12 to 18 month wait for new vehicle!!

[ovrszd]

A lot of that comes down to buying the RIGHT used truck.

A used ford well... their days are number from the moment they are built.

Chevy with MDS, plan on lifters.

03-06 Cummins 2wd manual trans, plan on pulling the head maybe at 500,000k per cummins recommendation and putting a clutch in it ever once in a great while.

I have 2 old f350s. They are the harbor freight of trucks. Built cheap and are cheap to fix. But royal POS.

I always enjoy these type of posts. Not starting a war. Just interests me how things are viewed in different communities. I am in a row crop and cattle farming area. Most trucks have a fuel tank or a bale stabber on the bed. Ford first. Dodge second. GM a far trailing third.

 

[Jstpssng]

Most breakdowns can be avoided by simple PM. A u joint usually gives plenty of warning that it is time to replace vibrations clunking etc. When I change my oil, I go over the hole truck greasing it and shaking ware components. Good look at wiring under hood.

I guess that's why I get 500k out of a truck and others can't get 100k out of theirs. It's nice not to have a truck payment for 20 years.

My first Dakota needed new u-joints every 4000 miles... not covered by the power train warranty. At the time I was driving about 1000 miles/week. The dealer and several other mechanics parts changers told me "The drive shaft must be bent"... if that were the case it would vibrate going down the road.
I finally smartened up and changed it myself, crawling around in the snow. The joints were so tiny that the grease fitting was in one of the end caps; they weren't putting enough in to lubricate the entire joint. That was obvious to me as soon as I took it apart, at some point somebody should have figured that out when I was complaining about them only lasting 4000 miles.
I had bought it with 28K miles, and paid to have the 70K warranty transferred. That didn't cover a thing. U-joints weren't covered. I lost a fuel pump and changed that on the side of the road. That wasn't covered. At 70,030 miles I lost the front spyder gears. Those would have been covered but it was 30 miles off warranty.

I drive a lot of rough roads and expect to change ball joints every 40,000 miles; that's just about how long they will last. The only way to get 500,000 miles out of a vehicle is to change the frame and body; generally they are rusted out in 15 years.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

Good friend of mine has an '02 7.3L Super Duty with 475,000 miles on it. That's because of driving skills and maintenance. Has less to do with brand of vehicle.

Knowing what you got and what to take care of is a lot of it

Triton ford- keep up with spark plugs
Modern chrysler hemi-valve train
GM - mds lifter failure
Ford 6.0,6.4 - engine failure.
Any modern diesel- cp4 failure

 

[ovrszd]

Knowing what you got and what to take care of is a lot of it

Triton ford- keep up with spark plugs
Modern chrysler hemi-valve train
GM - mds lifter failure
Ford 6.0,6.4 - engine failure.
Any modern diesel- cp4 failure

You are describing weaknesses, which every model has. I added the caveat of brands because I didn't want to offend anyone.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Wow! Thats some freakin driving there!

Think of the mileage reimbursements. My company gives $0.56 per mile. I deposit those checks into a car savings account which I then use to pay for repairs or eventually a new car.

 

[Jstpssng]

I drive about 28,000 miles for work every year, and put about 24,000 on my personal vehicle. When everything is 20-50 miles away it doesn't take long for that to add up. This is why I am looking at a cheap POS vehicle for just running around.

 

[Oaktree]

My first Dakota needed new u-joints every 4000 miles... not covered by the power train warranty. At the time I was driving about 1000 miles/week. The dealer and several other mechanics parts changers told me "The drive shaft must be bent"... if that were the case it would vibrate going down the road.

I've had 2 Dakotas, an '88 and my current '02 and both were/are solid trucks. Don't think I've ever changed the U joints on either one, and my current one has ~1/4 million miles on it. Yeah, some body rust but nothing out of the ordinary for a vehicle that age in northern New England.

I keep reading how "reliable" toyota trucks are. Couldn't prove it by the '08 turdra I had for a company truck at my last job. I swear that PoS spent more time at the dealer than on the road. It was not abused, just a wimpy truck.
Kinda sucked for me because I had to choose between a personal vehicle allowance or a company vehicle. Ended up having to use my personal truck a lot with no compensation for work all the times the company one was in the shop.

Think of the mileage reimbursements. My company gives $0.56 per mile. I deposit those checks into a car savings account which I then use to pay for repairs or eventually a new car.

You're getting screwed. IRS mileage for business purposes is 65½¢/mi for 2023, up from 62½¢ in '22.

 

[tacticalturnip]

For kicks, I built a new F350 on Ford's website; the looks are growing on me, but that price is hard to swallow.

 

[Jstpssng]

For kicks, I built a new F350 on Ford's website; the looks are growing on me, but that price is hard to swallow.

OUCH!!! PreCovid I built a RAM 3500, regular cab Diesel with a manual transmission and prepped for a dump body. 20 years ago I would have done it in a heartbeat, as it would have paid for itself.

Wait a year, things will be different. That's what I said in 2020, before I found my Colorado.

 

[tacticalturnip]

OUCH!!! PreCovid I built a RAM 3500, regular cab Diesel with a manual transmission and prepped for a dump body. 20 years ago I would have done it in a heartbeat, as it would have paid for itself.

Wait a year, things will be different. That's what I said in 2020, before I found my Colorado.

After totaling my RAM in August I was put into the situation of having to buy; I went for newer, with higher mileage. Oh, and I bought a 1 ton, as I figure I will never over-stress such a truck, lol. $37k for a truck with 114k miles, and it wasn't a bad deal.

I'm just dreaming, browsing the new trucks; they're well above my pay grade for the moment!