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Perfect goddamn thread for this. I'm in the market for a used light truck for beater driving. Our daily driver is an appliance. In proper BFC form, I put together a spreadsheet. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, but to help me make a decision I included a Miles Driven*-to-Price Ratio. *price / miles driven * 100, in currency format. Price is my most important factor, followed by miles driven, so I thought it would make sense to use a metric incorporating both. Not surprisingly, the trucks with higher odometer reading generated better M:P ratios. The downside to a higher reading is more frequent/costly repairs. This is keeping me from automatically gravitating towards the lowest M:P ratio, which is the $3,900 F150 with 167k miles. Anyone see a flaw to using this ratio? Is there another I should be using? Using the data below, what trucks would you put on your shortlist? I plan on running vehicle histories once the list is whittled down some. Year Years Old Make Model Price Miles P:M Ratio Cyl 2004 7 Ford Ranger $5,000 62705 $7.97 6 2005 6 Ford Ranger $5,878 83004 $7.08 6 2007 4 Ford Ranger $6,300 48000 $13.13 4 2004 7 Mazda B2300 $4,500 89000 $5.06 4 2004 7 Chevy Slvrdo $4,988 146971 $3.39 8 2006 5 Chevy Clrdo $4,775 129000 $3.70 4 2005 6 Ford Ranger $4,599 108000 $4.26 4 2004 7 Ford F150 $3,900 167779 $2.32 6 Right now the Chevy Colorado is looking good. At 5 years old it is the second youngest, has one of the lower prices, 3rd best P:E ratio, and is a gas sipper at 4-cylinders. It downside is having the 3rd highest miles driven, though. I'm also liking the 2004 Mazda B2300 with a neutral P:M ratio, low-to-neutral miles driven, gas sipper, and the 2005 Ford Ranger for $4599. Regardless of which way I go, I plan on negotiating the pants off the price. Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Jan 15, 2011 |
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Jan 14, 2011 22:05
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Leperflesh posted:It's a little confusing because I think you're using the term "mileage" to refer to how many miles the truck has on the odometer. Whereas normally I think the term refers to fuel economy. Correct, thought my asterisk would explain that but i'll edit the post. I meant odometer reading. quote:It's not a terrible idea to take the odometer reading into account when shopping for used vehicles. However, miles-driven is not a universal constant. City miles put far more wear on an engine than highway miles. And, a truck that's been used heavily for off-road, work, etc. will be much more worn out in the body and trim, than a highway queen. How well the vehicle has been maintained is also a huge, huge factor. I'm resigned to the fact that I won't know if it was highway or street driven, so I'm assuming street. I also have no way of knowing how it was maintained short of the owner showing me a log, which I'd be surprised if he did. quote:Finally, the list price isn't necessarily what you'll actually pay. From a dealer, you should definitely, absolutely underbid that price - nobody should pay asking price for a used car from a dealership. For private party sales, it's less sure - some people are firm on a price, others are being wildly optimistic or are asking much more than they expect to actually get. Like I said, I'm negotiating the pants off the price, regardless of who I end up buying from. I'm not hurting for a second car so if the owner doesn't budge, I'll go on my way. quote:In the end, the take-away is that there are too many variables for a spreadsheet like this to be all that useful, unfortunately. You need to take each vehicle on its merits. It's worth researching individual models to see if any of them had problems in a given year - some unreliable engine or transmission or something, of course. That might help you eliminate some options. Beyond that, you'll be best-served actually investigating every potential purchase, even though that takes a lot of time and effort. At the very least the spreadsheet is helpful in keeping the basic information in one place so I'm not referring to several bookmarked webpages. It's bad enough that all the trucks I found were the same color.
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Jan 15, 2011 23:18
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IOwnCalculus posted:If you really want it to be a beater, you don't need to spend that much. This got me thinking because I didn't see any trucks for less than $3900. I need to expand my search to Craigslist and local rags. quote:In my searches locally, I'm targetting something around the $2500 price point (after negotiations) and I'm coming up with plenty of '98+ Rangers that meet my requirements (four cylinder, five-speed stick, not wrecked). What odometer reading are you finding on those 98's? quote:I also don't quite get how your "current price to current odometer reading" is supposed to tell you which truck to buy - it'll point you at the cheapest, highest-mileage truck there is. Yeah, it's not useful for sorting them all into some ranked order. What I'm trying to accomplish is something like a price-to-earnings ratio. Something that can be applied to any car and would give me an idea if the truck is priced competitively or not. quote:Across all of those trucks, parts and maintenance costs are going to be fairly similar. The big differentiator is going to be fuel costs (which can be a significant difference if you compare a 4cyl Ranger to a V8 Silverado), how beaten the truck has been over the years, and your initial purchase price. Noted. I'll stick with the 4-cyl's. quote:Also, in case you didn't know, the Mazda B-series is simply a rebadged Ranger. Strangely, everyone I find with a B-series to sell wants more than people with equivalent Rangers do. If you do go for an older Ranger, stick with '98+ as there were some pretty decent upgrades to the truck that year. That I did find out in my research. I'm seeing less Mazda's for sale.
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Jan 15, 2011 23:37
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You nailed it. Autotrader is what I had used first and it returned nothing less than $3,900. I just finished scouring CL with a steel wool scrubber and I think I found a good one. I spoke to the owner and he was a pretty cool, talkative, blue-collar type. 2000 Ranger asking price $2,500 with 98k miles, 4 cyl with toolbox, no accidents, slight bumper damage. All the other like-year Rangers are easily into the upper 150k's on the odometer and a few hundred dollars higher in asking price. The next closest Ranger odometer-wise is a year old and asking price is $3,000. If the VIN and title clear out, I'm going balls deep on this guy. figuratively Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 16, 2011 |
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Jan 16, 2011 01:37
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You know how in those submarine movies there is always that time where where an enemy launches a torpedo, then the hero submarine throws out some spinning flares and poo poo and the torpedo turns a different direction at the last second? Well this truck was that spinning flare. As soon as I sat in it a feeling of dread washed over me. I can get past the obvious signs of a major yet undisclosed accident, the metal poking through the seat cushion. I can look beyond the absence of a radio and the shifter not showing if the car was in Reverse, Neutral, or Drive. But what I can't get past is the odometer starting with a 9 instead of a 0, as, you know, it was advertised to be. Someone had tried loving around with the odometer and failed miserably. Even if they had succeeded, there was no way that truck was clocking in at just under 100k miles. I couldn't even get it out of the driveway that's how sticky and jammed the shifter was. The search continues.
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Jan 17, 2011 14:02
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Is putting a 33% downpayment on a used car a pretty good idea or is there some glaring consequence I'm overlooking, such as this being a bad idea in case I get into an accident and the car is totalled? Background: Leased 2009 Honda CR-V (I know, I know. It's our last lease) expires in less than a month. We want to buy the car. We've always wanted to buy the car. We are over the miles by a ridiculous amount, which we also anticipated. Residual value is $15k. I can put anywhere between $0 - $5k down. $0 down payment: $435/month $5k down payment: $290/month The down payment is 100% funded from sale of company stock (ESPP) where I received a 15% discount and stock price had appreciated modestly over the past 2 years. With my credit history and dashing good looks, I was offered 4.5% with a down payment of $1k. What rate would I command with putting the full $5k/33% down? I was thinking 3.5% but would be satisfed with 4%. The total amount after interest is really not a big deal; just a few hundred up or down. Suave Fedora fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Feb 16, 2012 |
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Feb 16, 2012 17:24
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TraderStav posted:Provided your credit isn't poo poo, 4.5% is high. I refi'd my auto loans last year (before rates dropped even further) for 3.74%. Check with your credit union, you don't need to finance it through the dealer. I already checked; our credit union is offering a higher rate on used cars than the dealer, and the dealer goes directly through Honda Financial.
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Feb 16, 2012 17:32
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We're getting a wee bit off the meat of my post. The difference between 4.5% and 3.5% on a $10k loan is $100. Over the life of the loan that comes out to less than $3 in interest a month. I just wanted to know if anyone can provide an argument against putting a large down payment on a depreciating asset like a vehicle. Short of that, I'll assume that if I can't pay for the vehicle all in cash, the next best thing is to go with as large a down payment as possible and financing the rest.
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Feb 16, 2012 20:41
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Looking to replace an 05 Hyundai Tucson: I'm in a 2009 CR-V right now and am dying to get rid of it. The seats SUCK and feel like they were pulled from the Accords. I'm constantly shifting my legs around to get comfortable.
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May 6, 2014 19:01
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Proposed Budget: $25k - $35k New or Used: New Body Style: Mid-sized SUV How will you be using the car?: Daily driver, long commute (2.5h round trip), two small children, frequent road trips from Miami to Orlando, interested in road-tripping more of The South at some point, fine with 2WD, no towing, built in TVs a Huge Plus, 2nd row captain's chairs a Huge Plus. We'd like more creature comforts than offered by a cross-over. What aspects are most important to you? Reliability, lower price What we're running away from: 2009 Honda CR-V and its disastrous seats that I'm shifting in every 5 miles. Right now our short list consists of: Dodge Durango SXT Plus, Hyundai Santa Fe Limited, Chevy Traverse LS, and Toyota Highlander LE.
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Mar 27, 2015 19:20
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Throatwarbler posted:Do you need more than 5 seats? The new Nissan Murano and the new Ford Edge both look quite nice, I hopefully will get to check both of these out in the next few days. If you do need 3 rows consider the Nissan Pathfinder or Honda Pilot. The Pilot especially since it's getting replaced next year with a new model should be available with some hefty discounts. Thanks for replying and giving me some to chew on. Yes, we need at least 7 seats because our two boys our growing and we have cousins and grandmas to transport at times. Our preference is that second row consists of captains chairs. My wife ruled out the Pilot and Pathfinder from the very beginning. Happy wife happy all that jazz. After test-driving the Durango and Traverse this weekend and getting user feedback on the Highlander and Sante Fe, we are set on the Durango. I really liked the wrappiness of the leather seats and driver area, as well as the beefiness of the front end. We will be getting the Limited trim. One concern: I sensed some pause when coming out of a stop into first gear that I hope won't replicate itself when I test drive it again. It was in automatic shifter mode. Is there any fire to that smoke?
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Mar 29, 2015 23:33
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Suave Fedora posted:...we are set on the Durango. I really liked the wrappiness of the leather seats and driver area, as well as the beefiness of the front end. We will be getting the Limited trim. Did some random research and answered my own question: "The new eight-speed transmission is more than adequate. However, in Eco mode (which is the mode to which the vehicle defaults) there was a slight lag before accelerating past cars, which seemed to bother several of my coworkers more than it did me. (They drove a different but similarly equipped V-6 Durango Limited in Chicago as well as a V-8-powered Citadel model.) One commented that, with the V-6, the Eco mode could jerk the SUV around when it was time to pass or accelerate. Another editor cited some herky-jerkiness in stop-and-go traffic and said the first step on the accelerator was always a reminder to lean over and turn off Eco mode. They had less criticism for the V-8 version."
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Mar 31, 2015 01:34
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There could be more than a few things going on here, with her unrealistic car expectations being just one of those things. It is good that you are having a serious, sit-down discussion because that's what you two need. Don't argue with her over text, its an awful medium for any type of communication that isn't "omw home" or "want chinese". You need to explain to her the numbers. Specifically, the cost of ownership of owning a used, luxury vehicle. Draw comparisons with maintenance but don't use specific models when comparing a reasonable car. e.g. "An oil change for the Audi, which you have to do every x miles, costs $a much. An oil change for a standard car, which you do at every y miles (hopefully greater than x), costs $b much (hopefully less than a)." Do the same with tires, flushes, hell even wipers. Show her how EVERY loving liquid or part costs more than any given standard American of Asian vehicle. Whatever you do, don't steer her towards a specific vehicle. She can do that on her own after she decides "for herself" that the Audi is not a realistic option. Unless she asks for your help of course. Lastly, you need to do a better job of explaining to your woman what YOUR concerns are. That you have a bit of student debt built up, that you've managed your debt history successfully by making realistic choices during your young adult life, and you would like to continue that practice because it is who you are. This is very important. If you are in a relationship that doesn't allow you to be who you are, you will be miserable. She can't use the same argument against you ala "I need this car in order for me to be me" because owning an expensive foreign vehicle is not the sort of character trait that brings any sort of meaningful fulfillment or sense of purpose. If it does - for her - then go back to my opening thought. In order to convince her, you will have to make her believe that she came up with the idea on her own. If she feels you are forcing your opinion on her, she will be much harder to convince. So go all inception-style on her.
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Apr 2, 2015 15:37
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Suave Fedora posted:Proposed Budget: $25k - $35k guys GUYS we went with the 2015 Durango, Limited trim with 2nd row Captain's Chairs (collapsible), black (I wanted red but none avail), memory seating. We're in ride-heaven coming from a no-frills Honda CR-V and it has greatly improved our daily commute. Tomorrow I get to fill the 25-gal tank for the first time  
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Apr 7, 2015 20:46
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nm posted:If you *need* a car, seak out a $3k car that is mechanially sound, but cosmetically poor.
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Apr 16, 2015 19:51
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