"At 200,000 miles, a $60,000 truck costs $0.30/mile not including surprise repair costs. Not including annual problems, you will need overhaul at approx. 10-12 years or 150k miles. $5-10k more.
At 200,000 miles, a $36,000 truck costs $0.18/mile
$18k truck depreciated to 30k miles costs $0.105/mile (200k total miles)
$9k truck depreciated 100k miles costs $0.09/mile
$4k truck depreciated 180k miles costs $0.20/mile
BUT you can fix up a $4k truck yourself with a $5k budget to go 100,000 more miles (120k miles) - $0.075/mile
A $500 truck w/ 75k miles and a really nice AAA membership costs $0.50/mile if it makes it 1,000 miles (ask me how I know).
Fix up your $500 truck with an $8500 budget at it will go 125,000 more miles, or $0.072/mile.
Hmm… $9k or $18k truck (depending on budget) and the $500 / $4k trucks fixed up with a nice budget take the prize. $500 and $4k trucks shouldn’t be driven without fixing them up for safety’s sake. And that $9k truck just might need a lot of work that the seller didn’t disclose, while it is pretty much guaranteed your $500 and $4k trucks are beaters to start, be comforted!
Factoring in the desire for a no-drama lifestyle, $18k truck slightly depreciated is worth considering. Just check the suspension, both bumpers about their connection points, and the cracks between the doors for even spacing on that $18k deal for a likely hidden collision as well as other fun little secrets like MouseyLand (sniff sniff!).
Listen to the car, inspect the fluids and SMELL them for burnt oil to get an idea of the level of maintenance on your prospective vehicle. If a given fluid is a vibrant color like green, red, yellow, crimson brown that reservoir has recently had some love. If it’s dark brown maybe the guy got busy and forgot or maybe the service schedule was prolonged. If it’s black, well, if it’s black and smells like burning life got in the way of love for that particular fluid and you should listen again for damage.
This in mind, the $9k truck might be the most optimal compromise of all IF the seller was honest. The preceding things should be checked in addition to inspecting for oil leaks and rust underneath and through the wheel wells, as well as upper engine leaks by looking inside the engine bay with a flashlight… the more you look the more little leaks you might find! This said, the $4k truck with a $5k repair budget beside the $9k truck might be a sleeper contender for the grand prize, the same for that $500 + $8.5k truck which just might be a bit of a classic one day soon.
Factoring back in the opportunity cost, loan interest, INSURANCE, and not having title in hand as well on an $18k investment, the $4k fixed up, the $500 truck fixed up, and the $9k truck are all worth considering. Not to mention all you pretty truck purists out there had missed the point, if you’re not comfortable beating it up a bit it aint for work.
The free market does a great job of determining value while waiting for gas prices to go up is a smart move all else equal (assuming they will ever come down again, and that’s a big IF!). The cost of each truck has its pros and cons. A brand new truck is not very smart though. And that $500 truck fixed up might actually go up in value with time, especially if you found one with less than 100,000 miles and it has ‘good bones.’ What it all comes down to other than budget is… what era truck do you like the best, how much do you know about fixing cars, and what is your drama tolerance?
Pick one which was mass produced the most for more parts availability @ 20+ years old! The newer the car, the more complicated and therefore less serviceable the design, a paradox! The ECU sucks!!! The condition of the tires is one last thing to consider, as safety first and regardless of the era, the tire is what completes your getup. 8-|
GO CHANGE YOUR FlUIDS and grease those zerts!!! <3"
