1stTruckGuy

Well my 05 Lariat is now paid off, and sitting out the winter in the garage while I putt around in my little Kia Rio gas getter. Seems December is the month to buy trucks for good deals, and I've got that itch. I'm either gonna drop $1200 and get my tensioners replaced (along with chains, guides, phasers, etc while its all torn down), or sell/trade it in and get a new ride.

Of course I can't afford a new Lariat, so that would take some adjusting (no more heated seats!) Also been looking at the RAM cause there are some really good deals on those as well right now. I like not having a truck payment, but cringe when I think about another summer of towing in the mountains with my ole 5.4. I still can't fathom why its such a load in the hills with 2500 pounds behind it, must be the 4 speed gearbox not spaced right, but that is neither here nor there (I have 3.73 rear end).

Should I spend 1200 bucks to have the front of the motor rebuilt and drive it into the ground, or sell it now when its still got some good value. Its only got 115k miles on her, and runs and drives great except for some chain rattle at startup every now and then and when its hot and you let off the gas pedal fast. A part of me is hoping that if I get it repaired, it will magically have more power that was somehow not there before. Then the other part of me is worried that it will get taken apart and not put back together quite right and I'll be out a chunk of change and still have to dump the truck. Whatch'all think?

acdiecast

Well, I see your dilemma. I have a couple of opinions on this issue.
I am a fan of keeping my things nice- doing all the maintenance and keeping up appearances. I have a 2004 Lariat Screw 5.4L and I love it just as much now as I did when I bought it. However, my old man bought a 2012 Platinum 6.2L Screw last year, and holy cow! The thing is a work of art!

Our trucks, especially Lariats, hold their value pretty well, considering. (At least they have, let's hope that continues) it might be worth trading it in and grabbing a new one, if you can swing it. I recommend the 6.2L. Damn, the thing has stock exhaust and when you punch it you would swear it has a MagnaFlow! Anyway, for a few MPG less than the issue-prone EcoBoost V6, you can have 411 horses just waiting to be released. My dad gets an avg of 14.6 MPG with it, which is even better than my 5.4 3V with cam phasers!

Anyway, I didn't mean to write a book, but that's my two cents. Also, you might want to check a couple dealerships, because not many of them stock these trucks with 6.2s, and it's been rumored that the 2015's will not even have this awesome Michigan engine as an option anymore.

Mad Irishman

I say keep your truck and start saving for the new one. In a few years you can pick up a great used 2013 and pay cash! Payments are over rated.

If you're having towing power problems maybe a new set of rear end gears will do the trick.

60DRB

Preventative maintenance is always a good choice.

I don't know at what altitudes you're driving "in the mountains", but a programmer with custom tune would likely help a good bit.

Maybe different gearing would help.

The fact[s] that it's paid for, and you have another eco-mileage vehicle to drive are good reasons to keep/maintain your current truck.

07cruiser

My exact thoughts. You already have the truck paid for and you have a secondary car. Just keep your truck maintained and if you really want to update, just save up for a "new" used truck over some time and pay cash.

TheJcode

Keep it and wait till the new trucks you want are used. My truck's window sticker was $200 shy of $50,000. I paid less than $18k for it and it's all of 5 years old. So let the first owners or two eat the heavy deprecation of the first few years then pick it up for half the cost.

I could never have dreamed of affording a fully optioned out lariat otherwise, and I never need to go brand new.

So ill repeat what everyone else says. Keep your truck. Fix it up. It's costing you a monthly payment just to let it sit. But less you drive it, the better the miles look as it gets older, and the more it holds its value.

joe mcmillan

Good answers above.
Consider the $1200 as compared to 3+ years of payments. Just a drop in the bucket.
Many say that you only live once so go for it and have a new truck.
I say, take care of what you have and save some money for the later years.

1stTruckGuy

I've never owned a new vehicle, the newest thing I've owned was still 4 years old (motorcycle). I have an edge programmer but it actually provides less power in the tow mode than with it unplugged so it stays in the economy mode all the time.

The only decently priced used lariats have high miles and the 5.4, both of which I hope to avoid in my next truck. I've heard of even the 2010s now experiencing cam phaser failure on the 5.4 motor, not worth the risk even if the 6 speed tranny wakes it up some. I only paid 14k for my lariat last year with 103k miles on it fully loaded and have already sunk close to 2k into maintenance and upgrades and all I ever hear from my non ford buddies is how **** slow it is compared to their chevys and dodges. Love to roll up in a turbo ecoboost with trailer in tow and smoke them all (childish fantasy I know).

With the prices of used it really makes no sense not to just buy new for 5k more, I mean 25k for a 10 lariat with 80k miles and the 5.4L just seems silly since it will need phasers soon inevitably.

acdiecast

Like I said, I would go for the 6.2L. If it's good enough for the Raptor, it's good enough for pretty much anything else! You won't have to worry about variable valve timing, cam phasers, turbochargers, or broken spark plugs with it. And the torque and HP is enough to blow your non-ford buddies out of the water, any day.

TYM1

Its all in the math, go to your dealer and see what they will give you for a trade in vrs how much the new one will is worth, then figure out if its worth it. I think the better option for you would be to keep and upgrade it a bit with a tuner and exhaust and maybe a cai too. I have done all that and a helix spacer and its not even close to the same truck as stock and has no problem towing, saying all that when the time comes for me to replace 'ol-blue' it will likely the same thing with a eco in it (but 2-3 years old) and then start upgrading it slowly from there