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If I were you I would drop the 10,000 on a new car and take small loan on the balance. There are some great financing rates right now. I have two scions, an xa and an xd. The xa has 325,000 miles on it and its still going strong the xd is brand new. I know they aren't 4x4's but they are 4 doors, they get great gas mileage (35 - 40 mpg) and they are cheap. I bought the xa for $13,000 and the xd for $15,000 both new off the lot.
Oh yeah, I also have an FJ Cruiser and a Honda Element. The FJ is a great truck but is a gas guzzler. The Element is the best all around surf vehicle ever IMHO.
if your tight on $$ and need a truck scour craigslist nissan, or toyota - efff subarus (too many head gasket and trans probs) and stay away from anything daimler-chrysler (jeep). element or CRV is KILLER surf vehicle with good engine (k24) and great mpg for the power, but $$ for the hondas unless you can scoop one up. 1st gen scion Xa is another good choice. Its a good idea to find something with a timing chain but not mandatory.
stay the fawk away from jeep liberty, horrendous piles of garbage. my surf beater is a tacoma but it doesnt get great mpg (used to have a 4runner, same thing). i had a nasty old beat up civic i used for surfing but let a friend drive it and it got totaled - amazing how much room is in back of a civic with the seats folded down tho. you dont need awd or even a big truck to get lots of places, i rammed that civic all over. got stuck a couple times but i really was asking for it
edit: learning to be your own mechanic (even basic) is the best thing you could do, and not that hard to do. saves a ton of money and helps at crucial moments.
Love my 02 Honda Passport suv. Fits long board inside and has good roof rack. If u are looking for gas efficiency, I can Just fit 9 foot board inside Toyota 2008 Prius with seats folded down. My six foot board easily fits. It's not a cool car but it gets 55 mpg
i have an '08 grand cherokee & couldn't be happier w/ it...plenty of room for boards & other gear, don't care if the interior gets full of sand, mud, & other gunk, & it'll go anywhere. it's not the best on gas, sure, but it's better than some that others have listed & worse than others, too. some might call it a "yuppie jeep", but i have skill enough to do minor to moderate work on it myself, which keeps the maintenance costs down.
best car to own is a suzuki samurai
A 4wd yota mon
just throwing this out there but if you really want something in the truck area you could consider a diesel. i have a 01 f250 crew cab with a 7.3 in it and with my programmer on "economy" and when im not hammering on the gas pedal im gettin in the 19-21mpg range. its a tank in the snow and if you ever need to pull anything nothing beats it. plenty of room for boards in the bed. I realize it may not be practical for everyone but i used to tow a boat alot and it was the best option. Plus they hold their value and run forever!
like i sad just throwin that idea out there. good luck finding a new ride!
have to agree with Windswellssuck Stay away from a liberty. I have one and its a disaster
The '95-2002 F250's with the Powerstrokes are probably the best truck Ford EVER built. I hate Ford, but I would definitely get one of those if I were in the market.Quote:
Originally Posted by krl0919
Meatloaf: Sammies are awesome, only problem is you have to rebuild them from the ground up to make them that way. One of my buddies has one. 8" lift, Dodge power ram axles and a Cummins 3B diesel conversion riding on 36"ers. I think that beast gets around 30mpg around town.