Truck Maintenance

[myrdale]

Why didn't you use the $3500 to put down on a newer truck and focus the next six months on paying off anything you'd have to borow? Wouldn't that be a better use of the $3500?

Possibly.

The major unknown is what the actual life of the 02 Frontier will be. Spending the $3,500 is a gamble. It very well may last another 50,000 plus miles before there is another major issue. The engine or transmission could blow up when I pull it off the lot next week.

The ultimate goal is to pay cash for the new truck, preferably with an account I opened specifically for that purpose, without touching my checking or savings.

When I started saving, I had originally planned to budget $32k, and as of today, the account is at $33k. The vehicle I am interested in currently is listed with an MSRP of $39k. When I hit $35 or 36k is when I am planning on pulling the trigger.

I could move that from checking or savings today, but between that and the repair cost I'd be below my comfort zone.

I could make the purchase today and have a car loan which would be paid off within a year, but that is outside of my goal of remaining debt free.

Then again I may be able to talk them down to the $33k mark today. Chances are though I will need to order the truck so I am guessing that is less in my favor for negotiating pricing down.

I could have postpone the repairs on the Frontier, it was running just fine when I took it in the shop, other than problems that have most likely existed for months for which I was unaware of.

I could buy a cheaper model Tacoma. I don't "need" four doors, or 4 wheel drive. I want them.

I could buy a used Tacoma. The popular phrase I hear is "Toyota's hold their value". A 10% discount on a truck with 20,000 miles does quit balance for me.

Despite the shock of the repair bill that I had yesterday, I have put myself in a position with several options.

On paper, I believe the most economical decision is chunk the old truck, buy a used truck for $10k or less, and put the balance towards my future rental empire. In 20 year's I'll let you know if choosing a want was the right choice or not. After all, that point the Tacoma will hopefully be in the same place the Frontier is today.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Why didn't you use the $3500 to put down on a newer truck and focus the next six months on paying off anything you'd have to borow? Wouldn't that be a better use of the $3500?

[myrdale]

Minor update, the shop came back and said the best price they could give me was $3,500. At least they came down by $1,000. I told them to go ahead with the repairs. I don't have any other problems at the moment. I should have it back next week.

For me personally, the payback for the repairs is a good six months. By that point I should have the new truck purchased and paid in full and this one will be sent back home to the family farm. It's on the ragged edge of the curve where it is no longer worth it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

that's too much for a truck worth less than that. Couldn't you get a pickup for $4500 or am i so way off base? I mean a newer truck with less miles but still old. I would not sink money into a truck like that. Then again I didn't sink that much in cash into a car that was 11 years old and 100k miles and worth $2500 is what we sold it for.

[ua_guy]

Obviously, it's worth more when it's running/driving without major issues, and a road-worthy pickup truck is always worth something. That's a big expense though. I would assume if you're fixing it that you are still a ways off from your new truck purchase?

[disneysteve]

I think the cars know when you're thinking about replacing them .

The same thing happened to mine. The check engine light came on not long before I got rid of it. Took it to the shop and it was the catalytic convertor. I didn't really have a choice but to do the repair. I couldn't trade the car in like that.

[bjl584]

probably time to get rid of it,
that repair bill is more than it's worth
beyond that, something else major is likely to happen sooner rather than later

[kork13]

Without looking it up, I strongly doubt that making $4500 (or even $2000) in repairs to that truck would be worthwhile.... As is, probably worth nothing but scrap value ($500?). Fixed, it's probably worth $1k-$2k. No way I'm spending that much to keep it running.

How close are you to having the cash ready for the new truck? If it were me, I'd scrap the current truck, buy a $2k *anything* to get you through until you're ready to buy the new truck, then sell the $2k piece & buy the new truck. At $2k, it's not really gonna depreciate, so it's basically just a net-zero holdover until you're ready for the new one.

[Jluke]

Time to let it go

[myrdale]

I've mentioned in a couple of other post that I am saving to pay cash for a new Tacoma. In the mean time, the 2002 Frontier has hit 315,000 miles. Over the last month, the check engine light has come on a few times for a too lean error. I figured just bad air flow sensor, and maybe an O2 sensor, nothing big so I took it to the shop.

It's been there for nearly a week now, and oh my God was I wrong.

Both catalytic converters are shot, all four O2 sensors are bad, exhaust manifold is cracked. There were other items they listed. Total price.... $4,500. They are looking to see if they can do any better on price, but dear Lord!

On the bright side, I am in a position to cash flow it. I do want to keep the truck long term, and typically I budge $1,000 per year in repairs. The last couple of years there have not been any.

I'll most likely have the work done but I'm still in shock. I asked them to call me back this afternoon or tomorrow once they had reworked what their best price was, at least that will give it time to sink in.