Go into any new car dealership and tell the salesman you have a strict budget of $10,000 and you want to buy a vehicle. He’ll smile, try to hold back a laugh if he’s polite…then he’ll point in the direction of the door.
On the other hand, in the used car realm, $10,000 — even in the current used car market — opens up an entire world of transportation options. Big, small, foreign or domestic, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to halfway decent vehicles at this price. (It’s one reason why used car shopping online can quickly cause you to spiral down an internet rabbit hole.)
Still, when it comes to finding $10K cars, few categories offer quite the wealth of options as the 4×4 market. So we pulled together a few sweet trucks and SUVs you can grab right now for four figures that are primed for tackling some trails.
2000 Toyota 4Runner SR5

No list of affordable off-roaders would be complete without a nice used 4Runner. These indestructible Toyotas should last for well north of 200,000 miles and deliver a dynamite combination off-road capability and real-world usability. All you have to do is fork over the money and start enjoying that off-roading life.