Buy These DIRT CHEAP Classic Trucks NOW Before They Explode In Value | Buy or Bust Ep.3 

In 1993 I bought a new base model Toyota pickup that I'm still driving at 310,000 miles. Manual everything and it didn't even come with a radio or right side mirror. Most reliable and rugged vehicle I've ever owned by far.

Just bought a hardbody about a year ago as my first vehicle and and ive fallen in love with it mine has a nice interior and no rust on it im never selling her

The hardbody was My absolute all time favorite truck and I'm so pleased that I get to have my saturday morning coffee whilst watching you guys go over one.

As someone who grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, I love these types of episodes you guys do on cars from this era. I miss seeing them on the road. Thanks for bringing attention from the great cars from this time! TFLClassics is awesome!

Had a hardbody as my first car as a teen . Absolutely bombproof I abused the crap out of it doing stupid teen stuff and it just kept going. I only replaced the battery once, and regular maintenance. Then I got sucked into the whole fast and furious thing (see how dated and old i am, FF1 kiddos not 20 or whatever they’re on now). So I traded it in for a new civic si. The civic was great too, but i regret getting rid of that truck to this day. This video has convinced me to hunt for one . My wife is very upset with me now . She says you’re old and have a nice truck now, get over it you can’t relive your youth. You were stupid then please don’t relive your youth lol

I had a silver, extended cab 99 F-150 XLT with the 4.6L. Great, simple,rattle free truck. I sold it with 216k mikes and was still running strong.

ln NZ the hardbody is called a Navara D21. They are pretty honest little trucks but most of our Nav's are either 2.5 or 2.7 diesel. They are not considered heavy duty but seem to cope when heavily loaded as long as the load is over the back axle. Chassis failure occurs when they have the weight too close to the tailgate and the 4WD versions can eventually flex in the fram resulting in snapped windscreens. Another issue is the poorly designed ventilation system which seems to draw the fresh air from the road rather than the black vents in front of the windscreen.

$2900 for the Nissan would barely cover fancy tires and rims for a truck these days. Crazy

this is a fun series!! keep it up... gives people ideas of vehicles we wouldn't normally think of!! My best friend bought same looking nissan pu for 600$. his wife was so mad cause it had over 100k miles. It was a 92 version, and lasted to 2019 and was flawless till he gave it to his son, who wrecked in not even month later!!

Those ole Datsun pickup trucks by Nissan were very rugged, well built little pickup trucks. Guys love this channel, keep’m coming 👍👍👍

After the dealer auction, it would be interesting to hear your (unverifiable) guesses about the current prices at the used car lot.

That body style Lightning was the second Gen. The 93 to 95 NA 5.8L was the 1st Gen.

I have a '94 Hardbody XE V6 4x4. Absolutely love it. Even though that 2x4 4 cyl was a base model with no options, dude got a good deal for it. In that condition, you could get $4k easy these days.

My girlfriend in the mid/late 1990's had a Nissan Hardbody with the 2.4L. She loved to drive it with the A/C on full blast and the sunroof completely open. Like most women, she was just a tiny bit nuts!

I bought one of those brand new in 1994 and extended cab four-wheel-drive with the V-6. I was a telephone cable splicer contractor. And by 1999 I had put 337,000 miles on it with zero mechanical issues. The only issue I ever had with it was the wiring harness where it goes through the firewall. I still have that truck today and it has 412,000 miles on it get driven maybe two or three times a month.

I got lucky and bought my 99 Chevy Silverado for $2,000 and 120k miles about three year’s ago before the market exploded. First year of that body style and a super clean truck with 5.3. Doubt I’ll ever find a deal that sweet on another vehicle and certainly not on another truck.

Ha! I just bought my 17 year old son an amazing 1997 hard body single cab 2.4 with 2wd. Only 123,000 miles. A perfect spray-in bed liner. Bench seat with arm rest, back window opens. And it has a tachometer. Such a jem. 😁

My dad bought a brand new truck like that in 1993 $10k base model, no AC, nothing. Not even a stereo. 5 spd manual. It was supposed to be just a moving truck. But ended being a family car lol

My dad has a 2000 F-150 that only has 74,000 miles on it. He used for a winter vehicle, towing a boat and hauling music equipment.

Had a 87 Nissan pickup, it was reliable and fun to drive. It took good care of it and it was garage kept.. gave it to a friend when I needed a larger truck. The friend still drives the truck that I gave him in 2002.

I had a white longbed 2wd 10th gen 4.2 5 speed manual only option was air conditioning and CD player. Most dependable vehicle I’ve ever owned

That little nissan truck was my buddy's first truck in 89, he still has it and it still runs perfectly today.

Any mini truck has more value to more people for general use and their low entry price. Ive owned a few Nissan Hardbodys and wish I never sold them! No issues! Glad to see manufacturers are looking at bringing mini trucks back to buy again. Its been a long dry spell!

I love this series guys! Keep doing these, so much fun! I owned a '98 F150 and could not say enough about how much I appreciated it.

Had a hardbody back in the day. Great truck. Not having tachs with a manual used to be very common on lots of vehicles on their lower trim levels

Had a 1990 hardbody manual with the extended cab. That truck did so many things for me. Most enjoyable times of my life

I got a 93 pathfinder and I love it. Tows a good bit pretty well, SE model so got a limited slip in the back and sunroof. Old school 5 speed. Even ac and cruise control. Great little offroader and practical daily

Here in Southern CA I see Hard bodies and 1st gen Tacomas driving around everywhere. I swear those 90s Tacomas are around every corner. Its amazing theres so many of them in traffic still being 20+ years old

Please PLEASE do something on the R50 ('96-2000) Pathfinders. Such an under-appreciated workhorse of an SUV. My '00 has over 220k miles and every single thing still works!

My 1989 Toyota 4X4 SR5 king cab was $14,400 new. Still no rust, so I'm keeping him, cause he still gets around the ranch just fine. 4X4 on the fly is handy.

Keep these coming!! Love this series, appreciate it TFL group 👍👊

My dad had a ‘99 F-150, same color, with the V6, used in a village in Alaska. That thing was durable and his was WAY more basic than the one, but it never gave him issues and it always started, even in -40 degree weather. I loved that truck and I’d buy that one you showed in a heartbeat. Awesome truck.

I own a 1995 Nissan Hardbody and absolutely love it! I've had it for 6 years and it is rust free and has NEVER cost me in maintenance cost! Goes off-road and she holds he own plus I am getting 24-27 mpg from the 2.4L.

I absolutely love this series. Great video guys

Spun my parents' hardbody on an on-ramp in the rain. Landed in the mud. Tow pulled me out and I drove it home. Never told them, no damage to tell the tale. Thing was fun, tough and really useful. Passed it on to the next family

This is the second most common old pickup here in Chile, the first being the Hilux. I almost bought one last year but the 4x4s are not that common so I bought a Hilux instead. Both incredibly durable. It's called the Nissan D21 and it eventually got a facelift and a name change to Nissan Terrano

I had a lifted Pathfinder version that went everywhere I wanted when I lived in Colorado. Not terribly quickly. Not terribly smoothly, but put it in 4L and roll past the giant SUV’s stuck in the snowdrifts or sticky mud.

My little brother had the extended cab Hardbody and lowered it. I had a '97 short bed F150 with the 4 liter V6 and it was a fun truck to drive! I currently still have an extended cab flareside '98F150. You're mistaken about the Lightning, the 1st year was the previous body style, either '95 or '96.

Had both the hard body and a titan. Loved both of those trucks. Maybe the hard body more. Love these videos keep them coming

My dad had this truck in white in the late 90s to early 2000s. I loved that truck and called it the white monster because it was a bit rusty. I drove it in high school and took it deer hunting off road. Road tripped to New York from Ohio. Got a kiss from a girl i had a crush on. Lots of memories. Died ar 330k miles. It liked to blow tie rods. The radio wasn't great but worked but you didn't need much when you were listening to Dire Straits on cassette. The jump seats were nice in a pinch, we even had four of us in there which was me and two teenage brothers and our dad, drive two and half hours on a small road trip. The engine sound really takes me back. The tires also sucked but it did okay in the snow when you went out, locked the hubs manually, and switched to 4 low.

I have a 2001 hardbody with a flat bed and over 1 million kilometers. No rust, no trouble, original untouched engine and it was modified to run on gas and gasoline for economy. It still carries over 1000 kilograms (about 2200 lbs) and pulls annother little np300 loaded with 1300 kg (about 2860 lbs) uphill. This things can be sold here in mexico for crazy money... some times up to 5000 usd or more depending on medel, configuration and other things

I used to have a 1989 2wd Nissan Truck, that thing was awesome, unfortunately I wrecked it and had to move on to something different. Just changed the oil and kept up on basics, it was such a great truck! I want another one now. With weight in the bed and some good tires it was just fine in the snow.

I guess I got the competition for that Hardbody - a 1991 Toyota pickup that is as basic as the Nissan. 2wd, single cab, vinyl bench seat, vinyl floor, manual steering, manual windows, no passenger side-view mirror, no tach, no clock, no cup holder, no armrest. 22RE 4 cylinder with 172k miles on it. Was a hand-me-down from my parents who were going to get rid of it as they had no more use for it. Had to do a bit of work to it to get it road-worthy. Needed new exhaust (rust), new front brakes/rotors, shocks. Did the basic tune-up stuff (plugs, wires, rotor, pcv valve, etc). Found out the timing chain guide was broken so had it replaced with new metal guides, new chain, water pump, timing cover. It's a peppy little truck and should be good for another 30 years or 172k miles.

I bought my 1997 Nissan Hardbody brand new with 33 miles on the odometer. It now has 220,000 miles and still runs like the day I bought it. Its an Arizona truck so no rust from road salt. It does have some fading paint on the hood and a couple door dings though. I added a matching (teal green) truck cap shell when i bought it. It has a/c, a tachometer, manual 5 speed, and manual crank windows. Love my little Nissan truck.

I had an 87 manual with the 2.4, no air or power steering. It was a great truck. Drove it from 95 until 2012ish. I loved that truck and still drive Nissan products today.

And in other parts of the world they were built until 2016 (assembled in Mexico) with single or dual cab options. Both options come in 2wd or 4wd. Late models are hidden gems in my opinion and I constantly find excellent examples for sale. I got so tempted to get one lol

I love this series! Keep up the great work Tommy!

I've got an 01 F150, V6, 5 speed. It's an amazing truck. It is a solid, reliable beast. The 4.2 makes 205 hp and 260 ft lbs of torque at 3000 rpm. It doesn't sound powerful but I can say from experience that it is a blast to drive and it gets good gas mileage for a truck. It tows a light trailer up to 5,000 lbs with zero issues.

'86 Hardbody, 2.4 inline 4 cylinder engine, 4x2 with single cab. Great truck! The interior on mine was exactly like that one. But, I did have AC.

I’ve had all three of those trucks. Bought a ‘95 XE-V6 extended cab 2wd 5 speed new for $12.7k, 2 year old used ‘04 Titan LE crew cab 4wd, and a 4 year old ‘98 F-150 XLT ext cab 2wd. Also bought a new ‘85 Nissan 720 absolute base model, no power steering, radio, or even right door mirror for $5995. Loved them all.

Love this format and I especially love cheap trucks!

You should do an auction to public series. Dealer auctions are so rigged that normal peopl cant go. It's so wrong how dealers jack up prices and public can't bid to get same deal.

Hardbody was the best! I had an 86.5 4x4 brand new and later a 4x4 1988 Desert Runner. The most reliable trucks ever.

I have a 98 150 3 door long bed with the 4.6. Pretty reliable and comfortable except for the heater core replacement... Usual stuff brake pads, caliper, oil changes etc. Never thought of it as a classic but it works for my needs and you can buy them cheap.

I love this channel. Only place on RU-vid CELEBRATING affordable automobiles!

I have a 2000 Ford Ranger regular cab 2.5 manual. I love it so much! I also have a regular cab 2000 Nissan Frontier manual (facelift hardbody), and it's also a very reliable truck. Both have over 200k miles, no check engine lights or anything.

Love these auction videos guys! 👍

Toyota Pickups and Nissan Hardbody’s are some of my favorite little trucks of all time. My uncle in mexico had a barebones 91 hardbody back In the day. That thing was abused, he would go way over payload almost every day lol he sold it with 289k miles and was still running like a top.

Last year I tried several times to buy the D21 in 4X4, but the price kept going up. I sold my oldest son one back when I sold trucks. He loved it. At a family reunion, of course a hail storm and Dave's Hard Body was parked next to a Tacoma. The Tacoma heavily damages from the hail, the Hard Body hardly had a pimple.

The Nissan Hardbody was my first car at 21 in 1989. It had that Z24 four cylinder with 8 plugs. If I'm not mistaken 89 was the only year with that style grill.

Lol, those Nissan pickups are a dime a dozen here in Portugal and you can find them second-hand everywhere from all years and in all shapes and forms: single cab, dual cab, metal bed, wood bed... 🙂

This series is great guys! Keep it up!

Yall should definitely do more of these types of videos. Love the format

These videos are great and gives some laughs! Thank y'all

This is when vehicles were affordable I got a 93 brand new out the door for $7,950 and one of the few vehicles I've owned that I miss also mpg was great and it was reliable...a car crashed into it while parked and was totaled I want it back

In ‘95, bought a Nissan SE V-6 extended cab 2wd with 5sp manual. I loved that truck. Put over 70,000 miles on it before trading and the only thing I had to do was change the oil and put a new set of tires on it. Still regret getting rid of it all these years later. Such a great little truck.

I love the hardbody Nissan trucks. I had the chance to buy one some years back for next to nothing but missed the opportunity. I have a 1999 Ford Expedition as a second vehicle and it mostly sits, but cant bring myself to sell it because of the inflated price of used cars and I may need to depend on it one day.

Great series!! Keep doing more videos like this.

These are great trucks, better than buying a new one. Problem is that here in New England most have rusted to oblivion! Great report, thank you!

I have on old Nissan pickup that ran for almost for forever... Lol...I was born in 1966, so anything newer than the mid 70s just doesn't seem like a classic to me. It's all in perspective. Love to see younger people excited about vehicles. Keep up the good work.

That Nissan truck reminds me of my 1987 Nissan Sentra. Even the same color. I think the manual window cranks, door latches, and the HVAC controls are actually the same in both vehicles. My Sentra was a 5 speed manual and didn't have a tachometer either. No A/C and I even deleted the factory radio so I could install my own. I put 180,000 trouble free miles on that car before my failure to change the timing belt caused it to break while doing 70mph, at which time the interference head allowed the engine to chew its internals to death. Brand new I only paid $6000 for that car. It was a great first new car.

I could've sworn that little hardbody was going to sell for over $4000. I was shocked to see it go for 29. Maybe people value their power windows more than I thought!

i had a 2wd 92 hardbody with a 5 speed, I drove the crap out if it and it went places no 4x4 ive had since went as easy as it did,most reliable vehicle ive ever had

My dad had a 1987 Nissan hardbody and I can tell you it was the best vehicle that he ever owned. He bought that truck brand new and had it until 2003. It had the 4 cylinder engine with the 8 spark plugs

Had an '86 4 cylinder Hardbody with the manual and then a 1991 SE-V6 4x4 with it's whopping 153 horsepower and 180 pound feet or torque. But in that light truck it was plenty. My favorite vehicle I've ever owned and I've had some nice ones. The '91 was totaled in an accident long before it ever had any mechanical hiccups but a friend of mine had the single cab 4 cyclinder 4x4 with the manul that he sold at 280,000 miles with only one clutch replacement and that person (a friend of his) sold it at a little over 400,000 miles. Another buddy had a 1990 SE-V6 4x4 manual with 375,000 miles on it when he sold it. Also with just one clutch replacement. I had a chance to drive a 160,000 mile example of a 1990 SE-V6 about three years ago and was just as happy with it as I had been mine. It wasn't for sale or I might have been tempted.

My first vehicle I bought brand-new in 1986.5 was a nissan hardbody. It absolutely blows my mind today that I paid $8,200 for a brand new truck!

When I was in college we had a 1979 Datsun 620 L'il Hustler. Fantastic ride. Tempted to try to find a hard body.

Love all the content with Brendan!

Mmm…beautiful hardbody. My kid should have one of these as his first. My dad had an 86 that he ran forever. Got me a 13 F150 short bed regular cab but I’d still take that 99. I’m a sucker for that config of truck.

Great video. Those titans are super underrated. Funny he mentioned reliability issues but that clapped out titan had 240k on it.

I recently picked up a 91 D21 Nissan with the KA24E automatic column shift with 133,000 original miles and straight body without rust it could use a repaint but in good condition otherwise .

I had an 86.5 hard body Nissan in 88 what a fantastic truck... never had one problem

Love this series!!!!!

The f150 is a great beginner platform. Add power adders limited slip or posi and lower to improve stance you would have a bargain performance truck that is a sleeper if you leave the outside stock

Man, I remember how my dad used to own two beautiful Nissan Hardbodys and the trips we used to take in them.

Love em both! Kind of regret selling my '08 Titan, amazing truck. Driving feel was was just so good!

The Armor-All on the tires adds 100 in value

In 2017 when I was a broke college student my dad was working for our local Nissan dealer when someone traded a mint (I mean perfect) 1989 extended cab SE hardbody, in red. Had 89,000 miles. They gave the guy $500 for it because it was non-running. Only needed a starter. I didn’t have the means to buy it so I begged my dad to as they were going to sell it to him for a break-even price. He refused, citing safety concerns (admittedly, understood). A week later it was for sale at another dealer in town who bought I at auction for….$5 grand. Guy replaced the starter and sold it in a week for asking price. Still kinda bitter lol

My buddy has one with a SR20 with a turbo off of a WRX he built it all by himself and it's actually pretty fast for what it is.

I had a 1993 Hard body that looked just like that. It was a manual and it was amazing in the snow and never and I mean never gave me an issue at all.

In high school my buddy had an 86.5 4wd hardbody and I had a 97 F250 lightduty 2wd with the 4.6 and manual trans that seemed really fast... The other buddy of course had a toyota truck. Good times were had.

Love these videos. Keep these coming! Great history and info, good things to look out for and I have learned that I suck at guessing prices at auction.

1987 Hardbody was my first vehicle in 1996! I regret selling it so much! But now I own a 2011 Titan :)

As you suspected, this Hardbody does NOT have air conditioning. Trucks with A/C had a button in the blank just to the left of the fan speed slider. By the way, I worked at a high-volume Nissan dealership in Texas from 1988 - 1993. Nearly every one of our 4-cyl. trucks came without factory A/C, and there was a service tech at our store who essentially did nothing but A/C installs, rear bumpers and radio kits. He was very fast, very good and it was a coveted spot the other technicians wanted bad. Flagged major hours just knocking these out on trucks & Sentra lower trim models. Me, I had a 1990 Hardbody with the old 106 hp 2.4 and traded it for a 1992 SE-R. Loved ‘em both!

My late father bought a 1983 1/2 Nissan Diesel pickup new (Model 720 King Cab) that turn out to be the very 1st American Built Diesel out of the Smyrna Tenn. assembly plant - truck #52. It had the very 1st SD25 diesel. Dad drove it until he died from cancer 18 months later. I wound up with it and proceeded to put 609,000 miles on that engine, getting an average of 51 MPG doing it. The truck's frame rusted out in the late 90s and I scrapped it -but kept the motor and 5 speed manual transmission. I overhauled that engine and it is currently residing in a 2003 Ford Ranger Extended Cab XLT where it is running on like usual. It's still fun to drive and yes, the mileage is as good as it always ways. The fact that it used a FL-1A Ford oil filter didn't hurt, either. The air filter were a bugger, as most throw away air filters were pulled inside out by the engine. I wound up using a cold air intake with the conical filter Hey it works.

That initial belt squeal is how you know the truck is officially broken in. 😂

I’m more of a GM guy, but I wouldn’t hesitate to get a Ford pickup with the 4.6. What a great engine!

My first 4x4 pickup was a 1990 Nissan 4 cyl reg cab stick hardbody! (I was running from a POS Chevy S-10) Great little truck! Purchased a 1995 ext cab V6 hardbody stick after that because I wanted ext cab and V6. I tried killing those trucks several times over. Great, Great trucks!

Excellent trucks. The Hardbody’s. He’s wrong about the 4 cylinder lasting longer than the V6. They may last as long but not necessarily longer. I’ve had 3. Two 4 cylinders and 1 V6. Still have the V6. 250,000 miles and running great.

the VK56 is one of the best if not THE best japanese v8 available in the US. the hardbody is an awesome machine, the 2.4 is very under rated.