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OT- Any "deals" going on with new mid size pickup trucks lately ?

Milacron

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Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
Like a Chevy Colorado or Toyota Tundra or ? Anyone noticed ads for factory rebates or anything serious off MSRP ?

As an aside, just cruising local dealer lot last night they seem to have like 40 full size Silverado pickups but maybe 2 Colorado's ! If that's because the Colorado is more popular, then any serious discounts are unlikely....but thought I'd ask...
 
The new Colorado is over priced IMHO, Sunday paper had and advert "RaRe Colorado's"
Only 2 available, $40k..Jeesh.

The Tacoma (that I now own) I have been told by a couple of dealers that
they never offer any price reduction, nor sales. List price + delivery + profit
is the pricing I got at a couple of dealers along with "Take it or leave it".

I found a dealer 3 hours away that was MUCH nicer, like $3500 less than everyone
else.

The Tundra ? I see some financing options, and "sales" on them.
The word on the street (O.K. some forums...) is the mileage on the Tundra
is worse than the F-150.
 
The Tundra ? I see some financing options, and "sales" on them.
The word on the street (O.K. some forums...) is the mileage on the Tundra
is worse than the F-150.
I owned a new Tundra maybe a decade ago...nice ride but wouldn't carry didly squat in the bed from a "suspension sink" standpoint. Seems like I hauled an Emco Maximat 11 lathe in one (which is only 500 lbs or so) once, and the truck felt more squishy than 6,000 lbs in the back of my Dodge 3500 diesel dually. Hoping they may have improved in that respect since then.
 
I owned a new Tundra maybe a decade ago...nice ride but wouldn't carry didly squat in the bed from a "suspension sink" standpoint.

Tundra or T-100 ?

Looking in a Chiltons book (they covered all 3 trucks with one book)
the T-100 has a torsion bar set-up different than both the Taco, and the Tundra.
 
Tundra or T-100 ?

Looking in a Chiltons book (they covered all 3 trucks with one book)
the T-100 has a torsion bar set-up different than both the Taco, and the Tundra.
Hmmm.....T-100 does sound familiar but I was thinking Tundra...dunno now...:dunce:
 
I recently watched a video about the timing chain on the Colorado. This was an older truck, but it looked like a nightmare. It required pulling the transmission. On a 4WD, it requires removing the front axle.

Here:

 
Back in 2015 when I was shopping, I couldn't get any dealer to "deal" any at all. They would show you the price, deduct all the rebates, and that was it. You either take it or leave it. Believe me, I tried, but they wouldn't budge a inch. With the internet, you have the ability to check every dealership in your area. That's what I did and got the cheapest price. Turned out to be my local dealership that I checked first. I would even tell the others the price I had already been quoted but they wouldn't even attempt to match it.

The fact is, dealerships make almost zero money on paper. I think I got my truck for $500 over invoice. What they don't tell you is the cash back and volume incentives they get from the manufacturer. It's all deception. A friend of mine used to work at a Ford dealer, he said, when it was all said and done, they made a minimum of $5,000 on every vehicle. They can't keep the doors open with their claimed $500 profit.

I also think auto companies are trying to get like Cat, where you have big dealerships that have all of one region, making you have to deal with them. That's the way Cat operates. My region Cat dealer is Thompson Cat, I pretty much have to buy a new dozer from them if I want a Cat machine. Other dealers in other regions are allowed to sell to me, but they have to give all the money to Thompson, therefore they won't sell to me.
 
The last truck I bought through Costco . . . we have a business account and I had tried to buy the same exact truck through a local dealer that I had used before and ended up purchasing through Costco at about a $4500 savings.

You fill out what you want on the web and the dealer that is on the Costco plan calls you - in this case a woman in her mid 60's who talked like John Wayne. She looked at every discount available including the auto show, factory incentives, GMC loyalty rebate, etc. . . plus, I received a $500 cash back card from Costco after I filled out the questionnaire after the whole deal was done.

I hate the entire car buying experience - but going through the Costco deal was far less BS than any other buying experience I have had with a dealer.
 
The last truck I bought through Costco . . . we have a business account and I had tried to buy the same exact truck through a local dealer that I had used before and ended up purchasing through Costco at about a $4500 savings.

You fill out what you want on the web and the dealer that is on the Costco plan calls you - in this case a woman in her mid 60's who talked like John Wayne. She looked at every discount available including the auto show, factory incentives, GMC loyalty rebate, etc. . . plus, I received a $500 cash back card from Costco after I filled out the questionnaire after the whole deal was done.

I hate the entire car buying experience - but going through the Costco deal was far less BS than any other buying experience I have had with a dealer.

I had no idea that was even possible. I guess Costco sells everything, surely Amazon isn't far behind.
 
If you have some time before you need to buy, I'd wait 'til the new Ford Ranger comes out. They won't likely be on sale, but their competition sure will be.

Chip
 
If you have some time before you need to buy, I'd wait 'til the new Ford Ranger comes out. They won't likely be on sale, but their competition sure will be.

Chip

I think the lots are full and dealers are motivated to sell, since the 18's are due soon.. I got a Dodge Dually last week, 55K list, got it for around 46K..

But the OP was looking at Toyotas....while the Tundra does get discounted a small amount, the Taco has a following bordering on "Rabid".
As one dealer explained to me, if Toyota would build 10k more Tacos each year, they would still sell every one of them.
 
I think the new mid-sized trucks with the smaller diesels in them look pretty good if not a little too pricey.

The Colorado Duramax indicates 7600lb towing capacity and with the diesel exhaust brake and 6 speed tranny . . . if you plan on towing, this would seem to be a great combo. I have seen reports of 23mpg towing a Wells Cargo trailer across country loaded to 2000 lbs. That is pretty amazing if true.
 
The Colorado Duramax indicates 7600lb towing capacity and with the diesel exhaust brake and 6 speed tranny . . . if you plan on towing, this would seem to be a great combo. I have seen reports of 23mpg towing a Wells Cargo trailer across country loaded to 2000 lbs. That is pretty amazing if true.
If find that number downright disgusting.

My Taco with the I-4 gets 25-26 around town, and I have towed 2400 several times this year (taking scrap
metal in). Yes the mileage will go down with towing, but not that much.

If I invest the 60k in the small Nissan, I should expect something north of 35 mpg, or else my investment
is not being returned to me in fuel savings.

One needs to look overseas, the HiLux is the Taco, and they already come with small Diesels,
that IIRC get much better than 25 mpg.
 
If find that number downright disgusting.

My Taco with the I-4 gets 25-26 around town, and I have towed 2400 several times this year (taking scrap
metal in). Yes the mileage will go down with towing, but not that much.
In that weight range, MPG when towing is more dependent on wind resistance than weight, with wind resistance increasing exponentially with speed. Towing 2400 lbs of low height material (therefore low wind resistance) at 45 mph can be night and day difference from towing 2400 lbs in 7 foot tall enclosed trailer at interstate speeds for example.

In fact towing an empty 7 foot tall enclosed trailer at interstate speeds usually results in worse MPG than 2400 lbs load w/ low height at slower speeds even with comparable trailer weights.

Also, don't understand the Nissan reference....who said anything about Nissan ?? (does Nissan make the Colorado and GM rebadges them Chevy ?)
 
In that weight range, MPG when towing is more dependent on wind resistance than weight, with wind resistance increasing exponentially with speed. Towing 2400 lbs of low height material (therefore low wind resistance) at 45 mph can be night and day difference from towing 2400 lbs in 7 foot tall enclosed trailer at interstate speeds for example.

In fact towing an empty 7 foot tall enclosed trailer at interstate speeds usually results in worse MPG than 2400 lbs low height at slower speeds.
Yabutt, what did your NPR cabover get ?

Mine got 18 all day long in city, on the hiway, wherever.
and it weighed 8k lbs empty.

IIRC my friends 2016 Dodge 3500 quad cab gets around 23mpg on the freeway.
While we weren't towing a trailer, it certainly isn't the same as being stuffed
into a Taco, or Nissan, and it was $60k too.
 
Yabutt, what did your NPR cabover get ?
Never owned an NPR..... the cabover was a 1996 diesel Hino (commercial Toyota related). Got 13 mpg empty at interstate speeds and 10 mpg fully loaded. And that's with speed limited to 65 mph empty (no governor, that's just all it would do). Box was much heavier than a typical Isuzu NPR however with heavy plywood walls, E track everywhere and AHT 8 x 7 foot lift gate (that also served at the rear box door)

The current 2011 Chevy Equinox is gas, with an all composite box that supposedly only weights 850 lbs...but it also has AHT lift gate, and more... integral hydraulic stabilizing legs, and integral scissor lift to lift the entire box to dock height if necessary....so a bit of weight added there. The box is labeled "Eco" because it it so light I suppose the the theory is it would save fuel, but the reality is a joke...even with one of those "bubble" attachments at the front of the box it gets 9 mpg interstate speeds empty !

Penske box trucks of similar ilk (except with no lift gate or legs, etc) I have rented and got 10 mpg. Having said all that, the Chevy is waaaaaaay more pleasant to drive than the Hino. The HIno was so LOUD and so SLOW that I would be very reluctant to actually use the thing unless desperate. But the Chevy is quiet, smooth and FAST.....such that I had no qualms about making a 400 mile trip (each way) recently to pick up a Hardinge HLV-H (in the mountains !) So nice to be able to go as fast as everyone else on the super slab and actually hear the radio or a CD.... I haven't put it to the test for fear of speeding ticket but it feels like enough gas pedal left at 75mph to go 100 mph if I wanted to on the flat.

But the MPG is a bummer...considering the composite box, I expected at least 11 mpg.... 9 mpg is ridiculous indeed. Thank goodness gas got cheaper about the time I bought it and stayed that way so far....down to $1.85 around here in some places now.

My 2007 Dodge diesel dually crew cab got 19 to 21 mpg at interstate speeds empty as I recall. Mileage went down to about 16 hauling empty 28 foot gooseneck trailer (open flat bed, 8 wheels) and down from there the more weight added to it. This is all manual calculations btw, as one can't really trust the vehicle mpg computers.
 
If find that number downright disgusting.

My Taco with the I-4 gets 25-26 around town, and I have towed 2400 several times this year (taking scrap
metal in). Yes the mileage will go down with towing, but not that much.

If I invest the 60k in the small Nissan, I should expect something north of 35 mpg, or else my investment
is not being returned to me in fuel savings.

One needs to look overseas, the HiLux is the Taco, and they already come with small Diesels,
that IIRC get much better than 25 mpg.

You mean Isuzu? That is the closest reference to the Colorado Duramax as a JV in development with GM.

The Wells Cargo trailer was full of house furnishings, not the heaviest load, but like dragging a parachute and it was driven from Seattle to Minneapolis in a 2-1/2 day run so not babying it over two mountain passes and 70mph across the plains.

And IIRC the truck as equipped was right at $40k.

My point being that if trailering is something you do on a regular basis and you want decent economy while towing, you would be hard pressed to beat this combo.

My pickup is rated at 17,800 towing and I have seen highway economy of 24mpg and regularly get 18mpg driving to/from work through a mix of country and city driving. But put a camping trailer behind it and I am back down to 13mpg even though the trailer is less than 6000 lbs. Put my loaded equipment trailer behind it at 12k and I get 12 mpg on local roads (I live in the foothills and see 1000 ft elevation change between my home and work).

To read of a truck pulling an enclosed trailer getting north of 20mpg on a high speed cross country jaunt is a testament to the improving technology available.
 








 
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