What would you look for?

[BobCat]

My truck has 576k miles and 20 years on it, and may (or may not) be on its way out.

There is no vehicle that I lust after.  I'm out of touch with the automotive world, have been satisfied with my Cummins, and haven't kept up with what is available.

My brother tells me, "Why look for a used car?  You've already got a used car" - but new frightens me, the first scratch, the first windshield crack, and so forth.  Not to mention depreciation; used to be, you bought a new car and the value dropped by half once you had the title in your name and drove it around the block.  Don't know if that is still true?

He as a Nissan electric car and hates it - great acceleration, lousy range.  Calls it his "golf cart".  Don't know what prompted him (Mr. Pontiac 389) to buy such a thing, all that crap about no oil changes, no gas, no cooling system / belts / hoses, no spark plugs / cap/rotor/wires, no exhaust system to rot out - is all true but it is crap, I can't figure the real reason.

His wife, my SIL, has a Subaru Forrester.  She loves it, it is reliable, fast enough for her, gets 28 mpg, and so forth.  Maybe she is easy to please.

My wife has a Honda Element.  It is ok, some torque-steer, blind spots (but if it were mine I'd put better mirrors on it), I'm driving it while my truck is laid up and she is out of town...have to have a plan, she comes home next Thursday.

A couple people at the rifle club have some kind of little Honda that looks like an old-fashioned station wagon - seems like good visibility out, room for rifle cases, not so fancy-looking to get stolen, don't know what they are called or what they cost, can ask Sunday if I go to the match. (If I'm stupid enough to go lie in the Sun at 100º).

So what would you look for?  New or used?  Car or pickup?

Mission statement:

I work 3-1/2 more years until I'm 70 and they run me off.

 

Work is 46 miles each way, 5 days a week, and about 50 each way to the rifle club three Sundays a month, figure ~25-30k miles a year, maybe 75-100k total until retirement.

Old, stiff neck, have to be able to see out, no cars with view-slits, need plenty glass.

 

Nothing that sits too low.

 

Don't really need a pickup any more, but I had a "76 short bed 1/2 ton Chevy (350 / 3-speed) until I got my Dodge in '95, so I'm kind of used to pickups...

Very interested to read your thoughts...

[Wild and Free]

Tons of options in the crossover suv market that are AWD and very comfy to drive lots of interior room and get 20-30+ mpg depending. I love my Nissan Murano AWD most comfy vehicle I have ever owned and has a 3.5 V-6 with a ton of power but only does 22-23 mpg.

[BobCat]

Thank you!  A data point is good!

 

My truck only gets 20-22 mpg so 22-23 on gas does not sound bad.

 

My brother's last truck was a Nissan Frontier and he totally regrets letting it go.  And I'm sore at him for not giving me first crack at it, I know it's history.  Water under the bridge...

 

Do you worry about computers in cars, and getting "hacked"?  Seems like, if you go "modern" you have a computer, no two ways about it...

[CSM]

Honestly, I have had great luck with Toyota 4x4s.  4Runners and Tacomas have run, and run, and run.  Far more reliable than my Cummins.  Zero maintenance outside of Tires, oil, filters and batteries.  

 

I think you have to look at the vehicles purpose. What loads?  How far?  How many people?  Etc.  Then, you have to look at budget to include realistic costs of ownership.  

 

If you are going to tow heavy and often, probably should look at a used common rail.  If I just wanted a SUV/Commuter, I would get a 4runner, Rav4, or Tacoma.  If I wanted a full size, but minimal towing, I would look at the 4th gen Rams with hemis and the Tundras.  I would also... mabe... look at GM.  For a car?  Heck, just pick a Camry or Honda that you really like with lower miles and good maintenance.  Wild N Free likes the rough stuff... wait... he likes the TDI VWs, but the magic man can do things like a DPF delete in his Free State of North Dakota.  I can't in Colorado even though the EPA can dump millions of gallons of toxic waste in the water supply of the American Southwest and get off scot free.

[BobCat]

Very interesting about Toyota 4x4s!

 

My wife's "farm truck" (retired from road use in 2004, used around the farm only) is a '92 Toyota V6 4x4 that she loves.  Still will not let it go but drives a Honda Element on the roads.  It used to need CV-joint boots pretty often but they quit failing when the wrap-on replacements came out and you didn't have to take the half-shaft out any more.  And it needed a fuel pump - the electric one in the tank and I dropped the tank to replace it, instead of pulling the bed off (duh!).  And a clutch... and I promised myself that winter I'd never do another clutch in a flat stall, alone, especially on a trans with a transfer case that wanted to torque it around on the jack.  But is is a good truck!

 

You are right about suiting to purpose.  Was a time I'd put 1,000 pounds of range cubes in my truck to feed cattle, several times per winter.  I actually do not need a truck any more, just a daily driver to work and the range.  But I've had a pickup since 1976 and feel real odd looking at cars...

 

My friend who was in uh... overseas with the military... says there are tons of Toyota 4x4 diesels in the middle east and places like that, speaking of the EPA.  I'd buy one of those in a new york minute.

 

What I actually want... speaking of ny, do y'all know what a Checker Marathon is?  I want a 2/3 scale checker marathon with a 3 or 4 cylinder turbo diesel, about a 6 speed trans, 2-speed rear end, and nothing electrical on it but headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, and maybe a radio.  Too bad... "you can't always get what you want"...

 

Will look at Craigslist for Camray and Honda cars...

[CSM]

Regarding Toyota 4runners and tacos. I'd buy 04 aND later. The new designs are well worth the cash.

[hex0rz]

Volkswagen TDI.... 45+ mpg

[CTcummins24V]

Pick up trucks are just too functional. The mileage is terrible on a gasser, but at least you won't have to use bailing twine on a piece of plywood strapped to your roof. Given your mileage each way to work, a crossover or sedan would the most economical, but If I only had 1 vehicle, it would be a 4x4 pick up, but I'm 28. My dad turns 60 this November, he just got his first pick up since he was 20, he loves it! My mom has 240k on her 2006 subaru outback, great little car, 24-26 mpg. Fits just about everything in the back, even a golden retriever. My second option would be a used subaru outback wagon. AWD, half way decent fuel mileage, my fiances 2013 outbacks gets 33 mpg, relatively cheap to fix and plenty of cargo storage in the back. My 2 cents 

[Killer223]

i love my wifes car 12 civic. get 35+ mpg. great visibility as well.  the next one will be a diesel. be it cruze, jetta, bmw. i'm not afraid to buy new as i keep them for about ever.

used i'd look into a toyota, i have a 93 4x4. 5 speed, it only gets about 19-21 mpg wise. but the rumors are true. like zero maintance. i change the oil a few times a year and drive it.  if you don't need 4x4 then 2 leggers get well into the 30 mpg wise. even the older 22re engines do great. and they can be had for next to nothing. back in highschool i had a 2wd toyota diesel. best darn truck i had. sold it with 1.2 million miles. 3 clutches, lotsa tires and that's about it.

 

if i were to venture into the cross over world. it' have to be a honda pilot. decent ground clearence, awd. and lots of room for range toys. the crosstour might be what you saw. i'm not a fan of it, small mirrors. not overly easy for me to get in and out of. everyone is different though.

the second would be a jeep liberty.

[Royal Squire]

I haven't had a car since the company I work for gave me a pkp to drive. For me, even though comfortable, most cars are hard to get in and out of. Good for travel, but I always seem to have something to haul or tow. If a person could afford to have one of everything.....

[Wild and Free]

i love my wifes car 12 civic. get 35+ mpg. great visibility as well.  the next one will be a diesel. be it cruze, jetta, bmw. i'm not afraid to buy new as i keep them for about ever.

used i'd look into a toyota, i have a 93 4x4. 5 speed, it only gets about 19-21 mpg wise. but the rumors are true. like zero maintance. i change the oil a few times a year and drive it.  if you don't need 4x4 then 2 leggers get well into the 30 mpg wise. even the older 22re engines do great. and they can be had for next to nothing. back in highschool i had a 2wd toyota diesel. best darn truck i had. sold it with 1.2 million miles. 3 clutches, lotsa tires and that's about it.

 

if i were to venture into the cross over world. it' have to be a honda pilot. decent ground clearence, awd. and lots of room for range toys. the crosstour might be what you saw. i'm not a fan of it, small mirrors. not overly easy for me to get in and out of. everyone is different though.

the second would be a jeep liberty.

 

My uncle is looking into a diesel car and was seriously looking at the cruze until he test drove one and a VW tdi in the same day, said the cruze was a piece of junk tin can in comparison to the vw.

[flagmanruss]

Wife had a Subaru wagon.  Head gasket failed very early...  repaired in warentee.  Went a long ways before it failed again.  Had it repaired locally.  6 months later faled again.  Shop had charged us for planing the heads but had not. Don't you just hate fictious charges on bills? Shop wouldn't stand behind it so we GAVE the car to her sister who's finacee trailered it to his shop in Bangor Me.  (His family actually owns the machine shop & if it had been planed previously, the dimensions would have showed it.)  He planed the heads & she's still driving it.  Body is in good shape. 

It seems that Subaru redesigned the engine by boring it without enlarging the casting...  resulting in less gasket surface & prone to failure.  You'd have to research which years it is.

[Wild and Free]

That is one thing about Subaru that I hate, They have had leaks to no end on their engines for eons and still can't get it right, not sure on the new ones but my mother in-laws 05 is horrible for head gasket leaks as well yet.

[BobCat]

Killer223, good point about buying new / keeping forever.  That's my 76 Chev and this 95 Dodge.  But @ 66 I don't have forever to wear it out - no problem if my wife can sell it or use it.

Interesting about Subaru head gaskets... might help to re-torque heads periodically?  These are 4 cyl flat opposed, right?  Might be hard to get to but anything preventive that enhances reliability is a real good investment.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions!  I'm making notes and will start asking people at work and tomorrow at the match what they like or don't like about whatever they are driving.  And who knows... someone might have a friend or family member who has a (known maintainance) 3-5 yr old something that runs good that they want to sell because they want something else.

Leaks brings back an old story about motorcycles, specifically British vertical twins.  Vertically split cases, always a puddle on the pavement.  Someone told of an old trick the airplane guys used on vertical split cases - a single cotton thread on one of the case gasket surfaces, embedded in Permatex #2.  Assembled and properly torqued, the thread flattened and made like, line conatct - no more leaks!  It worked, too.  Wonder if anyone still uses that trick?

[CSM]

The old aircraft engines required the silk thread properly applied between the case halves. They still leak eventually. They have finally gotten a fix for the 1930s technology engined that are still standard in aircraft, LyCon mills an o ring groove into the case.

[BobCat]

Wow, that's cool!  Thanks.

 

We (my brother and I) used the thread on air-cooled VW engines back in the day, and it seemed to work, as it did on BSAs and Triumphs.  But an o-ring groove - someone using their head!

[BobCat]

Ok, a further question for y'all.  Would anyone ever consider buying a used vehicle - from a dealer?

 

I asked (bothered) everyone at the match yesterday about what they drive and whether they'd buy another.  Almost all said they loved their car/truck and would buy another.  Two people suggested I look for a VW TDI and one of them talked about "dealer certified" - like, the dealer sells you a car he took as a trade-in but gives a warranty similar to a new car warranty.  I've always thought that buying  a used car from a dealer was a poor idea, better off private, but craiglsist scares me a little and the idea of a warranty on a used car was intriguing.

 

And times change!  40 years ago I thought I knew something about mechanical things like cars, trucks, and bikes.  I may or may not have then, but I sure don't now.

 

So I'm reading your words and learning.  Thanks!

[Wild and Free]

I have had really good luck buying pre-owned from dealers, but the trick I use is that the vehicles must have at least a years worth of factory warranty left for the amount of miles I put on so I can nit pick the heck out of it before warranty runs out, last few I have bought in the 16-25K mile range and are 1-2 years old, using this method has not let me down. I save a boat load over buying new and still have full warranty for 1+ years with option of adding onto that if so desired.

[BobCat]

Good tip and interesting strategy!

 

I went looking on autotrader.com for VW diesels and found a few in Houston, attractive prices, but all well over 100k miles.  I'm thinking that is not really very high mileage for a TDI but what do I know?  Judging by my Dodge/Cummins, 100k is almost new, but for a VW car it may be half (or more) used up.

 

This is turning out to be interesting, I'm learning a lot, thanks.

[Wild and Free]

100K on a vw is even better than a cummins depending on the previous owners maintenance practices. Thing to watch for on the 100K range is if it has had the timing belt and water pump done or is in need of it. I find if they are right at or close to the 100K mile range and on the lot they are due for the belt and water pump and folks trade versus do this maintenance.

VW diesel engines are 500K ++engines if maintained well, been long proven as long as if not longer the the cummins longevity wise.

The new ones are even better, my 2014 Jetta TDI has a recommended timing belt and water pump interval of 130K miles now versus 80K of just 10 years ago but they did release improved parts that jumped that to 110K for my old 03.