New truck vs new motor

[deerefan]

My wife's family, a couple years before I met her, bought a black 1997 F150 4X4 XLT super cab w/ the 4.6 V8. Though I was a chevy man, I really liked this truck. When I met her in 2000, the truck had about 30k miles on it and they were using it to pull a small 2 horse trailer. Needless to say, no one properly educated them on proper maintenance and correct towing procedures. They would pull the trailer in o/d loaded with two horses and tack, change the oil whenever it looked dirty and so on. I took over the maintenance and most pulling duties shortly after we started dating. Over the next couple years, our horse business grew and we upgraded to a three horse hitch pull trailer w/ a small tack room on the front. This trailer loaded puts the load right at the trucks limit (about 5-6k lbs). We pull it about 5 times a year, the longest trip about 300 miles round trip, rarely with more than 2 horses and a couple bales of hay. We have paso fino horses, which are smaller than a quarter horse and weigh 700-900 lbs fully grown.
A few months ago, I pulled the trailer empty to HD to pick up some new appliances and noticed the truck had spit up antifreeze. I replaced the cap and it still did it. Brought it to a mechanic and found out it had a bad head (cracked). Now we had a decision to make--new truck or new motor. Our truck had about 140k miles on it. I work in construction management and my wife is a vet tech, so we do not make a whole lot of money, modest middle class wages. Of course my job is effected by the economy, so my pay changes.
We decided a second note was not smart at this time, so we opted for a new motor. I found a guy that would do it for 3500 plus tax and back it for 3yr/100k miles. He called me every day with and update and had the truck back to me in 5 days. I looked at kbb.com and found out the value of the truck was about 5500 so I figured it was worth doing.
With the economy the way it is, what are some of you guys doing that may be in a similar situation? Are you putting motors in older trucks, buying used trucks instead of new?

 

[yooperdave]

I recently replaced my 2001 F150 XLT 4x4 with a new 2008 F150 XLT 4x4.

Part of my decision process included:

1. Huge discounts from Ford. I got my truck for over $12,000 off MSRP. When I sold my 2001, the price difference was not too bad.

2. Upgrades. Ford really upgraded the F150 in 2004. The cab is 6" longer. I also got the bigger 35-36 gallon fuel tank, towing package, cold weather package, moon roof, & satellite radio.

3. Reliability. New truck gets a new warranty.

An older truck may have other issues in other places which may pop up at any time unannounced & unwelcomed.

Good Luck,

Yooper Dave

 

[Lunk]

My wife's family, a couple years before I met her, bought a black 1997 F150 4X4 XLT super cab w/ the 4.6 V8. Though I was a chevy man, I really liked this truck. When I met her in 2000, the truck had about 30k miles on it and they were using it to pull a small 2 horse trailer. Needless to say, no one properly educated them on proper maintenance and correct towing procedures. They would pull the trailer in o/d loaded with two horses and tack, change the oil whenever it looked dirty and so on. I took over the maintenance and most pulling duties shortly after we started dating. Over the next couple years, our horse business grew and we upgraded to a three horse hitch pull trailer w/ a small tack room on the front. This trailer loaded puts the load right at the trucks limit (about 5-6k lbs). We pull it about 5 times a year, the longest trip about 300 miles round trip, rarely with more than 2 horses and a couple bales of hay. We have paso fino horses, which are smaller than a quarter horse and weigh 700-900 lbs fully grown.
A few months ago, I pulled the trailer empty to HD to pick up some new appliances and noticed the truck had spit up antifreeze. I replaced the cap and it still did it. Brought it to a mechanic and found out it had a bad head (cracked). Now we had a decision to make--new truck or new motor. Our truck had about 140k miles on it. I work in construction management and my wife is a vet tech, so we do not make a whole lot of money, modest middle class wages. Of course my job is effected by the economy, so my pay changes.
We decided a second note was not smart at this time, so we opted for a new motor. I found a guy that would do it for 3500 plus tax and back it for 3yr/100k miles. He called me every day with and update and had the truck back to me in 5 days. I looked at kbb.com and found out the value of the truck was about 5500 so I figured it was worth doing.
With the economy the way it is, what are some of you guys doing that may be in a similar situation? Are you putting motors in older trucks, buying used trucks instead of new?

I think it was "Click and Clack" on Public Radio (luv those guys!) who said that it's almost always cheaper to fix a used vehicle vs. buying new, if it's been fully paid for.

one-time $3500 payment vs. 60 mo of $3-400 / mo.

That being said, if I can swing the trade, I love to buy new.

Ummmmmmm... Smells good!

 

[redharley]

Agree with LUNK, AS a fleet mechanic for 25 plus years if you can repair it and the vehicle stilll fits your need's it's always the least expensive to make the repairs.Like he said you could spend $3500 thats only 10 months of 350 dollar payments and they are done no more payments I am sure that new truck would not be paid off in 10 month's.The key is, if the truck still fit's your needs.That why in our fleet of 200 deliver trucks we have 20 yr old trucks on the road and will spend $5000 to keep them on the road if they suit our needs for the next 2 yr's. good luck

 

[Builder]

Yep, usually it's cheaper to keep 'er.

Cars, trucks and equipment are horrible investments for the most part, especially if you don't really need them or don't use them to make income. They devalue rapidly and need repairs while you own them.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yep, usually it's cheaper to keep 'er.

Cars, trucks and equipment are horrible investments for the most part, especially if you don't really need them or don't use them to make income. They devalue rapidly and need repairs while you own them.

Same goes with WOMEN!

Chris

 

[Cat_Driver]

At the price I've seen new one going for with up to 12K off list some trucks although 2wd are around 12K .

In tucson a dealer was offering 50% sticker.

So the $3,500.00 ends up being almost 30% of a new on, plus you get three year warranty and good for another 150k.

The old one will start to have other issues at that age , perhaps tranny, ball joints, etc.

Your gonna have to make the call but for me I never like engine replacements or rebuilds I have never ever had good luck. They always leave of the one bolt, one clip, one wire etc that causes a lifetime of problems.

Looks to me that you NEED good transportation, and I'm not so sure you will get that with a replacement engine.... and this is the best time to buy a vehicle they are giving them away.

I mean really who knows what went into the rebuild,what kind of parts, are they cheap Chinese parts or???

 

[mattman]

A 3yr or 100000 mile warranty is just as long as the new vehicle engine warranty. Is this a FORD rebuilt motor? Was the motor installed at a FORD dealership? Usually the transmission needs rebuilt before the engine starts to give mechanical problems. If you stay on top of problems as they arrive and fix it the right way you can get alot of life out of a vehicle.

 

[ScottAR]

The supplier we use at work offers 3yrs/unlimited mileage for a non commerical driver.

We sell 1-3 a month and never had a failure since I've been there. If I liked the rig and it still did what I wanted; I'd re-engine one in a minute.

 

[jimainiac]

deerefan - I hope you have good luck with the new motor. The Chevy dealer rebuilt the 454 engine in our '98 K3500 about five years ago after the oil got contaminated from a leak in the intake manifold and it spun a bearing. We thought about getting rid of the truck, being "damaged goods" with the rebuilt engine, but so far so good, no problems.
Pulling that kind of load with your pickup, I would try to do everything I could to maintain the health of the transmission. I hope you have been regularly changing the fluid and filter, and if it didn't come equiped with a transmission cooler I would add one. Since the engine problem was a cracked head, I wonder if you get overheating when pulling the loaded trailer at highway speeds or up hills. Our first pickup was a half ton, and when we started pulling a horse trailer the first thing we had to do was put in a larger radiator to keep from overheating. The second thing we did was to add a transmission cooler. When we switched from a 2 horse trailer to a 3 horse, we decided it was time to get a heavier duty truck with a much higher tow rating so that we had a good cushion instead of being maxed out. We tend to tow into the mountains with 2 or 3 horses aboard, and the other benefit of a three quarter or one-ton truck are much bigger brakes.
All that being said, it's amazing what you can do with a half ton truck if you're careful and take care of it.