Posted on 02/25/2023 7:26:39 AM PST by LouAvul
“What’s the FR braintrust think about how to approach new vehicle purchase these days?”
Private sale if you can find one. I bought a nearly-new F150 Ford for $31K cash this past year. I love it.
List/lot price was $45K.
Yep. Somewhere around $2800.
He’s also going to install an addition to my Viper system that allows me to start, lock, unlock and track my truck with my phone.
Thankfully, three days of overtime will pay for it all, and then some.
New F150 and GMC 1500 trucks have horrible quality and reliability. Ram is a little better according to Consumer Reports but they probably won't hold up over time.
Ford and GM failed at passenger vehicles. Their trucks now have lots of bling with poor reliability and quality.
Used F150 V8 with 6 speed auto or Tundra V8 seem to be the best full sized options.
I drive a company car now, but I soundly reject your premise.
My last car purchase was a 2006 Pontiac Vibe. I bought it in 2009 with 145,000 miles.
I had a 70 mile round trip daily commute along with regular 500 miles treks.
I drove it daily for several years. Around 2018, I let my son take it. We finally sold it at 300,000 miles when the original clutch started to slip.
Besides maintenance, (brakes, tires etc) I never had a shop repair except a wheel bearing.
Great used cars are readily available and work fine for heavy daily driving.
“ And what’s with all of the 4 door trucks? How does one get anything done with a 4 foot bed?”
I have a Tacoma. It has been described as a truck for guys who don’t really need a truck.
Yes my dad fell for that fallacy a few years ago. My sister out in California wanted to sell her ‘02 BMW X5 SUV but the stealers only offered her like $1500 which was a joke back in 2016/2017. My dad gave her a few $k and paid to have it shipped to Florida. He was loving the idea he was driving a vehicle that cost over $100k now for a few $k and my sister did quite a bit of upgrades already like new chrome 20” rims and tires, new brakes, tinted windows etc. Then the trickle of issues glitches. First the drivers electric window stopped working. $1k to fix. Then the passenger window…. $1k. Then he found another repair shop that serviced BMW that was much cheaper than the dealer. Gave him a deal to replace valve cover gaskets that were leaking and a few other things to replace while the engine was accessible $2500. Then the same window that didn’t work stopped again. It was under the warranty but not the labor $400-$500. On and on and on. I forget what the final straw was…. Rear main seal or something with the tranny but he saw how my ‘12 Kia Sportage was rock solid and he found one at the dealer but newer. His ‘16 was still under warranty at the time of purchase and he paid for an additional 5 year warranty after that expires. He’s never had to take it in for service, so he doesn’t miss that old BMW much even though it was way more luxurious and has a more powerful 6 cylindr engine and sat higher off the ground, but he’s getting better mpg and saving in repair costs. He had that same “money pit” experience with the prior ‘94 Lexus SC400. Every time he went to the dealer was thousands in repairs and at that time the car was worth less than the repairs he was getting
...and an month of weekends.
I have a F150 with 5.5 foot bed w/cover and a SuperCrew Cab. It does everything I need done. The floor storage inside is big with the seats up. I haul some things I don’t want to get dusty, including people.
There are many different models of trucks to cover the various uses/needs of people, and that’s a great thing. Need an 8 foot bed, get one. Need more, buy a trailer. Above all, stop telling other people what to do.
Yep, I recently bought a low-mileage 2016 F150, knew the owner who bought it new, knew it had been well maintained, was not used for heavy hauling. Great truck, love it. It should easily last me until I can’t drive any more. Kept my old truck for dirty work.
I hear ford trucks can have electrical issues.....you experience that?
Bookmarked. This thread is loaded with great advice on buying vehicles and strategies for not losing your shirt along the way. Thank you, FReepers.
What’s your idea of a fairly priced truck?
Toyota started building cars for populations who don’t have resources to upgrade every few years. They needed well built cars to succeed.
America car buyers want the latest model and follow fads and used to have (now, had) the resources. When the belts tighten, people don’t switch so often and want long lasting products.
I had my truck serviced at the dealership last month and they gave me a ride home. When I got in their truck, I told the driver that they sure had some beautiful trucks on the lot and it was enough to give me the new truck fever. He said - Don't even look, we even make fun of these sticker prices. They have no shame asking upwards of $100 K for a new truck.
“Camaros have been in production every year since they were introduced.”
Not according to Wiki:
Production 1966–2002 x 2009-present
Also, chevy will discontinue the camaro after 2024
Talk about the school of hard knocks! But sounds like the lesson was well learned.
About eight years ago, the electric sunroof on my Ford Expedition stopped working. The motor worked, but it had somehow gotten off the track. It was still in warranty, so I called the dealer and arranged the repair; their shop was really busy, so the date was about three weeks out which was no problem for me. I had a record with the Ford dealer of reporting the failure on that phone call within warranty.
So I took the car in three weeks later and they said “Tough luck, your warranty expired.” It actually expired during that three week interval between my phone call setting the appointment and the appointment date!
I said “That’s just crazy! I reported it to you three weeks ago when it was under warranty. I would have brought it in for repair that day if you had an opening! That phone call date should be the date of record for warranty repairs.”
They replied “Nope, doesn’t matter, it’s when you bring it into the shop for repair.”
I said (getting really pissed now) “YOUR SHOP WAS FULL THEN! This is the first date you gave me!”
They replied “Too bad, $4,000 please! And a $200 ‘diagnostic fee,’ too”
I escalated several levels with Ford and got the same BS answer at every level, all the way to corporate HQ. I finally called the dealer I bought the car from (about 100 miles away) and he said “We’ll take care of it.” They are a high volume dealer and, in just one call, they got Ford to see the error of their ways. I got it fixed under warranty. What a great dealer — I was just a one-off customer, not a repeat or fleet customer of them.
Lots of lessons learned there. Perhaps the most important is check your warranty dates and mileages if you are near the end of your warranty. And be very wary of stinking car companies screwing you.
My dad passed away in January. He bought a new Chevy Silverado 2014 when he was in his early 90’s. It was very lightly used - currently has 19k miles on it. It lives in the garage so it’s like new. Extended cab, short bed, not 4-wheel drive or it would be “the perfect truck” as multiple young guys have told us. We’re going to be selling it - should be an interesting experience.
Glad you got that issue taken care of and I would have been livid with that response and just out of warranty due to their scheduling you 3 weeks later. The one mechanical warranty issue I had was when the driver side wheel bearing needed to be replaced, I asked if they would do the passenger side and they said no. So far so good that was 50k miles ago now, and I’m officially out of the 10 year / 100k mile drivetrain warranty.
How long will you keep the vehicle?
If you keep them for 15+ years maybe buy new.
Keep it maintained and it should last you a long time.
Don't buy domestic. Buy Toyota. Might cost a bit more but their quality is top notch.
So you know what's lurking just around the corner for you!
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