How Do You Justify a $40-50-60K Truck?

The Rams look alright, but that Titan HD looks like a bullnose shark with a massive overbite...soooo hideous. I'm indifferent about how the Chevy trucks look, I just know I'd never own anything with a CP4 injection pump.

The Tundras have always been ugly to me.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
The Rams look alright, but that Titan HD looks like a bullnose shark with a massive overbite...soooo hideous. I'm indifferent about how the Chevy trucks look, I just know I'd never own anything with a CP4 injection pump.

The Tundras have always been ugly to me.
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When I heard about the Titans I hoped it looked decent. That thing is so ugly, even with a Cummins under the hood.
 
shawn said:
I heard on the radio that it's the longest lasting truck in 'Merica...
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Probably highest in initial quality too, whatever that means.
 
Fabrik8 said:
I think about it exactly backwards from that. The new trucks cost so much that the used prices have plumped because the demand for something cheaper is so high.

The fact is that trucks are bigger, more powerful, have more electronics, more convenience features, more standard features (like HID headlights) etc., that keep driving the cost up.

Can you really put a price on the ability to update Facebook while towing? :D

If a 10-15 year old truck were put back into production today, it would be cheaper than the current models (adjusted for cost of materials and inflation obviously).

Honestly, this was what I faced when looking for a smaller truck in 2015. Frontiers and Tacomas had been in production for about 10 years with the same generation, and held their value really well. It wasn't much more expensive to buy a new one than a good condition used one, and I wasn't about to buy a dated, 10 year-old design as a new vehicle. So I bought a new Colorado.
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...did you get a V-8 Colorado and if so can you elaborate on the trucks performance ?
 
mommucked said:
...did you get a V-8 Colorado and if so can you elaborate on the trucks performance ?
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There is no V8 Colorado of the 2nd generation. The turbo diesel is pretty sweet (369 lb-ft from a 2.8L), but it's $3500 extra that I don't need. Diesels are just boring for a daily driver.

Don't think I haven't occasionally looked on autotrader for a used 2015 work truck model to dream about doing a manual trans LS swap though.

And I do really want a ZR2, because those multimatic spool valve dampers are soooo cool. But that's a $40k truck to start, even though that already has 4wd included in the price.
 
I can't justify new truck. Hence the reason I bought a schoolbus as temporary storage until I get a shop built, and then plan to use the engine to swap into my 6.0 excursion. (DT360 international, will be turned up to 500ish HP is the plan). I can run my Excursion for a long time, especially if I swap in a motor like the DT and a ZF-6.
 
My work vehicle/dd is a 2005 Hyundai Sonata that was given to me by my mom. My truck is a lowered 2005 Chevy Silverado. My plaything is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee that currently isn't operable. All of which have been paid for for quite some time. All they cost is maintenance and gas. It'll be a long time before I buy another vehicle, and a cold day in hell before I buy a new one.

Also, people are financing these beasts for 8-10 years, for a fucking vehicle that after that time frame will be worth 1/5 (if they're lucky) or less than they paid for it. No thanks.
 
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livetorun said:
Want to save a crap load of money? Don't buy a diesel and don't buy 4wd. People give away 2wd gassers because nobody wants them. I've been towing with one for 5 years and love it. I've put almost 80,000 miles on a truck I paid less than 8k for, including 3x to CA and at least twice to AR. Is it as fancy as a new truck, nope. Will it out run a new truck up a mountain, nope. Do I have a $500/600/700 truck payment, nope.
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Same here. I tow some but mostly stay to pavement/gravel. I've been able to "get by" with gasser 2wds since I started this hobby. They are way cheaper! And for a gasser it gets pretty decent mileage when *not* towing.
 
13bullets said:
My work vehicle/dd is a 2005 Hyundai Sonata that was given to me by my mom. My truck is a lowered 2005 Chevy Silverado. My plaything is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee that currently isn't operable. All of which have been paid for for quite some time. All they cost is maintenance and gas. It'll be a long time before I buy another vehicle, and a cold day in hell before I buy a new one.

Also, people are financing these beasts for 8-10 years, for a fucking vehicle that after that time frame will be worth 1/5 (if they're lucky) or less than they paid for it. No thanks.
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This is my thought on it. I have a 94 dodge dakota 2wd for work/dd, then I have my 94 Jeep ZJ which is backup but will soon be a trail rig since I got the new 94 Jeep XJ to pull backup duty. Truck was $1200 cash, ZJ I traded my old car for, XJ was free (doesnt run, is in pieces). I could never justify buying a brand new vehicle, nor do I want to. Too complicated. I like my old, simple, reliable vehicles.
 
I always like stirring up the 90's diesel truck groups that 'need a dizzle' because of all the power and mpg's, and then I remind them my v6 Lincoln has more power and about the same tq, gets 30mpg's, 10-15 years newer and was probably cheaper. I know, I know...different power bands, but most of them are too preoccupied tightening their helmets or getting crayon out of their teeth to put that together.
 
UTfball68 said:
I always like stirring up the 90's diesel truck groups that 'need a dizzle' because of all the power and mpg's, and then I remind them my v6 Lincoln has more power and about the same tq, gets 30mpg's, 10-15 years newer and was probably cheaper. I know, I know...different power bands, but most of them are too preoccupied tightening their helmets or getting crayon out of their teeth to put that together.
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The way to get good fuel economy is not to use 25+ year old diesel engine technology to drag around a porky truck (with a porky engine) when you don't need it.

If you like your '90s diesel truck, that's fine. But let's not try to justify how awesome it is compared to a modern truck, because it's not. It's mechanically simple (crude?), and it may be overbuilt and reliable, and that's where the advantage ends.
 
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Fabrik8 said:
The way to get good fuel economy is not to use 25+ year old diesel engine technology to drag around a porky truck (with a porky engine) when you don't need it.

If you like your '90s diesel truck, that's fine. But let's not try to justify how awesome it is compared to a modern truck, because it's not. It's mechanically simple (crude?), and it may be overbuilt and reliable, and that's where the advantage ends.
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Agreed...nostalgia is great and all, but something new is going to spank the pants off something even 5-10 years old.
 
UTfball68 said:
Agreed...nostalgia is great and all, but something new is going to spank the pants off something even 5-10 years old.
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Truth. My 99 5.9 truck was pretty well worked. Injectors, airdog, programmer, built trans, blah blah blah. Even with it turned all the way up to grenade status, it still wouldn't run with a new 14+ truck. Thats just the go part, the stopping part it didnt hold a candle to the new trucks either.

I got tired of working on it. It was a higher mileage truck. 268k when I traded it in. After the transfer case gave up the ghost on the way home from the Camp Coker GNCC last year I had enough. After sitting down and doing the math of all of the stuff I had done to it in maintenance over the previous year and a half, plus what I knew it still needed to be "perfect", I was looking at either repair bills or a payment. The money was coming out of my pocket somehow. This is only the second time in 15 years of driving that I have had a payment and I am usually against it, but peace of mind of a new truck and warranty for the near future is a convenience I was willing to pay for. With traveling for work, coming home and working on my own shit was getting old. They never break while you just have gobs of time to spend at the house fixing it. That said, it was just shy of a $50k truck, but the brodozer diesel trade in value is the absolute only reason I was able to justify a newer truck, or I would have been fixing that old rattletrap.
 
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I have a love/hate relationship with the Excursion, it has 260k miles on it and runs great most of the time, sometimes it has an injector miss I think. I have already swapped the axles to the 2005+ axles/suspension (2007 F-350 SRW donor truck) which greatly improved handling while towing, and turning radius. It also lifted it slightly and gave me 20" wheels at the same time. I parted out the parts truck and made enough that I effectively did the axle swap for free (actually probably made money in the process).

I know I am going back to 1993 when swapping to the DT360, but I like the simplicity of a mechanical engine and manual transmission. It may not win any races, but turned up to 400-500 HP it should tow anything I need to better than the current 6.0 (that is probably at about 360-400 hp with a mild tune and mild injectors). The main thing I need is more low end torque, the 6.0 doesn't make any power until it is over 2000-2200 RPM's. Everything I have read on the internet (you know, everything is true on the internet) points to the fact the DT is technically a better/stronger engine than a 5.9 cummins after doing a few upgrades to more commonly available parts (such as swapping to a injector pump off a cummins).

We will see, I may never do the swap, but I love the excursion. I save at least a couple hundred every year based on not needing weighted tags, plus it gives me room to haul the kids, dogs, stuff, etc. Brakes work great and are on par with Ford trucks up to 2011, maybe later? I a not sure when they changed axles/suspension after 2005 but I think they were mostly unchanged up until 2011 or 2012.

If I was going to buy a NEW truck I am not sure what I would buy. Likely not a Chevrolet as I think a 1-ton needs a solid front axle. I like Ford, and I like a Cummins, but I feel like all three brands are going to have issues. The more electronics the more problems....
 
StretchASU said:
Truth. My 99 5.9 truck was pretty well worked. Injectors, airdog, programmer, built trans, blah blah blah. Even with it turned all the way up to grenade status, it still wouldn't run with a new 14+ truck. Thats just the go part, the stopping part it didnt hold a candle to the new trucks either.

I got tired of working on it. It was a higher mileage truck. 268k when I traded it in. After the transfer case gave up the ghost on the way home from the Camp Coker GNCC last year I had enough. After sitting down and doing the math of all of the stuff I had done to it in maintenance over the previous year and a half, plus what I knew it still needed to be "perfect", I was looking at either repair bills or a payment. The money was coming out of my pocket somehow. This is only the second time in 15 years of driving that I have had a payment and I am usually against it, but peace of mind of a new truck and warranty for the near future is a convenience I was willing to pay for. With traveling for work, coming home and working on my own shit was getting old. They never break while you just have gobs of time to spend at the house fixing it. That said, it was just shy of a $50k truck, but the brodozer diesel trade in value is the absolute only reason I was able to justify a newer truck, or I would have been fixing that old rattletrap.
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So did you have a trade in or big down payment, did you lease or purchase, how long did you finance/lease, and at what rate if you bought? (If you don't mind me asking)
 
R Q said:
So did you have a trade in or big down payment, did you lease or purchase, how long did you finance/lease, and at what rate if you bought? (If you don't mind me asking)
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Just whipped up a quick amortization table for myself. I'm generally somewhere between 0-4% interest rates depending on any deals going on. Assuming 4% on a $50k truck with $7500 in down payment and trade ins...I'd be at a $783/mo payment over 60 months and $665/mo over 72 months.

Edit...if you have any numbers you want me to play with...let me know.
 
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VortecJeep said:
As we drove by the GMC dealer this evening, The SUVs they had closest to the road had lease payments between $800-$900 according to the hangtag on the mirror! :eek:
My mortgage is only $870, and that includes tax and insurance.
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Exactly. My mortage with taxes and insurance is $600. No way can I justify a car payment at all really, much less one that is 40-50% more than my house. People are living on debt; buy a new car and finance it for 10 years, 4 years later trade it in on more automobile debt. It's creating (created?) a bubble, and I don't mind sitting back and letting the market correct itself.
 
R Q said:
So did you have a trade in or big down payment, did you lease or purchase, how long did you finance/lease, and at what rate if you bought? (If you don't mind me asking)
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Trade in over what I paid for the truck almost two years before, LOTS of rebates (almost 10k). Last two days of the month and went in at the end of the day. 72 mo term but will be paid off before then. My monthly is a lower rate and dollar amount than what UT figured in his table. I wasn't pushing to buy. I simply had a max number I was willing to finance and stuck to it.
 
I'm just over here still love the ole faithful 5.3-6.6 gm power plants!! Before I'd buy a new truck I'd do a crate 12v Cummins swap in my burb and built 80e... just my .02
 
Not only trucks, but I don't see how people are justifying, much less affording these $80-90k SUV's.

Yet they are buying them like crazy.

I was at a GM dealership last week and walked by a new Silverado. $50k and it doesn't even have leather.
 
Pacfanweb said:
Not only trucks, but I don't see how people are justifying, much less affording these $80-90k SUV's.

Yet they are buying them like crazy.

I was at a GM dealership last week and walked by a new Silverado. $50k and it doesn't even have leather.
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When I lived out in Edenton, the surrounding farm land was presumably an extremely poor demographic. But I couldn't wrap my head around seeing a 50 year old single wide with a new $70k Suburban out in front of it. The story I always got was when you, parents, grandpappy and great grandpappy all live on the same plot of land and you only move when someone dies (into their bigger house), you have a lot more money to play with. Some of the money I heard that was being tossed around for cell towers to go on property and/or solar panels was absolutely ridiculous. The monthly residuals were more than I make in a couple months.
 
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