Anth88

If you weren't a college student I would say buy new. But for now fix it. I personally hate buying new vehicles. But I plan on keeping my current one for as long as I can. If the body hold up I will have the engine replaced. I'm hoping the aluminum lasts longer than the steel. We shall see....

moparado

Here's my 2 cents right or wrong.
That engine has 185K miles on it and though it seems strong now, it could blow at any given moment.
Are you good at gambling!

If you are mechanically inclined and if you like the truck for sentimental reasons, keep it and fix the problems as a leisure hobby .
In the meantime you might want to buy a new(er) more dependable vehicle.
I''ve got a Jeep XJ with some 350K miles on it but i also have 3 other vehicles as back up.
Keeping that Jeep on the road and modding it is more a less a hobby but i would never trust it on a cross country drive.

Case in point.
I have an '05 Dodge with 135K miles on it with basically no rust and it has a strong engine also.
So i decided to refurbish it as a backup car.
I replaced the struts, painted the wheels, did a brake job and had a body shop repaint the front bumper investing a ton of money.
Looked good as new and drove great for about 1K miles and ....
Then out of the blue a 740 CEL-no torque converter lock up verified by the tach..
Could be something simple like a sensor, connector, solenoid OR a blown torque converter clutch.
Gonna cut my losses and get rid of it one way or another.

Logan p

Yeah that’s what one of my fears bigger fear is. I would hate to sink 3k to 6k into it then have the engine or trans go

kehyler

OP, I am truly sorry for your situation. Vehicle inspections should not fail you for non-safety issues like rusting rockers. What a blessing to the automotive industry in your state.

Since you haven't mentioned moving out of that state, I'd consider that rust will spread slowly and consistently. Ask the inspector if there are any marginal issues that are about to surface, how much per year will you be paying your state per year for the privilege of having a vehicle that appears safe? Compare that to the gauranteed depreciation costs of a new F-150 (easily 2k/year of depreciation.)

Have you considered buying a used 2015 with the aluminum body?

djfllmn

iTrader: (1)

At least here in pa they view them as a safety issue. As a getting cut issue

kehyler

And do you actually believe your politicians that such a justification justifies hoisting a multi-thousand dollar burden onto a college kid? I certainly don't.

(Now, if OPs brake lines were rusting through, I'd sing a different tune, of course.)

2014fiveoh

been there. Drove the ranger until 288k miles until I traded her in(which I should have just kept for the sentimental value).

id say try to find a 2011-2017 regular cab basic truck. The payments may not be that bad. If you can’t afford it, fix it and keep on going.

woodall01

Funny you should ask that question, I just went thru the same issue about 5 months ago. I had 230K on my 2004 F-150. I just spend 2K 11 months before on replacement the timing chain. After finding out that it was going to be at least 3K to fixed my truck (rocker arms and a shift position module for the transmission). I made the choice to replace the truck with a 1 year old F150 and I don't regret my choice. That's my 2 cents worth. Good luck with your choice.

djfllmn

iTrader: (1)

they call it a safety inspection for a reason, i support it 100%, keeps a lot of POS vehicles off the road

ever been cut by rusty sheet metal? it will tear you to shreds

kehyler

I disagree, respectfully. I think OP deserves the choice for whether or not the cosmetic issues with risk essentially only to himself should be fixed.