The market is indeed overpriced! An older, low mileage diesel could be worth a look and would be devoid of most of the emissions stuff that adds so much cost and unreliability to newer trucks. The Tundra from 2007 - 2021 would be my target with that budget and probably one of the earlier ones with some miles on it but from somewhere that never sees road salt. 2wd will save you some money on buying and operating and shouldn't be too much of a compromise if you're not venturing too far off road.
Another consideration might be to look at a salvage title vehicle. It's a hefty leap of faith but the same labor shortage and lack of parts availability in other markets is also affecting body shops. A vehicle that in ordinary times would be fixed might now be totaled due to the length (& associated cost) of an interim rental car. It would matter less that the factory warranty is void when looking at something that already had it expire years ago. Recently a 2018 4×4 Expedition with 70K miles for $18K caught my eye so I asked the seller about what happened to declare it totaled, it was timing for parts. Wherever a damaged vehicle is being stored while waiting on parts can also add $20 - $50/day to the repair invoice pushing more minor damaged vehicles into the totaled category. The Expedition in question had a minor ding in the right rear that affected no mechanical systems nor did it even need alignment, just a bumper, some sheet metal & paint. No glass was broken and no airbags were deployed. The only reason I didn't look into it further was the lack of a towing package rated it under 7Klb vs. over 9Klb with the towing package.
Good luck shopping and be sure to put out lots of feelers and set lots of alerts, good deals always go fast!
