Hey guys,

I'm opening this up to hopefully get some extra insight and advice from people who have already been down this path.

I'm currently the slightly proud owner of a 97 F250HD with 341k on it. I've had it for 2.5 years now and it's kind of been a love-hate relationship with it. Hell, my account here can kind of tell that story. So far, including purchase price, I've put roughly $16k in it:
180/0 injectors
diesel tech of chat. PCM w/hydra
new suspension minus leaf springs
KC300x, 3" DP, bellowed up pipes
CNCFab stage 1 HPOP
Taught myself bodywork on it and did a minor body restoration on it


I bought it with 326k on it, which means it costs me roughly a dollar a mile. Every part I threw at it is because the old parts on the way out were shot and the price difference was negligible. This seems absurd and I probably need to ditch this money pit. Seeing as though 16k could've gotten me a pretty damn clean super duty, I'm starting to wonder why I'm putting up with creaky, hard-hitting leaf springs, unpredictable TTB front ends, a loud, headache-inducing highway driving experience with a 5 speed that won't let me do more than 70mph unless I practically redline the thing.

Sure, I can keep throwing money at the truck. Trans swap, axle swap, dynamat the interior, etc. But at some point I've gotta close the book, and I've been considering putting money away, trying to sell it, and getting a new truck. Whether a ford, chevy, dodge, I'm not a brand loyalist. Preferably a l5p, 6.7 cummins or PS.

What I'm mostly curious about is what the overall ownership experience of these vehicles are--what fuel economy, cost of general maintenance, electrical/emissions problems, etc.

The most I'd be willing to throw at a new vehicle would be around the 30k mark, so a lot of these trucks that fit the bill would have upwards of 200k on them already--indications of a hot shot vehicle, but then again, cost of repairs to a new high mileage vehicle may put me through some financial strain. So, the big question summed up would be this:

Do I continue putting 2-3k a year into my 340k mile dinosaur of a truck that gives me headaches and breaks my back, or do I cut my losses and get a new vehicle? And would a new vehicle get me significantly more convenience and capabilities for the same 2-3k a year of maintenance/repair costs? It's not a daily so I almost think I should just hold onto it but I'm not sure.

I'm curious if other people have fought this battle before and what advice/conclusions you all have come to?


I just now realized I have no pictures of this thing besides this one.

 

this is why i keep fixing mine, 2 kids college and a house that needs work

50-70k for a new one is just too much

i paid 6k for mine 7 years ago
put in maybe 5k so far and a lot of time

there seems no cheap way out

 

yeah true. I guess now that I'm started to gain more financial freedom now that I'm (relatively) debt free, just got my BS, and am starting to need a truck for work more, it's hard to justify my current build. 3800 for mine 3 years ago, and now I'm almost 16k in the hole. over a dollar a mile not including fuel. at some point I realize it's just not gonna be cheap one way or another, so I might as well enjoy myself if it's costing an arm and a leg? lol

 

50-70?
we need a new truck at work. the F350 lariat 4X4 diesel supercab 8 foot bed is 92 grand

 

Isn't that the truth

The well heeled recreational use crowd has really raised the price floor on diesel SDs. 70k might get you an XLT diesel these days...if they decide to fulfill the order at all.

 

even plain jane work trucks are off the wall. 2022 F550 diesel 4 door 4X4 XL with 14 foot frame, behind the cab tool box and 12 foot utility body was $120,000.
and the air compressor and tommy gate were another 20 grand!!!,

 

I am going to assume that that truck was abused and neglected, my '97 has 340,000 I know it is actual mileage as I bought it with around 80,000 miles. I have changed tie rod ends 1 time, front brakes 2 times rear brakes 1 time up graded to stage 1 injectors and a T500 hpop, maybe $4,000.00 to own it for over 200,000 miles.
any obs over 300,000 miles can have a lot more miles that that on it as 399,999 is as high as the odometer can go, after that it roll back to 300,000 miles.
as far as spending money on a new truck, I did I bought a 2019 F450 Ultimate King Ranch it has 30,000 miles on it now, I took it out of the garage and fueled it for our trip tomorrow, last fuel was December 12, 2022.
I love my '97 F250 and my 02 F250 and drive them the most.
I can see where it pains you for the high repair bills, you have spent more on you truck than what I paid for 2 of mine plus maintenance on them.