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These trucks are available at bargain prices, but acquiring them is never a good decision.

It is pretty hard to think of a vehicle that is more versatile than a pickup. It is for that reason that they have become one of the most popular vehicles today.

In the past they were only really seen as workhorses, rough, rugged, and utilitarian. The same simply cannot be said of modern pickups that are just as refined as most cars on the road today. In fact, some pickups are even more refined than some SUVs, yet still have the upper hand in terms of hauling ability.

For many an affordable used pickup is the answer to all their vehicle related problems, unfortunately some affordable pickups will cause more issues than they solve.

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With the success other brands were having with their sporty pickups, Dodge decided to try their hand at it too.

What was strange about the Daytona is that it had no real performance upgrades. If anything it was just an appearance package that made it look “cool” and go “slow.” With all the performance parts at their disposal, one has to wonder why they cheap out on the most important part.

For whatever reason Ford made the decision to use the Explorer platform to make their leisure-focused pickup. This was an unfortunate decision because the Explorer was a bit of a recall magnet.

It was also limiting in the sense that the platform forced them to make it with a very short bed, something most buyers were not happy about.

The Colorado has become a bit of a household name today, but the first generation was a far less cry from what we have today.

Anything GM-made in those years is now infamous for shoddy build quality, but it was their lack of grunt that really frustrated buyers. Even though you can pick these up for cheap today, we wouldn’t advise anyone to go out and buy one.

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The Frontier enjoyed a long production life and earned a reputation for being a great back-to-basics budget friendly pickup, but it took a long time to evolve into that.

The first year models are certainly best avoided because they had a lot of teething issues. It got recalled seven times, with those recalls ranging from mildly concerning fuel system issues to full on distressing engine failures.

GM promised everyone a more refined version of the Hummer, but what they ended up delivering was poorly built, unreliable, and overpriced.

Prices have obviously fallen off a cliff in recent times, but it will still cost you a fortune to run. They are huge vehicles that get around 10 MPG, have huge, expensive tires, and are naturally maintenance-heavy.

The best way to sum up the first generation Ridgeline is that it was an “anti-pickup” for those after the versatility of a pickup and the comfort of a car. Its tow rating and load capacity reflect that target market.

In a way Honda beat the market by around a decade as most people are now more open-minded towards car-like pickups, but for those looking for something rugged this just won’t do.

Clearly Ford and all their engineers were working from different notes back in the 2000s. Nothing defines their disconnect more than the Blackwood.

Ford launched the aforementioned Sport Trac as a more refined pickup, then their luxury division decided that was all wrong (which it was) and gave the F-150 a luxury makeover. This was arguably the better approach, but unfortunately, this generation F-150 had all manner of reliability issues and adding more electronics (that are obviously now all outdated) did nothing to improve that.

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Rust effectively killed the Dakota. Other than its propensity to return to the earth faster than a Russian satellite falling out of the orbit, there are still a few noteworthy issues.

This generation, effectively the final generation under the Dodge nameplate, also had several recalls relating to suspension and brake issues. Which is pretty concerning if you are unlucky enough to get one that didn’t get repaired…

With Ford so busy finding ways to make these as quickly and cheaply as possible, quality took a back seat.

Build quality is often overlooked because it is “rugged,” but the more concerning bit is the fact that they liked ejecting their spark plugs. This issue is by far the most common complaint, and it beggars belief that this was never actually properly addressed.

Honestly, we love Subaru for trying to bring back the Brat. That is clearly what they were going for, but the execution was woeful.

It is one of those oddities that tried to be all things to all people, but ended up being nothing to no one. It isn’t any good at being anything, with a very small bed and a cramped interior.

Luke Zietsman is an all out automotive enthusiast based in The Philippines. If it has two or four wheels he has either owned it, researched about it or dreamed about it.