Would I be better off getting a work truck with the $6,000 I have, or getting a loan?

[Michael Yadfar]

I feel some people here might have experience with pick up trucks. I own a sedan, but I've been in need for a truck for a number of years. Usually I find ways to shove things I need in the sedan like wood from the lumber yard, 2x4s, hardware, tools, plants, etc. However, every time I need to go to get larger building materials like plywood, transport larger equipment, buy trees, etc, I either have to go borrow my dad's truck or borrow a truck from work. Over the past few years, I've been using my dad's Toyota Tacoma quite frequently or taking the box truck from work, so I'm going to buy my own truck finally.

I really have no need for heavy towing or plowing, so I don't need a diesel, and I have the sedan so I only need a single cab. However, I do a lot of hauling so I would want a full sized bed. I live in Southeast PA so I would want a 4x4 for winter. I have a $6,000 vehicle budget right now. So far, I've been looking at trucks $6,000 and under, which are generally 10+ years old and have around 100,000 miles. I don't want a new truck because I don't believe buying new is worth it, but I'm also considering taking out a loan and buying something 3-4 years old with around 50,000 miles.

Just for hauling, do you think I'm better off going cheap with the older truck, or opening a loan from something newer?

[George Bokros]

Vehicles today will go over 100,000 miles but I would rather have something with less miles. If I were you and had the use of my fathers truck and he does not mind I would definitely consider just borrowing his rather than investing in something that just looses value that you may not use much. I am saying this and I am a car guy. I have two daily drivers, Ford Escape and Ford Ranger, and two that are toys.

[Justin Ludwig]

I'd find something for 6k but, I don't borrow money. If I can't pay for it (even in my business), I don't buy it. Interest can bite me.

You can find a deal. Watch for auctions, CL, autotrader, etc. Mileage doesn't bother me unless the truck was abused for X miles. One owners are a good source for something dependable.

[Matt Day]

I don't think a pick up truck makes a lot of sense unless you are Going to haul or tow a lot of very heavy things. for me, a crossover SUV and a trailer makes the most sense for woodworkers.

You might be able to put a hitch on your sedan, and buy a trailer from Harbor freight and only spend $1000.

[Gordon Eyre]

Stick w/in your budget as loans at interest rarely make sense for a limited use vehicle. I have had a truck and a car/trailer and both served me well as a woodworker.

[paul cottingham]

We had a van in our business. The ability to keep things dry was a huge benefit. When we sold it, we bought a Vibe which actually could take a ladder, 2x4s or half sheets of ply. The van was better, but fuel economy won out in the end.
if I were to do it again, I would buy a separate vehicle for moving stuff in, and pay cash for it. Especially in the US where insurance rates are much lower than in Canada.

[Jim Koepke]

We bought a truck years ago. We tend to use our Chevy Tahoe most of the time. It can carry 8' lumber, but not ply sheets.

The truck is a 1994 model and still runs fine, though it does show its age a bit.

It was bought for our move from California. Since then it has hauled a lot of lumber and gets packed with things to take to the farmers market during that time of year.

Over the years my opinion has been a used vehicle is a better deal than new. New is nice when everything works for the first few years of ownership. My old truck could use some work on the AC and the electrical circuit for the radio has some problems. They don't cause any havoc when the fuse is removed.

If you do not mind having a few things not working then save the money and buy used.

jtk

[Mike Henderson]

I don't think a pick up truck makes a lot of sense unless you are Going to haul or tow a lot of very heavy things. for me, a crossover SUV and a trailer makes the most sense for woodworkers.

You might be able to put a hitch on your sedan, and buy a trailer from Harbor freight and only spend $1000.
That would be my suggestion, also. Get a trailer if you don't need to haul really heavy things.

Mike

[Michael Yadfar]

Those are some pretty good suggestions, and I think an SUV makes sense because it can serve more purposes, never though about it that way. One thing to note, I don't need it just for woodworking, but something with a decent towing capacity and a trailer would serve my purpose. I might start getting back into dirtbikes and I might also get a small Kubota tractor, but those things are easily capable of being towed with an SUV. Where I live, people buy fully loaded pick ups just to drive back and forth to work, so that's why I sort of forget the fact that you don't necessarily need a truck for those purposes

[Bill McNiel]

My 1997 Chevy PU has over 200,000 miles on it and is still going strong. Buy used and limit your debt as much as possible.

[Michael Yadfar]

My 1997 Chevy PU has over 200,000 miles on it and is still going strong. Buy used and limit your debt as much as possible.

Yea I was going to buy used anyway, but I was pretty much asking older vs newer. I think going without the loan is the best idea, and I have more than $6,000 so while emergency repairs would put me over budget, I can afford them

[Brian Elfert]

You also have to think about insurance. You can go liability only with no loan, but most lenders require comp/collision coverage on your insurance. A loan on a used car more than four or five years old almost always carries higher interest rates too.

[Val Kosmider]

... a crossover SUV and a trailer makes the most sense for woodworkers.

You might be able to put a hitch on your sedan, and buy a trailer from Harbor freight and only spend $1000.


... I think an SUV makes sense because it can serve more purposes, never though about it that way. One thing to note, I don't need it just for woodworking, but something with a decent towing capacity and a trailer would serve my purpose. I might start getting back into dirtbikes and I might also get a small Kubota tractor, but those things are easily capable of being towed with an SUV. Where I live, people buy fully loaded pick ups just to drive back and forth to work, so that's why I sort of forget the fact that you don't necessarily need a truck for those purposes

With a trailer, and SUV might make sense.

Without the trailer, you will experience the frustration that I endure: a 4X8 sheet of plywood will only fit in my SUV on the diagonal, and a couple of feet hangs out the rear gate. It gets REALLY annoying having to muscle a 3/4" sheet of cabinet grade oak in on the diagonal without buggering up the edges, then unloading it by yourself without more damage.

Many times I wonder if maybe a pickup with four feet between the wheel wells wouldn't be a real nice solution.

As to $6,000 versus a loan: look around the south where EVERYONE has a pick up, many are well cared for(no salt/rust), and come pretty cheap in the secondary market. So you have to drive it home.....

[John Sanford]

Get a Yakima rack, it'll cost you $300 new for a complete setup (http://www.yakima.com/shop/rack-systems/naked-roof). You can carry multiple sheets (2-3 4'x8'x3/4") of plywood, a hundred board feet of lumber, etc, etc. For the really big stuff like trees or big equipment, borrow the truck or rent a little U-Haul trailer for $35 a day.

That's the most cost effective approach. Getting a truck/SUV and/or trailer bring the hassles of additional cost, storing the trailer. Just how much do you want to spend on the convenience of having a hauling vehicle available at your whim? (Note: this is based on hobbyist/DIY use, not on full-blown remodeling, hardcore gardener, or tradesman usage levels)

[Brian Ashton]

Not sure if this still is the case… Years ago I was in Arizona wandering around car lots and found quite a few used full size trucks for sale at what I thought were good prices. Most were from the RV world where people would come from all around the US to Arizona in the winter months, and trade in their truck on a new one. At that time, most of the trucks looked well looked after and were primarily for towing a fifth wheel. Maybe take a trip to Arizona in the off season, in a few months from now, and see if a deal can be had when all the RV cities vanish.

[Michael Yadfar]

With a trailer, and SUV might make sense.

Without the trailer, you will experience the frustration that I endure: a 4X8 sheet of plywood will only fit in my SUV on the diagonal, and a couple of feet hangs out the rear gate. It gets REALLY annoying having to muscle a 3/4" sheet of cabinet grade oak in on the diagonal without buggering up the edges, then unloading it by yourself without more damage.

Many times I wonder if maybe a pickup with four feet between the wheel wells wouldn't be a real nice solution.

As to $6,000 versus a loan: look around the south where EVERYONE has a pick up, many are well cared for(no salt/rust), and come pretty cheap in the secondary market. So you have to drive it home.....

In the Tacoma I have to hang the plywood over the tailgate which means I can only fit two sheets that way. If I get a lot, I put milk crates in the back of the truck so it fits over the wheel wells and leave the tailgate down. The only thing I don't like about that though is I fear it may slide out. When I insulted my shed, I got 20 sheets of 2" foamboard and 5 3/4 sheets of plywood, and I used that method to bring it home. I put the plywood on top, and that was about 7' in the air which was way over my head, and oh boy, you want to talk about pain. First one I put up there a lady hit me with her car and told me I was in the way and drive away. By the time I got the last one up, I had a bit of a crowd watching. A little help please?

You aren't the first one to suggest down south, and that's probably the best because trucks are cheap and there's less rust problems. The issue is, if I drive 6-15 hours to get a truck, I don't know what I'd do if the truck had an issue the seller didn't point out

[Matt Day]

John,
I agree with you to an extent.
I have a Thule rack and have hailed many things on it, but I've always shied away from sheet goods because I am concerned about the uplift taking it all off the roof.
That being said, it's great for lumber that doesn't fit in the car.
And a trailer of course does need to be stored (HF has a decent folding one I used to have).

[Michael Yadfar]

(Note: this is based on hobbyist/DIY use, not on full-blown remodeling, hardcore gardener, or tradesman usage levels)

Correct. I have company trucks and equipment for the stuff I actually do, but I can't use them for personal use. We are talking about jobs at home, occasional side jobs... If it was for my own commercial use, I would either keep saving up, expand my budget, or open a loan no doubt, I wouldn't go cheap. These are actually very good points though, with the back up options I have vs the cost of bait her vehicle, the hassle is probably worth it

[Mark Bolton]

I am 100% with Matt and Justin. No note, and buy cash. I really agree with Matt's philosophy of a small SUV and a trailer. I had two trucks and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. One truck is a one ton, dually, dump, tool box behind the cab. Great truck, but 9MPG. The other was a half ton long bed, 6 cyl. Perhaps 18-20 but you cant carry anything in the cab. The jeep is 21MPG, like a car, comfortable, can put 90 percent of what you need inside, nice to drive and ride in. I bought a nice single axle 5x9 trailer for the jeep. Full size tires not one of these lowes/home depot junk trailers. That combo alone has saved me so much money its ridiculous. For me to get to the nearest city and back in the one ton when fuel was up it was about a 50 dollar trip. It was nothing to have a $160 dollar fill up. The smaller truck was better but you cant carry anything when its raining and it sucks to run around town in.

The Jeep and the trailer is a stellar combo to me. Around here you can pick up older Jeep Grand's with inline six for 4k and they are sherman tanks. They will run forever. That and a 500 dollar trailer (used) and you still have 1500 to put in your retirement fund.

Cash only.

PS. Sold the 1/2 ton, still have the 1 ton dually dump but it hardly moves with the Jeep/trailer. On the flip side I have 95 % of my materials delivered. It never pays to run after your own materials if you can otherwise avoid it. Even a small haul bill, delivery charge, fuel surcharge, is chump change compared to wasting time running around after materials.

[Rick Moyer]

I have a 2002 Yukon XL (Suburban)with 175,000 on it and a utility trailer. I like the Yukon so much I put a few thousand in body work recently cause I expect to have it a long time to come. It's probably not worth more than $5000, but I couldn't replace it with anything close. Between it and the trailer I can haul a wide variety of stuff. Actually I only use the trailer for firewood, mulch, and really big stuff, as the Yukon will handle 4X8 sheets flat as well as 8'-10' boards INSIDE. No worries about stuff getting wet.

[Chris Parks]

In the Tacoma I have to hang the plywood over the tailgate which means I can only fit two sheets that way. If I get a lot, I put milk crates in the back of the truck so it fits over the wheel wells and leave the tailgate down. The only thing I don't like about that though is I fear it may slide out.

Clamp the sheets together with screw clamps and use the clamps to tie straps or ropes too.

[Shawn Christ]

As you can see, lots of responses and opinions on this. Selling my truck was one of the best decisions I've made. I use a foldable Harbor Freight trailer and pull it with my wife's Traverse only a few times per year. Only takes up 5' of floor space on a garage wall and my boys lean their bikes against it when it's not in use. Another still-viable option, which obviously ISN'T for everybody but worth mentioning, is a minivan. I still miss the versatility of our 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan that could haul a soccer team to one side of town then bring home a pile of 4x8 sheet goods INSIDE with the second and third row seats stowed in the floor. But appearance got the best of us and we now own an SUV. Good luck to you sir.

[Larry Edgerton]

I've driven trucks for, well, all of my life. But lately I have become a lot more frugal. What I drive now is a 1/2 ton, 2wheel drive, V6, base model. I do overload it once in a great while, but the way I look at it springs are supposed to bend. I used to put up with the ride in 3/4 tons and for what? Maybe 1% of the time I needed that extra capacity.

I decided that I do not really need 4WD. It costs more to buy, more to fix, more to insure and gets worse mileage. I now have a set of summer tires and a set of winter tires [Blizzaks]mounted on two sets of rims. The modern winter tire eliminates the need for 4WD for most people, despite what the salesman may say. I live in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a state forest on a road that always gets plowed last, and I have no problems. Neither does my wife, again 2WD. The key with a truck in 2WD is to have a half ton. The springs and tires on a 3/4ton are too stiff and you will not get around as well. Springs are meant to bend......

Stick shift pickups can be bought cheaper and require less maintenance as they get older "IF" you live in a rural area. I hate them in the city, but then, I hate cities. My new truck is an auto. No more sticks in new trucks.:mad:

A V6 will haul what you need, and get the best mileage empty. Ok, I am not pushing any brand, but in the price range you are looking and the years that you will find for that money, a Ford has the best V6. The Dodge V6 will run forever, but gets the same or worse mileage as their V8. The Chevy V6 get slightly better mileage, but is a bit on the weak side. Whatever you do avoid the Ford 5.4 Triton motors. Expensive to fix and mediocre in every way.

Gotta go, Movie night with my wife.......

[Jonathan Freinkel]

I have a diesel truck now but did the math years ago.

how often would you use the truck? The Home Depot trucks are $20 for 75 minutes. That's a smoking deal! If you think that insurance would be probably $50 a month plus tag etc.. So you can rent a truck very often and it still makes financial sense!

now for the dirt bike that's a bit of a different story because of the time using it but I believe the daily rate is very affordable as well!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Maybe it's been said, but 6K will buy you two perfectly usable 1/2 ton older pickups in most places. Personally I'd trade the car in on a pickup, but I'm not normal...

[Michael Yadfar]

A buddy of mine just offered me a 2004 GMC Sanoma, stick shift 2wd, 7 foot bed. All he wants is $2,000. That might be a handy little truck, I can probably put a cap on the back for more "indoor" space. It gets good gas mileage too

[Matt Day]

What size bed? What advantages does it have over a trailer or roof rack? And it's 2wd? What's blue book on it?

[Brian Elfert]

In northern climates 2WD trucks are really cheap as everybody wants 4WD. When I was looking for a used truck a long time ago 2Wd trucks were discounted significantly over 4WD trucks.

[Michael Yadfar]

What size bed? What advantages does it have over a trailer or roof rack? And it's 2wd? What's blue book on it?

The advantage I see is that it's cheap. Unless I have a lot of passengers which I don't, I don't see the difference between a truck with a cap and an SUV. The bed is 7 foot. The blue book value on it is like $2,800

[Eric DeSilva]

You said something about borrowing your Dad's P/U a lot--is you reluctance to keep doing that feeling like you are imposing? What if you offered to buy an interest in it--be a joint owner? Pay him some money for a 1/2 share or something?

[Michael Yadfar]

You said something about borrowing your Dad's P/U a lot--is you reluctance to keep doing that feeling like you are imposing? What if you offered to buy an interest in it--be a joint owner? Pay him some money for a 1/2 share or something?

My issue is the slight hastle. When I want something, I usually want to go up and get it right away. The truck isn't always available, and I usually have to wait for it. It's not my truck so that's not something I ever bring up to him as a big deal, but I'm just saying for me. I was actually thinking of selling the sedan and using a truck as a daily driver, but even compared to the Tacoma which isn't even a full sized truck, I get significantly better gas mileage and the car is so much easier to drive maneuver. Like I said, of I have two vehicles the truck is only going to be used maybe 10% of the time, and people are bringing up good points that it's not even worth having a vehicle you use 10% of the time unless maybe you have a lot of money. It's not really so much the vehicle cost, it's the insurance. If I consider buying the Sanoma, I'm definitely going to get a quote to see what the minimal insurance cost would be and go from there

[Brian Elfert]

I always thought a general rule of thumb is if you have to borrow something more a few times you really should get your own. I hate to ask my friends for help as I can rarely help them out. I live alone and they all have wives who can help so they almost never call me to help.

[ken masoumi]

I live in a rural area in a house that has a sloped driveway angled downward toward a garage.I only have a small Civic,you wouldn't believe how many times I have thought about buying a truck (which by the way ,has to be a 4x4 so I can easily drive up the driveway especially in snow),but when I think about it a bit more deeply ,I ask myself:

How often do I need to drive that truck in a year?
How much is the plate/insurance,fuel,etc?then I realize ,for me it doesn't make sense to buy one,in fact ,for the very few times that I need a truck,it's wiser to rent one from HD .
But if you need a truck often and always ask your father or friends to borrow theirs,then buy one but buy a truck .get a 6 cylinder/4x4 ,nothing else in my opinion compares to a truck,not a minivan,an SUV,crossover,.they all are great alternative but you have to compromise something else when you compare them to a truck.
$6000 up here gets you an average (150.000 km or higher) truck.
.,

[Pat Barry]

I always thought a general rule of thumb is if you have to borrow something more a few times you really should get your own. I hate to ask my friends for help as I can rarely help them out. I live alone and they all have wives who can help so they almost never call me to help.
So you are saying its time for you to get married??

[Michael Yadfar]

In my opinion 4WD is way overrated and may actually cause more accidents, but if I found two similar trucks with minimal price difference, I would take the 4WD. Where I live, we get a lot of snow, but 99.5 percent of the time the roads are decently plowed and salted, and if people are really worried about that rare state of emergency, then there's a problem. If you know how to drive in snow, you can pretty much use anything. I usually drive my sedan in the snow and I know how to handle hill, stops, and turns in snow so I don't have much of an issue, my only issues are typically in my driveway when it's no plowed and when I have to stop at a stop sign or light going up a steep hill. People think 4x4 magically makes their car a snow mobile and they wip the thing around like they're on a dry road, and say that my car can't handle snow. These people are the ones that end up being true tree huggers. Having 4x4 does not improve stopping ability or traction around turns. Weight helps, but not just soley 4x4. Just the other day it was snowy and some guy in a suburban was riding my tail and then started weaving between cars on the highway

[ken masoumi]

I have seen what a 4x4 truck can do in my sloped driveway,there's no doubt in my mind a 4x4 is a must in my situation.

[Jerome Stanek]

when I was working out of own 4 wheel drive was the only way to go as I never knew what to expect at the job site.

[Myk Rian]

Get a trailer. I had a hitch on a Ford Aspire, a Pinto, Festiva and a Contour. So vehicle size isn't that much of a consideration.

[Matt Meiser]

I can't wait for the pics of a compact tractor on a roof rack.

Seriously, even a small compact tractor weighs a few thousand pounds with a loader and implement on the back. You aren't safely towing that with any small vehicle.

[Matt Day]

Was the OP planning on hauling a tractor?

[Mark Bolton]

Welcome to the woods:

303710

[Tom M King]

My rule for purchasing vehicles has always been to make one payment, and drive it until it drops after good maintenance. I was probably middle aged before these one payments were on new vehicles. My current truck is a diesel dually that I've been driving for 14 years, and may have another good ten in it. The tractor I pull with it weighs 7,500 pounds, not including the gooseneck trailer. The truck before that was a gas burner that I drove for nine years. "Drive it until it drops" for me must be different than some others. I parked next to my last truck at Tractor Supply a few weeks ago, and the guy I had sold it to said he still hadn't been in the engine.