Time to Buy a Truck… but Which One?

[JackstrawIII]

Hey all. I’ve been without a truck for about a year and I can’t stand it any longer. The used truck market is in a weird place. Everyone says it’s crashing, but that hasn’t been my experience. Dealers very unwilling to negotiate pricing and nice stuff sells quick. 
 

Anyways, that’s not the point of this post. My point is that I can’t decide what to get. It seems like reliability and efficiency are hard to find in the same vehicle these days. I’ve always been a Chevy guy, but they’re having so many engine and transmission problems these days. I’d get a Tundra but I do like 15k miles a year and at 14mpg… that would hurt. 
 

I’m actually pretty interested in the F150 with the 2.7L inline 6 and the 10 speed automatic… but I’m not sure if I can get over my preexisting anti Ford bias. They seem like they might be making a better truck over the last 3 years or so. 
 

What do you guys think? If you were buying a $40k used truck right now, where would you look? 
 

My needs:

- Must be a crew cab to fit my whole family.

- My boat only weighs a few thousand pounds, so I don’t need to go too crazy with pulling capability. 
- Driving experience and comfort are big. 
- Gotta have Bluetooth and such. Please don’t tell me to buy a ‘96 Silverado haha. 
 

Thoughts/experiences? 
 

 

[Dwight Hottle]

I think your on the right track considering the Ford F150. 

[12poundbass]

I’ve heard good things about the Silverado with the baby duramax. I’d look there.

[ThatZX14Fella]

I can’t say much because I have no personal experience with the new trucks, but it does seem that a lot of them have reliability issues. The older trucks seem to be better built, but then you lose some comfort and fuel economy. Maybe an older 3.5 Ecoboost F150 would be good for you. Those seem to be pretty good trucks.

[Tennessee Boy]

I won’t comment on the Chevy vs Ford debate as that might violate the forums rules on politics and religion.😆   I will say that I’ve been extremely pleased with all of my interactions with CarMax.  I bought and sold with them,  they proved to be very honest when I had a vehicle repaired there.  I helped my dad buy a car there and at 88 he just couldn’t master all of the modern electronics.  We returned it in the 30 day window and it was quick and easy.

[BigAngus752]

You can't go wrong buying any of the big three.  All are excellent trucks.  Heck, they even share parts now.  All three half tons use the same auto trans now.  I had a 2015 GMC that had turned into a repair monster so I traded for a brand new 2020 F150 with the 3.5 ecoboost.  It's got just under 60,000 miles on it now and it's been absolutely flawless.  I choose the Ford because of it's aluminum body.  I plan on keeping it for a long time.  

[JackstrawIII]

39 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’ve heard good things about the Silverado with the baby duramax. I’d look there.

I’ve heard that too, but specifically with the ‘23 refresh that addressed some of the bugs with the first gen engine. Unfortunately, the ‘23 in a higher trim busts the budget. 

10 minutes ago, BigAngus752 said:

I choose the Ford because of it's aluminum body.  I plan on keeping it for a long time. 

That’s a significant consideration for me too. My older Chevy was a rust monster, both frame and body. 

[A-Jay]

I am a GMC truck user and abuser 

and have been for going on 25 years.

I take care of them and they take care of me. 

Prefer top of the line with big V8 gas engines. 

They have All been very good. However, Over time, Road salt destroys under carriages.

Fact of life. 

How long it takes varies but there's no escaping it.

I am in a new rig every 3 years. 

If you buy used, crawl under that thing, or better yet, get it on a lift.

Very few folks sell or trade in perfectly good vehicles.

(except me)

Expect to be repairing and or replacing something, nature of the beast.

Good Luck.

A-Jay

 

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I am a GMC truck user and abuser 

and have been for going on 25 years.

Same here - my first was a 1998 Chevy 1500 Work Truck that I bought new - only new vehicle I've owned in 47 years of driving. Thing was dependable and solid...I'd still be driving it if someone hadn't made an illegal turn in 2016. Did have to replace the clutch twice - was a 5 on-the-floor manual - but that was basically it except for tires and a battery about 12 years in.

 

With the insurance - purchased a used 2001 Silverado LS. I've replaced the battery once, the brake system and the rear leaf-springs...but again, that's been the total of non-maintenance expenses in the seven years I've had it.

 

I'd go GM again if I needed to...

[MediumMouthBass]

Id stay away from anything made during or after covid. My dads friends with alot of guys at different dealerships and the new Silverados are about as durable as a piece of paper in water.

Plus the new seats arent that great, even in the higher end GMC's, very uncomfortable.

That being said isnt Ford sending people letters that their cars/trucks can catch on fire at any time? Get recalled and come back from the dealer without the problem being fixed?

And as a person who loves the Mustang's, Focus RS and a few other Fords their trucks look like well, yeah....

Ram is another option but these days every company has their issues, years ago theirs was rusting easy. My only experience with Ram trucks is the TRX, dont know much or anything about the rest of them except the older ones being absolutely destroyed by salt.

Its worth mentioning again so "Id stay away from anything made during or after covid."

This is for almost any vehicle, brand, engine.... Almost every big company is sending recalls out by the hundred thousands, or millions monthly. Even the Korean/Japanese ones.

5 hours ago, JackstrawIII said:

Everyone says it’s crashing, but that hasn’t been my experience. Dealers very unwilling to negotiate pricing and nice stuff sells quick. 

Its not just the dealers, its the private sellers too. Ive been highly involved in cars for years, before i could even drive. Went on hundreds of test drives, spent thousands of hours talking to people in that community. And studied car prices like it was a job, the market for vehicles now is beyond awful, cars that are worth $10k with 100k miles are selling for $25k, and for some reason people are buying them.... Cars that are years old are selling for what they were when new.... Motorcycles are just as bad, people are selling 2 decade old bikes with a blown engine for $2-3k (they used to go for $600).... And then when you get to the dealership you find a "market adjustment" thats between $10k-100k added. I was looking at a Scat Pack RT Challenger last year that was $30k more than a Hellcat.... And it was used, absurd. Then Mustangs/Challengers selling for $170k when worth $60-80k.

Your absolute best bet is to do 1 of 2 things, either wait patiently and hope for things to get better, and try to find a good deal. You might even have to drive a few hundred miles to get it.

Or 2. My personal favorite when wanting to get a different vehicle, find a R or Salvage titled vehicle, theres alot of places now these days selling to the public, as well as auctions. You can get these trucks or cars for cheap if you know what to look for, and if you find the right one it wont cost that much to fix up. Just stay away from flood ones. My local place charges around $20k for newer Denali's that need about $5-10k worth of work, but some might need double. Whereas a new ones about $70k ish.

Salvage vehicles arent always awful, some were stolen or had light front end damage. Its an option most people dont realize. And the guys often are willing to negotiate.

[A-Jay]

18 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Salvage vehicles arent always awful, some were stolen or had light front end damage. Its an option most people dont realize. And the guys often are willing to negotiate.

Hard Pass.

A-Jay

[JackstrawIII]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Hard Pass.

A-Jay

Yeah, I’m not going the salvage direction. I don’t know enough about truck mechanicals to feel comfortable doing that. 
 

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Very few folks sell or trade in perfectly good vehicles.

And yeah, ideally I’d be buying a leased vehicle that was turned in. All the ‘21s are starting to hit the market as people turn them back in. That gives you low-ish miles, often fairly well maintained cuz they were under maintenance warranties, and people trying hard not to damage them to avoid penalties. 
 

1 hour ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Id stay away from anything made during or after covid

Yeah, I totally get that, hence my interest in older Tundras. One of my ideas was to buy a tundra from ‘12-14 and keep my car to use as a daily driver. As a second vehicle, a Tundra should last a lifetime. 
 

It’s an idea at least. 

[A-Jay]

23 hours ago, JackstrawIII said:

Yeah, I’m not going the salvage direction. I don’t know enough about truck mechanicals to feel comfortable doing that. 
 

And yeah, ideally I’d be buying a leased vehicle that was turned in. All the ‘21s are starting to hit the market as people turn them back in. That gives you low-ish miles, often fairly well maintained cuz they were under maintenance warranties, and people trying hard not to damage them to avoid penalties. 
 

I lease mine and when it's time to turn it in,

folks are lining up to buy it.

Dealership gives prospective buyers a heads up and they are always ready.

My dealer gives me a REALLY good Deal on the next one.

Same Retired Marine has bought my last three trucks the day I turned them in.

I like his style. 

btw- I like black

A-Jay

[Bird]

If you like Toyota you can get a Tacoma " better MPG "that has a towing capacity of nearly 7k.

I like big trucks with massive towing capacity.

My latest is an  2021 F250 with the Godzilla engine, 7.3 gas and has been problem free.

[gim]

I am mostly a Ford guy when it comes to trucks but given the condition that @A-Jay keeps his trucks in while he owns them, I would buy a used GMC of his in a heart beat.

 

Toyota makes a Tundra Hybrid now.  I think it's probably more than $40k though.

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, Bird said:

I like big trucks with massive towing capacity.

That's what I like about my Silverado - ya, it's only a 1500 with a 5.3l V-8...but it's got the tow package (tranny cooler, etc) and it's rated to 11,000lbs tow capacity.

 

Not that Bass Trek is even near that....less than 2k fully rigged.

[Bird]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

That's what I like about my Silverado - ya, it's only a 1500 with a 5.3l V-8...but it's got the tow package (tranny cooler, etc) and it's rated to 11,000lbs tow capacity.

 

Not that Bass Trek is even near that....less than 2k fully rigged.

I've had (3) 5.3's......bullet proof.

[JackstrawIII]

12 minutes ago, Bird said:

If you like Toyota you can get a Tacoma " better MPG "that has a towing capacity of nearly 7k.

Towing capacity of the Tacoma is more than adequate. Only problem is cabin size. I’m 6’5 and it’s too cramped for me. 

[A-Jay]

16 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I am mostly a Ford guy when it comes to trucks but given the condition that @A-Jay keeps his trucks in while he owns them, I would buy a used GMC of his in a heart beat.

 

Toyota makes a Tundra Hybrid now.  I think it's probably more than $40k though.

As nice as the interior and the paint job is after only 3 years,

the undercarriage is outrageously rusted.

And I rinse it when I can and they are all garage queens.

But there's not slowing down oxidation.

A-Jay

 

[gim]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

As nice as the interior and the paint job is after only 3 years,

the undercarriage is outrageously rusted.

And I rinse it when I can and they are all garage queens.

But there's not slowing down oxidation.

 

Isn't there some kind of coating protection you can apply to undercarriages?  I think some frames are being built with aluminum now too instead of steel.  That would help with the rust issue.

 

I am not one to drive a vehicle into the ground either.  I keep mine in the garage and I wash it with an undercarriage carwash weekly.  Maybe it's just part of living where we do though.  The Rust Belt.

[JackstrawIII]

18 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Toyota makes a Tundra Hybrid now.  I think it's probably more than $40k though.

Yeah, but Toyota is having a heckin’ hard time with the Tundra these days. Wouldn’t buy one made after ‘21. Major motor issues and big recall underway. 

[gim]

4 minutes ago, JackstrawIII said:

Yeah, but Toyota is having a heckin’ hard time with the Tundra these days. Wouldn’t buy one made after ‘21. Major motor issues and big recall underway. 

 

I didn't know that.  Good thing you're doing homework.

[Woody B]

Look at a used Nissan Titan, 2016 or newer.   (not an XD though)   The engines are bulletproof.  Transmission are made by Jatco.   I've got 110,000 miles on my 2018 with zero problems.  I get 19 mpg driving to work and back, and 14 towing my boat.  The older ones had some engine problems caused by faulty catalytic converters, and some differential problems.  The 16's and newer don't have these problems.  Basically they're a Tundra copy, but will get slightly better gas mileage, and cost a BUNCH less than a Tundra.   The reason Tundra's cost so much is they're popular.  They're popular because they're durable.   

 

Don't start with the foreign made talk either.  My Titan was built in Mississippi.  Tundras are built in Texas.  Many of the Chevy/GMC, Ford and Ram trucks are built in Mexico and Canada.  

[Bird]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

 

Isn't there some kind of coating protection you can apply to undercarriages? 

Yes, a product called Fluid Film.

When I was working and running the interstate I bought the stuff by the case.

It's very effective at preventing corrosion but it's a VERY messy job in the driveway.

[Smirak]

I drive a 23 Titan and it’s bulletproof. It’s my second one. A little trepidations however as 24 or 25 is the last model year until it’s discontinued. I haul a 6900# (dry weight) travel trailer with it. Aside from crappy gas mileage while pulling, it has 0 problems pulling it.