I have never owned a truck in my short life. I have always driven cars , either 4 door or sports coupes. Some of my close friends recently have purchased trucks, any recommendations fellow CF'ers? I am thinking in the 25k range.
you don't have to get a truck just because some of your close friends recently got them. if you are just driving to work and home mostly, it's just going to waste gas.
It has nothing to do with friends , just I feel like it would be more useful and l would enjoy a truck. None of my family members have a truck or even owned one before.
As Grumbler mentioned, you need to look at he cost of ownership. You will spend a lot more on gas. There are other things that are more expensive also, like suspension work and larger tires.
how often do you think you would need the bed of a truck to move something? does your work require you to haul material? do you do a lot of construction? unless you'll be needing an actual truck to do something at least every other week, it won't get much use. so if you want a truck for the sake of just wanting a truck regardless of cost, then buy it. tundras are awesome.
If you are the only one in the family that has a truck, you will be the one they always call when they need to haul something.
I bought my first truck like 6 months ago. It does come in handy. I have a v6 Sylverado so if you're worried about gas you can always go that route. I am a car guy but honesty I don't think I will ever get rid if my truck. I bought it for $3000 and the truck runs strong.
Make sure you always park a little crooked so that you're taking up two spaces, or other truck drivers won't respect you.
There's a dealership in Houston that sells only Ford trucks. I forget their name, but I'm sure you can find it if you search online. I had to buy some trucks for my old employer and they were far and away the best deal. If you want a Ford, that is.
I have an original truck based ford expedition. It's the best vehicle I have ever owned. Super reliable and parts are crazy cheap since it's the best selling vehicle in the United States since forever. Even though the tires are big, they are cheaper than tires on my smaller SUV. The insurance on trucks are low also. The only drawback is the gas mileage.
I've owned nothing but trucks...from an old '86 Silverado to a Nissan picup (pre Frontier) and now two generations of Tacomas. Take a look at what you want of your truck first. Midsize trucks have been the perfect fit for me since I don't need all the towing power of a full-size. But they still provide plenty of bed space and cabin room, have enough power to haul lighter loads and are relatively decent on gas (if you're not comparing to hybrids of course and are conscientious about your driving habits). Just bought a '13 Tacoma in January and I absolutely love it. Honestly if you go midsize, hands down Toyota has every other truck in it's class beat and it's not even close. If I was to go full-size I'd probably go with Ford though.
Go to this site and look at what owners actually get for mileage http://www.fuelly.com/car/ Then check what the insurance will cost. It cost me more to insure my Tundra and ford F 150 then my 04 Corvette. I do miss my truck and am thinking about getting another one. Remember what the other posters said though your family friends and neighbors will always need to borrow you and your truck!
If friends and family call for the use of you and your truck. Remind the that you have an ice chest that they can fill with ice cold drinks. Problems solved.
Depends on why you want the truck. I've driven an s-10 for 5 years now. Unless you need to do some really heavy duty work, which i'm guessing you don't, it will serve all of the functional needs that you can get from a full size truck. People always call me to help them haul or move stuff, gotta charge them, lunch at least. I've probably made over $1000 dollars on little weekend odd jobs, I'm still much cheaper than a moving truck. I'm shocked how many people don't know a truck owner. Mine has 200 K on it, I still get 16 MPG. Unfortunately S-10's are out of production but a Froniter will do just as well If you just want a big truck for looks get an f-150.
That kind of budget can get you some pretty sweet non-truck sleds if you're willing to buy used and a little old.
Please elaborate on this. How do you "enjoy" a truck? Are you tasting it, or something? Why would you "enjoy" a truck and not a car/sedan?
