new truck cost!!

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I fold. :o

Ditto.

Fast Mopar wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:

We have plenty of skilled labor and labor to start at the bottom and work their way up. What these people need is the opportunity!

I agree completely. That is why I went out of my way to buy New Balance athletic shoes, because they are made in the US, and most other brands are not.

Not all of them. My wife has a pair that are made in Vietnam.

Grit dog wrote:
Agree on the sealed trans. It's a crock of ...... but I got an 06 Charger SRT with no dipstick. It may or may not be on its original fluid/filter. Likely it's not been changed yet. 103kmi. No leaks, no issues, fluid is clean and red.
Fwiw it's got a 100kmi service interval and against my better judgement I've gone the full interval. But time to change fluid and filter for sure.
Auto trans are getting much better but it's still a dumb idea. Wouldn't keep me from buying the vehicle I wanted though. It's just an inconvenience to figure out how to check the fluid. Not good when on the road and maybe develop a small leak like mentioned above.

I think that is wrong...I had a 2007 Magnum, and I recall the ATF was supposed to be changed at either 50K or 60K.

hgrace56 wrote:
This is exactly why we just bought a Class A

This is my line of thinking as well. I had been looking at 5'ers for awhile but knew I would need to get a 1 ton truck. After looking at the prices of new and slightly used trucks, I could get a Class A for less than the truck and 5'er.

When the first Eco boost Expeditions came out I was considering replacing my 03 with one. The 03 only has 90,000 on it but the extra power sure would be nice climbing some of the steeper grades in the Rockies. The Expy they had at the RV show was more than some of the motorhomes. I decided that the few minutes it would save us each trip just wasn't worth the cost.

mkirsch wrote:
I hear that same sentiment, "I bet it won't be around in 20 years like my good old such-and-such," all the time with many different things.

Someone said that about your 1997 CTD Ram. It's got a computer or two in it, not to mention it probably has just about every luxury doodad you could get in 1997, because $40K bought you a LOT of truck in 1997. Bet the power windows still work.

Yes it is a Laramie and the power door locks and windows work :-)

Yes, I can say the same about our Kitchenaid washer and dryer. 23 years on and still banging away! Our repairman said hang on to them because the new ones last 6 to 8 years. When a major and expensive component goes, it's not worth fixing. Hey, gotta keep the Chinese economy going so they can have cash so our government can borrow it from them to pay for our food stamps :-(

I hear that same sentiment, "I bet it won't be around in 20 years like my good old such-and-such," all the time with many different things.

Someone said that about your 1997 CTD Ram. It's got a computer or two in it, not to mention it probably has just about every luxury doodad you could get in 1997, because $40K bought you a LOT of truck in 1997. Bet the power windows still work.

The reality is that MOST 1997 trucks are in the scrapyard. Yours is an exception as it was well cared for and has seen limited use over the years. There will be just as many 2016 trucks still on the road in 2036, if not more due to how much they cost!

bovellois wrote:
The $60,000 (40k + 20k interest) I spent buying my 97 Cummins turned out to be a good investment. Depreciation is long gone and appreciation has begun, and the engine is only at a 1/4 of its useful life (but I'm at 3/4 of my useful life).

In 2014 it pulled TTs across Canada over 35000 miles and coasted for 35000 miles, with no mechanical problem.

I doubt the 2016s with their paper thin skin, electronics and anti-pollution systems will perform for 20 years for as little as the 2nd gen.

We had a '98 RAM. It got great fuel economy....if your goal is to save money I can see why you might want to continue running your old '97 but the new RAM, Ford and Chevy are absolutely incredible tow vehicles. The new RAM puts about 3 times as much torque to the rear axle as what the RAM from '97 could do. I expect all of the new diesels are easily capable of over 300,000 miles.

The $60,000 (40k + 20k interest) I spent buying my 97 Cummins turned out to be a good investment. Depreciation is long gone and appreciation has begun, and the engine is only at a 1/4 of its useful life (but I'm at 3/4 of my useful life).

In 2014 it pulled TTs across Canada over 35000 miles and coasted for 35000 miles, with no mechanical problem.

I doubt the 2016s with their paper thin skin, electronics and anti-pollution systems will perform for 20 years for as little as the 2nd gen.

We have a 2001 Excursion PS 7.3 which we love. In fact I've often thought about finding a specialist to do a total restoration on the truck. Toss in a few updates and creature confirms and viola! Substantially less than the new one. Now that no one makes a diesel SUV of that size its a pretty rare beast.

The kinda cash people are throwing around for new trucks is obscene. Not to mention what it cost to maintain.