New guy needs help picking a vehicle.

[youcancallmeTEX]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

hmmmmm, call him again? Do you know anything about the truck?
How many miles, oil changes, brakes, maintenance?

A lot of people call them gas hogs, but they get better mileage than most other engines if kept in good order. Use regular spark plugs and good wires.
I should do a warm air intake on mine and see if I gain anything.

I've called him 3 times my guess is he's just having second thoughts on selling it. The truck only has 88, 300 miles and he says that he has proof of regular maintenance "this is all coming from a craigslist post". From the pictures he has it looks like a pretty solid and clean truck, but you can't really judge just by pictures.

[youcancallmeTEX]

Originally Posted by euromodder

That's the whole point: I AM saying something reasonable, but do you want to hear it ?

It doesn't make any sense at all to buy a gas guzzling monster truck for commuting to college, and then go and look for ways to hope to improve your gas mileage.
No matter how much you go over its EPA rating, you'll never get anywhere near a really decent fuel economy out of it.

You don't need to be an environmentalist to understand that.
All it takes is a bit of common sense.
That exceedingly rare commodity will also come in handy at college, BTW.


You don't need to waste your time arguing with me if you'd rather be wasting your money on gas, or wasting your time on the odd job to pay for it all.

I appreciate how concerned you are about my whole situtation. But stop for a moment and here me out. I live in Nebraska,now where i live it's not uncommon for the streets not to get plowed.Needless to say 4wd is necessary in the winter. I also ride fourwheelers and have a fishing boat. Now if I have to sacrifice some mpg for something that fits my lifestyle that's all right with me.

Hell a F-150 is cheap enough I might even be able to afford a more fuel efficient car I can drive around in the other 3 seasons.

Now if you can find me a car that meets my criteria and under $5000 by god I'll by it now. Just to let you know you have failed to suggest a single vehicle to me, their for making you useless to this whole thread.

[youcancallmeTEX]

Originally Posted by Daox

He could easily be getting twice that mileage in a VW TDI.

This is true.However I can not seem to find one in my price range in this parts.
I believe I will keep my eyes open.

[RobertSmalls]

Need good performance in the snow? Just about any FWD car on the road has six inches of ground clearance. Fitted with four dedicated snow tires, FWD is every bit as good in the winter as AWD.

Wake up to more than 8" of snow depth? Call in sick. Or take the four-wheeler. No sense guzzling gas all year because you wanted to be prepared for the two days a year that extra ground clearance would be helpful. Or buy a Subaru Outback if you must.

Need to move a fishing boat, some furniture, sheets of plywood, and some four wheelers? Get a Prius. A 2004 will fit within your budget, and it should be good to tow 1000lbs, same as just about any compact car on the market.

You already know what makes one vehicle more efficient than another: better aerodynamics, lighter weight, smaller engine, stick shift, fewer driven wheels. If you're actually looking for a fuel efficient vehicle, you know what to do.

I don't think you can formulate the problem in a way that makes the macho truck you want to own the rational, low-cost choice.

[youcancallmeTEX]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Need good performance in the snow? Just about any FWD car on the road has six inches of ground clearance. Fitted with four dedicated snow tires, FWD is every bit as good in the winter as AWD.

Wake up to more than 8" of snow depth? Call in sick. Or take the four-wheeler. No sense guzzling gas all year because you wanted to be prepared for the two days a year that extra ground clearance would be helpful. Or buy a Subaru Outback if you must.

Need to move a fishing boat, some furniture, sheets of plywood, and some four wheelers? Get a Prius. A 2004 will fit within your budget, and it should be good to tow 1000lbs, same as just about any compact car on the market.

You already know what makes one vehicle more efficient than another: better aerodynamics, lighter weight, smaller engine, stick shift, fewer driven wheels. If you're actually looking for a fuel efficient vehicle, you know what to do.

I don't think you can formulate the problem in a way that makes the macho truck you want to own the rational, low-cost choice.

I've been looking at some fwd cars.Mainly Buick Le Sabre, I have also considered a Geo Prizm, not necessarily the most beautiful cars but pretty fuel efficient.I have been looking at Subaru's however I have failed at finding anything decent in my price range around here.

I am not sure about finding a 2004 Prius for $5000. KBB suggested retail value is $11,500 excellent.

Thanks, I really do appreciate the input.

[Weather Spotter]

Have you looked for a Matrix or a vibe? they have FWD or AWD. I can get 40+ MPG with driving changes. EPA is 29. I can also haul 5 people, 8' lumber, a 1500# trailer and drive through 8+" of snow (mine is FWD, with all season tiers).

Cost should be in the 3-5K range for an 03-05 for a very versatile car that is light on the gas.

[5speed5]

Here's a bit of an off the wall suggestion. How about a Chevy Caprice?
They're tow-rated to 5000 lbs with the 5.7L LT1 engine.

I had a '96 with 5.7L LT1 engine that got me 27-29 mpg on the highway regularly at 75 mph. (Chevy put some really tall gears in the rear to get that good highway mileage. To see what I mean, the tow package comes with 2.93 rear gears, while the standard ratio is 2.56) That's with no ecomods at all. Outfit it with some smooth hubcaps, warm-air intake, partial grill block, etc. and you could be seeing over 30 mpg. You could even get the Caprice wagon and have almost as much cargo room as a Suburban.

Of course, you'll need some studded snow tires for the winter, but with positraction, you'll be able to get through all but the biggest snows.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by youcancallmeTEX

Now if I have to sacrifice some mpg for something that fits my lifestyle that's all right with me.

Unfortunately, that's what a lot of people have been doing on a really excessive scale.
It has led to a lyfestyle typified by excessive use of fuel and cars to match.

You decide wether you continue that lifestyle, or not.
Your choice will only affect over 6 billion others ...

[IsaacCarlson]

you gotta do what you gotta do. If you can save money by getting a cheaper vehicle then do it and use the leftover for gas/mods. The older f-series is more reliable and will save you $$$ in the long run.

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by 5speed5

Here's a bit of an off the wall suggestion. How about a Chevy Caprice?
They're tow-rated to 5000 lbs with the 5.7L LT1 engine.

Here I was thinking the Ford Ranger is the thriftiest vehicle with a 5000lbs tow rating, but the Caprice wagon delivers slightly better EPA ratings and probably more cargo space.

Still, it's a thirsty vehicle, especially around town. Settling for a 1000lbs tow rating will dramatically improve your mileage.