I think about the same stuff... but the same with my 79 ford. i invest too much into them and it would be stupid to sell. i have come to the conclusion that if i want something different ill just buy it. no selling anything. i think id really miss my cummins (or ford) so i just keep them.

 

Well Subliminal I'll start the bidding at $2000.

 

Its a trade-off, paying a monthly payment to have new and warrenty (depending how new you go) VS time, effort and maintenance costs of the old.

 

It may be up for sale !

 

I'm with you on the noise, i'm a quiet freek.........and i know i bought the wrong truck for that. my truck is pretty quiet except for the 5,000 rattles, and after i replaced the heater core there are two more that are twice as loud as the others.

but i think i'm just gona try to fix them and keep it.

Darwin

 

I have to tell you... I read all of this and have thought the very same thing on numerous occasions. Two things have always stopped me from pulling the trigger on a new one. 1. The 50K price of a new one, which I'm not really sure I even like, and 2. The cool factor. Everytime I drive this thing, I get envious looks from guys with cookie cutter looking 50K new diesels. I go to Chryslers at Carlisle every year (a huge Mopar event) and guys with these road runners, chargers, cuda's, etc. come drooling over MY truck and ask me a thousand questions.... Now thats priceless!

 

Probably the BEST thing about my ride is its paid for. I think I will just save some $$ and look for another ride and then I will still have my truck and can use it as I please.

 

I know how you feel, my truck has been down for two weeks from a bad lift pump so I decided to redo the whole fuel system. I see leaks everywhere, and I swear I fix one and then there is two more leaks somewhere else. The noise can get annoying. I don't mind my truck on short trips to town and what not but when it comes to longer drives it can get annoying.

When I need something new on my truck or it breaks down I always have to tell myself to calm down and that I have too much money in it to get it back out because I've almost sold it cheap a few times after this has happened. Just remember that it is older and its to be expected, these things are 18+ years old! just be glad they are still running. Tell yourself that it is paid for and the cost of fixing things yourself is much cheaper than taking a newer truck to the dealer everyday to have the computer checked out.

I drove an 01 6 speed a few weeks ago with a lot of goodies and I'll admit, I fell in love and wanted to buy it, but the guy ended up trading it in. When the day was over, I got back in my 1st gen and just thought about how much I still liked it while driving it home and how it was just one of a kind. It would be ideal to have two trucks, one for nicer occasions and the old classic for when your feeling young, but it just takes money. I know that once I get my truck back together and running again it will feel like heaven after driving the little Nissan car I've been driving in the mean time that I feel like I'm gonna die everytime I get in it and see a deer on the road. I feel that these breakdowns happen for a reason so that we can love our trucks that much more when they are running again.

 

now that i have a some what balanced life, im gonna use mine to learn paint and body work. then sell it and buy an 12v 2nd gen ex cab. it served me thru high school (lots of time-no money), my first 100+ hours job (lots of money-no time) and now a job i wouldn't mind retiring from. it has served me and its bout time to pass her on.

 

A new truck payment hurts, so imagine you take that new truck payment and invest it into that truck every month. Even if you had a shop do the work to keep the work off your back. Your truck will be sweet, not a cookie cutter and still cheaper to fix. The new ones break down and require maintenance too.

If you ask me. It sounds like you need a gaser for your daily driver for the short trips you make. Keep the diesel for when you need a puller.

 

oh, im sick of my pickup as well... crappy injection pump that likes to puke fuel all over... constant **** breaking... 255xxx miles on it though. i expect it. but i love the truck, it pisses every one else on the road off. and im also so deep into this truck financially its not worth selling. it, like my little wizbang, will be ran untill its just not worth rebuilding. then the powertrain will find its way into something else.

 

Buy a commuter rig. Like a 89-94 Jeep Cherokee, 95-98 Jeep Grand. At one point we had two Grand Cherokees and I loved it. The Jeep worked great for back and forth to work (2 miles) and running around the county looking for geese to shoot on the weekends. My truck was happier too. We sold mine though as things got tight; however, another vehicle including reg and insurance is a lot cheaper than a new truck with a car payment. Lets face it, new or not, a pickup is not a great rig to run back and forth to in, I have a co-worker who drives their new Mega Cummins the same mile or so to work everyday and her husband drives a Honda, I cringe at all that hard driving going on that new motor.

I would make my econ students do a cost/benefit chart and see what is best. Make a 3x3 table. Outline three alternatives and id a potential cost and potential benefit for each. Then choose the alternative that has the greatest marginal benefit (difference between cost and benefit).

I will up Brandon's offer to $2200; should the choice to sell win out.

 

Subliminal,
Did you notice that all your little problems started when you did the tranny swap.. I always wonder if that has something to do with all the problems. When i had the old rubber tranny mounts replaced in my 90 W250 and put in those poly mounts,talk about a vibration driving you crazy. Makes you wonder if the A518 is really that bad.

 

I live in a suburban area and if my CTD was my DD it would get tedious

I too have way too much money in my truck, but it's pretty close to 100% now (that's me knocking on wood).

I get trouser wood whenever I fire up the CTD, and the other day I took it to a fancy restaurant with valet parking and boy did the valet love my rig

I also love the fear it strikes in the hearts of distracted civilians. man, I have seen more than a few drivers make an about-face when they're thinking of cutting in front of me from the opposite direction

I bought my wife a new SUV that she and her daughters use. My daughter and I cruise around in the CTD on the weekends - it's our "special time" and she's already pumped to learn how to drive it (something my wife's daughters have NO interest in)

the best dessert I ever had was the sound of my rig being started up from 100 yards away by the valet...he drove up with the biggest smile on his face 'cause all he parks is brand new $50K+ German cars --- BORING

as for the noise, it makes my '85 M-B diesel sound so sweet on Monday morning - and I can barely hear the engine running in my wife's SUV

 

Well, yeah, you guys do have some good points. Funny hearing the people who say they're in the same boat from time to time. I guess that's the deal with driving an old beater.

That being said, I've got the wife 1/2 talked into letting me buy a truck on eBay right now. It's a 1960 F100 with a 4BT. Not sure if that'll fix my problems, but it sure sounds like a winner...lol.