying a ford ranger.
by the way the fence on the picture of the truck that is turned over looks intact.
that is odd.

 

I had a ranger and had minimal problems for 85k and 7 years. I actually miss it and regret having to trade it in for so little when I'm sure it had alot more miles left in it. I got the Taco for 2 reasons: 1) I got a hyper dog and wanted rear seats to get her out of my hair. 2) A took a trip to Colorado in the Ranger and pretty much destroyed the suspension on the mining roads. I knew I had the bug and the Ranger wasn't up to the task.

The only "small" and capable off-roading truck with a double cab is the Taco.

 

Had two.

96' 2wd ext cab 4cyl was a good truck, but got stuck in a field and was attacked by a raging bull. The cab held up well under attack, but wasnt worth much when I sold it.

99' 4wd V6 ext cab Off-road. Was a good off-roader. But broke 4wd system @60K, 2 months, 5 trips to dealer, $1200 they could never figure out. Front wheel bearing shot, ABS system pooped out at 50K. Electrical glitches.

 

I still have my '90 Ford Ranger, it has about 130K miles. It has been a good, reliable truck, but the Taco is a much better looking truck.

I still use the Ranger for plowing, hauling garbage and cordwood, and for weekend hiking trips. The Taco is used occasionally to drive to work, and for camping trips with the Hi-Lo trailer.

 

Drove my Ranger for 12 years before getting my 07 Tacoma. The Ranger actually treated me pretty well with few problems. I was amazed that it went from 7 years of 115 degree days in the CA desert to 5 years -15 nights in NW Colo on only two batteries in all of those years. When it came time to replace, however, I didn't want the exact same friggin truck that I bought in 1995.

That being said, one year with my Tacoma has left me far more satisfied than those 12 years with my Ranger...

 

Personally, I owned 4 Rangers (92 used, 98 used, 99 new, 04 new) before I got my Tacoma. Maybe if the Ranger came in a double cab I would have considered a Ranger again. My cousin is s Ford dealer so I could get some good deals. The big downfall of the Rangers is resale value. I traded my 04 with 30,000 miles on it for 14,000 a 10,000 dollar drop in 2 years and 30,000 miles from what I paid.

Overall, I am happy with my Tacoma and wouldn't go back to a Ranger. The Tacoma does have its flaws, but find me a truck that doesn't.

 

I do have a weird "creaking" sound coming from the drivers foot well, like when I hit the brakes or corner, aka when weight shifts. I need to take a closer look and maybe I'll figure it out.[/quote]

I owned a Ranger before my Tacoma and Ranger was rougher around the edges but it was reliable. That being said I would not contemplate going back to a Ranger.

WilsonTheDog,
If you find out what is making that "creaking" noise will you please let the rest of us know? I've got the same noise and sometimes it sounds like something is under stress and wants to break but I haven't been able to identify it yet. It makes me want to spray the whole area with something like WD-40 to see if that will remedy the problem.

 

I have a friend that has a ranger and from what he talks about-it is a pos.
He always has problem with the brakes and wipers. The paint job looks like crap and the
rear access seats rock-when you sit in it. I sat in those seats, strapped on the seat belt and hoped for the best.

 

I was one.

Back in the early 90's, the Ranger was the first compact truck to be "re-engineered." It was pretty cool for its time.

When it was finally time to replace the truck (my gf said she wouldn't go camping any more because the Ranger didn't have a passenger air bag, which was a valid point) the Ranger was still basically the same truck. Others, including the Taco and Nissan, were recently re-engineered, so were better candidates.

Maybe that's why several people seemed to have followed that path.

 

I have an 87 Toyota 4x4 an 06 tacoma 4x2 and an 05 ranger 4x2 that I bought for my kid for college. I got a deal on the Ranger {5000 miles} and its still trouble free at 25,000. I test drove the new rangers & Toyotas and I knew by the time Id gone 100 yards that there was no comparison, the Ranger just feels cheap Theres no comparison, the Ranger rides like my 87 4wheel drive, small cab. No problems with any of them so far but it will take one hell of a truck to be more trouble free the old Toyota

 

I've had a few different little trucks over the years, a 1980 Toyota 2wd pickup, a 1983 Ford Ranger, a 1990 Ford Ranger, a 1998 Chev 1500 Z71, a 1999 Ford Explorer, a 1992 Nissan Hardbody 4x4, and my family has had a plethora of Fords as well (too many to remember) and I have to say, none of them (except the '80 Toyota) even compare to my '05 Tacoma...In general the Fords were all crap, the Chevy was good except for interior quality and the Nissan was ok, but pretty rough around the edges..Love my Tacoma. Each vehicle served it's own purpose for a time, but when I look back at resale value, overall reliability and repairs required, quality of materials, and general utility, I am very happy I switched back to a Toyota.

 

I owned two Ford Rangers before I ever owned my first Tacoma, a 2000 single cab 5spd with the 2.3L I4 and a 2000 access cab with the 4.0L V6. I'll play devil's advocate here and say that I never had any issues with both of these trucks, they were both very reliable and had minimal problems in the amount of time that I owned them. I traded in the single cab for the extended cab and put a good 140k miles on it before it got totaled out in an accident. I almost went back to Ford after my horrible experience with my first 2000 Tacoma, but that had nothing to do with Toyota's quality, it was all due to the fact that the previous owner beat the living piss out of that truck offroad. As someone mentioned earlier, I probably would have gotten another Ranger if they offered a double cab model here in the states like they do everywhere else. Doesn't matter either way, I love my current Tacoma and wouldn't trade anything else for it right now.