Buying an older truck

[AZjeff]

Maybe he needs to sell the Saturn to come up with the $2k for a beater truck? Can't remember the recent thread about the free Saturn but if it's road worthy a 4x8 trailer might be worth serious consideration. I wouldn't be crazy about round tripping 140 miles a day in any sketchy vehicle plus using it for work duty.

Wait, wasn't the recent free car a Hyundai with some transmission issues? How many worn out cars does the OP have?

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by Fawteen
The chances of finding a pickup that is road-worthy for that kind of money is pretty slim.

Seem to be plenty out here. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/compton-chevrolet/7007518523.html

 

[IronMaidenRules]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
I like the Mazda DOHC 2.3L used in later years with a 5 speed stick in a light regular cab 2wd.

This is definitely my vote. Those manual Mazda 4-bangers with 2WD last forever and are about as good on gas as you're gonna get.

 

[cheech279]

More than likely if you spend much less than $5,000 you'll end up fixing a lot of problems. If you buy, go half ton. Old Chevrolets and GMCs seem to hold up the best.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted by AZjeff
Maybe he needs to sell the Saturn to come up with the $2k for a beater truck? Can't remember the recent thread about the free Saturn but if it's road worthy a 4x8 trailer might be worth serious consideration. I wouldn't be crazy about round tripping 140 miles a day in any sketchy vehicle plus using it for work duty.

Wait, wasn't the recent free car a Hyundai with some transmission issues? How many worn out cars does the OP have?


Guess that depends on your definition of worn out that dart has 76k miles the Saturn has 165k the truck has 188k but does need some repairs. I don't consider any of them worn out . The Hyundai is gone sold that .

The state is who pays for everything at the complexes they don't provide a truck. It would make sense to have a truck and would make life easier. Besides that in also want a truck.
But when they have to dump mulch or rock I'd get paid about 1,000 to do just that. The state pays pretty well. My hourly amount is 18 per hour. Which is decent for what I'm doing.
Also if I have to run To Lowe's to get a toilet or a sink or bags of salt a truck is just the easiest way to do it .
2,000 around here can get you a decent older rig might have some rust but can still be very solid.
Things are pretty cheap here. My last truck was 1500 needed a heater for and a fuel pump and some vacuum lines replaced did it and had it awhile drove it everywhere. Definitely not concerned with being able to find a truck. If I can't I'll throw more money at it but I'm confident I can.

 

[Smokescreen]

Why not source out a used truck bed and replace your rusted one?

Your current truck is paid for and while it gets not so great fuel economy, you know about it and its quirks. Getting a $2K pile with unknown issues is a game you don't want to play.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Just a thought. When I went to doing social work full time traded in my Mazda. Later I ended up buying a used 92 Mazda truck and kept it parked at the apartment complex where I worked in the field with clients. I used it a lot there to haul away rock and brush. What about a truck you kept at the apartment complex? Commute with a fuel sipping vehicle.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I think a n older 2.3 ranger with a stick and a small trailer is the answer. It's already been mentioned so I'll second it.

I've hauled a lot of gravel with my HF 4x8 - well over a ton at a time. Behind different vehicles of mine that are not pickup trucks.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted by Smokescreen
Why not source out a used truck bed and replace your rusted one?

Your current truck is paid for and while it gets not so great fuel economy, you know about it and its quirks. Getting a $2K pile with unknown issues is a game you don't want to play.


Because the truck was my grandpas It's going to be a re done nice truck eventually. It'll take time. It's not going to be a work truck. I want a work style truck that I don't care much about if it gets scratched so what.
I'm not really worried about fuel mileage . It is a 1 hr drive to the one complex the other one is only 20 minutes and the third one I'd be at is 45 minutes. The drive isn't a big deal to me
It would cost me $10 bucks in a car and probably $18 per day in a truck.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Assuming you're working 5 days a week.

Week

Saturn 50
Truck 90

Month
Saturn 200
Truck 450

Year:
Saturn 2400
Truck 5400

The savings aren't insignificant. And I can guarantee that old 360 with no overdrive is going to use more than twice the gas of a saturn. So it will be a much larger spread than $3k a year

 

[Dave Hess]

$2000 ?

Buy a Corolla if you're driving 70 miles per day.

 

[Huie83]

Keep what you have and keep saving money. Rent a truck when you need it, $2K won't get you anything usable in your scenario even in a midsized. Those miles back and forth are going to get real expensive on a old POS truck.

Also, why beat up your truck when you can rent one locally when you need it?

 

[Dave9]

I second the idea to commute the 70mi with an efficient car and leave the truck parked at the complex.

As far as what a *decent* 1/2 ton should cost, that's the same story different day. If you want to be driving it 70 mi at a time, you're going to rack up miles and it's worth paying at least $5K for. If you don't want to be nickle and dimed with repairs soon, you'll pay closer to $5K too.

If you instead want another project vehicle that might even need engine or transmission replaced soon, go for the $2K truck if it's not too badly rusted out, which it probably will be once you crawl under it and poke around which is why it is only $2K.

There is a very real market demand for trucks in good condition. Either spend $5K now or spend $2K now and in a while, spend $3K more... up to you, except I wouldn't want to be paying tow bills somewhere in the middle of a 70 mi. commute.

Really you should look forward a few years and get the $5K+ truck. It will last that many more years, all else equal, and have more value if/when you decide to sell it. It's different needing something for work, than having a truck as a 2nd/3rd/etc homeowner use vehicle where it doesn't have to work every day you need it, when projects can be put off.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted by Miller88
Assuming you're working 5 days a week.

Week

Saturn 50
Truck 90

Month
Saturn 200
Truck 450

Year:
Saturn 2400
Truck 5400

The savings aren't insignificant. And I can guarantee that old 360 with no overdrive is going to use more than twice the gas of a saturn. So it will be a much larger spread than $3k a year


Already stated the job is part time
Already said I wasn't going to use my ram. It's going to be a re done family hauler not a work truck.
Also in 95 the ram had overdrive but it still gets good awful fuel mileage.
The fuel mileage was why I was considering a smaller truck. But the difference between a s10 4.3 and a 1500 probably isn't huge.
To be fair I wouldn't want to drive the Saturn that far 5 days a week or even 2 or 3 days a week. It's just to little I feel pretty crunched inside of it. I'd rather have more room.

 

[ram_man]

This was my last truck a 92 f150 300i6 aod 2 wheel drive automatic. Almost no rust! I paid 1400 for it. 160,000 I did fix a couple vacuum lines, the heater core was clogged and I did the front fuel pump. I removed the bed to do the fuel pump and it all came right apart no rust to worry with ect. Truck ran good and still does I sold it to my uncles girlfriend .
My point is I can find a decent older truck for 2k.
I'm also GOING to buy a truck so if we could discuss trucks and pros and cons of each what to look out for ect. That would be terrific.
I've likely owned more cars than most the people here. I am very confident and capable in what I can buy.
I'm also not leaving my truck parked at the complex and driving a car to. The maintenance cost and insurance costs ect sure I'd save gas but that would be all I'm saving. Also today for example I needed a truck and didn't have one. We are cleaning out my step grandmas house to sell it having a truck would have made my life easier today. So i want and need a truck I'm not renting a truck when i need one . I just want to own a truck again.

 

[addyguy]

If this is a vehicle to support a big job like it sounds, it needs too be reliable.

You do not want to be spending every minute off work fixing up an old truck to go back to work.

Why not invest in a much newer truck? Maybe you can make payments on a newer truck, and write-off some of the costs on your taxes as business expenses.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by supton


From what I can tell, it's a family operation, and if he can provide his own "tools" then all the better.

What, you don't move your own appliances? I'll admit, they're heavy, but they're not that heavy. Furniture dolly's aren't that expensive, and they don't take up that much space.



Of course I do, but anything beyond a window AC is a two person lift. So then a helper is needed... While one person can lift a washer, dryer, fridge, stove, etc., to get it not only in/out of a truck but into a residence is asking a lot. Hope that's not the intended scope.

Not sure I buy the family business operation as an excuse to have to buy a truck.

140 miles round trip is 2 hours commute at 70mph the whole way, and 10 gallons of gas at 14 mpg. That's a lot of investment just to start. Let alone needing to buy and insure a truck in order to earn that money. Seems hard to make money unless the job is very lucrative.


Originally Posted by ram_man
This was my last truck a 92 f150 300i6 aod 2 wheel drive automatic. Almost no rust! I paid 1400 for it. 160,000 I did fix a couple vacuum lines, the heater core was clogged and I did the front fuel pump. I removed the bed to do the fuel pump and it all came right apart no rust to worry with ect. Truck ran good and still does I sold it to my uncles girlfriend .
My point is I can find a decent older truck for 2k.

OP if you're finding trucks thst nice for thst money, you'd make more buying them and selling them on the coasts!

Also if you're finding trucks like that, looks like you don't need to ask any questions.

An old ford with the 300 or an old dodge with the 225 would be my picks. Square bodies seem harder to find, at least around here... but the w/t trim regular cab, long bed C/K trucks with the 4.3 might be a good pick...

 

[Andrew1972]

I am a college student says save your money get an education as your priority as it will actually make your life better with real income. Toys like this come later.

Everyone wants an inexpensive truck and entry point $5000 due to high demand. $2000 is junk unless you get lucky. No one can recommend anything at that price point.

 

[clinebarger]

Bob is The Life Coach Guy.......

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Bob is The Life Coach Guy.......


So many of you are just useless. You know what's hilarious I posted all about fixing up the ram and got little response overall. But when people like this find a reason to run at the mouth they show up in spades. Sad!
Glad we could have a discussion about the merits of 1/2 vs a small truck and which Powertrain choices were ideal.

Amazes me how this page constantly refuses to give car advice or knowledge but instead wants to give a financial lecture.

Also to clear it up I said I'd make good money working here. Yea I'm a college student but believe it or not college students still have to eat. The extra income would be beneficial. Driving 120 miles round trip 2-3 days a week isn't a huge deal. I was wrong I thought it was 70 miles it's only 60 it's all highway.
And I also just want a truck. I grew up driving trucks we were on a farm it's just what I prefer. So yes as much as the Saturn isn't big enough and isn't practical for what I'm doing and our growing family and a truck would better suit me I also just want a truck. I said that previously. So I want a truck I have use for a truck to justify it and I have the cash to do so.
All I was hoping for was a substantive conversation on different trucks and engines.
I'll probably go the route of a Chevy truck.
Sad that instead of a real conversation we had a bunch of nonsense.
I never gave the option of keeping the Saturn I said I wanted a truck I gave my reasons and still people persist to resist that conversation. I didn't ask for a conversation on keeping the Saturn I didn't ask for a discussion on fuel usage or any of that. I'm a big boy been buying fuel a long time I do understand how that works and the costs associated with it.

Also the topic of financing a truck came up. My answer no way in [censored]. I have no desire to finance anything! I want a beater truck so what if it needs a little work here and there. I Am capable of doing any job a truck could require needing done.
I'm paying cash for a truck around $2,000
I'm just asking for a discussion on various power trains personal experience with different trucks.
Particularly the s10 and the ranger with the 3.0 and the Dakota's. I'm much more familiar with how full size trucks handle things. I haven't owned a small truck before.
If that conversation cannot he had then let's just end it here.