Alright, this is my first post here, so yay for me

Anywho, next year I'm going off to college. I will tentatively be going to Virginia Tech, which is just down I-81 from here. As part of a deal, my parents agreed to use the money they'd use to pay for room/board to instead buy me a car or truck of my choice, because I will be living with my aunt on Campus there in Blacksburg. Naturally, I gravitated towards a truck for obvious reasons. On campus, I won't do much driving at all. I can walk to 60% of the campus, and ride my bike to the rest. But what I need a vehicle for is that I do alot of Roadtrips. I frequently take trips to Greensboro and Charlotte for paintball, and since my girlfriend will be going to William and Mary, I will be heading out to tidewater frequently. So my preference is for something that will be good for the long haul. Something that can also preferrably carry myself and a few people too.

At first I was looking at Dodge Rams because I have an internship at the Dodge Dealership here in town. However, the fact that they are less powerful than the Cherokee that I drive now(my moms cherokee), and that the gas milege doesn't really make up for the power deficit.

So I have been looking around and looked at F-250s because I don't like the 5.4 V8 in 150s. I have been doing alot of research and found that the Powerstroke 7.3 liter may be exactly what I need. Decent milege, even loaded. Lots of power, and still managable.

Here's my question, Should I try and get a newer(99+) or is the older (94-97) fine? I do really like the body style of the newer ones, and also the fact they have more updated equipment(gauges, audio, etc)...but the price difference certainly is a possible barrier.

So yea, is a newwer SD worth the extra money, or for someone lke me would an older one be just dandy? This truck will stay with me until either it dies or I die, so it's not like it's a "college car"

 

I got a 95 psd in fantastic condition inside and out for $8,900 here in OK from private individual. That way, I had several thousand extra from book by my credit union in case things need fixed later on. It is a great truck. Gets ~ 17 to 17.5, up to 18.5 if I want to drive slow and get run over on interstates. The person I bought from put on a bed liner, 4 new tires, tool box, & new exhaust system before I purchased.

In short I would deal with your parents. See if they will let you purchase nice older PU and use the rest of $ for something more important than a machine to get you from one place to another. Maybe an IRA, mutual funds, savings account, .... Parents like the future thinking and might just go for it!

 

Look for a decent older truck, that way you will be able to sleep at night not worrying about dings, scratches, vandalism etc. . College parking lots can play havoc on vehicles. You can concentrate on your studies and save your parents some money for future tution. Seeing that you are interested in your education tells me that you wish to better yourself for the future, with that in mind, once you secure a decent job you will have money to buy yourself hopefully a new PSD!! Good luck with school and truck hunting.

 

Well, the idea of an older truck is probably more realistic.

As far as upgrades go, is it as easy to work on and upgrade an older PSD as it is a new one(parts easy to find, information easy to find, etc)? I have a tendency to modify just about everything I own.