Help me make up my mind - truck/winter wheels

OK, so I seem to have moved to a fairly nice area that's perfect for DDing a Corvette convertible. In the summer.

The place also has a reputation for getting a bit of snow (think Donner party, Donner pass is about 50 miles away) and talking to some of my gear-head colleagues, I'd really want something 4WD for the winter. My wife already has a Cherokee that she's very fond of, so that's going to get a second set of wheels and winter tyres.

For me, well I was thinking that I might want something that I can also use as a parts chaser and tow vehicle, as I'm planning to do a few HPDEs and eventually, hopefully go partake in a spot of classic racing.

Now, when I came over to the US a few months ago I was looking for a Diesel truck but couldn't find one in my budget. Also, you have to keep in mind I have zero credit history in the US, although that is going to change as Amex transferred my credit card over here.

Anyway, the way I see it is that I have two choices:

1) Keep looking for an old truck. I occasionally see Grand Wagoneers, Ramchargers and Broncos pop up on Craigslist here and I figure that I can throw about $3k at one outright if I save up a little more money. That way, I'll own it, but the downside is that it's another old vehicle that will need work to get it in the state I want it to be in.

2) Do something for my credit rating, take the $3k and drop it as a downpayment on a fairly recent truck (hopefully something like a Dodge RAM with a Cummins or similar), then stomach the payments for a few years. TBH I don't like car payments much and tend to prefer to reserve them for something I really want rather than mundane transport. But this way I might get something fairly recent, which would be a new experience for me...

(2) of course would most likely allow me to get something that does 20mpg as opposed to the 8 that a well-driven Wagoneer gets, but then again the difference in price between the two buys an awful lot of gas.

What's the GRM recommendation? Appliance on credit, or something older for cash?

Forgot to mention - option 2 1/2 would be to get something like a Suzuki Samurai or Geo Tracker for similar money to (1), forget about the towing but have something that is cheap to run and can be pretty good off-road.

BoxheadTim wrote: Grand Wagoneers

do it

I vote for 1.

I find "winter" trucks here in Ohio all summer and wish all winter I had picked one up. You have enough lead time and probably a good pool of vehicles to choose from out there to get something reliable, fits your towing requirement and maybe even something you'll like.

Years ago I bought an old Bronco II for cheap, put a few dollars in it and it got me through a couple of snowy winters just fine -although probably not quite what you might experience out west...

Oh, and welcome to the US by the way!

Stan

Either 1 or 2 1/2. Get the best condition vehicle that you can for your $3K.

When you get to the point that you need a tow vehicle for your racing is the time to decide on a tow vehicle. Don't buy the tow vehicle now and find out 3 years down the road that it won't handle the trailer that you can get for next to nothing.

Welcome to the USA also.

Full Size Jeep! If you find one without rust and in decent shape, it should hold its value pretty well (the pickups not so much but the SUV seem to stay high priced)

Now that you're looking to buy a truck-like vehicle, do you feel more 'Mericun?

Just did a CL (craiglook) near you $3k/4x4/100 miles from 96160 (near donner pass), looks like some 2000ish explorer, land cruiser, trucks get older early-mid 90s for the price. explorer or LC would be cool, both easy and cheap to maintain, both fairly durable, both can tow...

I dunno if i'd go after a 15-20 year old truck as 'reliable' winter DD, it all depends on the upkeep...

Thanks for the suggestions, looks like the solution I'd feel more comfortable with (outright purchase) finds most favor here.

@Hal, good point re the tow vehicle and the cheap-ish trailer, hadn't looked at it that way.

@RossD, there are a lot of resto project full-size Jeeps around, but there are a couple that have been advertised for a while which supposedly aren't. I'm not ready to make the move yet but I'll probably keep an eye out for really good deals.

@Raze, one of the reasons I was thinking about getting something newer is that we're mostly talking about appliance vehicles so I wouldn't expect them to be maintained to the same level as vehicles that tend to attract some more enthusiastic owners. Hence me considering newer vehicles in the first place.

I'm probably looking at both (1) and (2 1/2) equally and will just see what I can find. One of the attractions of the Samurai & Tracker/Sidekicks is that they're pretty good off road, so I'll get some decent summer use out of it.

Of course the main downside of tracking down a good full-size Jeep might be that it would be too nice to use in winter .

How about a Miata? Yea I know the idea sucks but someone had to say it....

I bought my 89 deisel F250 for 1200. Auto 4wd and yes it needs a little bit of work. It did just knock down 19.5 mpg on the highway with 4.10 gears and a 3 spd auto.

I figure after new U joints, bushings, shocks and a Hypermax turbo kit (1800 complete for the older fords) it will do anything that a 10k plus dollar newer deisel truck will do. I also have a 2003 Ram cummins to compare the old Ford to.

I say older deisel truck and blow smoke all over the silly Ridgeline owners.

CaptainSpaulding wrote: I bought my 89 deisel F250 for 1200. Auto 4wd and yes it needs a little bit of work. It did just knock down 19.5 mpg on the highway with 4.10 gears and a 3 spd auto. I figure after new U joints, bushings, shocks and a Hypermax turbo kit (1800 complete for the older fords) it will do anything that a 10k plus dollar newer deisel truck will do. I also have a 2003 Ram cummins to compare the old Ford to. I say older deisel truck and blow smoke all over the silly Ridgeline owners.

There again, it references the upkeep. I've seen some late 80's Fords that have been absolutely hammered...not good for a lot but to scrap out. Rust can be an issue, and previous use can be an issue...was it used as a ranch truck or a puttin' around town'' truck; those sort of questions.

Go for the budget. A house payment will help the credit rating too. And welcome to this side of the pond!

"

Sure. I bought mine for 1200 and it needs front U joints, a rear axle seal and new clamps on the tranny cooler lines. Otherwise in great shape. The older deisels are 100% mechanical injection so no silly sensors or other garbage to worry about.

The 6.9/7.3 idi trucks can be had for cheap. People think they need the newer trucks and this has driven down the price of the older international powered trucks.

You can replaced all 8 glow plugs on a idi for the price of three on a power stroke. Replace all 8 injecters on a idi for the price of 4 on a powerstroke.

Any way if you look you can find these old trucks in great shape with no rust that need little work for under 2k.

How are the N/A trucks for performance? I keep seeing them here occasionally well within budget but then again there are a couple of mountains in the way...

Of course the search for Diesel trucks occasionally throws up "interesting" results: http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/1822327581.html

I think it might be a little OTT, though...

The 7.3 idi is rated at 180 hp and 360 tq. Add 40-50% power increase after adding the turbo.