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I have finally decided to buy a small truck instead of buying an HHR or other SUV. It just makes more sense to have a truck. For fuel economy I am buying a small truck. I have found a 1997 Chevy S10 extended cab with 70K miles. One owner clean carfax report. It is a nice clean truck. It has a bed liner and a nice painted bed cap. Its a manual which is what I prefer. Anyone have any comments on this truck. I know most here have trucks so has anyone had and good or bad experiences with S10's? My first vehicle was an 82 S10 and it had 235K miles before it died. I am buying it monday so any imput you can give will be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to put that I am getting it for $3,800 and it is local. Well somewhat local. My Mom is going to go get it in Columbus. We are just trying to find a way to get it home for me since I am still here and no one at home drives a stick :)

the first time you  slide a machine in it, you'll be darn glad you didn't go with a full size.
My firend has an S10, handles well in Michigan winters,  great on gas, and room in the bed to haul stuff, and as I mentioned, it's so much easier loading an s10 tha a full size pick up.  
I tihnk you good a good deal, and a wise choice, though i still have my heart set on an HHR =)

sharp looking clean little truck. offer $3,500 cash, you can't go wrong. run Carfax first to verify miles or any other sins.

Go $3200 and work your way back up to $3500 - then find you a $300 machine for the money you saved. :laugh:

I had an '88 S-10 w/ 4.3 V6 that was a great truck!
Like Pepsi-Perk, go in low w/ $3200 visibly in your hand and go from there...


On another note, I'm looking to go in the other direction!
I'm just beginning to look for '02-'03 Ford F-250/350 single axle, 7.3 diesel, 4WD w/ Crew Cab around 100K miles

Thanks guys. Actually the bluebook is $5,100 and I already talked them down from $4,500 so I think thats as low as they will go. They provided the carfax and it is a clean one owner truck. My Mom is going to go get it next week. She is helping me out with a loan.

Josh, is it  4 wheel drive ?  If not it is just like any rear wheel drive car they suck in the winter,
and as far as hauling a big machine it will make that little truck squat right down unless you
you add some helper springs or air shocks .

 
Pat :Oo:

Sounds like a decent deal. Good luck!

It looks to be a 2wd truck. If so, you may run into winter troubles.. There is no weight over the rear wheels and will slide all over in the snow. Also make sure it has the V6. The 4cyl is a dog.

a buddy had a '99 S10 with a 5 speed. He like it for about a month. Its payload sucked, pulled trailers like crap. Mechanically it was a good truck but for actual work it was about worthless.

Josh if your going to buy a truck. Buy a fullsize with the amount of machines you will be buying and selling it will be a wise move. Dont buy a 6cyl fullsize, and dont buy the biggest V8 fullsize available.

I have a '03 Silverado 1500 Z71 with the 5.3L I have put 48k miles on it in the last year. It averages 22 MPG on the highway. It is extended cab with plenty of room. Overall I have had good luck with it. One thing that I do not like is the front suspension has been making a moaning noise other than that I have had zero problems with it. Cheap to work on, Cheap to maintain, Cheap to Insure and gets good gas mileage for a full size truck.

I have had seven machines in the back of the truck at one time and it still handled well. I have pulled a 3500 Dodge Ram Long wheel base crewcab on a car trailer. It pulled it well but you could defenatly feel that it was back there. I have taken this truck through the test!!!

Joey

Put a soda machine in there!  :biggrin:

I have to agree with Joey, I once had a Ford Ranger, nice little runner, but terrible at pulling and hauling .. I recently got a F150 super crew, even though it's only a 6 foot bed, the power is amazing and you can stil put alot in it without even knowing you got a full load.. I just hauled 5 coolers and a Gas pump back from Chicago with it and it was great having a larger truck. but get what you want and can afford too..

I agree with everyone however I am on a huge budget. I am so broke with this move that my Mom is loaning me the money. I have been overseas for 4 years and have no usable credit so loans are impossible and I don't want to have to pay for full coverage insurance. I know these suck in the winter. I had an 82 S10 as my first vehicle and my last truck was a standard cab 6cyl dodge Ram. I know that this truck will not haul a lot but the springs can always be beefed up and if I need a big hauler I can always use my Brother-in-laws Ford Excursion and flat bed car trailer. I figure this has the hauling power if not more than my second choice of an HHR or Dodge Magnum. If I take care of it I should be able to get back out of it pretty easy in a year or so when I can afford something better and I chose this truck with this motor because the 4.3 V6 is really a 350 block that is missing two cylinders. If the engine blows putting in a 350 is just about plug and play. Then I can either supe it up and sell it or have a fun toy to play with. Also the 4.3 V6 is a bigger motor than was in my full size Dodge so it will have plenty of power. The bggest thing I plan on pulling may be a 4x8 utility trailer and this can easily do it. And as was said earlier this is easier to get machines in and out of. With my bad hip I will need all the help I can get.

Thanks guys for letting me bounce ideas off of you all. I really appreciate all of the opinions.

You'll be good with the 4.3 for hauling stuff. Good luck with it.. so whats the final countdown anyway?

35 Days and I will be home!!!!!!! I will be flat broke for a while but my Brother-in-law wants to start building machines with me so he already has a good paint gun, a great compressor and a nice pole barn to use. I have also rented a 15' X 25' shop/storage for working on machines for only $60/ month. Its small but it is a start. It also has 110 and 220 outlets that I can use to run tools and lights. I can't wait!

I just got rid of (junkyard) my '91 S-10.  It was the best vehicle that I ever had.  It had around 280,000 miles on it (new engine and rebuilt the transmission around 150,000 miles).  My body mounts rusted away, so the ride got to be real rough.  I hauled a number of Coke machines and video games in it and it worked out better than my '04 Dakota (since it is a quadcab, the bed is not as deep!).  Sounds like you'll be getting home just in time for the snow.  My S-10 was 2-wheel drive and it didn't drive too well in the snow (even with sand bags over the rear axel).

Wow. A 15' x 25' shop for $60 a month? Good for you! I could use that for my car, but couldn't touch anything like that for that price.  :(   I was trying to find winter storage options for my car and even those 20' x 10' units in the self storage places was running from the mid $200-low $300 range. 

If you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves.

I just made the same budget minded decisions concerning the replacement motor for my 1972 chevy Cheyenne. I wanted a 383 sbc but I found a nice used 400 ci sbc for a lot less, so i got it instead.

What I really wanted was only a few dollars more, but in the end I bought what I could afford.

I bet your your little truck works out just fine. And you may even keep it a little longer then you plan too.

Having a truck in our hobby is the most important thing, what kind of truck is not as important as just having one.

Pat,

yep its a heck of a deal. I have used him several times storing coke machines and other things. In fact every time i call him when I tell him who is calling hi shouts "The Coke Machine Guy!" he's a cool guy to work with. I already have two 10'X10' units with him storing my stuff I left behind before and now I will have this big unit. There is a catch to the cheap price. The door was damaged when someone backed into it so I am going to frame it in and put a normal house double door on it. He doesn't care what I do as long as it looks OK. He built a new facility down the road and he is going to tear this one down in about two years so he doesn't care.

Here is a pic of the place. this is an old unit I had. My new one will be two doors down from this

I have had 88, 90, 93, 96 and 2001 Chevy S-10's, traded them for another one when they had around 120,000 miles on them, I have hauled UHaul trailers with 4 jukeboxes and 2 Coke machines and another 2 in the bed of the truck, from Indiana to Harper's Ferry WV and never had a problem, also hauled 6 Coke machines standing up in the bed of the truck 300 miles to Chicago and sold them to Ben Franse, he couldn't believe my 1 inch clearance from the wheel well to the tire but I made it.  On my last 2 I have had a Tommy Lift that I move on the the next truck that has saved my back many times over.  You don't see many S-10's with a lift but every S-10 I have had has performed very well but they all have been auto transmissions.

H,

I agree, that truck of yours has hauled some pretty big payloads and that Tommy Lift is a lifesaver. I recall a Seeburg Trashcan and a Hientz Pepsi Cooler making the trip from Chicago!  :biggrin:

Ok what is a tommy lift??? If it helps load I need one. With my bad hip and bad back I need as much help as I can get

It's basicall a lift gate for a back of a Pickup truck,,, a must of you can't lift stuff.. but not sure what the requirements are for size of truck, etc.. not sure how much they are.

I'm installing one on one of our work trucks today. It is an awesome tool. I've never seen one on a S-10, but I guess they can be made. I'd be worried about the weight. I'm installing a 1500lb gate on a F250, and the gate alone weights in at 500lbs. on a 2wd S-10, I think the back end may be dragging the ground with the gate, let alone a machine of some type.

Josh,

Try this link...  They say they make lift gates for S-10s.

http://www.eagleliftgates.com/pdf/p7.pdf (http://www.eagleliftgates.com/pdf/p7.pdf)

I was thinking about buying one of these. It hooks into your trailer hitch and is easily removed and there is no modification to the truck at all.
It lifts up to 500 lbs and the base is bigger than a coke machine so it should work. Its from Harbor freight and it only costs $229. I figure its worth a try however the S10 is so low to the ground it should be easy to slide a machine in and out.


http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47591

Something like that I don't think I would be comfortable with a Harbor Freight lift. I've bought some of their other things and the quality isn't something I would trust at or near the capacity.

I bought one of their folding trailers and it was great!. I loaded it up with 5 machines, an Air compressor and several other things and it went from Memphis to Cincinnati running about 70 mph on the highway with no problem. I used is a lot over about a two year period and it was great! I plan on buying another one when I get back but I will buy the one with 12" wheels instead of 8". I bet the bearings in those 8" wheels were red hot after running long distances at 70 mph

I have found their power tools are junk but most other things are not too bad.

Josh, My firend has a S10, and a full size Ranger,  the S10 is far and away so much eaiser to  get a machine in and out of.  We've hauled 3 jukeboxes  in the back and loading and unloading was a breeze.

The Tommy Lift does not make my S-10 sag, I have not installed different springs and it works fine.  I have lifted 950 pounds with it, no problem.  Others have seen it so don't doubt the power of the S-10 and the lift if you haven't seen it.

Well I decided not to go with an S-10. Before I moved I had a ram just like this and I loved it. I found this Ram from an older gentleman that has Parkinson's disease and can no longer drive it. Its a 2005 with just under 40K miles. He paid cash for it and just wanted it to go to a good home. He sold it to me for $8,500!!! That is less than what I sold my 2003 with 80K just two years ago. This truck is like it just rolled off the line. Its immaculate! I can't wait. I will be home in just 18 days.

Great find!!! Glad you found something you will really like!!!


Brian

 Josh ,
         I allways Knew you were a Mopar Guy !! Love Mine 2000 130.000 Miles

                                                       Leonard

Glad to see you found a truck that will work for you in more ways than one! I'm excited for you, Josh! I too know what it's like to come back home from being oveseas for a few years, it's a great feeling! :biggrin:

Josh--that is a great deal on a great truck!  That should serve you well for a long time!

 :drinking: Tim :drinking:

Thats great Josh...