What to buy? Beater truck or new daily driver?

Tim

Tim

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I currently have a 2WD GMC Acadia and am the envy of soccer moms everywhere.

I need/want a truck. "Need" 4WD and truck bed for stuff around the house, hunting lease, muddy ranges and to attempt reclaiming my man card.

The reality is that whatever I drive is going to be the "family" vehicle as my wife has never learned to use a trash can So her car is out

So, the dilemma is do I go with a cheap used one that I can knock about on the weekends and keep the Acadia for family truckster duty? Or trade/sell and get a new daily driver?
 
I'd say beater. But it all depends on what you call a beater. If you say beater and mean a 10k dollar truck I'd buy newer.
 
Plus 1 for the beater! One you can keep a can Rustoleum in the toolbox. When something happens and it gets a scratch, you jump out, grab the spray paint, look at everyone with a confident grin that says it's alright I got this!
 
Cowboy said:
I'd say beater. But it all depends on what you call a beater. If you say beater and mean a 10k dollar truck I'd buy newer.
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I have my eye on a $3700 4x4 Ranger
 
Beater.
I've got a 2005 Yukon 4x4 that I've slowly been replacing parts on.
 
Diablos said:
I thought you wanted your man card back?

Ya need to find a cammo'd up k5 blazer with a diesel in it, that screams manliness!
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or....it screams "I'm over compensating for my shortcomings!"
 
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You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking what truck the company is going to buy for you and bill Uncle Sam 37%.
 
JimB said:
You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking what truck the company is going to buy for you and bill Uncle Sam 37%.
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I'm not an owner. I just run the place.
 
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A beater pickup ... I’ve got a ‘78 Dually that has not dropped in value 15 years. A well mechanically maintain beater pickup truck will hold value better (or possibly even go up a little) than any other average vehicle.
 
One more vote for the better truck. Mine has been worth its weight in gold. Something with an extend cab would be ideal.
 
I've got a beater Ranger, had it for about 10yrs now. Use it to haul stuff to the dump, pick up stuff to work around the house, pull the boat to the ramp, and run around hunting. I've probably put 15,000 miles on it in those 10yrs. Always starts, runs like a champ.
 
I'm in your exact position. I have an Explorer that is comfortable and drives nice but I'm not an SUV guy. I got it because I can fit all my kids in it and it will tow 7,500#, it's a 4x4 too but you aren't going to do anything off road with it so it helps when it snows but that's about it. I kept my beater Ranger that is 4x4 so I have a truck to haul trash when needed, make a run to lowes, and use for hunting/range trips. I couldn't be without a truck, it just wouldn't work. I'm happy with this arrangement and it gives me a spare vehicle should one go down which is nice.

I thought about getting a 4 door truck so I wouldn't need to keep two vehicles but for what new trucks are selling for it wasn't anywhere near worth it. My vehicles are paid for, insurance/taxes are cheap and they do everything I need.
 
spittinfire said:
I'm happy with this arrangement and it gives me a spare vehicle should one go down which is nice.
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Thats worth a lot right there in a time of need and with two paid for vehicles insurance more than likely will not be much different than on something new.
 
I vote beater. Been trying to convince my fiancé to get rid of my truck for two years now but it’s the family vehicle. I drive a company truck to and from work so there’s no need in me having a beater as well as the other truck.
 
I'll go against the grain, and say go with a new truck. Every family man with kids should have a reliable 4x4 to get from point a to point b in various conditions.

Or, better yet... Buy a nice preowned or off lease 4x4 suv to haul the family, and a beater 4x4 pickup that will also serve as a backup vehicle. If you can do the maintenance yourself, the beater truck will eventually give you the opportunity to teach the kid or kid's how to do some maintenance and repairs.
 
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Tim said:
I have my eye on a $3700 4x4 Ranger
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I have a 20 year old Ranger that I bought new. In 20 years I have replaced a pressure switch on the AC and a clutch. Same brakes it was born with. I don't have any idea what the market is on thee BUT I wouldn't take $3700 for it. If you have Any history on this I don't see how you can miss.
 
I drove a Mazda B3000 for years everyday for work. It's the same as a Ranger.
It did ok, but just ok. The 3.0 V6 was fairly gutless. The tiny back doors you had to slam shut or the 'door open' bell would constantly go off, and it waits until your driving down the road so you have to stop again and slam the door shut. Annoying. We had to re-build the cooling system, radiator/pump/etc. The transmission went out at about 160,000 miles, I was able to get a used one put in for $1700. I talked to other Ranger owners and half of them had tranny problems too so this you really wanna look into.

Now I didn't just drive this to work and then 8 hours later drive home. I drove it around all day everyday. But we took care of it. The motor had few problems and was what I consider pretty reliable, but just gutless. The 4.0 V6 is the one with the stones. The 4wd did well, I only got stuck in about 14" of snow one time.
We still have this truck as a backup vehicle. They're ok little trucks, but not outstanding imo. When looking at one be extra sure to go over the transmission with a fine tooth comb, best thing would be if it's already been changed. I think overall it would be fine as a run-around town truck, but I'd think twice about driving one like you mean it.
 
Friday said:
I drove a Mazda B3000 for years everyday for work. It's the same as a Ranger.
It did ok, but just ok. The 3.0 V6 was fairly gutless. The tiny back doors you had to slam shut or the 'door open' bell would constantly go off, and it waits until your driving down the road so you have to stop again and slam the door shut. Annoying. We had to re-build the cooling system, radiator/pump/etc. The transmission went out at about 160,000 miles, I was able to get a used one put in for $1700. I talked to other Ranger owners and half of them had tranny problems too so this you really wanna look into.

Now I didn't just drive this to work and then 8 hours later drive home. I drove it around all day everyday. But we took care of it. The motor had few problems and was what I consider pretty reliable, but just gutless. The 4.0 V6 is the one with the stones. The 4wd did well, I only got stuck in about 14" of snow one time.
We still have this truck as a backup vehicle. They're ok little trucks, but not outstanding imo. When looking at one be extra sure to go over the transmission with a fine tooth comb, best thing would be if it's already been changed. I think overall it would be fine as a run-around town truck, but I'd think twice about driving one like you mean it.
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Wanna sell it?
 
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How many miles on the Acadia? I would normally say keep what you have and buy a beater for an extra vehicle. We had a 2007 Acadia we kept until 2012 and just over 100,000 miles. Great driving vehicle but started falling apart near 100,000 miles. Replaced steering column because of play(dealer had already done this once under warranty), replaced both CV joints, month later the transmission needed rebuilding, 2 months after that the “lifetime” timing chain “stretched” and needed to be replaced. Couple other things in there as well. Over $6000 in work even after dealer subsidized part of it. Needless to say, I’m not a big fan of the Acadia. Ended up selling it and bought a couple year old Sequoia and haven’t looked back. Also haven’t done anything to it other than routine maintenance.
 
my bud that I used to work gun shows with always drove a beater truck to work from CH to Cary but he always had a less than 3 year old nice azz truck at home in the drive way to go hunting in or whatever. He took a trip to TX or IA every year to bird hunt. Me, I aint drivin' a beater anywhere except to haul garbage to the dump. Life's too short.
 
Perfect. Love that motor. Ford racing makes a nice super charger that bolts right up and wont trash factory warranty if still there. Gives you 700 horses on tap.........food for thought.

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gaw...I wish they hadn't put these POS tires on it before I bought it. I can't really justify getting good ones since these are brand new.
 
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