How old is too old for a vehicle?

glocke12 said:

My daily driver is toyota 4runner, however since I often times need to haul some fairly large items around I have an older pickup that I use also. This truck gets driven probably once a month.

The truck is a 97 dodge ram 2500 with 100k miles. Body is in fairly good shape, as is the interior, but the past few years I've spent anywhere from a $200.00 to 1k in repairs on it. Last big repair was a fuel rail replacement which ran about $800.00.

Doing repairs myself is pretty much out of the question...no free time to do so..

Thoughts on this? Im thinking the truck is probably nearing the end of its useful life and I should think about getting rid of it while I can still get some money out of it.

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Stick with the 4Runner. Very reliable. I should know as I own one.

I'm a bad example on how old is too old. I bought a 2013 Civic after trading in my truck. Since I still had a car payment the trade in/cost was such that my car payment didn't change so it was a no brainer (no out of pocket money for a new car).

As for your situation, since you're barely using the truck, and its getting expensive to repair it given its age, I'd sell it and keep the SUV. You can probably handle much of the trucks usefulness with the SUV and in those situations that you can't other opportunities amy present itself.

I found moving from a truck to a car was an adjustment but I've not really missed the usefulness of it. You can read that as I didn't really need the truck where as you may need it more.

Selling the truck, putting a tow ball on the Toyota and buying an accordingly sized flat bed trailer would be an option, if you only need it once in a while and you don't need to carry 1-ton items.

juanm said:

Sell the truck, put a tow ball on the Toyota and buy an accordingly sized flat bed trailer would be an option, if you only need it once in a while and you don't need to carry 1-ton items.

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Juan beat me to the punch

You're going to keep shelling out to repair the pickup and sooner or later, something really big is going to break. Plus you're paying insurance, tags, taxes and other fees. Sell the moneypit and use the proceeds toward a good trailer and tow hardware. If your HOA didn't give you grief for the old pickup they probably won't mind you swapping it for a trailer.

It really depends on how much you use it and how much you think having it around is useful vs the expense.

I would sell it and get a trailer since you already have a daily driver in the 4Runner.


My 98 S10 is still going strong though and has not cost me a whole lot since getting it. Short of tires and regular maintenance I have only ever had to put a water pump on it and replace the head gasket. The head gasket was not cheap but the vehicle is nearly 15 years old at this point. For the $500 is cost to have it done it was well worth it.

juanm said:

Sell the truck, put a tow ball on the Toyota and buy an accordingly sized flat bed trailer would be an option, if you only need it once in a while and you don't need to carry 1-ton items.

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I would also recommend this.

My 2003 Camry is still going strong at 163,000 miles.

glocke12 said:

... This truck gets driven probably once a month.

The truck is a 97 dodge ram 2500 with 100k miles. Body is in fairly good shape, as is the interior, but the past few years I've spent anywhere from a $200.00 to 1k in repairs on it. Last big repair was a fuel rail replacement which ran about $800.00.....

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That's sounding like a whole lot of repair money for a once a month truck.

Although I do like trucks. In your situation it really doesn't make sense to keep it. Age doesn't really factor into this equation.

To me a 97 truck is pretty new. If it was a 77 I'd say it is starting to get old. If this was your primary driver I'd say keep it. Even $1,000 a year in repairs is chump change compared to buying a new truck. Looking at the resale value is pretty pointless since that new truck will depreciate at an astounding rate. Frankly an old vehicle makes more sense in many ways since it is much cheaper and after a certain age will maintain it's value eventually it will go up in value when it is old enough.

I actually have a 97 F-150. It shows a few signs of age due to faded paint and worn buttons. However, I keep it in good repair. I do the work myself. Also I use high quality replacement parts not the cheapest. That makes a huge difference in the quality and longevity of a repair. It still drives and handles like it was new.

If it's been well looked after - who cares how old it is. I'd absolutely love a 60's Shelby.

My daily driver is 2010, and I have my eye on a gorgeous 1998 Alfa Spider. Go for the car, not the year on it's plate.

For me, the bottom line is, do you need/want 2 cars? Your expenses are not bad, but divide it by how much you use the truck. It may be too much for that little use. If having the 2 cars gives you a level of security knowing one of them should always be available, then keep the truck.

If you take care of a truck you can get over 300,000 miles out of it. Trucks are built to be abused, within reason. As long as you keep it in good shape and the frame is not rusted out they can last you decades.

A vehicle is never too old per se. The time to dump it and buy a new(er) one is when it becomes a hassle to maintain it. My parents have a 2002 Chevy Suburban with 100,000 miles on it right now. The vehicle is 11 years old now, rarely gets driven since they have a daily driver( the Suburban is used for long haul trips, to get lines, fenders, sails, etc off their boat, and tow their horse trailer), but it is still in good shape. The vehicle has been maintenance free outside of oil changes, brakes, etc. So despite being 11 years old, it is still in working order and no rush to replace it.

Now the only reason I am pushing my parents to get a new Suburban when the K2XX generation comes out is simply due to the rising likelihood it being the last generation of Suburban to be body on frame. So in order to prevent the situation of the Suburban needing to be replaced, but it is no longer being offered or it moved to a unibody design I am recommending them to buy a new one sooner than later.....

glocke12 said:

Thanks for the replies...I like the idea of a trailer!

Unfortunately the more I think about it, the idea of keeping the vehicle seems less and less appealing. It is essentially 17 years old (bought in the fall of 1996), and undoubtedly more work will need to be done as some of the components of the truck fail...eventually it will be something expensive enough that I won't be able to or willing to get it repaired and than I'll be stuck with a useless hunk of metal I cant get anything for...

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You have this one figured out right! Sell it!