lacto

I recently bought my truck and I love it. I love working on it, driving it, looking at it, etc. I paid $3k for it.

I don't really /need/ this truck. I don't use it for work, and I rarely use the carrying/towing capacity, though when I do it's quite handy.

It seems to be getting about 15 mpg, which I think I can hike up a bit by driving it a little softer plus some of the techniques mentioned elsewhere on this forum. What I'm wondering about is total cost of ownership.

On the plus side, I paid comparatively little for the truck (compared to a newer low maintenance car), and it seems quite cheap, for the most part, to get parts for this thing. On the down side, there is the poorer mpg, and the fact that it needs work fairly often (though I'm hoping frequency of stuff breaking goes down once I baby it for awhile--I think it was a little neglected).

So considering all this, and whatever else, how do you folks think about the total cost of ownership of older trucks like ours, as compared to a more fuel efficient car?

|SkidRow|

Truck cost: $1600
New rear leaf spring shackle: $45
New U-Joints: $20
New clutch Master Cylinder: $80
New tires(my choice): $800
Only being stranded in the truck once, in downtown: Priceless lol

I've had my truck for 3 years now and haven't had any major issues. A lot of trips on the highways and back roads of the Northwest and she just keeps going. I think the reliability of these trucks far outweigh gas mileage of a small car. The general convenience of having a truck as well outweighs gas mileage.

unit505

Truck - hand me down which I got in 1998. 189k miles right now. No issues except for a shifter bushing that I may never replace.
Tires - 1 set in 110k miles =$300
Had to fix - IAC Valve = $10
Other upgrades - maybe $300
Maintenance - I do my own plugs, wires, fluids. Maybe $150@year
Fuel costs $20-30 a week

Let's say $120@month in fuel, $150 in fluids a year = $1590 plus $700@year insurance = $2290@year
$6.27@day!

Let's say $300@month car note....$9.86@day by itself without fuel, maintenance or insurance. You do the math!

Andrew315

Quite the calculations. Don't forget that on newer vehicles, when something goes wrong, depending on the deal with where you bought it, usually stuff is more expensive.

f150cam

iv learned from my parents not to spend less then 1500 on a vehicle, 85% of the time you pay another 1500 keeping it on the road in the next year.

payed 4250 for my 250, iv put about $100 into misc parts and then you figure the gas, i spend about $300 a month right now, $60 for full coverage, free towing ect ect.

my f150 i payed 3500, new transmission for 1600, misc parts around 300, tires i got free pretty much, then totaled it out for 5,000 and kept the truck. 77$ for full coverage, same as 250.

so i think im doing pretty good so far, our dodge has only cost us $450 in 60k miles (ac compressor went out last week, starter a year ago, and cv axle u joint roughly a year ago) $51 full coverage same as other 2 trucks.

unit505

Kind of hard to say that you shouldn't spend less than X number of dollars when you talk about these trucks. I think the blue book on my '95 is only around $750 given it's mileage and options. It's actual worth to me to find an equal replacement is much higher. Upkeep is the key, not asking price.

I'd even buy a vehicle from Sean since he's always doing upkeep.....if he could label which make and model each part came from! Lol

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

When I sold my S10 Blazer I put a list in the glove box. When I saw it in an Arbys parking lot months later the guy said the list was still there.

unit505

Lol. Loyal seller!

94FordI6

I'd have to disagree on that one but maybe I'm just that other 15%. I think the odd part here and there is better then interest on car payments. When I first put my truck on the road I had $700 invested in it, two years later I've only had to get the alternator rebuilt and I think that's the subs fault. I also have a Jetta I used as a winter car, I've put $1500 into it including the price and its a great car. I'd trust either vehicle to drive across the country and back in one piece, as long as you paid for the gas.

But selling your truck and getting a newer car isn't worth it unless your filling up twice a week. You have the price difference of the new vehicle, increased insurance ( mine went up $35 a month when I switched to a 2000 Jetta), parts cost more because there's no scrap yards, cars aren't as safe in an accident, trucks easier to fix/better built, the list goes on.

f150cam

oh im not saying buy a brand new vehicle. all i was saying is in my experience, cars for under 1500 have alot of hidden issues. yes you can get good deals, especially if you know what to look for.

granted iv never bought a f150 for less then 1500, iv just watched my parents spend that again and again over the last 15 years, and non of the cars have lasted much more then 2 years, most never made it past a year.