don't get me started kid..... there are plenty of you that do absolutely nothing to actually earn your money- ie you ( realtor ). you went to a school for two weeks and you have a license- good for you. the fact is that while you do little or nothing to truely earn an honest income somebody is busting their A$$ to earn an honest living. once the market has been absolutely trashed because you can only flip ***** for so long that " license " you "earned" won't even get you a job at mcdonalds. realtors and loan officers.... yeah you guys are real high on the intellectual food chain. SMRT.....

 

The main thing I am struck by is how few people can use a calculator.

My truck gets 19-21 mpg on the freeway. But since I live a long way from the freeway and have to drive lots of traffic it averages 16.8 per tank on blend gas.
Pretty lousy.
My tiny Tracker averages 22.1 per tank. That's over the same routes, but at slower speeds. The Tracker will go any speed you like, but ain't much fun over about 65. And it's sorta gutless on acceleration.

So since I drive my truck about 600 miles a month and pay 3.35 a gallon it costs me about 120.00 a month to drive the truck.
If I drive the smaller Tracker 91.00 is the cost.

So I could save 30 bucks a month by taking the little car.

Um, big whoop.

I spend that much about twice a week on dinner for me and the wife. I spend twice that much for Sat TV. And five times that much for electricity.


Then there are other considerations;
The little car is uncomfortable, mediocre A/C, slow accelerating, and cruises slow.
Hard to get in or out of. No cargo. If I drive it to the store there is not enough room for my 44 quart cooler (needed on the desert) and still have room for other stuff.

And since I share the road with tens of thousands of other vehicles, 95% of whom are bigger than the Tracker, its sorta nerve wracking to drive.


On the local main street (Bear Valley Road) there are literally hundreds of semi class vehicles using it in a given day.

If I commuted 4000 miles a month (did that in the 80's) sure I would drive something cheaper. I drove a Nissan then, even though gas prices were very low.
But for the 90% of the drivers who only drive the national average (625 miles a month) and pay less for their gas (average is 2.80 a gallon) trading off a truck to get something to save gas is just nuts.

At 625 miles at 2.80 a gallon I would save 25.00 a month by driving the little car.

Chris

 

calculator???? are you kidding me? this is not rocket surgery! i am a sales rep for a hockey company and i drive ALOT. one swing was 1625 miles. i spent roughly $350 in gas. the last trip i took the wifes saturn and paid under half what i paid to fill up the ford. calculator???? ummmm gee..... f150 gets 18-20 on a good day and the saturn gets 40mgp ALL DAY LONG. i can see why you need a calculator. i smell a mencia moment coming on.......DE DE DUH! all you guys need to do is google PEAK OIL and READ up. i know that reading is probably not on most of your agenda if it does not start out..... Dear Playboy Advisor:
i love my truck, but i do not NEED it. when push comes to shove most of you won't either.

 

It's amazing how defensive the guys get, that are in over their head, when they try to justify trading for mileage.

Whatever makes you feel better.......

 

I love it. Bring on the $ 10 a gallon price, that should weed out the traffic

Hell I love it so much I got rid of the 5.4L for a 6.8L

 

There are the big reasons for me as to why I'm keeping my truck. The biggest being that I don't fit very well into much of anything that gets decent gas mileage. I can drive my wife's Accord, but I don't enjoy it. It's not very comfortable (I'm constantly squirming around in the seat on longer drives) and maybe I'm just used to the extra height from driving a truck, but I have a difficult time seeing out of that thing when I'm trying to pull out into traffic.

The very little cargo room is another big factor as to why I'll keep my dinosaur killer. I don't use my truck as a truck every day, but often enough that it's definitely worthwhile to pay the little bit extra for it.

 

I've thought about it, trading for a new Fusion. My truck sits all week and I drive it either at night or weekends. I have a $3K, 97 Protege with 98k miles on it that I spend about $35 a week in gas. However I don't have the amenities that are in my truck, which I would like, so I thought about trading the truck in and selling the beater, but the wife does not agree! I love the truck, but 14mpg just plain sucks!

 

LMAO! Im not even going to waste my time typing a reply to that, thats hilarious. I guess you had a bad encounter with a realtor, sucks for you. Don't cry to me about it. But anyways, have a great day!

PS: It DOES say a lot about someone when you make a personal attack against someone on the INTERNET. Watch out guys! This guy is out of control.

 

Why do I even bother clicking on the threads I know I am going to regret looking at?

It seems to me that some people do not even "do their homework" when it comes time to buy a vehicle, let alone having to get rid of it for X reason. The budget is tight in my house, yes, but why would anyone have to cut things that close that they can't afford to drive their truck? I guess some people can't use a calculator, or even their fingers. All I can say is UGH!

 

no bad experiences here- i have worked with too many of you and i know better. i have read alot of your posts for the last few years and you have alot to learn.

 

another brilliant post! when i bought my truck gas was half the price. even still at TWICE the cost i can afford to drive it, but i choose to drive it less. it's a smarter choice for me. now if you cannot seem to fit into any other vehicle or you wipe your a$$ with c-notes then great- it is a decision we all have to make. yes bring on $10 a gallon gas! bring it on UNCLE ROMAN!

AMERIKA.......... F_CK YEAH!

 

My dad told me when I was 16 that if you can't afford to pay off a vehicle in 3 years or less, then you can't afford that vehicle. That was taking monthly payments into consideration. It also had to deal with residual value.

I would opine that there are at least SOME of you that are on a 4-5-6 year payment plan, didn't put any money down on your truck or very little, and still have very high payments since most of these rigs run at least 24 thousand bucks.

That might have put you on the break even point of you budget and now gas prices put you over that budget. Who knows.

For me, the gas price increases was certainly a small consideration, but not near as much as all the stuff going on with the truck already and I don't even have 18K on it yet. I wonder how many bought a nice rig, then started to have problems that concern them, (like me), and have reservations about posting them for fear of getting slammed on a Ford forum. Not me. I've made no bones about it. I've had more concerns with this truck than the last 8 vehicles I've owned. None of which I find acceptable on any new vehicle of any make. THAT would be the reason I've considered parting with mine. I don't have the time nor inclination to keep going back and forth to the dealer and report problems, some which they cannot reproduce, only to have them finally 'break' after warranty. (Why I bought an extended warranty, and not from Ford). The gas is just another 5% of the puzzle.

My first issue occurred when I only had 350 miles on the truck. I was driving to work and my radio and AC just turned off for no reason. They wouldn't come back on till after I got to work, shut the motor off, then turned it back on. On that SAME DRIVE, for about 20 seconds it sounded like I was dragging a chain link fence. I stopped, got out and checked, nothing. Finally stopped on it's own. Has done that several more times before I even had 3K miles on it, and the last episode was last night on the way to Kroger. I had my 3 kids and two we babysit in the truck. They all heard it and wondered what the hell it was. I told them I didn't know and the dealer couldn't find anything either although he's heard of this problem many times with the F150rigs. Then there's another noise, more of a periodic vibration that also sounds like I'm dragging something but it's different and sounds like it's in the motor. That has happened only a couple of times but very near the other sounds. Brother has some issues with his too, he has 20-21K miles on his though.

I may drive this truck awhile longer, I've not decided, but it's probably history by next summer.

 

My dad always told me "If you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it."
I've always lived by that. Works for me.

On your problems with your truck, you don't say which model of truck you drive, but if it is 4x4 you sound like you have the common 'engage' problem, easy to fix if you know where to look.
If not, check your e-brake for corrosion on the actuator.

Both problems have been posted lots so I won't go into more detail.

It's always possible you have a true lemon, in which case you have a valid complaint.

I always wonder though, because 90% of the so-called lemons posted about are more attitude than reality. Sorta like people who complain about their boss at work. They switch jobs, and surprise, they talk about the new boss in the same way…

The remaining 10%, about one person in 50, have real serious problems. Anything with 10,000 parts built by a union is gonna have a defect rate. Just a fact of life.

Hope you get your problem with the truck resolved.
If not, sell it. Lots of other choices out there.
Chris

 

Even better.

 

Thanks I will check into that. But I have serious difficulty believing that there would be enough corroision at 350 miles.

I have a 2005 F150 Lariat 4x4. The sound that most concerns me is the 'drag the fence' sound, it has a noticeable 'clunk' when it stops.

Well, I have a great attitude. Plus, I'm my own boss. Self employed for years so that analogy doesn't apply to me. Where can I do a search on this 'engaging' problem and what has been determined to be the cause?