Thinking about an F350 - possibly a duely
03-17-2017, 02:34 PM
#21
It is great when driving in stormy weather or busy city traffic. You can see everything because you are sitting up so high. I honestly really enjoy it as a winter DD. Even for road trips, it is decent. I have driven to Calgary (500 miles away) several times in mine this winter and other than sucking down a lot of fuel while driving at top speed, I have no complaints.
03-17-2017, 03:03 PM
#22
Registered User
Thread Starter
Whew, I've been doing research for about 2 hours now. I've crossed off some things, at least.
-Ruled out f350s, they definitely seem like a handful. Still pretty cool though, and I would totally be interested in getting a 2016+ with a warranty, but those are wayyyy out of my price range, obviously (I'm replacing a freakin' Jetta).
-Almost ruled out Diesels as a whole. They seem like a handful too and I have zero knowledge on maintenance, so it would be a learning curve. I keep reading mixed opinions on if short trips to the grocery store would destroy them or not, for the most part as long as the drive gets it to temp, it'll be fine (my commute would). I still see the appeal in that they can run for 300k miles, so used ones with 150k miles is like nothing. And the torque would be great. Still on my list as a possibility.
-2008+ F150s look pretty good. I saw one with leather, heated seats, etc, for a good price. The engines seem pretty solid. They don't really respond to mods, but it would be cool to throw headers and an exhaust on one. The have 300hp 365tq, which is not bad but not great. They seem like a great cruising car.
-Hemi RAM 1500s look appealing too. I am not familiar with HEMIs, but they sound cool, right?
A bit more hp/tq than the Ford v8. Their interiors are lacking, from what I've seen.
-Toyota Tundras almost crossed off my list, not as cool as a HEMI RAM imo, but nicer interiors. More power though.
-Still looking into Chevy diesel options, not too interested in their mid 2000 v8s.
-Found a Diesel Excursion for sale, but a hideous color.
Of course, I stumbled upon non-truck cars like a 08 550i, various FRSs, an s2000, 13 Si (I like the way they look). Kind of looking at those, but I'm pretty sure my next step is to test drive an F150 with the 5.4l, and maybe find some sort of Diesel to test drive.
-Ruled out f350s, they definitely seem like a handful. Still pretty cool though, and I would totally be interested in getting a 2016+ with a warranty, but those are wayyyy out of my price range, obviously (I'm replacing a freakin' Jetta).
-Almost ruled out Diesels as a whole. They seem like a handful too and I have zero knowledge on maintenance, so it would be a learning curve. I keep reading mixed opinions on if short trips to the grocery store would destroy them or not, for the most part as long as the drive gets it to temp, it'll be fine (my commute would). I still see the appeal in that they can run for 300k miles, so used ones with 150k miles is like nothing. And the torque would be great. Still on my list as a possibility.
-2008+ F150s look pretty good. I saw one with leather, heated seats, etc, for a good price. The engines seem pretty solid. They don't really respond to mods, but it would be cool to throw headers and an exhaust on one. The have 300hp 365tq, which is not bad but not great. They seem like a great cruising car.
-Hemi RAM 1500s look appealing too. I am not familiar with HEMIs, but they sound cool, right?
A bit more hp/tq than the Ford v8. Their interiors are lacking, from what I've seen.-Toyota Tundras almost crossed off my list, not as cool as a HEMI RAM imo, but nicer interiors. More power though.
-Still looking into Chevy diesel options, not too interested in their mid 2000 v8s.
-Found a Diesel Excursion for sale, but a hideous color.
Of course, I stumbled upon non-truck cars like a 08 550i, various FRSs, an s2000, 13 Si (I like the way they look). Kind of looking at those, but I'm pretty sure my next step is to test drive an F150 with the 5.4l, and maybe find some sort of Diesel to test drive.
03-17-2017, 03:06 PM
#23
Registered User
Thread Starter
Also, the fiancé floated the option of going in on a car together, she's interested in 17 gti and 17 a3. We're going to an audi stealershit tomorrow. If we didn't get one together, she'd get a Fit (ok, not bad) or a Prius (ugh).
03-17-2017, 03:06 PM
#24
Like I said, go buy a big, heavy car with a big engine. It'll be enough of a contrast, especially to a 911 or S2000.
03-17-2017, 06:27 PM
#25
Owned a GMC Sierra 1500 z71 for 17 years. It was my first vehicle.
As i got older, a number of cars rotated in and out of the stable while the truck stayed.
I recently trimmed the truck from the stable and replaced it with an impreza 5-door. s2k is my other car.
With the exception of transporting furniture and helping people move, my subie 5-door does everything better than my truck. It's a far better snowsport/ mountain driving/ poor whether vehicle than the truck ever was. It gets about 3x the mpg of my truck. it handles far better, and even though i only have a POS N/A impreza, it's about as fast as my old truck was. It wins hands down for anything DD or parking related too.
The only reason to get a 'big' truck is
1. need it as a true working/utility vehicle (and no other vehicle will suffice),
2. need to tow/haul on a regular basis,
3. your hobbies mandate the bed carrying capacity for bikes/atvs/go-karts.
4. ground clearance due to lack of roads (though a Jeep, certain suvs, crosstrek, etc. may arguably be better alternatives)
5. you want a big burly manly vehicle due to how it psychologically makes you feel
I dont miss my truck, and i dont miss people bugging me to borrow or help out with my truck. And, for the once a year that I absolutely need a truck, i'll go to u-haul and rent one for $30-$40/day.
Aside from the sentiment of it being my first vehicle and owning it for 17 years, I dont miss having a truck around at all.
As i got older, a number of cars rotated in and out of the stable while the truck stayed.
I recently trimmed the truck from the stable and replaced it with an impreza 5-door. s2k is my other car.
With the exception of transporting furniture and helping people move, my subie 5-door does everything better than my truck. It's a far better snowsport/ mountain driving/ poor whether vehicle than the truck ever was. It gets about 3x the mpg of my truck. it handles far better, and even though i only have a POS N/A impreza, it's about as fast as my old truck was. It wins hands down for anything DD or parking related too.
The only reason to get a 'big' truck is
1. need it as a true working/utility vehicle (and no other vehicle will suffice),
2. need to tow/haul on a regular basis,
3. your hobbies mandate the bed carrying capacity for bikes/atvs/go-karts.
4. ground clearance due to lack of roads (though a Jeep, certain suvs, crosstrek, etc. may arguably be better alternatives)
5. you want a big burly manly vehicle due to how it psychologically makes you feel
I dont miss my truck, and i dont miss people bugging me to borrow or help out with my truck. And, for the once a year that I absolutely need a truck, i'll go to u-haul and rent one for $30-$40/day.
Aside from the sentiment of it being my first vehicle and owning it for 17 years, I dont miss having a truck around at all.
03-18-2017, 08:31 AM
#26
d1rtyc4r- be sure to drive some of these different trucks before purchase. A tundra drives really nice... a 1-ton, not so much! The only added maintenance I know about regarding diesel models is frequent (15k-20k mile) fuel filter changes. It is an easy job, but does cost some money. The added resale value of a diesel more than offsets the additional cost of maintenance IMO. Do not underestimate the residual values. Gas trucks plummet in my area as compared with diesels.
03-18-2017, 09:06 AM
#27
I was all set to buy either a slightly used Ford F-250 or a ram 2500 several years ago but after I read about all of the reliability issues (turbos on the ford and DEF issues on the ram) and the safety issues on pickups in general (poor side impact crash results) I just bought a Ridgeline. I have kids that I transported daily so I needed something safe. Deisel is really for those that need to tow. It take forever for a deisel engine to reach optimal operating temps. If you have a short commute it's extremely bad for deisel engines in general. Some guys will run their trucks on the highway with a loaded trailer purposely to help get the engine running hot once or twice a week for engine longevity. The new aluminum f150/f250's are extremely safe (excellent small offset crash scores) from what I understand. That 6.2 engine has been around a while so I am pretty sure most of the kinks have been worked out. It's probably the only new pickup I would consider being that I need to pick up the kids from school and have a relative short commute 20 miles a day.
03-18-2017, 02:29 PM
#28
It takes my vette longer to reach operating temps than my diesel ram. I don't even use the supplied radiator covers in the winter.
03-18-2017, 03:36 PM
#29
They are big and they get old fast. Parking it, or busy traffic on a service road where only small gaps exist. Dually exists for commercial work, especially towing. If you won't be towing tens of thousands of pounds there are much better choices. Even full size trucks today. like the F150, are behomeths. They also drive like shit. The new Ridgeline drives and handles better than any other truck on the market. If you want power, buy a Raptor, either V8 or new TTEB.
03-18-2017, 04:59 PM
#30
I have owned a lot to diesel trucks over the years, every brand under the sun. One thing I like about them is that if you buy the right truck you could drive it for a year or so and when you get tired of it you can just about break even selling it. The older the truck the more sought after they are aka 7.3l powerstroke, 5.9l cummins. Stay away from the 6.0l powerstroke that one hurt me the most. I have a new gmc duramax and it's a Cadillac to me. Btw if looking new there are several dealers taking $10-12k off sticker. Not too bad of a deal