Has any one else sat down, looked at their 10+ yr old truck and thought "whats the point of busting my *** to fix this truck up and in a few yrs either sell it or have to get a new one because the current truck just isnt up to par?".......just a thought after seeing the dwindling list of replacement and upgrade parts available next to the trucks actual value.....

 

Just promise that you'll take that decal with you when you trade...

Yes, I think about that all the time. However, maintaining your truck is a lot cheaper than a truck payment (assuming it's paid off), so consider it a savings account.

 

Yup, did that last summer to my '85. As I was taking off the wheels and tires and rear sway bar to sell separately (which has turned into a minor PITA) I noted additional work beyond the AC, clutch, trans work that it needed. Since it wouldn't sell at $800 (they didn't even try to haggle...)
why would I spend another $2000 on it? I had it for 18 years, and it was still going to be an '85 with more issues to come. Whenever I miss it, I just shift my new truck at 3000 rpm and skip 3rd gear, then I don't feel so bad....

 

I'm beginning to look hard into the mirror and ask these very same questions. My '88 will need a clutch in a few thousand miles and she's starting to form some rust over the wheel wells. She has 200K miles on her and has been pretty much rebuilt from stem to stern. I can't do it again.

So, once my Expedition is paid for in a few months, I'm going to start looking at 2011 models.

But realistically, a new truck will do no more for me than my old faithful '88 already does. I'm thins right now.

 

Because $30,000 down for a replacement truck is a lot of money and once you buy it, you lose $4000 just driving it off the dealer lot. If you are unwise enough to finance a truck right now, $400 per month ($4800 year) will turn any beater into a head turner. Plus, cost you less on taxes and insurance.

 

depends whats wrong with the truck....love my 92 but i paid 200 for it a year and a half ago put in a new motor, then new balljoints, lockouts, rolled for a while then did new u joints and front brakes. drive the hell out of it and work it hard. the way i figure it is if it costs me more than 2-300 bucks to fix it then it no longer becomes a viable truck. time to look for a new one and move on. i just have this aversion to spending lots and lots of money on an old truck that i use for haulin and fishin. i also have an aversion to a payment on a vehicle that im going to work hard and potentialy break probably somewhere nowhere close to a road lol.

 

Heck, I paid $1500 for my '80 F150 almost 13 years ago. In that time, it has needed little more than simple maintainence to keep going.
The only "big" expense was getting the trans rebuilt. $450 total parts/labor with a 5yr/75K warrentty.
Still, it has cost me less than $200/year to buy and keep it on the road, not counting gas/insurance ($13/mo). Lets see someone say that about a new truck.......

 

You can't say that about a new truck. That's not the argument. It comes down to what you want and if you feel that the old truck is worth spending more money on.

I haven't had a truck payment in over 16 years, but since then I've replaced the engine, clutch and a whole host of other low dollar items. I've chased down every issue on this truck over the years and she runs great and looks damned good to be 22 years old.

But now, I want something better for myself. I want a comfortable quiet ride and something big enough to haul the family in without using the Expy all the time. I want better gas mileage and more power. Foe all of these wants, I need to get a new truck.

So, comparing old to new really isn't right as there is no comparison. More like, are you willing to make a payment or, when are you sick of working on the old one.

 

rebocardo,

What are you buying that you put $30K down and have a payment of $400/mo? A Superduty?

 

To me, it's more a question of fixing it myself, or having to take it somewhere that has the mega-dollar diagnostic equipment required to figure out whats wrong with it.
About the only thing a new truck can do, that my 30 year old can't do, is have a massive computer meltdown that takes out the brakes, trans, engine, and safety systems all in one fell swoop. Well, that and cost $500-800 a month in payments and insurance.......
I'll just keep on driving my old carbed I6 Ford for as long as I can keep it going. Considering how simple everything on it is, aside from the C6 and duraspark ignition, that should be at least another 20-30 years. I'm sure by then my kids will insist on me giving up my license *if* I'm still alive.
I know the C6 is the simplest auto trans, yet one of the stoutest ever made, and the duraspark ignition is also rather simple. I just singled them out due to being the most complex parts of this particular truck.
I *almost* can't believe that I intend to do away with the king pin I-beams, in order to allow for installing a front drive axle........

 

Because $30,000 down for a replacement truck is a lot of money

down = down on the table to purchase.

Followed by

"If you are unwise enough to finance a truck right now,"

 

I'll bite Rebo. How is it unwise to finance right now if your in a secure job, earn enough money and the price and terms are right for you?

 

I will bite.............No way......I have been burned by job losses enough. I will NEVER feel secure about employment again....No way I will be financing a new rig that I cant work on myself, plus the astronomical sticker prices of today......I can keep my old rigs running indefinitely for a fraction of the price of new.

 

Truer words cannot be spoken. I may buy newer stuff when I get a killer deal, but I just run the wheels off them, and send them to a new home. Meanwhile, my old ford truck will not have another owner till I'm no longer able to drive.

 

To each his own. Everyone knows or should know their limitations. 9/10's is a fraction but when is the old rig no longer worth the money that it will eventually require? I will agree, it will never cost the equivalent of a $500 per month payment to keep her going for an entire year, otherwise we have bigger issues than previously known.

I've spent less than a $1000 on my truck in repairs in the last 10 years. Not bad for an oldie but goodie, but the time is coming and I want a new one.