Decisions

[82fordtruck]

My wife and I have been talking about what to do with my truck lately. I know you guys can see where this is going.

I am trying to determine the most ECONOMICAL way out. I'd like your opinions. For the sake of argument, let's consider a three year period of time. I only care about future costs and residual value after three years.

I have a 1994 CC dually, with 303,000 miles on her. The interior is pretty nice, and there is no rust, but the paint is pretty badly faded. I get 14 mpg out of her for the most part. My insurance is about $700/year and my tags are about $250/year because I have 20M tags. The truck is not the insurance problem, it's me. I've got a perfect driving record, but I'm a male under 25, so it's kinda high still - even though I'm married. I am happy with the truck. Reliability is not a concern. Maintenance is a little high, about $150/month. I driv about 20k - 25k per year. I believe this truck to be fully depreciated by now. If I keep this truck, I'd want a coat of paint ($3500), and at least a axle rebuild with 3.55 gears so that I can drive on the highway, but probably a six speed and a regear (my axle has had a lot of metal in it lately anyway). So, I figure about $5000 to do all this. I am sure that none of this will come back out of it if I wreck it or sell it, so it is purely for my enjoyment. I believe the value to be about $4000 right now. I think my cost per mile is probaly about $.30 currently. I don't owe much on this truck, it's almost paid off.

Option 2 is to get a newer truck. This would probably be a $12-15k truck, 97-2000 roughly. It'd be a ford, possibly a half ton, but probably a SRW 4x4 CC from the newer body style. I would expect that my insurance and tags would go up considerably, and my maintenance costs down. I like the interior of these trucks a lot. I am not a power hungry person, I'm very happy with the IDI. I would not buy performance parts for the powerstroke, as I didn't for the IDI at all either. This truck would still depreciate over the next few years, but if I sold it or wrecked it it would have a higher value.

I could also get a car to commute with, but I don't want extra vehicles around. We have enough now. We do not take long trips in the truck, but I'm not afraid to in mine. We simply drive her town car wherever we go. I mostly drive to and from work every day and where I need to go without her. I do not care about the year of truck I drive, only reliability.

What would you guys do and why? I'm not as IDI loyal as you guys are. I just want something nice to drive.

 

[Mikes91]

I am 32, fairly recently married, and fairly recently became a father and also a stepdaddy.

I have a '91, which I have come VERY close to selling more than once. The last time I tried selling it made me realize that I really can't part with it right now. I love the truck, and my wife will be going to school fulltime starting later this year. 2 kids in full time daycare. Can't afford a new truck payment, and after all I've spent on my truck am not going to take the risk of buying another used truck.

Like you, I want a new coat of paint. Also like you, I'm worried about the loss if the truck is totalled.

My advice would be to keep what you have as long as it is reliable, or if it can be made reliable. These old trucks are tanks, and while not quick they'll get the job done. Consider the cost of your insurance, but also the cost of fixing newer trucks. Our old trucks are very inexpensive, comparatively speaking, as long as we take care of them and they don't have hiddden problems.

Between a new engine and paint, I figure on another $8k in expenses for my truck. By which time, I will have put almost as much into her as I would have paid for a new truck (but then I'd still be doing maintenance to a new truck...) These old trucks are unique and are much more truck-like than their replacements. Besides, it is nice to have something relatively unique going down the road. An old truck with new paint, a little chrome and big mirrors, gets lots of looks going down the road.

I'm considering buying another '88-'91 model just for the fun of having another one just like the one I currently have, although with manual transmission.


Mike

 

[82fordtruck]

I though about you when I was writing that. You were always looking at a new truck though, and I would buy a used truck, so I would get hit on depreciation less. My wife and I went through all the numbers after I made the post, and came up with a difference of $5500 over three years, cheaper if I keep my truck.

We came to the concern about losing money if I wrecked it, and the advantages of just having a newer truck.

 

[TLBREWER]

Keep it! Keep it! Keep it!

Tom

 

[Mikes91]

I though about you when I was writing that. You were always looking at a new truck though, and I would buy a used truck, so I would get hit on depreciation less. My wife and I went through all the numbers after I made the post, and came up with a difference of $5500 over three years, cheaper if I keep my truck.

We came to the concern about losing money if I wrecked it, and the advantages of just having a newer truck.

It is a tough decision to buy a new vehicle. Just for grins I priced a new Ram 1500 for my wife today. No way. Base model with some safety options came up to nearly $25k before tax. Hell no. They shouldn't have to offer incentives to make vehicles more affordable.

The way I see it... you can't go wrong with the older trucks if they're working properly. Even when they are not working, they are cheaper to fix than the new ones and I'd dare say more reliable.

Mike

 

[Freight_Train]

Yea,and and if something catastrophic happens like the motor goes boom check the prices of good replacement engines.YOUCH!Heck,I bought an entire truck for $500 with a great running gear under it(Pump rebuilt 9 years ago,plus $1500 other repairs around the same time in 97).Body is shot to heck but the parts I wanted(Engine) is perfect for a "Loaner" in my case or perfect for a Perminant engine for a "Normal" person.Right now I am stocking up on rebuildable stuff.I bought out OMBs parts for not alot of green(sorry,I will let OMB fill you in if he wants that info let out),got another engine I gotta pick up in Atlanta in a week or so.Non-running but Entire engine that is rebuildable(Cavitation) Fuel system to oil system.

 

[wwwabbit]

Well... speaking from someone who did the "new truck" thing, and went back to older trucks/cars. It really depends. I bought new off the lot, when I was young, single, and had cheap rent. The Mazda (RIP) I had was a great truck, but you find out VERY quickly that you can't "back yard" it as much as the older stuff. I found dealing with the computers and sensors and such difficult at the best of times to find out what is really wrong. I am very much so a do-it-my self guy so thinks like my car and truck work out a whole lot better. I know that when I am on a road trip, that a simple toolbox will have most of the tools I keep to patch something together to get me home (pending major boom) I could not say that for the Mazda that I had.

While some times the frustration level gets up when the repairs start to add up, you very quickly see that you are still better off $$ wise with your old beast then a new truck. Plus the fact that I own all my vehicals now, rather then the bank owning 1/2 of them is a good feeling as well.

 

[fireman624]

No two ways about it for me! I thought breifly about swaping out for a new truck, but sticker shock brought me back to earth.Granted it would be great to have a new or at least newer truck sitting in the driveway, but then I'd have a $1,000 a month payment on the kitchen table.I'll stick with my try'd and true 86.The ol gal has always worked hard and never left me stranded.Besides take a look at the aftermath of a crash involving new vehicles today, looks like Detroit is using old beer cans instead of steel!

 

[Exekiel69]

My efforts to keep my truck have gone as far as insanity, so I'm not the one that can recommend you what to do, but still I don't think getting a new/newer truck (any brand) is any cheaper.

 

[82fordtruck]

well, there are a few other concerns. My truck doesn't fit in the garage. It's not that big a deal, but it's cold to work on it. The big one is the availibility of parts. I had to leave my truck three hours away because I could not find parts on a weekend when my water pump failed. Lastly, I am concerned about being upside down on it, but can live with that to some extent. By upside down I don't mean owing money, I just mean haveing a lot of money in it.

Have you guys been having a hard time finding parts? I couldn't get the cdr grommet even from the dealer, or the flex tube going to the air box on a turbo - just last week. I also had the water pump issue last summer.

 

[Freight_Train]

well,your gonna be upside down with any vehicle.You can buy a used truck for say 10,000 bucks but by the time you pay it off or in one year it will be worth considerably less than what you actually paid for it.You will NOT stay in the black on ANY vehicle you buy unless you buy antique/classics which ours ain't there yet.

 

[82fordtruck]

I do understand that, but if I wreck this thing after fising it up, I only get the same as I get if I wreck it tomorrow. At least with a newer truck, assuming I didn't spend a lot of money fising it up, I'll be able to purchase a like vehicle.

I think a lot of this is going to hinge on insurance. To be honest, before I added up all the numbers, I was thinking I'd fix this one, and now I'm leaning towards a new one. I'd really like to hear from someone in insurance. Do we have any underwriters here? I have State Farm.

 

[wwwabbit]

I don't know about where you are, but here in BC they pay you what your truck is worth at a dealer. When I wrote of my last truck, having maint. records, and the recepit for the new tires, etc. bumped me up a few grand. You should be able to have your truck assessed and have it insured for that value (mind you, you will pay premuims on that value, not the "blue book"(or what ever it is) value of your truck)

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

I agree to keeping it as I have been in a similar dilema. Both duallies combined yearly cost are still less than wifey '02 Super Crew.

Plus they are paid for. As far as being concerned with wrecking it, A good buddy of mine just totaled his truck out 2 months ago. 91 F-250 S/C 4x4 SRW with close to 200k. Insurance was only gonna give him $2,500 for it till he coughed up all his maintenance reciepts. They in turn gave him nearly $5,000 for the truck.
Man, wished he would have found out where the salvage company was at.
I haven't had any problems finding parts yet but have had good luck with the local parts gurus and the knwoledge here If'n I get stumped.
Worked a few cold ones on the ground outside too grumbling while working, but afterwards I gotta look back and think, thank goodness I didn't have to pay the dealership to do that.
If ya drop some cash now to get it redone and for what you would spend on another truck, I think you would be money ahead as this is what I have in store for this spring with Goldie and she's getting pretty rusty.
But hey that's just me talking my $.02.

 

[82fordtruck]

Ron,

What kind of miles do you put on your two trucks and your wife's truck? You have a 4x4 dually?? NOT FAIR!!

We are considering putting a garage in back also, and then finishing the basement. If we did that I could make a bigger door and it would not be an issue, so that was mostly idle complaining. Plus, I could probably go to any number of other places to work on it.