Vehicular purchase.

I post this knowing the groans and eye rolling that is about to take place. But it's a slow night so I shall post it anyway.

I'm looking at a truck...1995 diesel with 408,0000 kms.

You might ask yourself, who in their right mind would buy a truck with 408,000 kms on it? Come on...you know the answer to that, Uno and her clan of redneck, wrecking yard, knuckle dragging truck hoarders, that's who.

The horrible truth is that I would buy that truck because I know there isn't a vehicle around that Hubby can tear down and rebuild. OF course there is a lot of crying and moaning (him, not me) about it. So he doesn't have a shop and lays in the driveway to do this, get over it already. People in poor countries don't have shops and they fix their trucks, jeez! And he doesn't have an engine hoist...you should hear the whining. I'm sure it's possible to rebuild a motor without a hoist, I've seen it done. But that's beside the point.

What is your mileage cut off point? At what point do you look at a vehicle and say, no stinking way! Obviously we have no such point, but I am fascinated by people who do.

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You might think we have company, but you'd be wrong. These are just a few...camera angle could not accomodate the others.

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Redneck bodywork. Who needs bondo to fill a hole? Just stuff whatever you can find in there and you're good to go!

Well, I guess if it is still running at 400 000 km, everything that is going to go wrong, has gone wrong, and you will be buying yourself a MAGIC truck that will live forever!

Make sure you check out the shocks and be on the lookout for wire and baling twine.

I know J is quite handy mechanically, but (I'm assuming this is a Chevy for obvious reasons) they went from mechanically injected, to electronic, and had huge issues with that 6.5 after doing so. Probably not telling you something J already doesn't know, or maybe you're looking at a Dodge. Those motors were also prone to block cracking and head cracking.
Neighbour is a heavy duty mechanic as well, and has a 95 and hates it, even though he's a Chevy man true and true.

Mileage never stops me. I hit almost a million km on my last work truck. It had almost 500000 when I bought it, and had it 12 years!

So you want to out redneck, knukle drag ME. I always wanted a 1990 dodge diesel, I didn't realize it would be 2008 before I could afford one. What a gem, 756000km, no exhaust, doors falling off, and a beautiful rust finsh on most of the truck. I put on two doors, new fenders, repainted it, put on a deck, still haven't fixed the exhaust. Best truck I have. Rust is showing up again. It is a slow morning.

The motto around here is "drive it until it dies". Our last farm truck we laid to rest (drug to bone yard) after it caught fire a second time. After I heard about the stupidity of hubby and and fire I insisted the truck be put to rest. The vehicle that the kids travel in must be in very good condition. I don't want to be suck on the road with 2 kids. After that, our vehicles and equipment are run until it does not make economic sense to keep fixing them. We regularly get laughed at because some of our equipment has WAY more hours on it than generally acceptable. The grain truck we still use for cleaning grain should be put in a museum. Hubby's grandpa bought it. It is very nice and very functional 1967 Dodge. I have no idea how many mile are on it, but it is not dead yet!

I dunno. I think that it is cool that you are getting an old truck with lots of time on it. We gave our oldest gal our 1996 honda accord about 4 years ago. 400,000 then, can't imagine what it is now. Still runs beautiful, of course some major things done, but it looks like it did when we first bought it. Probably close to 600,000 km or more. Something about old vehicles, I like them. I would love to have an old, old truck. Nice bunch of vehicles in the parking lot at your place Uno!! Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.

Well 1st off I'm not here to out knuckle drag anybody.

But my 1st chevy truck was a 1980 3/4 ton 454 (we called it "The Beast"it would climb a tree if the bark didn't slip )that was literally drove to its ultimate death. That was a sad day for me but we took the good parts and swapped then rebuilt a 1981ish shortbox diesel. Then some young punk came along after the paint job drooled all over it and I sold it to him for grad, he crashed it a month later.

Anyways I think there is more to buying a vehicle now a days then before and to me personally kms mean nothing. I am currantly driving a 02 TDI it doesn't have the best paint and we call her betty the farm car, but she does have 450 000kms on her and I plan on driving her till she gets at least 800 000kms.Oh and her interior is awesome almost like new I love it.....

If you look after it mechanically it will pay off in the long run but yes there is a but it is best to listen to the hard core chevy fanatics. My darling dearest says yes to what hillbilly is saying. He also was nattering on about trannys and something else but .......

Km don't mean much as long as it has been looked after. My parents have an old Chevy one ton we used as a grain truck. The of has rapped on that thing and it is still going. Even after 5 kids bagging it hoping it would die. (we all hated the Armstrong steering).

As for our personal trucks we were fortunate to find a 97 ford with 97000 km on it and it is now over 300,000 km and still going strong. I also have a 99 chev suburban which is over 330 000 km and going strong. Both will stay until dying days. A couple years ago we bought an old grande marquis and we finally put it to rest only because it would not fit us all. It had 387000 on it. Gotta love those older vehicles that you can fix yourself!! They are well worth the pennies we spend on them!! We went through the new trucks and when you have to spend over $30000 in repairs in one year for a truck that was only 1.5 years old and it was not fixed yet then, and payments of $1500 a month on top of that it does not make it affordable to own. For just the repair costs alone we could have bought 7 or so older good vehicles!! Lol

You guys are gonna be hooped if the Drive Clean program comes here

We tend to look for vehicles with low mileage in relation to the year of manufacture, but not always - it depends what the purpose of the vehicle will be. Husband usually also looks for vehicles in generally good body condition, with clean interiors.

We, too, have a fleet of vehicles. What self-respecting farm doesn't? Husband always has good intentions of selling our older ones when we replace them, but inevitably figures "Hey, they're paid for" and then we use them as farm trucks until they die. Luckily, there is an annual demolition derby near here and guys are always looking for cheap trucks that they can use to smash into other trucks, so it is easy to get rid of them. We also have a couple of scrap guys that will come pick stuff up for free.

For myself, I like to drive my grocery-getters until the cost of keeping them running becomes excessive, then it's time for an upgrade! Husband likes to replace more frequently, so it's usually his idea to buy something new(er).

Uno, we don't have a fancy shop or a hoist, either. Husband is quite often on his back in the snow, under a vehicle, fixing away. He saves the big pieces of cardboard that my large prints come packaged in (very large pieces - 3'x4' or larger) and will put those between his back and the ground. It's very hillbilly, but it works!

A heated shop is definitely on the short version of our wish list. I'd like to be able to build things (I love working with wood) year-round without freezing my fingers, and he'd like to be able to lie on the ground without using cardboard. I'm sure the cats and dogs would enjoy it, too.

I just put another vehicle on our insurance and the agent asked if we still had them. Said Yes. 1992 1 ton dually
Ford nearly 400,000 km's, 2002 Dodge 3/4 over 300,000 km's
2006 Chev 350 BEST - LOWEST KM's 62,000 (this is cowboy pick'em up truck, I'm young only 64 and still on the first old man) 2008 Dodge 1/2 about 150,000 km's, now add 2005 Chev Equinox 118,000 km's (oldest daughters) it has set undrove since 2010, she got a company car. My husband drives company trucks. So as I go out the door there is a Choice here, told the ins. agent I needed a different one for each day of the week!!!!!!!

A heated shop is an issue here. At present we have a make do shop of questionable construction with a very leaky roof, no doors and one open side.

I'm assuming given that Uno, a bowtie fan, started this discussion that we are likely talking a General Motors truck. The Dodge to avoid would be the early 24 valve Cummins diesels from 2000 to 2003 except the trucks with the number 54 block manufactured in Mexico. The other block was the number 53 manufactured in Brazil. This block was subject to cracking. Generally gas engine have a shorter life span than diesels, but are not as pricey.

Authenticfarm, I had to chuckle because large, curling pieces of cardboard are stuffed up into the hay shed, for exactly the same purpose as your place! HUbby hoards large carboard, gets very excitesd if we drive past the back of the furniture store and there's a fridge box. Bonus!

LynBar, we will be hooped if these old trucks are outlawed, but frankly I think driving a vehicle until it's dead is way more respecting of the raw materials it took to produce that truck, than flipping them over every 150,000 kms.

Hubby does have a newer truck, I think it's a 99, and he HATES the way that motor is built and he has to pay some goof with a computer thingy to plug it in. He is seriously thinking his next truck will be to an older model because he can at least repair them.

I LOVE TRUCK SHOPPING!

Oops, sorry Rosewood, you are right, Chevs and GMCs, that be all we have.

Hubby does have a newer truck, I think it's a 99, and he HATES the way that motor is built and he has to pay some goof with a computer thingy to plug it in. He is seriously thinking his next truck will be to an older model because he can at least repair them.

The computer thingies can be purchased fairly reasonably now at places like Canadian Tire and better auto parts suppliers. They can be easy to work with as they just plug in somewhere in the tangle of wires and tell what is at fault.

Come on,Uno, you know you want a 2013 Toyota Tundra. Just admit it! Spare us all these praises of trucks from years gone by!

rosewood wrote:The Dodge to avoid would be the early 24 valve Cummins diesels from 2000 to 2003 except the trucks with the number 54 block manufactured in Mexico. The other block was the number 53 manufactured in Brazil. This block was subject to cracking. Generally gas engine have a shorter life span than diesels, but are not as pricey.

How does one locate the number on the block? I have a Dodge Ram 2500 that falls into the years you quote. I have had zero trouble with it, but it only has less-than 150k kms on it (I know...I don't even belong in this discussion!!) and I'd be interested to see if I should unload it before it might cause me trouble.

Fortunately, wherever there's a vehicle with common problems, there's always a fanatic with enough spare time and money to figure out a workaround. This is where you have to decide whether its worth the time and effort, to take the chance of having some major issues, and having to deal with them. Or the fallout of your spouse having to deal with them.

The code scanners available on the market, in most cases don't pinpoint a problem. They give you a rough idea, and if you don't have a decent knowledge of the vehicles electronics, only narrow things down for you, leaving you with options as to what to replace. I use one on my 2005 diesel as much as I can, but its still a crap shoot a lot of the time, and more often than not, I use it to decide whether the check engine light is worth taking to the shop, or worth clearing and forgetting about until next time.
I much prefer working on my 95 chev dually, and my 91 explorer anyday.

Also, the cheaper ones are just that. You're better off spending a few more dollars, and getting the best model you can afford.

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blocks can be identified by a "53" casting number located on the side of the block. The casting number is commonly seen on the passenger side, below the injection pump, although some #53 blocks have the casting number located on the driver side. If your block does not have a 2 digit casting number, it is likely a less common Mexican made (produced by Teskid) Cummins ISB. These blocks are highly desirable due to a stronger casting. Cummins identified the problems with the block casting, and as a result #54 and higher casting number blocks feature increased thickness in the problem areas and an overall stronger block.

Apparently my dates where this block was used should be 1997.5 to 2002. Unfortunately we had personal experience with this problem.

Thanks Uno I had a whinning hubby and now part of thats cleared up. Here he thought he was the only poor sad sack that had to monkey wrench out in the snow and cold on his "portable shop floor" yes that beautiful piece of cardboard from whatever I have brought home bigger than me If I even look at it he asks me questions about my intentions with his beloved cardboard

now after reading him some posts he sees the error in his ways. Which by this I mean, 'unnn he has a shop' whine to which I reply you are master and commander of your domain build yee a big shop and stop with the whine maybe this year will see. Its only been 15 yrs he's been at this plan and you know something always pops up and derails his plans.

Until that all happens I will be happily living with a cardboard hoader

Rest assured, I too have the Master Mechanics Cardboard Creeper. He's not alone!
I've put thick carpet on a piece of plywood actually. Its a bit more comfortable.

I've been a cardboard user for most of 40 years. I had a nice shop for a couple years and I'm still hoping for a shop someday.

Growing up, we did have a garage to work in but those big pieces of cardboard were worth their weight in gold.

Throw down a pallet of empty refrigerator boxes in the middle of a bunch of farmers and you'd swear it was Black Friday at Wall Mart.