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Rationale posted:I'm looking for a work truck. I'd like to spend 30k or so. Diesel 4x4 service body hopefully. Would a mechanic's truck be shot to pieces? What kind of mechanic? I'd be looking for a high end carpenter's truck. They get beat on a lot less. Whatever you do don't buy one from a mason. They beat the piss out of their stuff, regularly overload it and then tow 500 million pound equipment behind a truck rated for 11,000 lbs. Rationale posted:Can newer diesels run on fry oil? You'd need to do some work to the oil or the truck. Well, by some I mean lots. Old mechanical diesels will run on used motor oil and hangover morning piss. New stuff is a lot pickier. Rationale posted:Do bigger frames last longer? What do you mean? Thicker/physically larger? Sure, more weight carrying capacity more metal to rust until they're gone, but don't get into the pissing wars about how x brand's frame doesn't flex when you overload the bed and run one side up a ridiculous incline vs the other brand does so much that you can't open it's doors. There's a reason frames need to flex unless they are massively overbuilt for their intended use (read: expensive in materials, heavy so you use more fuel). Rationale posted:How big of a truck can I drive without a cdl? Depends on where you are, but you're talking pickups so you shouldn't be concerned about CDLs. In the US a "regular" class C license is up to 26k GVWR on the vehicle with up to another 10K towing. Rationale posted:How much could I expect to pay for an outfitted rig? How much money do you have? You can spend more than that. The amount that you need to spend depends on what you actually need. I recently helped a buddy buy a very nice 15 year old Chevy 2500 gas utility body (owned by a carpenter!) for $9k. It came with a plow, which he sold for $2k. So now we've got a $6k truck that he's been running without incident for like 6 months. It looks good, all the poo poo works, it has power windows and AC and poo poo......totally fine except for some rust in places which is to be expected where we live. E: I guess the real question here is why do you need a diesel? Because they definitely come at a premium. If it's to run used fryer oil you aren't likely to get that money back in return. If it's because you are towing 10k lb poo poo around all day that's probably a good reason. Motronic fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Jul 30, 2017 |
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Jul 30, 2017 18:21
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https://www.knapheide.com/mechanics-trucks/30j-mechanics-service-trucks-p36/options I'm looking for something like that. I think that once I get all my tools on it, it'll be better off as a diesel. The crane is optional, but I could see it being -so- drat handy. Rationale fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Jul 30, 2017 |
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Jul 30, 2017 23:07
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Rationale posted:https://www.knapheide.com/mechanics-trucks/30j-mechanics-service-trucks-p36/options This goes back to what the hell you need to do with it. I mean....I've lusted over a knuckle boom truck or two, but I'd rarely use it so I just throw an engine crane in the back when I need to pick something up like that. If this is what you do on a regular basis it's totally justified and nobody is going to tell you not to get it (FYI, just went up a few grand past diesel and utility body), but nobody has any idea if you NEED that or not.....that's where the BFC part of this thread comes in. Also. a boom a on utility body is pretty loving specific use, since you have so little bed space. (again, think mason or maybe somebody who works on fire pumps)
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Jul 30, 2017 23:23
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Motronic posted:6500 lbs is pretty do-able in a newer 1/2 ton 4x4 with a larger-than-base motor option. Depending on your local market you can probably find an F150 with a 5.4l or a Chevy 1500 with a 5.3 or 6l. 4x4 is definitely a premium you'll be paying for, but if you want it to be good in the snow and don't have a skid steer to fill the bed with parking blocks/snow/whatever whenever it snows a 2 wheel drive pickup is gonna suck bad. Ok two things. One, the low mileage trucks I see mostly have attached plows. That would be handy, but is there a downside? Two, I want to spend $10-12 k or so on a truck. My wife wants to buy a truck that's $20k. Is there a sweet spot here for maintenance, reliability, and safely hauling her precious babies? I'm guessing 5k-7k miles a year.
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Jul 31, 2017 23:14
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The downside with the plow is that it's been used very heavily in winter with a lot of snow and salt, and plow work is generally tougher on the truck than say, driving down the highway with a trailer. On balance I'm not sure I'd be worried as long as there aren't obvious signs of structural rust.
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Aug 1, 2017 07:58
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The downside with the plow is that it's been used very heavily in winter with a lot of snow and salt, and plow work is generally tougher on the truck than say, driving down the highway with a trailer. Make certain the transmission (or the rest for the drivetrain) isn't hosed as the cycling from forward to reverse and heavy low speed loading really chews through some models.
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Aug 1, 2017 22:29
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Proposed Budget: US$7k, with an extra $3k budgeted to address reliability sore spots New or Used: Used Body Style: Pickup with at least a 6.75ft bed. Extended cab would be strongly preferred How will you be using the car?: Tow car/motorcycle to and from the track, use to haul home remodeling refuse to the recycling center/landfill What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, MPG I reside in the mid-Atlantic area of the US and have owned a F250 with the 7.3L IDI for the past eight years. Due to the previous owner's lack of maintenance has left on the truck, I'm trying to get into something with a lower total cost of ownership. A gas truck would be cheaper to run than a diesel given that I've averaged 6500 miles a year. However, I rarely drive it empty and those miles used are hard ones. I tried renting pickups from Uhaul or car rental companies in an attempt to cut my maintenance costs, but I've spent over $3700 on this just to make track days this year, and I'm close to the point where it's cheaper to just have a truck I own. My plan is to keep this for a max of three years, at which point I can afford to purchase a new truck and benefit from creature comforts like bluetooth and somewhat quiet cabins. The Ram 5.7L and Chevy 5.3s I've rented have both been capable of what I need, but I can't support the cash outlay for a current generation used model at this time. What I've gathered is that Ram trucks have front suspensions which need frequent maintenance, and FCA vehicle reliability is not stellar. Newer Ford F150s in my price range tend to have cam phaser, timing chain, oil pump, or spark plug issues. GM trucks tend to have stout drivelines, but the rest of the truck is falling apart. All the trucks I've owned previously have been diesels of some sort. Googling for data about each truck tends to highlight their weaknesses, but not strengths. This is where I'm hoping this thread would be helpful.
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Aug 4, 2017 15:08
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pr0craztinazn posted:Proposed Budget: US$7k, with an extra $3k budgeted to address reliability sore spots pre:Year Brand Model Options 5-Yr Maint 5-Yr Repair Total Cost/month 2013 Toyota Tacoma 2dr RC SB $5,067.00 $1,988.00 $7,055.00 $117.58 2013 Nissan Frontier 2dr CC SB $5,141.00 $2,283.00 $7,424.00 $123.73 2013 Honda Ridgeline 4dr CC SB 4WD $5,635.00 $2,283.00 $7,918.00 $131.97 2013 Nissan Titan 2dr CC SB $6,497.00 $1,988.00 $8,485.00 $141.42 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 2dr RC SB $6,197.00 $2,314.00 $8,511.00 $141.85 2013 Ram 1500 2dr RC SB $6,271.00 $2,314.00 $8,585.00 $143.08 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 2dr RC SB $6,359.00 $2,314.00 $8,673.00 $144.55 2013 Ram 2500 2dr RC LB $6,808.00 $2,314.00 $9,122.00 $152.03 2013 Ford F-150XL 2dr RC SB $6,731.00 $2,495.00 $9,226.00 $153.77 2013 GMC Sierra 2500HD 2dr RC LB $7,040.00 $2,314.00 $9,354.00 $155.90 2013 Ram 3500 2dr RC LB $6,952.00 $2,629.00 $9,581.00 $159.68 2013 Ford F-250XL 2dr RC LB $7,109.00 $2,495.00 $9,604.00 $160.07 2013 Ford F-350XL 2dr RC LB $7,109.00 $2,495.00 $9,604.00 $160.07 2013 Chevrolet Silverado2500HD 2dr RC LB $7,324.00 $2,314.00 $9,638.00 $160.63 2013 Toyota Tundra 2dr RC SB $7,810.00 $1,988.00 $9,798.00 $163.30 2013 Ford F-450XL 4drCCLB4WDDRW $6,764.00 $3,078.00 $9,842.00 $164.03 2013 Chevrolet Silverado3500HD 2dr RC LB $8,926.00 $2,314.00 $11,240.00 $187.33 2013 GMC Sierra 3500HD 2drRCLB4WDDRW $8,868.00 $2,504.00 $11,372.00 $189.53 Maintenance and repair costs seem to be primarily a function of the size of the truck, with little difference among brands. Get the smallest truck you can that will do the job for you.
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Aug 4, 2017 15:24
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pr0craztinazn posted:Proposed Budget: US$7k, with an extra $3k budgeted to address reliability sore spots In that price range, I'm not sure you can make a general recommendation and it'd just come down to the individual trucks and how they'd been maintained. Also, you can spend $100 on a new head unit and get bluetooth. FWIW, I have a 2001 F-150 with the 4.6 v8 and it's basically rock solid. It'd probably sell for $4500 and I don't really have any expectation for any major expenses for a long while.
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Aug 4, 2017 15:30
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Proposed Budget: Up to $9k, preferably in the $5k to $7k range New or Used: Used (clearly) Body Style: 4-door sedan is where I've been spending my time and where I assume I'll stay. How will you be using the car?: I have a reasonably short work commute (~4 miles) but may move to a longer one (~30 miles) in the next year in order to save on the ridiculous rents around here. Every three-four months I'll take a longer drive for the events I go to, as much as 5 hours of interstate driving (I'm in Vermont and I drive as far as Cape Cod or Portland, ME) What aspects are most important to you? Reliability is big - I like my car to just do the car things without me having to do a lot about it. I don't mind a smaller car in terms of overall footprint but I do need some headroom (I have a long torso and can't actually drive my sister's Neon without a ton of finagling because my head hits the roof, but I don't have any problems in my current '06 Sentra) I don't really want anything particularly fancy - I'd love to have cruise control, I don't mind driving a standard. I live in Vermont, so we have real winters and a whole lot of salt. EDIT: in case you were wondering, yes, I am wishy-washy about cars and decision-making. Ignoranus fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Aug 4, 2017 |
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Aug 4, 2017 23:54
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Take a look at a ca. 2012 Mazda 3.
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Aug 5, 2017 00:44
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What's wrong with the '06 Sentra? If you only really want to spend $5-7k this is a pertinent question.
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Aug 5, 2017 01:20
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IRQ posted:What's wrong with the '06 Sentra? If you only really want to spend $5-7k this is a pertinent question. Basically: rust out the rear end and back again. The steering rack evidently got so rusty that it began actively leaking power steering fluid (I put about a quart through it in a week until I got it into the mechanic for diagnosis) and they quoted me $1250 to repair it because they think the bit that connects the steering column to the steering rack is also so rusty it might not survive being taken apart anyway. Plus, lots of running board rust to the extent where it fails inspection. Ignoranus posted:I took some pictures and two short videos to show the extent of the rust. Imgur gallery is here. This is the first time I got up under there to take a close look myself and it seems like the passenger side is in really terrible shape. EDIT comedy answer "because I am bad at picking cars" Ignoranus fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Aug 5, 2017 |
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Aug 5, 2017 01:59
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Ok, well, that's probably the best answer I've ever seen to a "my not terribly old car is on its last legs" post. How do you feel about Priuses?
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Aug 5, 2017 02:21
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IRQ posted:Ok, well, that's probably the best answer I've ever seen to a "my not terribly old car is on its last legs" post. How do you feel about Priuses? I don't have any strong objections to them in general. I was under the impression they carried steeper upkeep because they're hybrids and as such have weirder business going on than your typical gas-only car.
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Aug 5, 2017 02:37
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It's the opposite. They're very well engineered and the hybrid parts mean the rest of the car (like brakes) does less work.
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Aug 5, 2017 04:43
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Ignoranus posted:Basically: rust out the rear end and back again. The steering rack evidently got so rusty that it began actively leaking power steering fluid (I put about a quart through it in a week until I got it into the mechanic for diagnosis) and they quoted me $1250 to repair it because they think the bit that connects the steering column to the steering rack is also so rusty it might not survive being taken apart anyway. Plus, lots of running board rust to the extent where it fails inspection. Did you drive that car through ocean surf twice a day followed by a powerwash with hot nitric acid because daaaamn
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Aug 5, 2017 08:05
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Number_6 posted:Did you drive that car through ocean surf twice a day followed by a powerwash with hot nitric acid because daaaamn Vermont winters evidently do not gently caress around. On that note, what should he do to take better care of his next car so it doesn't turn to swiss cheese? Also: Ignoranus: be sure to get any car inspected before purchase, because a mechanic would find crazy rust in odd places like the steering system because they can put the car on a lift and really look around in places you can't. CannonFodder fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Aug 5, 2017 |
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Aug 5, 2017 19:10
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CannonFodder posted:Vermont winters evidently do not gently caress around. Probably the most important thing is regular car washes (mainly the undercarriage, not just the paint) through the winter to keep the salt washed off. Keeping it waxed will help keep surface nicks sealed, as well. Anti-rust coatings are of variable quality and I don't have a lot of experience with them.
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Aug 5, 2017 19:15
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I bought the car in the early fall of last year. I definitely hosed up.
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Aug 5, 2017 21:00
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Ignoranus posted:I bought the car in the early fall of last year. I definitely hosed up. Not your fault. It takes years to develop the sort of rusting you showed in those pictures. It's the previous owner that let it rot. You said you paid $3k for it, which is dirt cheap for a 10-year-old Sentra. Now you know why it was so cheap. Thems the breaks when you buy a used car. Win some, lose some. I've bought a couple major stinkos in my time, too.
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Aug 5, 2017 21:20
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Deteriorata posted:Probably the most important thing is regular car washes (mainly the undercarriage, not just the paint) through the winter to keep the salt washed off. Keeping it waxed will help keep surface nicks sealed, as well. This. Ideally, after every large snow storm you should get the undercarriage washed so keep the salt from sitting there and rotting away.
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Aug 5, 2017 22:55
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Deteriorata posted:Not your fault. It takes years to develop the sort of rusting you showed in those pictures. It's the previous owner that let it rot. It is in fact his fault for not being more careful in buying the car.
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Aug 6, 2017 18:27
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:It is in fact his fault for not being more careful in buying the car. Well, yes. The rust itself was not his fault, however. If he was beating up on himself for not taking care of salt last winter, it didn't make any difference. The rust was already there and the car was mortally wounded. I was trying to be polite about saying he'd gotten suckered on the car. We all get bit a few times before learning what to look for.
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Aug 6, 2017 18:34
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Proposed Budget: $10k-15k, 20k absolute max if it's amazing. New or Used: Used Body Style: 2 door coupe or 2/4 door hatch. How will you be using the car?: Daily driver (12 minute commute lol), 1-2 person transport, Long trips occasionally, mountain rides. If I get a hatch I might try to tow my bike on a trailer. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, Fun, Manual preferably, doesn't need to be fast, but no 8.5 seconds to 60 poo poo. Preferably below 50k miles and newer than 2010~, if I wanted an old creaky car I'd keep driving my toyota. I'm In The US Primarily looking at 2012-2015: Toyoburu FR-86Z, Ford FiST/FoST, VW GTI/Golf, Mini Cooper, Genesis Coupe. I'm just doing research this second, probably won't buy until January. Current leaders are the Fords and the GTI. If anyone has any suggestions I'm open to them. If anyone can find a really nice low mileage Saab 9-2x Aero that got babied and garaged I'll go buy that instead. If someone can cut 6 inches off my legs and torso i'll go get a miata instead. Edit: Thanks for helping 
spouse fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Aug 6, 2017 |
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Aug 6, 2017 21:54
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Mazda 3?
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Aug 6, 2017 22:26
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spouse posted:Proposed Budget: $10k-15k, 20k absolute max if it's amazing. "Reliability" and "fun" are usually mutually exclusive. Fun driving tends to put a lot of stress on components, making them fail faster. Consequently, reliable cars tend to be really boring to drive so you don't push them very hard. Nearly all the ones you listed are high on fun, low on reliability (or at least high in repair and maintenance costs). A notable exception is the Mazda 3, which is both fun to drive and reasonably reliable. With the 2.5L engine, its 0-60 time is 7.4 seconds, by the way.
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Aug 6, 2017 22:38
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Yeah, the Mazda 3 is in my long list, but I hadn't looked at it closely. By reliable, I mostly mean "will not cost me an arm and a leg to get to 100k miles", and by buying 3-5 years old, i'm avoiding the bulk of depreciation. I'm comfy doing my own tires, brakes, oil, alternator, and other minor stuff, so that's fine. Basically, since 100% of my 11 year car owning career has been 4 cyl japanese econoboxes and I have no other frame of reference, what's so expensive/unreliable about these cars? Are turbos expensive to maintain? Is there a part that gets chewed up? Are you talking about tires? I mean reliable in terms of won't explode and leave me on the side of the road (so no FCA), will start up daily for my commute (so no kitsch projects since I'm a noob), and no $1600 alternators (why I haven't bought an old porsche or bimmer even though I super want one).
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Aug 6, 2017 22:58
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Mustang Camaro Challenger? I know you said no FCA but lol if you think a Challenger is less reliable than a FoST/GTI or MINI. It's not a Biturbo just because it's technically made by the same company. G35/350Z?
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Aug 6, 2017 23:22
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Throatwarbler posted:Mustang Camaro Challenger? I know you said no FCA but lol if you think a Challenger is less reliable than a FoST/GTI or MINI. It's not a Biturbo just because it's technically made by the same company. I'd do a mustang or challenger, but am having trouble finding a GT or R/T in my price range that looks good, and then there's the gas mileage and insurance cost increase. I'm not really interested in a V6 of either, but I'd consider the ecoboost stang. I despise the camaro's styling, even though it's probably the best driving car of the three. Challenger's platform is probably the only FCA i'd consider. Don't like the G35, I've driven one, 350z is getting in the "too old" category and I've not yet seen one in my area that's both manual and not ruined by "tuners". There's one 370z near me that fits my needs, but then I'm running into that tires/gas/insurance increase issue, along with the fact that the 370 is significantly less practical than any of the other cars I'm looking at, except maybe kinda the FR-S. I was primarily staying away from the ponycars/actual sports cars/GT cars because if I wanna go fast, I'll just buy a faster bike. I'd like something that's entertaining to commute and trip in, but isn't gonna become a significant expense in my life.
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Aug 6, 2017 23:33
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spouse posted:I'd do a mustang or challenger, but am having trouble finding a GT or R/T in my price range that looks good, and then there's the gas mileage and insurance cost increase. I'm not really interested in a V6 of either, but I'd consider the ecoboost stang. I despise the camaro's styling, even though it's probably the best driving car of the three. Challenger's platform is probably the only FCA i'd consider. TBH, the expected costs for repair and maintenance for a FIAT 500 Abarth is lower than that of any of the cars you've listed thus far. Any of the cars you've listed are functionally equivalent in terms of their reliability. The differences are not that big. Get something you like and don't worry about it.
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Aug 6, 2017 23:42
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Deteriorata posted:Get something you like and don't worry about it. Salvaged Mark IV Supra for $27000 on craigslist, got it! Just kidding, thanks for the advice
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Aug 6, 2017 23:46
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:It is in fact his fault for not being more careful in buying the car. Yeah, I don't have any illusions about how I hosed this one up. I'm not happy about it, but I understand that it's on me. EDIT: Prius was suggested as an option earlier. Are there particular years I should look for and/or avoid? I assume my price range is going to limit me anyway. Double fake edit: I see one on Craigslist nearby, sold by a small-time dealer, 2010 Prius 2 with 130k miles for $7k, was apparently listed this time last month at $8k but there must have been no takers then. Actual second edit: There's another one nearby (this one is a Prius 3) that's a 2011 with 89k miles for just shy of $9k. Do either of these numbers seem out of whack to you guys? The 2010 appears to more or less line up with Kelley Blue Book, though I guess that shouldn't surprise me, and the 2011 is a bit below it but still within the general range. Ignoranus fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Aug 7, 2017 |
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Aug 7, 2017 03:48
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Deteriorata posted:TBH, the expected costs for repair and maintenance for a FIAT 500 Abarth is lower than that of any of the cars you've listed thus far. ok edmunds tco calculator
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Aug 7, 2017 05:56
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I'm looking at upgrading the Opel Corsa I'm leasing right now, and thinking about going with the Opel Astra OnStar 1,4 T 150 Enjoy PLUS instead, or going over to a Seat Leon Style 1,4 TSI 150 instead. What do you guys think of these two cars? I've only tried the Astra so far, and I like it, and I'm going to go test the Leon one of these days. (This is Denmark, so everything car related is hella expensive, since we've got a 100-150% tax on new cars. I think I'm going with leasing, since some of the political parties are trying to get the taxes reformed to affect economic cars less) Boz0r fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Aug 7, 2017 |
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Aug 7, 2017 10:01
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spouse posted:I was primarily staying away from the ponycars/actual sports cars/GT cars because if I wanna go fast, I'll just buy a faster bike. I'd like something that's entertaining to commute and trip in, but isn't gonna become a significant expense in my life. I'd highly suggest going and driving a Mazda3 to see if it works for you because that's basically its niche.
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Aug 7, 2017 14:37
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IRQ posted:I'd highly suggest going and driving a Mazda3 to see if it works for you because that's basically its niche. That's my plan, gonna go test a FoST and a Mazda 3 and a GTI and see if I like any of them. I hear more and more Mazda 3 owners online saying so many nice things too, so maybe I'll like it I certainly like the styling of the hatch.
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Aug 7, 2017 16:02
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spouse posted:That's my plan, gonna go test a FoST and a Mazda 3 and a GTI and see if I like any of them. I hear more and more Mazda 3 owners online saying so many nice things too, so maybe I'll like it I've drove all three of those and the Mazda 3 is definitely the most livable while still being a fun little thing to throw around. It's not got the power of either of the others, but power isn't everything.
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Aug 7, 2017 16:05
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Thermopyle posted:I've drove all three of those and the Mazda 3 is definitely the most livable while still being a fun little thing to throw around. It's not got the power of either of the others, but power isn't everything. Definitely not. Like I said, I've got the bike (Kawi Ex500) and that's quicker at legal speeds than anything car-wise I can afford, so I'm not concerned. I'm just tired of driving a creaky, scratched up toyota and am ready to move to something more enjoyable. When I commute to work on the bike, it's a joy. When I do it in the Toyota, it's a chore.
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Aug 7, 2017 16:14
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Boz0r posted:I'm looking at upgrading the Opel Corsa I'm leasing right now, and thinking about going with the Opel Astra OnStar 1,4 T 150 Enjoy PLUS instead, or going over to a Seat Leon Style 1,4 TSI 150 instead. I strongly prefer the Leon. The interior is better and it drives better. The Astra is fine but unless you're getting a stupendous deal on it (which you might since the PSA acquisition limbo thing going on), I'd get the Leon.
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Aug 7, 2017 16:30
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