Author Topic: Which vehicle should I keep?  (Read 3852 times)

EXLIer

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Which vehicle should I keep?
« on: February 07, 2016, 02:42:19 PM »
Currently own 2 vehicles.  A 2005 Ford F250 Diesel and a 2015 Toyota Sienna XLE minivan.

I bought the minivan on sort of an impulse after our 2nd child was born.  I wanted more of a family vehicle that rides nice - nicer than my F250 and my wife's Civic.  We take(used to more - now more like every other month) monthly trips of 250+ miles and to bring the kids, suitcases, my bicycle, etc. - just wasn't happening with the Civic, and the F250 drives like a tank.

F250 is paid for with about 80K miles
Toyota Sienna has a loan with a balance of about $27K.  Probably worth about $30K used.

My issue is I somewhat need the truck for my rental properties/business.  I tow a 16' enclosed trailer and use the bed for material.  I haven't used it much in the last year or so, and it's possible to sell the truck, big trailer, and just buy a medium sized open cargo trailer to use with the minivan.

My issue with the truck is that although it's been a great & reliable vehicle, the engine in it is know to be unreliable long term with COSTLY repairs - $3K-$10K that almost seem inevitable.  Part of my reasoning to sell it is to get out of it while it's still running good and not needing expensive maintenance.

What nice about the Toyota is the utility for the family, much better reliability record, better mileage, overall ride and creature comforts.

What do you guys think?

Thanks

Jack

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2016, 02:59:13 PM »
Sell both; replace with a Prius or similar cheap, efficient sedan or hatchback and rent a truck when necessary (since you "haven't used it much in the last year or so").

If you tow often enough that you actually do need to do it with your own vehicle instead of a rental, then still sell both and replace with an older, cheaper minivan.

tobitonic

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2016, 06:44:36 PM »
Like Jack said, sell both. I'd replace them with an '05-'10 Odyssey or '04-'10 Sienna with a trailer add-on or rental truck.

We have both and together they cost less than half of what your Sienna is worth.

In 21k combined miles since buying them, we've spent about $10 on unplanned maintenance. Hard to beat that.

Syonyk

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2016, 08:08:55 PM »
You've got the 6.0 Powerstroke in that, correct?

And it's bone stock?

SELL IT.  And I say this as a fan of trucks and the Powerstrokes.  If you baby it, it might be OK, or it might do that which 6.0s do and demand $10k.  If you do keep it, you can spend about $5k to bulletproof it and avoid the failure, but... seriously, sell it.

Or trade for a 7.3 ;)  They run forever.

EXLIer

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2016, 05:58:10 AM »
You've got the 6.0 Powerstroke in that, correct?

And it's bone stock?

SELL IT.  And I say this as a fan of trucks and the Powerstrokes.  If you baby it, it might be OK, or it might do that which 6.0s do and demand $10k.  If you do keep it, you can spend about $5k to bulletproof it and avoid the failure, but... seriously, sell it.

Or trade for a 7.3 ;)  They run forever.

You'd be correct sir!  Actually, the truck has lived a life of minimal idling, and approximately 1/2 the mileage was towing a 15K lb 32' racing trailer.  The remaining mileage was mostly highway mileage, so I feel that most of it's use was less detrimental that most people who use them for grocery getters and idle them A LOT.

I'm actually leaning towards the possibility of keeping the truck, and selling the minivan.  I have all the parts to make it reliable, and once the weather begins to break above freezing, I'll begin riding my motorcycle and bicycle again mostly to save some fuel. 

I find it hard to part with "stuff".  Nervous about when it comes time to leave this house. haha

southernhippie

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2016, 07:04:36 AM »
What about selling both and getting a used sedan and a cargo van that can pull the trailer when needed?

Syonyk

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2016, 09:32:41 AM »
You'd be correct sir!  Actually, the truck has lived a life of minimal idling, and approximately 1/2 the mileage was towing a 15K lb 32' racing trailer.  The remaining mileage was mostly highway mileage, so I feel that most of it's use was less detrimental that most people who use them for grocery getters and idle them A LOT.

True - that's about the best thing you can do with a diesel - let them pull.  They love it, and it keeps things hot enough to stay clean.

Quote
I'm actually leaning towards the possibility of keeping the truck, and selling the minivan.  I have all the parts to make it reliable, and once the weather begins to break above freezing, I'll begin riding my motorcycle and bicycle again mostly to save some fuel.

All the parts = full bulletproofing kit, or just the EGR cooler & such?  I don't think you *have* to fire ring the heads if you're keeping it otherwise stock, but it's a good idea.  Obviously, don't throw a tuner on it until you take care of that...  (actually, just don't throw a tuner on it at all).

If you don't drive the truck that much, the cost of having it sitting is fairly low.  That's my current optimum - I've got a bigass truck for hauling things and towing, and I ride an electric bike pretty much everywhere else, so I don't really go through that much diesel.  If anything, my truck is now going up in value because the miles on it are low (a sub-100k mile 7.3 is a rare thing now).

It really depends on how much you're using it.  If you can replace the truck with a trailer on a midsized car or minivan, that's going to be cheaper to run and maintain.  But if you need the truck, especially for towing, you need the truck.  Can't throw 15k lbs behind a minivan...

EXLIer

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Re: Which vehicle should I keep?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2016, 06:12:52 AM »
All the parts = full bulletproofing kit, or just the EGR cooler & such?  I don't think you *have* to fire ring the heads if you're keeping it otherwise stock, but it's a good idea.  Obviously, don't throw a tuner on it until you take care of that...  (actually, just don't throw a tuner on it at all).

If you don't drive the truck that much, the cost of having it sitting is fairly low.  That's my current optimum - I've got a bigass truck for hauling things and towing, and I ride an electric bike pretty much everywhere else, so I don't really go through that much diesel.  If anything, my truck is now going up in value because the miles on it are low (a sub-100k mile 7.3 is a rare thing now).

It really depends on how much you're using it.  If you can replace the truck with a trailer on a midsized car or minivan, that's going to be cheaper to run and maintain.  But if you need the truck, especially for towing, you need the truck.  Can't throw 15k lbs behind a minivan...

I have the EGR "kit", brand new Ford oil cooler, and coolant filter kit.  Along with a ScanGuage to monitor the oil vs coolant temps.

I think that should make it pretty dang reliable.  I'm not towing nearly as heavy anymore, and certainly don't plan to slap a tuner on it.

I'm basically down to:

1.  Sell Toyota Minivan and keeping the F250.
2.  Sell both and buy a used either Ford or Chevy Passenger van.