Why are pickup trucks so expensive?

[analog_kidd]

My 2001 Frontier has a leaky rear main seal. I asked my mechanic about it and he said to just keep an eye on the oil level and leave it alone. Sometimes "fixing" it makes it worse. I put a piece of plywood down in my carport to catch the drips and stopped worrying about it.

[Possumslayer]

My 88 Dakota has a rear seal that's been leaking for years now..... 1 qt every other week consumption, not one speck of rust on the undercarriage. Edited December 18, 2015 by Possumslayer

[JPR1959]

One of the main reasons for the price of vehicles from the Big 3 is paying the health benefits for their retired UAW employees.  Those costs added $2500 to the cost of every vehicle sold 10 years ago.  With the rise in healthcare premiums, I'm sure it's much more than that today.  Why do you think you see so many Kias and Hyundais on the road today?  They're affordable.  I'll never lease a vehicle.  Oh, my old Ranger had 408K miles on it when I sold it for $500.  Never used a drop of oil either.

[Monkeybat]

I don't have a truck now but it will be my next purchase. Either that or a Wrangler but the truck would be more useful. I'll pick up an F 1-50 quad cab a couple of years old. I just got to wait till my Jeep dies. I drive cars until they hit an unrepairable state. Got 160,000 miles now and it's leaking oil. Overheats if you sit still but it runs. I too hate car payments.


Sent from the Fortress of Solitude.

[peejman]

One of the main reasons for the price of vehicles from the Big 3 is paying the health benefits for their retired UAW employees.  Those costs added $2500 to the cost of every vehicle sold 10 years ago.  With the rise in healthcare premiums, I'm sure it's much more than that today.  Why do you think you see so many Kias and Hyundais on the road today?  They're affordable.  I'll never lease a vehicle.  Oh, my old Ranger had 408K miles on it when I sold it for $500.  Never used a drop of oil either.

 

 

Very true. My uncle worked his entire career for GM and got fairly high up the chain.  I recall him saying that for every 4 people on the payroll, only 1 actually worked.  The rest were union displacements, on disability, or retirees. 

[Hershmeister]

Another reason trucks are so pricy is due to the tax code.

Section 179 allows business to expense vehicle capital purchases at one time

http://www.section179.org/section_179_vehicle_deductions.html Edited December 19, 2015 by Hershmeister

[No_0ne]

352 000 miles and counting ...

 

 

I should have known better than to post this, rear main seal started pouring oil today ...

 

And it turns out to be the sending unit instead of the rear main seal, $20 part and on to 400k miles ...

[nightrunner]

And it turns out to be the sending unit instead of the rear main seal, $20 part and on to 400k miles ...

Awesome!

I remember a few years ago that a guy hit over a million miles on the original engine in his 90s Chevy truck. GM and several other companies were throwing offers at him to buy exclusivity rights to his story for advertising purposes. Never heard what became of it. Of course, it certainly wasn't the original transmission, a 4l60e won't last that long no matter what you do.

[No_0ne]

Awesome!

I remember a few years ago that a guy hit over a million miles on the original engine in his 90s Chevy truck. GM and several other companies were throwing offers at him to buy exclusivity rights to his story for advertising purposes. Never heard what became of it. Of course, it certainly wasn't the original transmission, a 4l60e won't last that long no matter what you do.

 

Neither, apparently will those installed on Dodge trucks of this vintage, I'm currently on the third one ...

 

... and I'll be quite happy to trade my truck for the equivalent 2015 model to any Chrysler dealer who's interested :)

Edited December 21, 2015 by No_0ne

[tercel89]

My Toyota Tacoma is 12yrs old and has the 2.7 liter in 4WD .I paid $22,000 then in 2003 . People ask why I wanted the 4 Cyl with 4 WD . I tell them that it works for me and I am not a show off and have nothing to prove . Well , I guess I can show off it's reliability. I have towed other big trucks with it , pulled tree stumps out of the ground and hauled numerous trailers filled with wood and such . No problems. The only thing I did was add a huge oversized Transmission cooler and I disconnected my transmission cooling system from the engine to where it is independant from the radiator. It runs better and cooler that way . 12 years old  , reliable and no truck payments. I will never pay that much again for a car or truck , but I love this truck !

Edited December 21, 2015 by tercel89

[TripleDigitRide]

I found a guy who will take me to an auction and charge me $500 over whatever I pay for a vehicle. I tried that before I bought my current truck, and it didn't pan out. Most of the trucks went for well above my budget, and I'm afraid I'll run into the same thing again. After fees and such, I'm not sure the final price would have been much under retail. If he won't charge me an arm and a leg if I don't buy anything, I'll probably give it a shot. 

[ou812]

I bought my quad cab Dodge Ram 10 years ago brand new for 22k. No options. I have roll down windows and I like it. FTW. I doubt I could find a truck like mine these days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When I got my truck in 2010 the one of the dodge dealerships in peoria IL ran adds  for a dodge 4x4 ???? cab (the one with a half back door)  all summer long for $22XXX  it was a basic 4x4 but it had power windows and a basic am/fm radio....if i didn't have two teenage boys at that time with long legs I would have been happy with it!!!  I test drove one... they said they tried to keep at least 3 on the lot at all times.  

[ou812]

If you want a cheap used truck then go north. Only problem is the road salt has pretty much ruined the body and possibly the frame.... but hey, it runs! :D

Road salt doesn't bother vehicles much anymore. We lived in central il for eight years...lots of snow and salt.  the two vehicles we took up there  we still have here in tn.. one is a 2005 chevy trailblazer ext that we came back to tn to buy it was 7 months old when we picked it up in tn in 2005 then took it back up to il....the other is a 1996 maxima my son still drives daily.  I got a  2010 silverado 4x4  in 2010......the only rust the trailblazer has is at the trailer hitch I think it would have it also if it had stayed here in tn. the maxima looks the same.   

[TMF]

When I got my truck in 2010 the one of the dodge dealerships in peoria IL ran adds for a dodge 4x4 ???? cab (the one with a half back door) all summer long for $22XXX it was a basic 4x4 but it had power windows and a basic am/fm radio....if i didn't have two teenage boys at that time with long legs I would have been happy with it!!! I test drove one... they said they tried to keep at least 3 on the lot at all times.

I doubt they have anything like that these days. I need a four door though. Being able to haul kids around comfortably in the truck has been awesome.

[tennesseetiger]

Trucks are no longer just a working man's vehicle. Now they are a status symbol. If it has 4 doors and only a 4 foot bed, it's not a truck. It's an SUV without a trunk lid. If you can't put a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in it, it's not a truck. If you are a Suburban Warrior with a LD complex, then a big expensive truck will compensate. 

Very very true....which is why you see lifted trucks running around everywhere. 9 times out of 10 they are pavement pounders that wouldn't ever see a gravel road let alone actual mud or woods.

[Spots]

Very very true....which is why you see lifted trucks running around everywhere. 9 times out of 10 they are pavement pounders that wouldn't ever see a gravel road let alone actual mud or woods.

My current 2000 Dakota looks like somebody took a ball peen to it because of hail damage, and has 200k miles. It's got 245/75r16 wore out all terrains under it and I'm willing to bet it's seen more mud, snow, ice and backwoods than 98% of the lifted trucks on the road. I knew a guy in California when I was in the diesel club, who had a Dodge 2500 on 38" tires and he washed and waxed it and detailed it weekly. It looked showroom new and was as useless as tits on a boar hog.

Sent from behind the anvil

[peejman]

Since we're ranting....   Why can't you get a truck with manual transmission anymore?  The only way to get one is to get an $80,000 diesel.   Quite a few are offered globally with a stick, but not in North America.  :rant:

[TMF]

Since we're ranting....   Why can't you get a truck with manual transmission anymore?  The only way to get one is to get an $80,000 diesel.   Quite a few are offered globally with a stick, but not in North America.  :rant:

 

I ordered one from Dodge with a standard transmission.  10 days before delivery they contact me to let me know that the transmission didn't meet whatever government standards, and it would be several more months before they could get it tested and certified.  This had to of meant that for that new year model, none of them were rolling off the line with standard transmissions.  So I tell them, "Fine, throw an automatic transmission in it and charge me the difference to be paid on delivery.  They say they would have to redo the whole order, which would take an additional two months (it had been two months since placing my order).  So I tell them to hold on, went down to the Dodge dealership and handed them the invoice for the order.  I told them if you sell me a quad cab for the number on the invoice, I'll buy it today.  The sales manager kept wanting to meet in the middle, which was 4k over what my invoice was.  I guess this dumbass thought that I was willing to spend $4,000 out of impatience.  So after arguing this idiot, and taking a new truck at 8k below sticker, I call up the Dodge folks to cancel my order and get my down payment back.

 

Still wish it was a standard transmission. 

[teecro]

Since we're ranting....   Why can't you get a truck with manual transmission anymore?  The only way to get one is to get an $80,000 diesel.   Quite a few are offered globally with a stick, but not in North America.  :rant:

 

Only new truck I've ever purchased was an 89 ISUZU and I paid somewhere under 9K for it.... The only option I let them sell me on was A/C which to me as not optional.... No radio, no bumper, no anything..... Can you even get plain little pickup trucks anymore?

[Johnny Rotten]

Very very true....which is why you see lifted trucks running around everywhere. 9 times out of 10 they are pavement pounders that wouldn't ever see a gravel road let alone actual mud or woods.

Guilty, I have 3 4x4, 2 will never get abused off-roaded, the other a 01 F150 screw is for everything thing else, unless we have a major SHTF event then game on.

[TGO David]

I'm hoping to be back in the "lifted, pavement pounding, cost more than my first house" truck club soon.  You won't find me posting how much it cost or how many luxury items it has, though.  Ya'll are a hard bunch.

[gregintenn]

A vehicle payment is the number one reason broke people stay broke.

 

Enjoy your trucks! :up:

Edited December 22, 2015 by gregintenn

[nightrunner]

Only new truck I've ever purchased was an 89 ISUZU and I paid somewhere under 9K for it.... The only option I let them sell me on was A/C which to me as not optional.... No radio, no bumper, no anything..... Can you even get plain little pickup trucks anymore?

A bumper would be required due to safety regulations. So would a radio, kind of.

The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, built to be a factory street legal race car basically. 505hp naturally aspirated 427 v8, 6 speed manual only, A/C and radio is optional. BUT! If you opt for the radio delete, it still has to have one speaker installed in the drivers door for the door chime which is mandated by federal law.

We have been mandated into oblivion. I don't think anyone ever died from not having a door chime in their car.

Also, Dodge is able to claim as having a "class exclusive" manual transmission option. No one else offers it anymore on anything you don't need a CDL for.

[teecro]

A bumper would be required due to safety regulations. So would a radio, kind of.
 

 

I built my rear bumper out of dual row heavy wall 3" OD pipe.... As for the stinking door chime, I found it and added a switch so that I could open my doors and play music without the constant ding ding ding....