Hello all, I hope I am in the correct section of the forum. I am looking for some advice on my next vehicle and apologize for the long post.
I started my diesel fascination on an '82 rabbit diesel. I had it for a year and it was fun to mess around with. Long story short is that I have accumulated 4.5 vehicles (motorcycle) and needed to get rid of some, maintenance was eating all my enthusiasm and insurance was getting pricey. The list contains a 1964 c20 that is not going anywhere for sure and I consider my "play project car", my wife's murano, my "normal" 04 f150, and finally the VW rabbit 1.6. I have recently sold the rabbit and working on the last two in hopes of buying the wife a new vehicle with a full warranty (kinda new, 1800 mile new) while they are still worth a decent amount and I would figure something else out afterwards for my daily/beater to work. I hate loans but if I can keep it modest I would pay it off in a year or so.
I am finding a trend between vehicles in the <5k range to be: Beat small imports, Rusted out anything, newish (00-03) pickups that have around 200k or the good old CL "rebuilt engine", and some older diesels.
The one that will not get out of my head is a 1992 f250 7.3 IDI N/A 4x4 extended cab with 220k miles asking around 2800. It is at a small dealer here and it belongs to the owners son who does the car thing a little when not deployed. The son had took it in on a trade while in N dakota and drove it back here to W. Michigan a few months ago. Said it was originally from texas which I do beleive because there is really no rust on it for the age, maybe a 5 inch spot on the bottom rear of cab. Other than that there is not much info on it. It started up relatively easy and I didn't notice a large amount of smoke at all. The transfer case was covered (alot) in oil and they said the owner knew about it and he just added oil once a year or so. It seemed to be alright while driving, the only thing I noticed was when you let off then back on the throttle it was like there was almost a slop of gears. (I feel like I can sometimes produce it on my newer vehicles too if i try)
Didnt see any real outstanding leaks besides the oil pan drain nut. The drivers rear valve cover had a small 3 in spot on it. Maybe a power steering hose was a little wet but it didnt concern me too much. I have been looking for things to pick out if I can ever decide to go look at it again such as coolant tests, rusted suspension points, GP relay, etc.
My question for those of you who have these trucks, would you suggest this type of vehicle for someone who:
-drives 6 mi one way to work and probably <150/week
-Has a wife who would like a child in 1-1.5 years
-thinks he doesn't need a truck but keeps finding himself using it more often than not. (no heavy trailers)
-Has started a wmo/wvo centrifuge and enjoys the idea of diesel
-Can handle mechanical repairs but has a project car that would like more than 3/4 of the attention.
-Starting to appreciate older vehicles because its straight forward to fix.
-wants a reliable vehicle that wont have issues (small quick ones are not a big deal) and last a while and doesn't mind if its not shiny.
Hope I was clear. Let me know what you guys think.
I started my diesel fascination on an '82 rabbit diesel. I had it for a year and it was fun to mess around with. Long story short is that I have accumulated 4.5 vehicles (motorcycle) and needed to get rid of some, maintenance was eating all my enthusiasm and insurance was getting pricey. The list contains a 1964 c20 that is not going anywhere for sure and I consider my "play project car", my wife's murano, my "normal" 04 f150, and finally the VW rabbit 1.6. I have recently sold the rabbit and working on the last two in hopes of buying the wife a new vehicle with a full warranty (kinda new, 1800 mile new) while they are still worth a decent amount and I would figure something else out afterwards for my daily/beater to work. I hate loans but if I can keep it modest I would pay it off in a year or so.
I am finding a trend between vehicles in the <5k range to be: Beat small imports, Rusted out anything, newish (00-03) pickups that have around 200k or the good old CL "rebuilt engine", and some older diesels.
The one that will not get out of my head is a 1992 f250 7.3 IDI N/A 4x4 extended cab with 220k miles asking around 2800. It is at a small dealer here and it belongs to the owners son who does the car thing a little when not deployed. The son had took it in on a trade while in N dakota and drove it back here to W. Michigan a few months ago. Said it was originally from texas which I do beleive because there is really no rust on it for the age, maybe a 5 inch spot on the bottom rear of cab. Other than that there is not much info on it. It started up relatively easy and I didn't notice a large amount of smoke at all. The transfer case was covered (alot) in oil and they said the owner knew about it and he just added oil once a year or so. It seemed to be alright while driving, the only thing I noticed was when you let off then back on the throttle it was like there was almost a slop of gears. (I feel like I can sometimes produce it on my newer vehicles too if i try)
Didnt see any real outstanding leaks besides the oil pan drain nut. The drivers rear valve cover had a small 3 in spot on it. Maybe a power steering hose was a little wet but it didnt concern me too much. I have been looking for things to pick out if I can ever decide to go look at it again such as coolant tests, rusted suspension points, GP relay, etc.
My question for those of you who have these trucks, would you suggest this type of vehicle for someone who:
-drives 6 mi one way to work and probably <150/week
-Has a wife who would like a child in 1-1.5 years
-thinks he doesn't need a truck but keeps finding himself using it more often than not. (no heavy trailers)
-Has started a wmo/wvo centrifuge and enjoys the idea of diesel
-Can handle mechanical repairs but has a project car that would like more than 3/4 of the attention.
-Starting to appreciate older vehicles because its straight forward to fix.
-wants a reliable vehicle that wont have issues (small quick ones are not a big deal) and last a while and doesn't mind if its not shiny.
Hope I was clear. Let me know what you guys think.
Last edited:
