PICK-UP TRUCKS UNDER £15,000 YOU SHOULD BUY!

Alright guys, how's it going? Welcome back. I recently bought ATO to Hilux and since then I've noticed how popular pickup trucks are. It isn't just tradesmen either, and tradeswomen, they're popular with outdoorsy types. I mean think about it, they do make sense. They're four-wheel drive, they're hard-wearing, they're rough and ready, they're very practical, you can throw your dogs in the back or mountain bikes or tents and then just disappear out into the great outdoors. So today I thought we'd talk about the best pickup trucks you can buy on the used market for £15,000 or less. Let's go shopping. So we're going to go to autotrader.co.uk and then we'll go down to body type, pickup truck. Look at that, couldn't be easier, could it? And there are 6,438 to choose from. Now, I know quite a bit about these because, well, I buy and sell quite a few pickup trucks to be fair, so hopefully in this video I'll talk to you about the ones to go for and the ones, well, you need to avoid. Right, what are the options then? Now there are lots of companies that make pickup trucks so we just need to find a decent one, don't we, for £15,000 or less. I would avoid straight away the imports because if you buy something like a Dodge Ram, for £15,000 you're going to get, well, for starters you're going to get an older one and then you're going to have the difficulty with, you know, finding parts and somebody to work on it and all that sort of stuff. So let's be quite sensible. Fiat, now this is a bit of an unusual one but they do something called a Fiat Fullback and it's basically a Mitsubishi L200 rebodied. Fiat did a deal with Mitsubishi and hardly anybody knew about it and as a result nobody really bought one. But just because you see the Fiat badge doesn't mean necessarily that you're buying an Italian-made car, it is essentially a Mitsubishi L200. Now they're a 2.4 litre turbo diesel, the engines are okay to be fair, and straight away they do look like great value. So take a look at this one. This one is a 2017 with 61,000 miles on the clock and it looks quite cool doesn't it? I mean it does look, just to cover the badge up, it does look just like an L200. It's because it is. Yeah that's not a bad looking thing is it? I even quite like the name really, Fullback, sounds sort of quite rugged and go anywhere doesn't it? Inside it is, well it's L200 isn't it? Straight away I recognise that gear lever and those very 90s, excuse my voice I'm coming down with a cold, and those very 90s sort of rocker switches. But yeah if you want something a little bit unusual that isn't a bad option. The only thing I will say, and the same is true of the Mitsubishi, the head unit, they're always like aftermarket units and they're always a bit naff. Before we carry on looking at pickup trucks I just need to say a big thank you to today's video sponsor. Today's video is sponsored by Surfshark. 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So thanks Surfshark for sponsoring today's video. Right back to the best pickup trucks. Right let's switch brand then we'll head over to America. Let's look at the Ford Ranger. So you'll see there there's an F-100, F-150, F-350. They're all US imports so you want to avoid those I think for the same reason I mentioned with the Dodge Ram. And there are two and a half thousand Ford Rangers. Now I've had loads of these. Loads and loads. So let's see what £15,000 will buy you. It should buy you the um not the latest shape but the one before that and they're quite good. So they either offered it with a 3.2 litre diesel or a 2.2 litre diesel. Now take for example this one this is a 3.2 it's a 2012 and it is £11,993. That's one thing I should point out early on actually. Because these are commercial vehicles a lot of them will have VAT. So if you see an odd price like that £11,993 that might to be fair you'd have to call and or read the advert thoroughly. He might have just priced it at that point just to make the price seem attractive. But it might be an odd figure because there's VAT on top of it. So when the first owner buys a brand new pickup truck they pay VAT on it. Now if they're a VAT registered company then they have to sell it then with the VAT. But over the line by the time the car's you know the truck's 12 years old like this one is it might have fallen into the hands of a private person who's then just had to swallow the VAT and then can't charge it when they come to sell it. So if you're a private person you want to try and find one without VAT. If you're a company that's VAT registered it won't make any difference. I hope that explanation was clear it might not have been but I knew what I meant in my own head. Well this one looks quite cool and the 3.2 is very grunty. It's got plenty of uh plenty of get up and go and that looks quite cool as well. So the Ford Ranger then is quite a good option. I once had one that era actually they were quite cool. They had a weird handbrake that was like a an umbrella handle and I think actually looking at that now I really want one. I think it's aged really well that looks quite cool. It's almost like an old Ford Explorer. Anyway they are a little bit old those and they're prone to blowing head gaskets so maybe avoid one of those. If you've got 15 grand as I always preach you're best off spending sort of 13 grand and keeping a couple of grand back for a rainy day. If you can't stretch to a wild track or you don't really like the obnoxious styling of the wild track then perhaps just go for something like an XLT. The good thing with the Ranger is I bought a couple of these once from a trade contact of mine and one was a base model it had nothing in it at all. It didn't even have air conditioning. It was the the most basic spec you can imagine. It was white like this one and I had it in stock for about a month and had no inquiries on it whatsoever. So I bought a load of bits from eBay to make it look sort of more chunky. So like wider wheel arches, a new grille and it did really transform it. It only cost me a few hundred pounds so that's an option. It's quite easy to do as well because all the parts just bolt on and then straight away as soon as that was done I re-photographed it and it sold like that. Right what else have we got? GMC, no Great Wall. I can't believe there are only three Great Wall steeds. I did a review many years ago with the Great Wall steed because I couldn't believe how well they were just great value and they've obviously all been scrapped. Doesn't really say a lot about the Great Wall steed does it? In my video I clearly remember saying if you're buying a pickup truck for a member of staff they'll abuse it anyway so you may as well buy a cheap one. But if you're buying it for yourself you don't want one, you want a Hilux. That's what I remember saying and I think that point's been proved here. The fact that there are only three in existence means they haven't fared well. Okay let's move on to Isuzu. Now Isuzu do the D-Max and to be honest with you I'm not a huge fan of the D-Max. Most of them are a 1.9 litre turbo diesel which is it's underpowered for a heavy pickup truck. I know it'll tow three tons even that little 1.9 but you just have to work it so hard. And on top of that the ride is appalling and I mean atrocious. The most common model or the most popular is the D-Max rodeo and they ride well it rides like you're on a rodeo ball it's that they're just terrible. Pickup trucks in general don't ride particularly well but the D-Max for some reason you just bounce all over the road. It's really yeah I wouldn't have one for that reason. So I don't know why we're continuing to look I would discount the Isuzu D-Max there we go. I even tried the brand new model and it was called something like a steel so it was a D-Max steel and it looked really cool. I was at the SMMT test day recently at Millbrook Proving Ground so I took it on a lap of the track actually and it was the same 1.9 litre turbo diesel and it it was nice because it was a brand new truck but after five minutes in it I just wanted to give the keys back it wasn't for me. Let's move on to KGM. Now KGM is the new name for Ssangyong they've rebadged it sadly though it's still the same old dross so you've got the KGM Muso also known as the Ssangyong Muso and it's a big ugly thing isn't it the only good thing about these are they're cheap it's a bit like the Great Wall Steed if you want one for yourself though this isn't the sort of thing you want let's move away from this because it's making me feel all sad. Now Maxis they're a Chinese company they bought the name I think from LDV you know the old faded red postal vans they I think they bought the name from them anyway they do an electric pickup truck I just thought I'd explain that to you I can't show you any because they're all massively over budget wait a couple of years though and the prices will have tanked you mark my words Mazda do a B-series let's look at that it's exactly the same as the old Ford Ranger remember the days in the 90s and early 2000s where Mazda and Ford were in cahoots this is a product of that so that's basically an early an early Ranger and it's a Mazda BT I don't know whether I'd recommend one or not to be fair it'll be all right but they're a bit old so if you've got 15 grand to spend as I say I would I would try and get something a little bit younger maybe perhaps spend 12-13. Now Mercedes-Benz for a short period of time did something called the X-Class which was a good looking pickup truck they did a deal with Nissan so it is essentially a Nissan Navara rebodied let me set a max price here so now there's only one right there's no point really talking about this then because it's over budget and that was to 183 so unless you're watching this video in six months time and the prices have dropped we can discount the the Benz this is the trouble with pickup trucks there aren't that many to choose from let's go to Mitsubishi then now the L200 has been around for decades decades and decades and I don't really rate them to be honest they're difficult to drive they're big heavy cumbersome clumsy they're not that reliable the early ones the old 2.5 would blow head gaskets for fun the later ones are okay the 2.4 like I said about the Fiat fullback they share a later engine and that's not it's not bad news that to be honest but they're still not the best in the class to drive in fact they're not the best in the class at anything so I wouldn't unless there's one close to where you live and you're getting a good deal I wouldn't I wouldn't bother to be honest I wouldn't go and I wouldn't go and try and track one down they're all right but you've got better options so the L200 they're quite a good looking truck to be honest and if you go for something like a barbarian or a warrior spec then you do have everything on it but yeah I just don't rate them personally and I've had enough of them to well to know what I'm talking about really now we are getting more interesting I promise onto Nissan then so the Nissan Navara is quite a good pickup truck here's a here's an important piece of advice this shape hang on a second let me try and find one for you this shape here which ran up until 2015 has a problem with the chassis it weakens over time through rust and rot and then you end up with a a bent pickup truck now Nissan were doing recalls and stuff I'm not sure if they still are but it's something to bear in mind they're a bit long in the tooth now as well those when they came out I love them I love the chunky styling but now well thanks to the banana shaped chassis I wouldn't I wouldn't go near one to be honest on top of that the engines aren't great now the Navara to go for and I know this because I had one and ran one for a year or so is the later shape so 2016 onwards like this one for example now they use a later 2.3 litre turbo diesel it's chain driven it's quite a reliable engine you can buy it as an automatic or a manual the automatic is quite good mine was auto and if you go for something like a techno they come with absolutely everything and they're very much they're very car like to drive for a pickup truck I think off the top of my head they take something like a ton of payload in the back and thanks to a clever suspension setup they do handle a bit more like a car don't be fooled though you still know you're in a pickup truck but they are a bit more car like so the Nissan Navara is actually one of your best options now that one's a techno with everything on it it's quite a good color so you've got this unlike Mitsubishi you've got this proper you know built-in infotainment system here I mean it's the same as you get in a Qashqai but it does work well so you get things like reverse camera sat nav 360 camera all that sort of stuff on top of that you'll get heated seats air conditioning cruise control all that sort of stuff so it's just quite easy to live with so that ladies and gents is one of the better pickup trucks you can buy that one's £12,995 2016 and it's only done you'd get many many years out of that I think onto Ssangyong right uh we've already talked about KGM and Ssangyong haven't we I don't really know why there are still two options okay we've got two left Toyota and Volkswagen now let's talk Hilux because Hilux really is the most reliable pickup truck in the world these trucks just don't die do you remember that segment they did on old Top Gear where they tried to destroy one they dropped it in the sea set it on fire and they just couldn't kill it they also hold the value very well they're very cleverly designed so for example and I like this it's just clever engineering things like the cam belt has been designed so you can do it in like two hours not six hours they've all been designed to get back on the road and working and earning money as soon as possible and I like that if possible what I would recommend you go for is something like an Invincible because then oh wow look at that one then on 1992 why do I want that all of a sudden now what you want to go for really is an Invincible because they come with everything on it now this one's got cloth actually not leather but this is an Invincible we sold one recently at the garage now I bought it from a local main dealer and it had only done I think 40,000 miles it was a 2010 so quite an old truck but very low mileage and every time I would drive that I just thought this this thing will run for another 15 years they just don't break the only thing you need to watch for them is rust so if you get one make sure you wax oil the chassis and the underside of it or Schultz it or just protect it Lanagard whatever there are plenty of these companies that offer that kind of product online and you can even do it yourself so just make sure you do that maybe just spend a day on your driveway with a wire brush and then just Lanagard it and I promise you nothing else will go wrong the only other fault that I can think of off the top of my head from this era of Hilux is a faulty fuel gauge or fuel sender unit so don't rely on the fuel gauge if you own this series of Hilux make sure you look at in the middle there's a little trip computer which tells you the range focus on that not the fuel gauge what happens is the fuel gauge will show that you've got a quarter tank of fuel when it's actually as dry as a bone but still that is the only problem that I've ever had with the Hilux and I've sold dozens of these over the years I mean take this one for example this one's a 2013 Invincible it's low mileage it's only done 51,000 miles and it's £12,995 you might think that sounds like a lot for a 10 or 11 year old pickup truck but it will be a faithful servant to you and when you come to sell it they're just dead desirable and you won't have lost a fortune on it money in a Hilux is almost safer than money in the bank now on to the last option then Volkswagen let's look at the Amarok now the Amarok's been around for a number of years now they do it with a 2 litre turbodiesel or a 3 litre turbodiesel v6 now I've had both the 2 litre turbodiesels all right but the 3 litre is just silky smooth these are a bit like the Navara actually that they do drive and handle a bit more like a car you know if you drive something if you're not used to driving a pickup truck if you drive something like a Ford Ranger like I mentioned or an L200 you'll hate it you might think it's fun for five minutes but trust me you'll hate it whereas something like a Navara or a Amarok you'll quite like it's just like driving a big four-wheel drive really so look at this one for example this is a 2012 2 litre bi-turbo diesel high line so the specs good four motion so it's four-wheel drive it's done 121 which is a little bit up there on the miles isn't it it's £12,000 it does look very tidy and they're a cool looking truck I think this one's a limited edition this one's an Amaro if you can find one though on budget I would recommend you go for the 3 litre it's night and day really with the two I'd avoid going for in fact this is true of all the pickup trucks I've mentioned I'd avoid going for a mega high mileage one so depending on your budget of course sometimes you've got no choice but I wouldn't go any higher than sort of a hundred hundred and ten thousand miles personally especially if you're keeping it for a few years you don't want to ruin your holidays while you sat at the side of the motorway waiting for the AA man so ladies and gents we've run out of pickup trucks there aren't that many out there are there really so let me try and whittle this down I'll try and pick my three my three favourites although I think you probably figured that out already my favourite's got to be Hilux just because I appreciate the engineering and I appreciate the reliability it's that kind of car you might call me a hypocrite now when I talk about reliability but when your livelihood depends on a vehicle you need reliability don't you so Toyota Hilux wins hands down for me however if you want it as a road trip car something that you can use to go mountain biking or uh you know hiking that sort of thing the other two really are the Nissan Navara and Volkswagen Amarok Hilux first Navara second Amarok third they're my top three just in general terms and if you want some sort of general advice I would avoid spending less than eight or nine thousand pounds on a pickup truck because chances are you're gonna get a well you might buy a problem to be honest you're better off spending between 12 and 13 keeping a couple of grand back for repairs and that way you should get a decent one unless you've got registered try and avoid one with that because that'll save you 20 percent straight away and then the rest really is no different from buying any other car so you want to check the service history make sure it's had its cam belt on if it's got one gearbox serviced if it's got an automatic gearbox make sure the tires are good and matching all that sort of stuff and also something else to bear in mind a lot of these or especially the first owners will have been a a company or a trades person or a builder or something you want to try and avoid buying one that's been used by a scruffy builder as a builder's wagon no amount of cleaning and scrubbing will ever make it nice you want to buy one really that's been owned by the site foreman or something that's had very minimal light use unless of course you are buying it just to use as a a tip run car or a bit of a skip in which case it doesn't really matter but the telltale signs are there if it's had a hard life it'll have a worn driver's seat bolster on the edge it'll have a worn steering wheel gear knob that sort of thing it'll be covered in dents and scratches and knocks where the previous owners didn't care about it so just try and try and look for a nice one in other markets in the world places that spring to mind straight away are australia they love a a ute as they call them and north america there are many more makes and models to choose from but in the uk we are a little bit limited even in mainland europe for example they have more choice they have things like the reno alaskan which again is a rebodied nissan nevara but it does look like quite a quite handsome pickup truck to be honest in the united states for example whenever i'm there you see things like the toyota tundra and the uh what else do they do oh they have loads of giant pickup trucks over there for starters they wouldn't really fit on the roads here in the uk so it makes sense they're not sold here even things like the jeep gladiator we don't get that here in the uk if we had more of a selection this video would would have been an hour long wouldn't it but we don't so it's not well i think that's about it guys so thank you once again for watching make sure you give the video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it make sure you subscribe if you haven't done already you can follow me on facebook instagram twitter and tick tock i'll leave the links below and yeah i'll see you next time where hopefully my voice is back to normal see you guys thank you