I would agree it gets to a point where down time and reliability counts. If it cost 5000 grand for a new engine I would rather put five grand down on a newer vehicle or 5 grand is about a year or two in payments. payments suck but I have come to the conclusion in my life its more cost effective to have payments then to have maint bills all the time and have that reliability. Whether i do it my self or somebody eslse does it, time is money, it takes time to go to a dealer and it sucks not having a vehicle or paying for a rental. Plus during boating season I need my truck I have lots of money in my boat and cant afford not to use it.

I understand a lot of people keep their trucks for a long time and if that works for you go for it. I really suggest you sit down sometime and overa a year or two period record or add up every penny of maint cost you threw into the truck. You might be surprised.

 

Some questions i've been pondering as well now that my truck has 170k on it too --- it still runs great,
but what the gentleman said on the first page about being 40 miles (or more) from home at 930 at night on and having a breakdown resonates pretty hard

---- With my previous generation F150, i had an alternator kick out on me in Needles , CA on a Sunday (was lucky i was near Needles even , if i was 20 or 30 miles further into the dez, it would not have been fun) -- also had a fuel pump fail the wake up test 120 miles from home while working - my wife drove 120 miles to get me, and at that point it decided to start working again -- she was understandably upset

These experiences are still on my mind, because at 170k , i am due for stuff like this to start happening

Add in the $700 bucks it will cost me to replace the ailing AC compressor when it starts to get warmer outside, plus i am due for a new set of rubber (7 or 800 bucks there) - oh, plus some hail damage on the poor thing from a recent storm, and cutting my losses starts sounding better and better

That said, i truly like the truck and except for the moderate hail damage, it still cleans up very nice, - plus its long since been paid for. I am not liquid right now, so i would have to jump back into the payment game -- 5-700 bucks a month
what a headache

 

Good point and you never know when the truck dies out, does it do it when your in an emergency, during a job interview, or just going to work and having to burn a vacation day.

You dont always have to go new. Some really nice trucks one or two years old with factory warranties for 30k or less. and without money down 30k is 525 a month with a 2-2.5 interest rate. I dont know what model you have but you can get a base model xlt even with a 5.0 or EB for for 30k new and then wait till next fall when the rebates hit and you could walk out the door at around 23-25k

 

I bought my truck 3 years old for $20k less than the original sticker price with 48k on it. Never again will I buy a new vehicle, depreciation is a bitch.

 

Not even if you win the lottery?!

 

I've been doing a lot of thinking and I'm just gonn put money aside each month until this one decides to break down, hopefully by then I'll have a good amount for a new one. Maybe I'll even get an fx2 this time!
I love those things

 

What if you just buy a short block and do the R&R yourself? It would be considerably less expensive that way.

If mine ever goes, that's what I'll look at. Maybe a forged piece from JDM for example.

 

This is what I am doing. My engine broke down last weekend and found out I have a hole in the no. 2 piston. My local mechanic wanted almost 5k to put a used engine with 87k miles and $5800 to put in a remanufactured engine. After about a week of debate i decided to do it myself. Trying to find a local engine at a reasonable price. In the mean time im doing my homework to make sure i am prepared. I would suggest going this route if you have some mechanical aptitude and a few resources (mechanic friends). Good luck

 

I guess Id make an exception then but I dont see that happening. I dont even buy tickets.

 

Thats what I was doing for a while but I was going like 20k miles or less when I bought used. at 48 the bumper to bumper is gone and the powertrain is almost gone. and at 48k in my mind that vehicles life is already a 1/3 to a 1/2 over.

 

I'd imagine that a few years from now it won't be hard to find an ecoboost or 6.2L donor truck to do a swap.

For swapping out the 5.4 after 170k miles when it's my time I will have a reputable modular ford shop rebuild the engine, port the heads, and do a mild comp cam. more cash than a used one but with a good performance pick up and brand new vs. unknown quantity. I have thought about picking up an entire used vehicle and parting it out depending on what kind of deal you can get on CL.

 

what about a good ol rebuild? if you went that route you could go with quality components and maybe get a little better that stock power.