New vs. building old one

[notyo_cheez]

Curiousity drove me to look at the new Silverados online, MSRP for a single cab W/T trim short bed V6 with just a few options is about $25K. I think I can build my '81 and have it running/driving for less than that, not counting the APR for the loan. Sure the dealer could shave some off of that but maybe only a thousand or two.

Not having buyer's remorse, probably just more impatient than anything else. Totally my fault...

[str8axle55]

I agree, provided you are doing the work. It won`t have all of the comfort or safety features, but it`d be cooler.

[H8PVMNT]

I just sold an '08 GMC 2500HD and traded my quad for an '88 1 ton crew cab. Best decision I ever made... We can now seat our entire family plus the dog comfortably. Sure we have to work on the '88 but we will end up with a sweet restomod truck and we now have no payments. $630 a month buys a whole lot of gas and cool parts.

I just like the older trucks better. I guess it just depends on how much time you are willing to commit to an old truck and what kind of resources you have. There have been times in my life that fixing up old stuff just wasn't an option.

[Keith Seymore]

Took me about $3200 to fix up my '87.

That's way less than $25k.

K

[tucsonjwt]

You should be able to get a 2WD V6 Silverado or Sierra at model year end for about $17-$18K, plus TTL. You can get "payment saver" (or 2 to 5 year "balloon) loans with very low payments and interest rates now. (I get $262 monthly payment on $20K loan for 60 months.) At the end of the loan term your vehicle will be worth the balance of the loan, so you sell it and you walk away or you refinance it. Free GAP insurance covers any possible "upside down" situation.

I typically buy a new truck or SUV every 6 months, trading the "old one" in. In many cases, I can swap the old one for the new one and come out even, sometimes with a few $$ in my pocket. There are times when this does not work, and the trade loses $1000 -$1500 in bad markets. I lost $1500 in January of this year when I traded a 2010 Sierra Ext. Cab. for a 2011 Equinox LS for $21000, but I sensed that high gas prices would drop the value of the Sierra. You need to wait for the dealers to advertise a great price, and then jump on it. The best way to trade in and buy frequently is to pay cash - no opportunity for the dealer to play games with the loan on your trade in vehicle. I could write a book on buying a new vehicle now.
This requires keeping the new vehicle pristine - no door dings, ripped interior, etc., and keeping the miles low, so it doesn't work unless you have a careful family.
Upside - driving a new vehicle every 6 months for very few $$, no worry about
repairs, all the new safety and comfort features, save on gas
Downside - Cannot treat your truck like a truck, must be very careful and not
put very many miles on the truck - definitely need a second beater
truck, unless you don't use your truck like a truck.

I have always had a used truck (beater) and a new vehicle at the same time.
The used trucks always take $1000-$1500 per year in maintenance and repairs. I do keep the used truck in top shape, so that accounts for most of the $$ spent. If you drive your beater with bad tires, brakes, suspension, interior, etc., you can get away with $500 or less per year to keep the beater going. If I bought a new work truck I could eliminate the second truck, but I would take a big loss at trade in time.

[my4by2]

Build it man!!! Even if you totally update the driveline you'd get out cheaper! Just don't go all overboard like I've done or you'll be better off just getting a new one.... Hehe

[motornut]

around here with etests etc
i'd build it
I had a GMC 2010 CC for about two weeks.....didn't save any gas
paint was scratching off plastic inside
with all the performance parts out for the older trucks.....build it

[tucsonjwt]

For reference, my experience:
2010 GMC Ext. Cab. 4.8, 3.23 axle, 2wd, 15.5 city/18.5 hwy.
2000 Silverado V6, 2wd, LB, 3.42 axle, 19 city/24 hwy.
Many 5.3 trucks and suvs, 17-18 city, 21-23 hwy.
I drive carefully, your mileage will vary.

EPA mpg on 4.8 or 5.3 is about 14/18.

[old Rusty C10]

i have an 82 LWB 2wd while i like my old truck, and ive put in a new motor ( crate) a rebuilt transmission, did up the front end, tires, had the air conditioner rebuilt, front and rear brakes, im working on the front brakes and new lines etc. ive spent money on new body panels and a cowl hood ,new gas tanks , crossover valve,radiator, and who knows what else.. I sgtill have body work to do and paint as well as the interior,,
personally i would not get into this truck and go more than an hour from home. I do use the truck as one of my work horses and its good for that and eventually im going to pension it off and make it a show queen. I did go out and buy a brand new truck for my daily driver at about $34K. Yesterday i drove several hundred miles to go shopping at a sporting good store.. could i trust my older truck to do that? i dont think so..in addition i tow my boat with the new truck and can deduct the expenses as a business expense the comfort of the new truck far exceeds the older one. I have a 6 cd changer, Sirrus, and sync in it.. it makes life alot easier...Personally if you have the money and can afford it id buy the new truck and keep these older trucks for show and for jobs that you dont wanna use a brand new truck for

[tucsonjwt]

x2 Rusty. I am driving up to Phoenix soon and it won't be in the 83, regardless of the good condition it is in mechanically. Old trucks just have a lot of surprises that show up at the worst time. If you don't need it for a dd, then old is OK.

[Goldfinger]

If you maintain it and replace what needs to be replaced you can trust these for very long trips. even after 3 engine rebuilds and 2 tranny builds i wouldn't hesitate to go cross country in mine. Even in the densest traffic i've never had it over heat or leave me stranded other than when the tires or i am at fault. since you could start from scratch an ls swap may help make a smoother running truck

[WarBeard]

Loans=Bad juju!

I think it was Peterson's off-road magazine. Where I read a article about just this. They were looking for a tow rig to haul the buggy with. The question was should we buy a new one of get an old one and build it up.

They wanted a 4wd 3/4ton. So the dealer had one for like 30k and they also looked at a 1ton chevy from the 80's. They figure the cost of the payments ($500) plus insurance and interest would be a certain amount per month.

Now if they bought the old 1ton they could put $500 a month into that and have a really badass rig in no time, cheap to insure ETC. Also say you have a bad month and dont have that $500 payment.Well if you have the old truck you can go to sleep knowing there wont be any tow trucks looking for your pretty new truck.

This is pretty much what I do with my suburban. I have had 2 trucks repo'd in 2008 when the world went down the tube. Now all my cars and trucks are OLD, PAID FOR AND MINE!

[irishman999]

I vote build.

I got my Dodge pickup repo'd in early 2009, with payments I could not afford any after market parts for it anyways. I was within a couple grand of having it payed off, I just put a new water pump on it as well as new tires.

Backup to losing the job, this company was a contractor in this mine since the 60's and the summer I started they said there will be no layoffs, it was a very secure job. One monday they were handing out pink slips, I will never finance ANYTHING again, walking sucks.

To relate to the truck you are buying, I was given a 2007 GMC Sierra to cruise around in by my father in law. Dont get me wrong, it was a nice truck but I was glad to give it back. The new was worn off within a few months, the gadgets that were cool in the beginning were pissing me off. I could not use the truck for anything, it was too pretty. Gas mileage was not so great either.

A/C is nice but unless you are Elderly its not going kill you. We have an 07 Mustang and alot of times we end up cruising the 85 GMC around in the heat with no A/C. You can always fix it later, thats the beauty of not having a car payment and cheap ass insurance.

As far as reliability.... My 85 sat in my uncles front yard in Apache Junction for 15 years, I picked it up on a car trailer in March of 2010. Hard to believe but we put a battery in it and poured gas down the carb and the SOB started and idled. I borrowed a grand and got all the basics like a carb overhaul, brakes and the cooling system fixed. Had some engine trouble I fixed with 5 bucks worth of pushrods and some ingenuity, Engine is still running today.

I hitched up a 25 year old truck that had been sitting for 15 years to a trailer full of everything I owned and drove it from Ruidoso Nm to Reno Nv this time last year. That trip was over 1,000 miles through extreme heat and it made it.

I have been driving the truck daily for a while, I take it on trips all the time. In fact I am getting ready to drive it from Reno to Springerville Az some time this week and am totally confident.

[WarBeard]

Springerville Is lovely this time of year and we are having one heck of a rain storm right now Mid 60's temps

[irishman999]

Originally Posted by motomech

Springerville Is lovely this time of year and we are having one heck of a rain storm right now Mid 60's temps

I know man I am getting excited! Reno does not have a monsoon season, I cant wait to get back to the White mountains for some cool weather.

[david068513]

You can get a basic v6 truck for 16-17k in my area brand new.
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[78 Chevyrado]

I built mine because i like it better than the new trucks. new trucks have the newest technology, gadgets and warranties. if thats really important to you, go new.

I drive my 78 C20 everywhere. I goto bama fairly regulary its about 170 miles one way on the freeway, going 75MPH. I've also made the trip to south Florida and to houston texas in it from north GA.

I know more about my truck than i do my focus, because I never have done anything serious working on my focus. Also when something does go wrong, i almost always know what it is before i even get stopped. so in that way i trust the truck better. plus parts for my truck are cheaper and seem to be IN STOCK at stores way more than the focus stuff. I mean, a small block chevy, it doesnt get any more common than that.

I drive my truck everywhere I go, unless ill be leaving it somewhere shady for more than an hour or two. then i take the focus, its the expendable car..lol

[notyo_cheez]

My daily is a Toyota RAV, wife has a Corolla. My plans for my '81 are complete teardown and reassembly as I have to pull the cab anyway, and I'd be halfway there. Planning on a Goodwrench crate, 4bbl intake/carb, new 350 tranny, all soft parts replaced, overhaul HVAC, clean/paint chassis, upholstery, etc. Time and funds are the big things, learning some of this stuff on the fly are the smaller hurdles as I've never done this solo before.

Last project I had help and got burned in the end, making a long story short. The advantage this time is I'm in the driver's seat, I have the documentation that proves it's mine, and in my own garage so no chance of losing the storage space unless personal tragedy forces my hand to unload it.

All you fellow members are a great bunch of guys lending support to those of us who need the guidance and advice. Hats off to you.

[pwtr02ss]

I would not drive my old truck everyday. I has a lsx swap and full frame off build with everything replaced. Its just not comfortable to me so I say buy a new truck but don't get a v6, spend a few $$ and get at least a 4.8, you wont regret it.

[Your41Plague12]

Mine's my DD, but it has a bad habit of breaking things all the time. If it's not one stupid thing, it's another. It comes with the territory of driving an old truck with a lot of old parts still left on it.

[ghettoluxury]

I am going to say BUILD. I have 2 old trucks, a 79 step side that is a daily driver and a 88 crew cab that is my project. The crew has been fighting me since I bought it. Hell, the motor threw a rod through the oil pan the day I picked it up. I have been able to find the parts cheep and since January I only have $2500 in it, including the purchase of the truck. When the crew is done the way I want it I will have less than $10,000 in it and have something much nicer than what is sitting on the dealers lot.

My stepside is 32 years old an is still rockin the original drive line. I use it every day and make 600+ mile trips in it with out problems. The key to these old trucks is propper mantinance. They need a little more attention than the new ones, but you know what you have and what to expect from it. If you treat the old girls right they will always do what you ask of them.

To go from this

to this for a total of $2500 is awsome

[camshaftgsxr]

with enough hush mat, a/c, leather burb seats and new suspension and steering components you are looking at a ride and comfort level of any new truck, i personally want a 99-02 1500 stepper as a daily, but thats only because i hate having to drive my project when i need to go somewhere, i drive an 87 bmw around every where because with the gas i save i can afford to work on my truck more

[C-10 simplex]

Lots of good points so far.


My take on the topic:

i would love to have a new truck, but the numbers don't pencil out; An equivalent or better to a new stripper 1500 W/T v-6 model (i don't think silverado comes with v-6?) could be built for no more than $5000 total and probably less than that.


2) Only disadvantages to older:

No air bags. The chances of ever needing these are slim, but if you are in that situation, air bags are the best thing to have.

No anti lock brakes. Not such a big deal in my opinion.

Even without air bags i think a newer car/truck cab has better crash integrity/design.

But those are the only real disadvantages to older in my opinion.

3) Another good thing about "older" trucks (especially non-computerized) is that if the engine quits, you can drop "any old" small block in there and be up and running in probably 8 hours or less. These engines can be found running on craigslist/salvage yard etc. for $100-$400. Let's say your newer 2007 truck's motor seizes. It's out of warranty. What are you going to do?



4) Another thing to consider is the issue of "current technology maintenance." For example, the GM Throttle body injection of 87 to 95ish(?) was/is a very good system. However, how many techs at the dealer RIGHT NOW are really familiar with this and can actually fix it?

What i'm trying to say is after your newer truck becomes 7-10 yrs old the technology has undoubtebly changed and it's not cost-effective for the dealership to train techs on older systems because they may not see that type of car but 1-2 times a month. So let's say you end up with a 2002 silverado---not real old, but not really "current" either. Can the techs or anyone else for that matter fix this?

Carburetor technology is simple and straightforward to understand to the point where you really don't need to "bring it in" to the dealer to get it fixed because you can do it yourself. Or even if you did bring it in, someone at the dealer will know how to fix it because these systems were so overwhelmingly common and stable (as compared to FI technology which constantly changes).


i don't feel a person should even think about buying a new car unless their liquid net worth is at least $110K plus the cost of the car.

[VegasBruce]

I bought my 73 in 84, for a $1000. Since then I have driven it 400,000 miles on 3 engines, 4 transmissions and 3 rearends. The frame has been welded up 3 times, due to abusing it in the desert. Last Dec, I drove it to Texas and back a 3000 mile round trip with no problems. It needs some bodywork and paint, along with a new A/C setup. However I still don't have anywhere near 25 grand in it.




I have however in the last few years, started using a Harley for a DD.

[tucsonjwt]

I think apples to apples comparison is in order. If you strip an old square down to the frame, then rebuild it totally from scratch, you likely will be well over $10K - even doing all of the work yourself, which is not likely for the average bear. This assumes that you replace everything that is worn out or marginal - which most parts will be after 30 years on the road. This would be a comparison between a brand new and "like new" old truck.
If you buy an old truck for $2-$5K and replace parts as they actually fail, then you are into $500-$1000+ per year in maintenance - but you have a fixed up old truck which will always need more repairs/restoration as the years go by. I am not saying buying an old square is bad, just that fixing one up is not the same as buying a new truck and taking care of it. Some are lucky and have old trucks that never need repairs - but not me. Financially, I still think new truck vs. old truck that is well restored and cared for is a wash at best. And as we have seen, your restored old truck will depreciate just like a new truck. Each to his or her own.