Truck Parked on the Side of the House

[Wallerstein]

Back in January my 2001 Ford Explorer Sportrac with 150,000 miles threw a rod on the way to work. I was really bummed out because I planned to drive it to 200K+ miles and it really hadn't given me any major problems in the 16 years years I've had it. It still runs but smoke comes out of the engine and, I don't know, maybe it'll die fully if I drive it too far and I wouldn't want to get stranded or have it towed.

So I  bought a 2009 Mazda3 with 90,000 miles. It's a great car. I still refuel once a week but instead of a 20.5 gallon tank I now fill a 14.5 gallon tank. However, I do miss having a truck. It was a more comfortable ride (I'm 6'1" and 240lbs) and having that open bed to move stuff was very convenient. Having a back-up vehicle could be beneficial. My wife's 2011 Ford Escape has 150,000 miles on it and she's rough on a car.

The truck has been parked on the side of my house and I'm not sure what to do with it. My local mechanic says I can get a new engine for $2000 with a 3-year warranty plus $500 to $800 to install it. Used engines are available with no (or very limited) warranty for about half the price of new. Or, the next time I have to buy a car I can trade in the truck to a dealer for whatever they'll give me. Another option is to put it up for sale on Craiglist for parts.

What's your opinion on the best course of action?

[former player]

The mustachian facepuncher would say sell the truck for whatever you can get for it (scrap, or parts, or to your local mechanic for him to replace the engine if he can make a profit doing it) and use the money to buy a bike which will help you lose some of those 240lbs.

Oh sorry, were you looking for the non-mustachian answer?

[Heroes821]

I'm not an expert but the "ideal weight" for a 6"1" Male is around 220 lbs.  So a Fit or buff one could easily be 240 so I wont move into the lose weight category ride a bike, but the bike is a great and best option depending on your commute.


If the Truck got filled up once a week with a 20 gallon tank getting... 15 miles to a gallon? that's what 300 Miles a week being driven?  The Mazda is somehow only getting 20 miles to the gallon?

The best course of action is to post a case study or at least more information so we can understand why in the world your doing that much driving and if you absolutely needed a truck to haul things all the time you probably would of needed to ask this question months ago.  MMM has several posts on why you don't need to own a truck regardless of height and weight.

I think the real issue is the amount of driving.  150,000 miles on a 2011 seems really high to me.  Do you and your wife commute in opposite directions?

[threefive]

In my area, that SprotTrac with a new engine would sell for about $4,500 because people are stupid about trucks around here. I used to own one. Bought it at auction w/ 150,000 miles for $4,000, moved to my current location, took the odometer up to 190,000 miles over 5 years, and sold it for $4,800. I was ... amazed. If your area is just as stupid, then maybe replacing the engine and selling it is the way to go.

I used to own trucks, because I also liked the convenience of having a truck. And then I learned about rentals. I now rent a full-sized pickup for a day for between $30-50 depending on how far I need to haul stuff. I could do this once a week, and it would still be cheaper than owning a truck, no matter how cheap I bought one. I only ever need a truck one or twice a year. My wife's tiny little Kia Soul hauls a whole bunch of crap, including lumber!

[Rocket]

BMI index normal weight for someone 6-1 is 144-188 lbs.  I'm 6-1 and weight 205 and fall in the obese category. 

I'd sell the truck for whatever I could get for it.

[Wallerstein]

The prevailing opinion so far is sell the truck now for parts/scrap. Even if I put a new engine in it and sold it I would essentially come out even. But if I kept it there is the utility of the vehicle and having a back-up vehicle. Like I said my wife is hard on her car and she's ornery about putting maintenance money into it. I also have begun picking up items from Craiglist and yard sales to resell. The Mazda has limited me on the bulkier items (appliances).

Her car is the 2009 with 150K miles. She's self-employed and drives to clients' homes plus the kids go to a charter school that's 15 miles away. She has tried some carpool arrangements with other parents but really isn't onboard with the early retirement philosophy though I have slowly been working on her using the ideas from MMM's article on that topic.

My job is a 25 mile commute, 15 miles of which is hilly low-speed roads. It's an engineering job that's in the higher compensation bracket for this area but I've just started out and requesting telecommuting is not yet an option.

Losing weight would be ideal although weight consideration is not my primary reason to re-vitalize the truck, if at all.

[Slee_stack]

BMI index normal weight for someone 6-1 is 144-188 lbs.  I'm 6-1 and weight 205 and fall in the obese category. 

I'd sell the truck for whatever I could get for it.

I haven't been a 'healthy' BMI since college.  I'm 6'1" and think I'd be fantastic if I could get down to 195. I'm currently 209.  Been as high as 215.  Admittedly, if I was less than 180, I'd not likely be healthy either.

One aspect of FIRE I'm hoping for is more time to exercise.

[mwulff]

You could commute on an e-bike. Or if you really wanted to lower costs without a bick pick up a used Nissan Leaf and use that for the commute.

One gas car in a family should be more than enough.

[JAYSLOL]

The prevailing opinion so far is sell the truck now for parts/scrap. Even if I put a new engine in it and sold it I would essentially come out even. But if I kept it there is the utility of the vehicle and having a back-up vehicle. Like I said my wife is hard on her car and she's ornery about putting maintenance money into it. I also have begun picking up items from Craiglist and yard sales to resell. The Mazda has limited me on the bulkier items (appliances).

Her car is the 2009 with 150K miles. She's self-employed and drives to clients' homes plus the kids go to a charter school that's 15 miles away. She has tried some carpool arrangements with other parents but really isn't onboard with the early retirement philosophy though I have slowly been working on her using the ideas from MMM's article on that topic.

My job is a 25 mile commute, 15 miles of which is hilly low-speed roads. It's an engineering job that's in the higher compensation bracket for this area but I've just started out and requesting telecommuting is not yet an option.

Losing weight would be ideal although weight consideration is not my primary reason to re-vitalize the truck, if at all.

A Mazda 3 or pretty much any small car can pull a utility trailer big enough to grab appliances off Craigslist.  For many years Ive pulled a 14' fishing boat with downriggers, 2 motors, and all the gear on a trailer with a 20+ year old Toyota compact with sub-100hp and 3 adults riding along. 

[RetiredAt63]

If your Mazda3 were a hatchback you get get more stuff in it - just saying.  I have a Maxda3 hatchback and it holds a lot.  Not as much as a truck.  My friend got a dishwasher in the back of a Kia Soul.  Not sure I could do that.

My engine went and my car now has a newish engine.  My car was older than the new engine, but the engine was not new- it had a limited warranty, but my old warranty was over, so I didn't care.   Much better than trading it in.  If you could use the truck a lot it might be worth while getting a new engine in it - but only if you were going to really use it.  Your truck is old, so why worry about an engine warranty, something else is more likely to go first. 

What got me in your post was that your wife isn't good at maintenance.  Proper maintenance means a car can go halfway to forever - get on her case about it, or just take care of it yourself.  That strikes me as more productive than worrying about the truck.

[HipGnosis]

The happy middle-ground is a 'remanufactured' engine (the big word is used so they can charge more than they could for a simple 'rebuilt' engine).  It will have a warranty.
I'd go that route if I really liked the truck.
I wouldn't swap out the engine w/o having the transmission rebuilt or swapped out (also reman'd).

Actually, I would buy a 'short block' and 'fix' the engine.  A short block is the engine block, crankshaft, rods and pistons (assembled).  Take everything off the broken block, get a 'valve job' on the head and put it all on the new one, with a new water pump.

Really curious though... - how often were you changing the oil?  How often were you checking the oil?

[human]

Wow Americans really do have a warped sense of healthy weight. Unless you are a linebacker 215 for 6'1" is not healthy you should measure your hip to waist ratio. I'm 6'2" and 190 and my hip to waist ratio is to high (skinny fat) but bmi just in the healthy range. I've been as low as 162 lbs and that was the fittest and healthiest I ever was. Lol at 180 being unhealthy!

On to the truck topic, sell the ole clunker and one of the other vehicles and use the money to buy a beater truck.

[mwulff]

I'll second the simple trailer behind the Mazda. If you really need to haul a lot of stuff it might be better to rent a van for a day.

[JLee]

BMI index normal weight for someone 6-1 is 144-188 lbs.  I'm 6-1 and weight 205 and fall in the obese category. 

I'd sell the truck for whatever I could get for it.

6'1 at 144 is fking SKINNY.   I'm 6' and float between 160 and 180 depending on my workout level (lower when not lifting) and I'm still thin. 

[MayDay]

The thing you definitely should not do is keep letting the truck sit. Either fix it and rice it once a week to keep things in working condition, or sell it this weekend.

Re. Weight for someone 6'1", my dad is 6'1" and 150. He is on the thin side, but not freakishly thin. Americans are so used to fat people that we have a skewed perception. Not that everyone who is 6'1" is built the same re. bone structure, muscle mass etc.

[Blatant]

I'm not an expert but the "ideal weight" for a 6"1" Male is around 220 lbs. 

Definitely not an expert. This has to be the funniest/saddest thing I've read on here in awhile.

As for the truck, I'd sell it. But a reman engine can be a decent value if nothing else is wrong and you REALLY need a truck.

[2Birds1Stone]

BMI index normal weight for someone 6-1 is 144-188 lbs.  I'm 6-1 and weight 205 and fall in the obese category. 

I'd sell the truck for whatever I could get for it.

If you are going to provide information, it may as well be accurate. Someone who is 6'1" and weighs 205 has a BMI of 27, which is just 2 points over the "normal" range and makes you just slightly "overweight".......but then again BMI is a crock of shit in most situations where someone has muscle or a bigger frame.

[Heroes821]

I'm not an expert but the "ideal weight" for a 6"1" Male is around 220 lbs. 

Definitely not an expert. This has to be the funniest/saddest thing I've read on here in awhile.

As for the truck, I'd sell it. But a reman engine can be a decent value if nothing else is wrong and you REALLY need a truck.

Well in my defense I did a 5 second google search and took the average number in the top results provided. Most co-workers I've had over 6 feet tall no idea on inches, but were definitely healthy (mandatory fitness for work) and were all over 200 lbs. So the number looked pretty good.

That being said in my defense I re-did my search and can see that the snippet now says that range falls in overweight instead of healthly...how google truncates the text on the actual page for their summary I have no clue, but apparently it is misleading.

[human]

Yeah cause everyone with a bmi of 27 has a hwr of .8 and body gat % under 15%.

[researcher1]

- But if I kept it there is the utility of the vehicle and having a back-up vehicle.
- Like I said my wife is hard on her car and she's ornery about putting maintenance money into it.
- I also have begun picking up items from Craiglist and yard sales to resell. The Mazda has limited me on the bulkier items.

You obviously have an irrational attachment to a broken down vehicle that is rotting away in your yard.

Do yourself AND your neighbors a favor and get rid of the truck TODAY!

I always drive by houses/yards full of broken down shit and wonder how it got that way.
For the sake of your neighbors and surrounding community, clean it up so your house doesn't look like a junk yard.

[boarder42]

a majority of people in america are overweight.  its why we look at someone on the lower end of their BMI range and think wow that person is unhealthy.  No most everyone else is b/c BMI is a very good indicator for a majority of people and very few outliers with large muscle mass or large frames really sway outside the range.  its not easy to stay in a normal weight range it takes work and going against everything we have promoted in america forever.  i'm riding at the top end of my BMI right now at 197 and 6'4.  it takes a healthy diet to stay in a healthy range.  you can work out til you're blue in the face but eating correctly solves weight issues more efficiently than exercise.

i just had this convo with some friends they were saying i'd be "too" skinny at 180 ... no i'd be a more normal sustainable weight for my height that would likely lead to healthier joints and a longer life. 

more than that truck getting yourself healthy so you can enjoy your life should be your top goal.  doesnt do any good to FIRE at 40 to die of a heart attack at 45.

The fatness problem in america sickens me to no end.

[Wallerstein]

Getting the wife to be more proactive about car maintenance has been a struggle. Equally a struggle with the whole idea of frugality and early retirement. But I keep working at her with it and she's made some huge improvements over the last two years.

I considered a trailer for the Mazda3, which is a non-hatchback. I'd have to get a trailer hitch installed as well as buy a trailer so those are some upfront costs. Also, the owner's manual for the car specifically states it should not be used to tow anything. But for now I just limit myself to picking up stuff I can stuff in the trunk with the seats down and the trunk open.

It's interesting the side-discussion generated about height and proper weight. My doctor wants me to be 220lbs which I haven't been since I was 22 years old and going to the gym 6 days a week but I'm working on that goal, too.

[researcher1]

Getting the wife to be more proactive about car maintenance has been a struggle...
Like I said my wife is hard on her car and she's ornery about putting maintenance money into it...

Is there a reason you don't just take over maintenance duties on your wife's car?
That seems like an extremely simple solution to this problem.

I assume your wife has neither the skill, experience or desire to handle vehicle maintenance.
This is why I maintain all of the vehicles in my household, while my wife takes care of other things.

[ysette9]

I've read that for some reason American dealers are especially wary of making reasonable recommendations on towing and towing weights. I have read on VW forums that if you look up the manual for exactly the same car sold in the U.K. or other countries, they often have double the recommended max towing weight as the American manual. Maybe check into that?

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/reviews/tow-car/29751-mazda-3

[ysette9]

I glanced at a couple of quick UK sites on towing capacity for a mazda3 and they seem to agree it is around 1100-1300kg. I think you should be just fine.

[Wallerstein]

Is there a reason you don't just take over maintenance duties on your wife's car?
That seems like an extremely simple solution to this problem.

I assume your wife has neither the skill, experience or desire to handle vehicle maintenance.
This is why I maintain all of the vehicles in my household, while my wife takes care of other things.

I was working on a second bachelor's these past three years and balancing the job and family with that really seemed to minimize my attention span for extra tasks. But I'm back on it now.

I glanced at a couple of quick UK sites on towing capacity for a mazda3 and they seem to agree it is around 1100-1300kg. I think you should be just fine.

I figure Mazda Corp US is minimizing its liability by recommending no towing for the Mazda3. However, I do want this car to last me past 200,000 miles. Very bummed out the Sporttrac died on me at 150,000. Someone above asked about the truck's maintenance: I changed the oil every 4000 miles. The engine never gave any previous outward signs of pending failure (smoke, oil spatter, bits of metal in the oilpan). Most of the problems with the truck were cosmetic.

[humbleMouse]

As for the truck, I'd post it on the craigslist car parts section.  You could also try looking on ebay for what parts go for.  You might be surprised at the cost of things like headlights/taillights/bumpers/etc. 

If you REALLY need a new truck, I'd skip the repair and buy a used ford ranger for between 2-3k, subsidized by the money from selling parts from your old truck.


For the weight discussion - I am 6'2 and weigh between 160-170 pounds depending how much I have eaten or drank.  I work out 3x a week, bike alot, and eat very healthy.  I am definitely skinny but not malnourished by any means. 

[HipGnosis]

Do yourself AND your neighbors a favor and get rid of the truck TODAY!

For the sake of your neighbors and surrounding community, clean it up so your house doesn't look like a junk yard.

I'm not the OP, but... I bought a house so I could make it, or let it, look anyway I care to.   A parked vehicle is not a junk yard.  It's not on blocks or missing any parts. 
Don't make a hurried, costly mistake on the assumption to know what the neighbors care about, or give an F what they care about.

[myrrh]

I don't care to engage in the debate about weight.

The Home Depot has a rent-a-truck for $20 plus the cost to refuel for an hour or two. If you just need to haul some stuff to or from the house, it is way more cost effective to do that, or if you need it longer to rent a truck from a car rental place. Versus, repair the truck, pay insurance, license tags, maintenance, and fuel to have it sit at the side of your house most of the year. We had a similar situation (minus the thrown rod) and I was amazed at how much less we paid over the year without a third vehicle.

[HipGnosis]

The Home Depot has a rent-a-truck for $20 plus the cost to refuel for an hour or two. If you just need to haul some stuff to or from the house, it is way more cost effective to do that, or if you need it longer to rent a truck from a car rental place. Versus, repair the truck, pay insurance, license tags, maintenance, and fuel to have it sit at the side of your house most of the year. We had a similar situation (minus the thrown rod) and I was amazed at how much less we paid over the year without a third vehicle.

So many people buy a truck saying they can't risk not being able to rent one when they need it.
 I theorize that the govt. could really help lower fuel use of everyone by subsidizing pickup, van and small truck rental.  It can be impossible to rent a truck on weekends at or near the end of the month, because that's when people move.

[kelvin]

After having lived with a hatchback, I couldn't go back to a trunk. It might be worth it to trade in the Mazda for a hatchback (depending on how often you're making an IKEA run) or have your wife drive the Mazda, since it's better on mileage than her vehicle. Neither option will be as nice as your truck was, but both options will be cheaper.

Sorry the truck didn't live up to expectations. I had a similar experience last year.

I'm also a huge fan of lowering opportunity cost - what's the easiest way to get rid of it? What's the most profitable way to get rid of it? What's the price difference between the two answers? Can you put a dollar value on the headache this thing is causing you?

[Dicey]

- But if I kept it there is the utility of the vehicle and having a back-up vehicle.
- Like I said my wife is hard on her car and she's ornery about putting maintenance money into it.
- I also have begun picking up items from Craiglist and yard sales to resell. The Mazda has limited me on the bulkier items.

You obviously have an irrational attachment to a broken down vehicle that is rotting away in your yard.

Do yourself AND your neighbors a favor and get rid of the truck TODAY!

I always drive by houses/yards full of broken down shit and wonder how it got that way.
For the sake of your neighbors and surrounding community, clean it up so your house doesn't look like a junk yard.

+150k

[ysette9]

I agree with others that hatchbacks are the absolute bomb. I'll never go back to a sedan because the increased utility of a hatchback is amazing. You can fit So. Much. in a hatchback with the seats down. We've done multiple IKEA runs in my old Scion tC and filled it up to the roof with crazy things like tall bookshelves. Had to rope the lid closed once or twice and drive slowly with stuff sticking out out the bumper, but it worked out just fine.

[Wallerstein]

The Home Depot has a rent-a-truck for $20 plus the cost to refuel for an hour or two. If you just need to haul some stuff to or from the house, it is way more cost effective to do that, or if you need it longer to rent a truck from a car rental place. Versus, repair the truck, pay insurance, license tags, maintenance, and fuel to have it sit at the side of your house most of the year. We had a similar situation (minus the thrown rod) and I was amazed at how much less we paid over the year without a third vehicle.

This is a good point. Spending maybe $30-40 to rent a truck for a couple of hours as needed several times a year vs. keeping (and maintaining) a permanent truck.

I'm also a huge fan of lowering opportunity cost - what's the easiest way to get rid of it? What's the most profitable way to get rid of it? What's the price difference between the two answers? Can you put a dollar value on the headache this thing is causing you?

This is the point I'm at now: how to maximize the sell-off value of the truck with least amount of headache.

[Rocket]

You're right I read the BMI chart wrong.  Thanks for pointing out my mistake.

BMI index normal weight for someone 6-1 is 144-188 lbs.  I'm 6-1 and weight 205 and fall in the obese category. 

I'd sell the truck for whatever I could get for it.

If you are going to provide information, it may as well be accurate. Someone who is 6'1" and weighs 205 has a BMI of 27, which is just 2 points over the "normal" range and makes you just slightly "overweight".......but then again BMI is a crock of shit in most situations where someone has muscle or a bigger frame.