When Shopping For A Used Pick-Up Truck At Carmax...

[arwalden]

... all other things being equal, which of these two is more desirable:

1) An OLDER truck with LOW/NORMAL miles?

or

2) A NEWER truck with EXCESSIVE miles?


So many other things to consider too: "foreign" or "domestic"; extended cab or 4-door cab; gas or diesel (and I'm leaning towards gas); 8 or 6 cylinder (leaning towards 8); 2WD or 4WD (leaning towards 4WD); automatic or manual (leaning towards automatic).

HELP!! So many choices... but after awhile the details and information is just too much to keep sorted in my mind. Eventually it all turns into one big blur and every truck starts to look the same.

[KG]

1. go for low miles

also, check the bumper to see if it's been used to tow

[seemunkee]

2. Or if it had ever had bumpernutz

[arwalden]

4. I've Just GOTTA Have A Set Of Those...

... should it be a matching color, or should I just go all-out and get the chrome ones? :rofl:

[Deep13]

18. Get solid brass like Stephen Colbert.

[arwalden]

21. Pretty heavy... but damned impressive.

[arwalden]

3. I'll Be Using It As A Tow Vehicle Myself.

... but that's an excellent reminder. Knowing how HARD the previous owner used it will be good to consider when making my final decision.

[LSK]

5. low miles

Do you live in an area where it snows? Get 4wd. Are you going to be hauling or towing something large?

What are the reasons for getting a pickup truck?

[arwalden]

7. Yes... It Snows In MD From Time To Time.

I'll be towing an RV camper and other times we'll use it to haul home-improvement supplies from Lowes (or to haul interior demolition debris to the county dump).

[jobycom]

6. Low miles, but not too low for it's age.

If it hasn't been driven a reasonable number of miles, it could mean it had a problem, or sat for a while. Cars deteriorate if they aren't run. Especially tires and belts and hoses.

Foreign or domestic--doesn't matter much. America makes good trucks. Toyota's Tundra is good. I have no experience with Nissan. Gas or diesel--diesel engine will last longer, and gives you the option of biodiesel or even a vegetable oil conversion (certain years of Ford aren't good for VO, though), but if you live where it gets cold, diesel may be annoying (I don't live where it's cold, so I don't have experience with that, just what I've been told). Gas is easier to find (so far), not as noisy, and isn't as carcinogenic as petro-diesel (biodiesel is cleanest, or that's what I've heard, anyway).

As someone else said, try to buy one that's never been used to tow anything (check bumper for scratches or dents even if it doesn't have a hitch).

And if it's a big truck, buy an eight cylinder. Six isn't strong enough, wears faster, and in the end may pollute more because of its wear. Although there is debate on that<G>.

[arwalden]

8. Excellent Advice...

... I'll keep ALL of those things in mind.

Much appreciated! :thumbsup:

[snooper2]

9. Depends on the truck....

nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. Actually, you can get a really good deal on a new BASE ( I mean base)

truck, which is the way MrG and I go. His truck was $15,000 in 2002. It has air, AM/FM and a tow package. We tried buying used once and got burned...badly. Never again. Good luck! :hi:

[IsIt1984Yet]

15. I concur.

I also bought used once and was burned... badly.

New BASE vehicle with warranty is a way better deal.

[underpants]

11. Get a Dodge or a Toyota

they make the best trucks.

[Deep13]

14. Dodge? Really?

Isn't Dodge etc rather known for electrical problems? Maybe I'm just remembering the crap they made in the 80s.

[NMDemDist2]

12. diesel fuel is going to be our deciding factor with the plan to

retro fit it for biodiesel ASAP

don't need 4WD

don't care if it's manual or auto

miles :shrug: don't matter as much on a diesel engine

[Deep13]

13. What's Carmax?

Mileage, not age is the key.

Look for rust or evidence of where rust was.

V-8 is usually a better engine than V-6. With straight-6, however, it's a draw.

Automatic is more reliable than standard shift. It requires hardly any service. When it does shit the bed, however, it will cost a lot more than routine clutch maintenance.

Unless you have a real reason to go offroad, I definitely favor 2WD. 4WD is heavier (more gas) expensive to maintain, expensive to get the wheels aligned and since it is complicated, there is a lot that can go wrong with it. Unless you are actually stuck or intend to do plowing, 4WD will give little extra traction on snowy roads and no extra traction on ice. also, they tend to be higher than 2WD model wich makes them less stabil and harder to load.

I don't know about the big three as far as trucks go. I do know that the most reliable passanger cars in the world are from Honda and Toyota. I also know that small cars from the big three are not so good.

[arwalden]

16. Carmax Is A Used Car Chain (In The Mid-Atlantic Region)...

... it may extend further, but there are several in our area: www.carmax.com

Huge selection of used vehicles with no-haggle pricing. We've purchased from them before and we were very satisfied with the value and the service... the whole shopping experience was a good one.

I think CarMax is owned by the same parent company that owns Circuit City.

=========

I don't think we'll be going "off-road" in the way that most people think of "off-roading"... HOWEVER, we have visited campgrounds that had loose-gravel for the roads, and some of them were on a fairly steep incline (considering what's being towed up the hill). Even with our TINY little pop-up camper, our 2WD tow vehicle managed to spin tires and throw gravel as we made it up the hill. (I can only imagine that it would be more pronounced with a HEAVIER full-sized camper.)

[Deep13]

17. "with no-haggle pricing"

Oh, man, haggling is da' bomb. You always get a better deal if you chisel them than if they program a 'discount' into he price.

[arwalden]

20. But If You're Not Skilled At Haggling...

... (like me) then there's always that nagging doubt whether or not you could have done better and did you get ripped off. Some people enjoy the haggling, I don't.

[bluethruandthru]

23. 4 wheel drive will re-sell much quicker

Even on on older truck (especially with low miles) there are lots of construction/trade workers willing to buy.

[Flaxbee]

24. Yes - be especially wary of rust post-Katrina/bad

storm season. Look at the wiring if you can, check under the floor carpets for rust, etc. We didn't buy from Carmax but from a pretty good dealership in NoVa a few years ago and if my husband hadn't gone over the car with a fine-tooth-comb (so to speak) we'd have ended up buying a car that had most likely been submerged. There were miniscule, but telling, signs that the car had had a too-intimate relationship with water, and there are tons of people probably rehabbing soaked cars from the Gulf Coast and moving them north to resell.

In all other things I concur - low mileage (but not too low otherwise it might have sat and started to deteriorate), check for telltale bumper signs of towing, etc.

Good luck!

[tigersumtin]

19. A Little formula

on how to figure out what a dealer has invested in the trucks on there lots. Look up wholesale on NADA, or Kelly Blue Book, depending where you are in the country KBB is for the Western states, NADA for Central, All domestic trucks get Wholesale and deduct the miles twice if over 50K miles. That will get you close. negotiate from there. If a import, look at trade and double the mile deduction if over 50K. This formula should get you pretty close to what the dealer has in the vehicle you choose. Carmax normally allows more for there trade-ins they need them, a local dealer will give you a better deal if you use this formula. Carmax is a good starting point, try it, it works.

[arwalden]

22. Thank You!

:thumbsup: