Would you buy this truck?

[RollingsFarms]

If he were my kid, I'd buy him an 80's model 2wd chevy or ford 3/4ton truck. Lots of steel and slower than anything else on the road. Chances are, it will be wrecked either way, so why wreck an expensive truck when a $1500 beater will do the job?

Theres no such thing as a $1500 beater that runs anymore, not around here at least. Those old trucks would be perfect but cash for clunkers killed off most of them. They're like hens teeth now. Grandpa died and his family didn't want to mess with the truck so they hauled it down to the lot to trade in for the cash for clunkers thing.

 

[dfkrug]

Theres no such thing as a $1500 beater that runs anymore, not around here
at least. Those old trucks would be perfect but cash for clunkers killed off most of them.

Yeah, CfC, another failed gummint program that increased the debt and hurt the poor. We have a state
program here that will give you $1K ($1500, if low-income) to scrap your drivable car, if you want to turn it in.

Just got back from SC last month....2.17/gal for gas. Wow. I paid 3.69/gal 2 days ago here.

 

[2458n]

That makes the 1984 Ford F-250 with a 6.9 diesel and 45,000 miles at a auction next Sunday look special. It will be painfully slow and cheap. One owner. Ford does not have parts for the engine available any more ,but International may.

 

[crazyal]

Clearly you know very little about pickups made int he 80s. Back then pickups weren't required to have the same safety features as cars. The doors were nothing more than two pieces of thin steel. The front bumpers were nothing but stamped steel bolted to the frame, no energy absorbing anything. Even a clock was an expensive option. Just look at the weight difference between what a 80's Toyota weighed compared to now. It's a good 50% more, a lot of which is structural steel needed to pass crash tests. While I have fond memories of the mid 80s style Toyota pickups, they were one of the best trucks for going off road, even the SR5 models were really basic transportation.

Then you need to account for inflation. $10k in 1985 is about equal to $22k now. Add up the advancements and extras you get, say an extra $5k, and you're looking at about what a new Tacoma costs today.

The trouble with Toyota trucks is that Toyota has jacked-up the price to turn them into a cash cow.

Example: In 2013 we bought a new Corolla to replace a 1996 Corolla we also bought new. Both are/were bottom-of-the-line Corollas with auto- the 2013 has a few more "do-dads"
than the 1996 had but they are really close to the same.

We paid just under 20% more for the 2013 than we paid for the 1996, cash sale in both cases.
20% price increase after 17 years.


In 2001 I bought a new Ranger with V6 and auto, and paid $11,750.00, also cash sale. At the time I also priced regular cab Toyota 2WD 4 cylinder trucks and could have bought one of those for about the same money.

To buy that same Toyota today (assuming any regular cabs are left) would cost at least $18,000.00
Better than 50% price increase over 14 years for the truck, vs 20% price increase over 17 years for the Corolla.

Way back in 1986 (after Reagan/Volcker killed inflation and the economy as well) I bought a box-stock Toyota 2WD regular cab 4 cylinder manual shift
for $5,835.00 cash sale. Only option was a step bumper (not standard in those days, nor was a radio or A/C). So that is better than 300% price increase over
29 years. Yes a new one would come with radio & A/C standard, but still one heck of an increase in price.

Back in '86, one could buy a Toyota pick up cheaper than a Toyota car. But that was before Toyota realized they could turn the trucks into cash cows.

Of course, all the makers of trucks are doing the same thing; one need on look at historical trends in transaction costs.

This chart only goes through 2013, but the trend is continuing and accelerating:
http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/06/Pricey-pickups.png

 

[dfkrug]

While I have fond memories of the mid 80s style Toyota pickups, they were one of the best
trucks for going off road, even the SR5 models were really basic transportation.

Yeah, that's right. My '80 4x4 weighed about 2950# and the ride was brutal. I took it on the infamous Black Bear Jeep
Trail in CO 30-some years ago and it did very well. In '89, Toyota "civilized" their trucks, esp if you got all the options.
My '89 4x4 V6 was the same size, but weighed 500# more. The ride was worlds better. Gas mileage, the same crappy
18MPG on the highway. My '89 truck was the most reliable vehicle I ever owned.

At least my '04 Taco can get 21, even with more weight and power.