Comfort is a big deal. I think the reality is that just about any brand out there, as long as it can pull your loads will be good if you take care of it and do the services. I can understand the limited funds issue. I spent a little more than $40K for my current ram. To replace it, you are pushing 70K. Even with discounts etc, I'd be in the $60K range. I don't need a new truck. Mine is an 06, it is paid for, and only has 60,000 miles on it. That is just broken in. I have been offered $30K in trade on a new one, but can't justify it, and frankly I do not want another payment. Now if I won the lottery... maybe....

 

I bought it when it was 2 years old and had 20,000 miles on it.

I added another 40,000 miles in less that 16 months, comfort was a big concern for me.

I enjoy driving this truck a lot - even more since adding a world class car audio system.

I plan on getting a slide in camper too and this particular 2500 is rated to carry more
weight than the others of the same year. Another plus.

And I'd rather have a new ATV in the bed than a diesel under the hood.

 

When I still had my 95 ranger, there would be a guy that would put a note on the windshield wanting to know if I would sell it. It ran perfectly and was paid for. When he finally caught me at home, he asked what I'd take for it. $14,000. Sure, it was 12 years old and had over 200k on it, but that's what it would cost to replace it.

Never heard from him again.

Kind of funny what we won't give for them new, and what we won't take for them used.

 

My 1999 F150 Lariat just broke 67K miles, and like you said it's just broke in. It was top of the line at the time I bought with leather seats, tow package, off road package, etc, etc. A new top of the line model would run $60K. Yeah, I can afford it but why buy one when this one works just fine. Besides; in the last 4 years I've spent the 3.5 of them in Afghanistan.

 

I hear ya Dee... I spent 20 years in the service myself, several of them in Saudi and Iraq. Not a fun time. Since then, I have nearly 19 years at the State Dept as a consultant... so I understand a great deal about what you are talking about. Thank you for your service. I know it doesn't sound like much, but to those of us that will be buried under the flag of the US, it means a great deal. Civilians would never understand. Anyway, the prices of new trucks are way too high. And the value people put in them is crazy. Maybe it is because I am older than most on this list, hard to say. But I know the value of a dollar, and how hard I worked for it, and I can't justify the cost unless of course I intend to make a living with it. Which was the reason I bought mine originally. Circumstances kept me in Washington DC instead of taking that big step of running my own business, and I can't look back now. But my truck is to me, MY perfect vehicle. It isn't for everyone else.. and I think everyone has guessed that there really isn't a perfect vehicle. It is the one you have, can afford, or makes the best sense. And don't ever be swayed by public opinion, or your drinking buddy down the street. Be firm in your decision, and glad for what you get. The grass is never greener on the other side... take it from the voice of experience. It never has been, and it never will be.

 

I'm no longer in the military - I'm a contractor.


Trucks cost a lot more now, but then they are far more comfortable and capable than they used to be, and are safer and more reliable.