My dd bucket is starting to have transmission troubles again, and I am not sure if I wanna go through the trouble again with it. Its a 97 GTI, and gets awesome mpg which is the reason I would keep it. The running gear besides tranny is in top shape but the body, and interior need some professional help.

So I am looking at rclb's or maybe a Scab on the internet, and there are quite a few in my area for 5-7K that catch my attention. In terms of what I can find is V6 auto being over 50%, and V6 stick, and V8 auto splitting the difference.

I am currently thinking V6 stick for driving pleasure, and a touch more mpg. Or would the auto with the V6 or V8 be realistically about the same?

I am not looking for anything in the way of towing or heavy hauling as I just want it for Home Depot runs, and to haul parts for project car parts around.

 

Why would you want a f150? Sounds like you would be happier in a ranger frontier ridgeline or canyon.

Any full sized truck with a v6 is way to underpowered to be fuel efficient.
I wish they made our v8 trucks in stick.

A smaller truck will do all your light duty needs and actually be fuel efficient and you won't have to beat it to death to get it going under load.

 

It does sound like a mid size truck is what you need but a 2x4 v6 regular cab could fit the bill. They are geared well and not as underpowered as you may think. Typically they are the stripped xl trim level but that should suffice for parts runs and home depot stops.

 

The mini trucks in regular cab which I did think of, but they can not hold my car seat with 1 passenger. Which I have enough of the time that it is important. The mini crew cabs are a little to expensive for me at this point, and the extended cabs or super cab Ranger only offer more room for stuff.

When I had my 66 on the road for a couple of weeks before the frame meet a speed bump going a little to fast it worked fine. I could haul my kid with me, and my usual passenger with enough comfort to be fine. Which is why I would atleast get a full size regular cab. Luckily I do not drive to far for work 30 miles a day, and 1/2 my friends live with in a block of me. So the mpg difference would hardly be noticeable in the wallet.

So at my price range either its a base fullsize or keep my little car. I am not really interested in another car as the one i have can haul all my personal stuff fine, and dog. Where as the full size would allow me to do some side work occasionally for more fun money.

 

Well I don't think I ever seen a v6 f150 in anything but a short cab so their is no room for the baby seat. Your next best bet is the V8 with an auto.
Everybody except ford makes a light truck with 4 doors. Keep your mind and your options open.

 

i have the v6 f150 5 speed. it is great for a single person, 17 MPG city, 20 MPG highway, that is with fairly aggresive driving. for a family with car seats, its not so good.