Can a few thousand dollars still get you something decent to drive in 2023? Is driving a cheap pickup better than making payments on a new one? I don’t know, but this is what I did. It may not be a Toyota, but it is CHEAP. And that’s what counts.

My new beater with a heater, and daily driver, is a 1990 Ford Ranger 2.9 v6 5 speed 4x4. It has around 260,000 miles on it (best I can tell) and shows signs of wear. But it definitely has a lot of miles left to go! How can you lose when it cost less than a new set of tires for a 1 ton pickup?