Drove all three diesels today - New trucks.

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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Man Im not used to this car shopping thing. I just usually impulse buy...lol

But on to the trucks.

2014 Big horn 2500 with the Cummins and megacab. $56k

This thing was HUGE. Holy shit it was tall and long. Felt bigger than the other two trucks. It was also the cheapest after rebates. $44k+TTL because it was a 14. The truck was loaded with everything, heated steering wheel and seats and so on. Leather, moonroof and nav.

It sounded awesome with that diesel sound at the turbo whistle. The issue I had with the truck, was it was a DOG!! Holy shit you had to go WOT to get it to get out of its own way. Anything less than WIDE OPEN THROTTLE meant little to no acceleration. Even in tow/haul mode, the pedal was an on/off switch. There had to be something wrong. I cant imagine having to go WOT off of every stop light just to get going. The pedal was hard to push too. Very weird. The 8 speed trans was always in the wrong gear too. What a shame. Such a pretty truck inside and out and for the price I would have been sold on the spot. One thing to note, is Im sure all that could be cured with a tuner. I'd hate to do that to a new truck though just to make it normal.

2015 Ford F250 SD Powerstroke Platinum crew cab. $65k

This truck on the otherhand was a rocket ship. Just blow on the gas and it was doing burnouts. Part throttle starts were as expected, smooth and great. The truck felt light on its feet. Had all the tech being a platinum, but it was $65k. Almost no rebates. Way too expensive. Plus it was not "pretty" according to the wife like the Ram. I really liked it and would break the bank for it. But sadly it would leave little money left to get the travel trailer like we planned.

2015 Silverado LT Crew cab. Duramax. $57k

This truck was blah. Average power, average interior but premium price. Plus it was an LT not even an LTZ or better. Too expensive for what felt like a work truck. It was ok. Wouldnt spend $57k on this, and there was virtually no rebates. No 2014's available either not that it would matter. The 14 has an even older interior. So no to this one.

After all this, I still walked away from all the salesman pressure. I need to think and really figure out if this is the path I will take with my automotive obsession. If I do, cars will be out. For a long time. But then I would be getting a tuner and lift and all the accessories I can for the truck. These are all my opinions.

Does anyone else have opinions on all this? I'd be interested to hear.
 
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TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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Why do you need a new truck? What will you be using it for besides the travel trailer?

I mean I dont need it for work or anything. I've always wanted a big diesel truck. Now I need something that can tow a big travel trailer, and whatever else I acquire without any drama. I dont need a NEW truck, but I hate buying anything used that could have been beaten. Especially a truck like this. Plus used low mile diesels are hard to find and very expensive. I'd rather get a big rebate new one. The Ram is my top pick, but I need to drive a few more to make sure something wasnt wrong with that last one. I just dont see how that would be acceptable for anyone to have to stomp it off every start. It was so strange.

I know a tuner would help the throttle response and the trans shifting. Im sure it would be fine. Maybe its because it was ultra cold or new?? Not broken in yet????
 

1quick

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now this is just me and what my hobbies consist of but i picked up an old beast of a truck did alittle work to it and kept all my other toys, i did look at new trucks at one point in time but i cant justify having that much tied up in the thing that pulls my toys around, I think i have about 5k into it right now and i wouldnt hesitate to drive it cross country aside from the whole 10mpg thing lol
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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now this is just me and what my hobbies consist of but i picked up an old beast of a truck did alittle work to it and kept all my other toys, i did look at new trucks at one point in time but i cant justify having that much tied up in the thing that pulls my toys around, I think i have about 5k into it right now and i wouldnt hesitate to drive it cross country aside from the whole 10mpg thing lol

Well the truck would be my toy. And pulling the trailer would be another toy but more for the wife and kids. I would want a nice truck, not just a hauler. Thats kind of the point. Just like I could get a $8k fast car, but I dont want some piece. I would do a used terminator, but those are still in the $20k and up range. I would mod the truck just like any car. And Crooks, I do worry about a $50k investment that I would be keeping for 10+ years or more.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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I don't know your situation so maybe things changed but didn't you sell your Mustang because you wanted to be an adult? Isn't this like twice the cost of a Mustang?

Yeah. It wasnt necessarily the cost of the car. It was more the un-usability. And being expensive, I needed to trim the fat for a while, and save some money. And thats what I have been doing since September. Minus one big car payment, plus other bills I paid off a few months ago, have accelerated my savings and thus let me start the shopping process for what I want but what will also work for my entire family.

The truck will do everything I need and want. Plus it will lend itself to utility whenever I need it. Pulling just about anything I can throw at it. Spending $50k for a sports car vs spending $50k for a truck are two completely different things. My wife and I can justify that all day for something that can take our family of 5 anywhere with just about anything we want to take with us. So yeah I'd say this is a step in the right direction. Alternatively I could get another corvette for this money and it would be the worst decision I have ever made.

Not getting another performance car is hard. But getting a big bad truck will fill that gap and the need to mod. It will also make quick work of everything else in my life. The only draw back I can find is not being able to fit it into a conventional garage. Thats literally it. I wouldnt want it to sit outside and rot, but its a durable truck not a delicate flower. It should work for what I want/need. Not just for what I want.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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Won't the ecoboost ford tow like 10k? That enough for a car and open trailer.

Sure it will tow to 10K. But thats max tow. If I get a 8lbs trailer and load it, the ecoboost will be struggling towing it across the US up and down the grades. It will do it, but I will be flat footed on it the whole way. At 18k, the Ram would do it without a problem. And the rear suspension being HD, is made to take heavy tongue weights too. It would be very taxing on an F150. Plus a loaded Ecoboost is also $54k sticker for what I would want. Might as well get the big boy.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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Keep for 10years? I'm going to go ahead and LOL right now. Have you ever kept any single car that long before?

I had my civic for 7 years before I got my first mustang. It was a DD not a rice racer. But I have also not gotten exactly what I wanted either. That impulse thing has bit me almost everytime. Leaving me wanting something different within months. The coulda, shoulda, woulda thing. Everytime I bought a car, it was off of a moments thought. When I got the GS, I was actually shopping for a 13GT500. Those were still pulling way over sticker, so I got pissed and went over to chevy to see what they had. The GS was there, and the deal was done in an hour. I should have waited a few more months for the GT500s to cool off, and I could have had one of those. Its over and over with this type of story.

But not again. Im going to use the eagle method with charts and graphs and shit. No need to run out now and get something. Every month that goes by, sees me save another $$$$ towards what I want. Shit if I waited another two years, I'd probably be able to pay cash for one(I wouldnt). But it would be nice to know I could. But I cant wait that long. Either this coming spring or fall, and I will have to do something.
 

wolfe

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Jun 2, 2008
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Ok, I know you and I have gone at it before, but all that aside here is what I've honestly seen from you. You buy something that you can get into, you say it's not what you really wanted (may be the case, no one knows but you) then you sell it and get something else. But you've gone back and forth between basically the same cars (besides hp). You have also said that you have gotten rid of cars a few times because you needed to get things right with your finances. That's a hard thing to admit, and it sucks, but its the right thing to do. If that is the case then I honestly wouldn't do anything for at least a year. Sit and save for a down payment and see how you feel then. See where things are with your family then and if a big purchase is in the cards.

All that being said then here is my opinion on Diesel trucks in general. You gotta pay to play. They aren't cheap to get into and they aren't cheap to maintain. Just cause you can buy it can you afford the upkeep? Ask someone that has one about the front end parts, the tires, the oil changes. After all that is done ask yourself if a nice gas tuck wouldn't get the job done for less haslte.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 

Great White Drake

You used to call me on my cell phone
Jun 23, 2010
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I'm really surprised at the fact that it's November, and the end of the month, that you couldn't get a better deal on the GM. Did you look at a GMC? Could be subtle differences that you might favor.

Diesels make power when they're warmed up, was the Dodge at operating temp?

Imo, I am against buying new cars. My "toys" have been 20+ years old (besides right now) and all my dd were bought 2 years old with low miles. I'd get the Duramax/Allison trans GM in a '13. Every dodge I see has rusted out rear bed sides and I wouldn't touch a Ford diesel unless it's a 6.7. I've heard the 6.4 were almost as bad as the 6.0's were.
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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I'm really surprised at the fact that it's November, and the end of the month, that you couldn't get a better deal on the GM. Did you look at a GMC? Could be subtle differences that you might favor.

Diesels make power when they're warmed up, was the Dodge at operating temp?

Imo, I am against buying new cars. My "toys" have been 20+ years old (besides right now) and all my dd were bought 2 years old with low miles. I'd get the Duramax/Allison trans GM in a '13. Every dodge I see has rusted out rear bed sides and I wouldn't touch a Ford diesel unless it's a 6.7. I've heard the 6.4 were almost as bad as the 6.0's were.

Yeah the ram was warmed up. Drove it for like 20 miles. The gauge was in the middle at normal. Not sure on that one. It was dope though with that mega cab.

Yeah I wouldn't have issues with the maintenance either. Im going to be putting down a minimum $10k if not $20k depending on when I buy.

The rusty ram syndrome does scare me but I have heard and read that dodge is using some new body sealer or something and it's not susceptible to rust like the 05-10 ones. So who knows.

The 15 Silverados only had $2k rebates. And I was not blown away with the truck like I was with the ford or ram. The Chevy was meh. Maybe for $40k it was nice but not $57k for an LT. Nope.
 

DEEZUZ

NO PUKESTERS
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Nov 20, 2008
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Ok, I know you and I have gone at it before, but all that aside here is what I've honestly seen from you. You buy something that you can get into, you say it's not what you really wanted (may be the case, no one knows but you) then you sell it and get something else. But you've gone back and forth between basically the same cars (besides hp). You have also said that you have gotten rid of cars a few times because you needed to get things right with your finances. That's a hard thing to admit, and it sucks, but its the right thing to do. If that is the case then I honestly wouldn't do anything for at least a year. Sit and save for a down payment and see how you feel then. See where things are with your family then and if a big purchase is in the cards.

All that being said then here is my opinion on Diesel trucks in general. You gotta pay to play. They aren't cheap to get into and they aren't cheap to maintain. Just cause you can buy it can you afford the upkeep? Ask someone that has one about the front end parts, the tires, the oil changes. After all that is done ask yourself if a nice gas tuck wouldn't get the job done for less haslte.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

You probably wasted aton of time Typing this....
 

TCG Member 5219

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Mar 22, 2005
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Does not have anything to do with it. It's the principles.

I really dont understand. All I know is I want to make the right decision this time around. I want to drive everything and contemplate life with whatever I buy. I have watched probably 10 hours of youtube videos about each of the trucks in question including maintenance and mods and towing and so on. Whatever I can find. Gathering as many opinions as I can is helpful in my mind. And I appreciate everyone's input. Even yours. I dont think replying to my thread about this is a waste of anyone's time. Its all good stuff to me.
 
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