Well I got some bad news today. My Financial aid was scanned today and it picked up my dads new job. Well the school I got to is quite expensive and I have to pay every penny out of my pocket next year. No Grants, no scholorships nothing. So this means that I have to use the money i have saved up for the last 2 years to pay for school. So here is my problem, I have to get a new truck. My blazer only get 16 mpg and is dieing quick. So sence every one thinks their diesel is made of gold I might have to ....gasp....get a gasser! I realy want a diesel because of the gass mileage and they are just plane cool. But they are so expensive right now. It is rediculious! I might get luck and find a diesel but probably not. So should I get a gasser? I could afford a much better gasser than a diesel but I want and need the diesel. I guess i will keep looking.

 

As much as I like my Dodge, I had a 96 2500 4X4 360 gasser and Mileage just wasn't in the vocabulary for a MOPAR truck. I got around 13 US and I hear the Hemis aren't much better than that.

If I were to get a gasser, I would (gulp) get a bow-tie.. Sad fact..

 

Well buddy,
I know how everyone around here is probably going to tell you otherwise but here is my 2 cents.
I personally would buy a cheap gasser for the time being, Use that money on the education. In the future(whenever you are out of school, get a diesel). the education is what gets you somewhere in life. The truck will look great but you might not have a great high paying job to make payments and all the other stuff on it. I would buy the pickup when I got a good high paying job, and was financially stable. I just dont want you to get attached to the truck and loose it a year or two down the road because you have to decide SCHOOL or TRUCK. Hope my advice helps.I havent even graduated high school yet, I am only a sophmore. Good luck
wheelo

 

Bosshawg,

While it's hard to see at this point, school is a much, much, much better investment that a truck, any truck. Pick up something that will get you buy - even a (can I say this car, to save ga$$$ and money. I didn't drive a CTD until years after undergrad college, and even then, it's not a new one, as my sig suggests. Then be thankful for an opprotunity that MANY people do not have - going to a school of thier choice.

Or - you could join ROTC if that is an option, serve our country, have a large % of your school bill paid, and a guaranteed job after college - with great future referances as well. I still wish I had gone this route. Just my $.02 - Good luck

 

I had a 2000 Dodge Dakota with a custom work box on the back and the 5.2 liter 318 v-8. Now granted I had a fair bit of weight in the box, but I was doing good to get 13mpg with that truck. Diesels are the way to go IMNTBHO!!!

 

Go buy a lil toyota 4x4, a tacoma or a pre tacoma. They will last for ever, you can beat the crap of em and they will still get around 20 mpg's. The 4cyl will have plant of power for the lil truck and it will work untill you out of school. Save your money for school.

COop

 

I'd buy a cheap, reliable beater to get me though graduation.
The New truck can come later.
There will always be new vehicles available, a good education won't be.

 

A truck will get you somewhere for a couple of years.
A education will get you somewhere the rest of your life.

Just get a good dependable cheap truck to get you through the next couple of years.

 

Good points too..

I didn't get my CTD till I was well into my job after Technical School.. I had a Chevy Turbo Sprint before that.. (dont laugh too hard, at least it was turbo!!) 1L, 3 cyl that got 45 mpg... Good student car...

 

Shovel is right ( I hate it when that happens. ) You don't need the distraction of a truck right now. You need to concentrate on school. Get a college student type car for now, thats all you NEED, your WANTS will come later.

Of course you can always blame your dad and have him buy you a truck.

 

you guys are right with education first, that is my main goal. I guess I will get a bit deaper into the story. 2 years ago i had a f-250 HD. Good truck and i loved it, but I always wanted a diesel. Before I went to school I had to get rid of it to pay the bills. I kind of slacked off and my grade ended up being a 1.37 gpa. Well I needed a truck then but couldn't because i had to pay for school because i lost a scholorship. Well i worked my but off sence then and got it up to a 2.11 for now. Those semester were horrible. Didnt go out because i had to study and write paper but that is the sacrifice i made because i wanted a truck. During those summer I worked my butt off trying to save up some moey to get this truck. This was no indoor AC job. I did a hard trash route. 5 miles of running can to can in the heat of summer. The i would put in some over time to get that bit more money. All in all it was 80 -100 hrs a week at 8 bucks an hour for 2 summers. Not fun but that was another sacrifice I maed to get the truck I wanted. It came down to now when all my work was going to pay off and i would get the truck I wanted. well now this bomb was sroped on me and i might not get a good truck. it sux. I just dont think i can pull myself to buy a gasser when i worked so hard to get a good CTD.

To answer all your guys questions:
1. I have to get a truck. That is how I make my money
2. I cant fit in a car... I'm a bit large.
3 If guys wern't pricing their truck so high i might be able to get a CTD. ( 12k for a 94 with 240k miles is stupid! IMO)

If I have to I might get a gasser to get buy but i realy don't want to but might have to.

 

You are lot better off finding another way to make money than with a truck. If you get a gasser, you will be spending a lot on fuel. At $8/hour you will be working 15 hours to fill the tank after taxes get done with you. It's what, two years until your done? Find a econobox that you fit in and get that.

 

Boss, just get what you can afford...sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I dont go to school...and I dont think that I will ever...but like the guys before me said....school comes first and it'll pay off in the end.

anyway, I'll see you april 1st....you can dyno your new 4-banger or whatever you get

good luck

 

''1. I have to get a truck. That is how I make my money''

So there it is. I don't have any college loans to pay back, but it's cause I was changing water pumps on my teachers' vehicles in the middle of northern Lake Erie winters...Some folks get loans, some folks have folks with cash and some folks do it out of pocket by working their sac off when they're not hitting the books. Not a one is any better than the other, but if you find yourself in the last category, then I guess you need a truck to make it happen. When I graduated in 2000, cheap public college here in NY was about 10k a year. Go and get you an '89 d250 for 1800 bucks and you've got your diesel work truck. Bomb the ever-loving dog snot out of it for next to zero dollars and embarass some high dollar trash while still getting 22 mpg AND paying for your education--all without financing from mom/pop or the bank. Let's face it...it's NEVER the right time to invest in something that can't stop losing value every second we own it when we could be saving that cash for our kids, or retirement, or....

 

I have to agree with most of the guys. Get the education and forget the big truck. Keep it like the highest apple on the tree.
I did the education thing later in life when most of the class was 20 years younger. Let me tell you engineering math was no picnic. GPA was the name of the game. I had to give up everything ...sports which I lived for, cars, trucks, racers, boats, big model airplanes, even grls. Drinking and party didn't even get to the list I had to give up.

Get a reliable beater. It will get nicked, scratched and dented parking in the school lots. Either a ricer or a Crown Vic maybe some old Buick. Blue or green maybe maroon. When you are done with school and start working a "real job" it will be time for the big truck. You will have earned it. Maybe you will find a railroad track you can make the final jump with the beater. haha Jobs are out there but it takes sheepskin to get them.

The military thing is a great idea. The lifelong benefits are very hard to beat. Danger??? any job has dangers It's a lot safer in the military than driving around on the highway. Plus you have a gun and know how to defend yourself. Eat live and sleep the military just like any job and you will do just fine. You can make some cash and they will pay for some if not all of your school for a couple years of service. Big deal.

Good Luck