To buy a truck or not to buy a truck

[05caddyext]

Back-story. Won't be long winded. I bought a house 5 years ago now. Since I have bought the house I have had 3 different pick-up trucks. Winter beater Ranger with long bed. Didn't want to put anything into it, went to the scrapyard. Winter beater Dakota, short bed, no hitch, kinda useless for what I'd like to have. Sold that in spring. Also had a 05' Hemi Ram. Crew cab, tow package. Perfect for what I "need." Hated the gas mileage, and it was only a 2wd. I am the manager of a hardware store. In the summer, it's fairly apparent that it would be extremely nice to have a pickup truck. In the winter, not so much. I drive a 12' Chrysler 200 which is obviously useless for anything but getting me around. I do have a very small hitch on it, I use that to haul my mountain bike. For work, we deliver grills locally for free. I also have a fair amount of work to do on my house yet that requires a truck much of the time to get materials, and I HATE borrowing a truck from friend. So here is my issue. I am about 6-7k upside down on my car. I traded the Hemi Ram for it. I literally go through 1/3 the amount of gas each month, and my monthly car payment is $25 less than the Ram was. I went from a used 05 to a brand new 12' car. I have been looking at trucks lately and my fear is that if I don't get something much much newer, there are just too many unknowns as far as what they need. I don't want to spend 15k on a truck and have to put 5k into it right away. So what would you do? I have excellent credit, I just recently refinanced my car in the fall and my credit score they pulled was 801 at the time. Do I try to buy something brand new? I do know this, if I do that, I must commit to keeping it, which I have had a huge issue with. My current car is the 20th vehicle I have owned, and I am 34 years old.

[Prince Valiant]

Get a trailer and use the 200 to tow. Get a 10'x6' or 10'x5' and you'll have the efficiency of a car the 98% of the time you need it and the utility of a truck when you need it the other 2%. The downside is storing the trailer when it's not being used. My brother used a folding trailer behind his car...

[USMARINE1108]

Get a trailer and use the 200 to tow. Get a 10'x6' or 10'x5' and you'll have the efficiency of a car the 98% of the time you need it and the utility of a truck when you need it the other 2%. The downside is storing the trailer when it's not being used. My brother used a folding trailer behind his car...

Exactly that. I have a SUV (I love the utility of the covered space, especially with kids) and a 4x8 utility trailer for when I need it. The trailer is easier to load/unload because it's lower to the ground, has a dump bed, can be a flat bed when you take the sides off and can be pushed around the yard by hand.

Check out Harbor Freight, they have some pretty good trailer kits for good prices.

I don't know how much weight you're comfortable pulling with your car, but it could be a great option. I was at the city dump 3x this past weekend and more than half of the trailers were pulled by cars.

[05caddyext]

My car has a max capacity of 1000lbs and only 200lbs tongue weight. It's only a 4cyl. I have considered a trailer, haven't really looked at them too hard though. Looks like they are fairly light, 300lbs with a gate just doing a quick search. Also, I don't have the wiring for the lights either. I imagine this is something I would have to have installed at a dealership as my car is still under factory warranty for another year.

[Moparjim]

Adding trailer wiring shouldn't affect your warranty as long as it is done properly. It is usually simple enough to do yourself, not sure on a 200 but usually there is access by removing the interior trunk trim to the taillight wiring to the tailights and that is all you need to tap into. If not I am sure a trailer place like Hanna would do it for you just fine and cheaper than a dealer.

[michelle]

I saw this beauty on my drive back from Indy yesterday. Who needs a truck anyways?

https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/s600x600/10173809_10101865819851058_5570120191521208103_n.j pg

[spooln30]

Wow that's funny. I don't even see any straps. Lol

[USMARINE1108]

Ha! I wouldn't be able to pass that guy without looking at him and laughing my ass off.

[Wagonbacker9]

I'm in the same position as you.. I want a truck for utility and independence, but 90% of the time I don't have a use for it. Unlike you however I still get crap for fuel mileage (but can tow whatever I need to) because I'm driving a full size SUV.

My recommendation, pawn the 200 off on a woman or something. My wife drives a vibe. Hates it, but costs her half of the gas of what shed drive if she picked it.

[-stew-]

Home depot, menards, and u-haul all rent pick ups. renting one when you need it will come out cheaper than owning one and save you the headaches of owning one.

[michelle]

I love having a truck. I daily drive it since I work close to home, but it's super useful besides just pulling the car and utility trailers around.

Stew is just upset his truck is a silly Chevy.

[-stew-]

Stew is just upset his truck is a silly Chevy.



Pfft! My truck is pretty fucking awesome. I use it to haul around parts to fix my truck...

[05caddyext]

Who can get me the best deal on a trade (upside down) on a 06 or newer full size pickup? I've got a 2012 Chrysler 200 Touring with 23,000 miles.

[Moparjim]

Ugh not to be a downer but you may be more upside down on the 200 than you think... Your timing is horrible on that, the last few months they have been GIVING away 200s at dealers since the all new completely redesigned 200 is coming out like right now. Since they killed the price on new ones, I bet it has killed the price on used ones, and with the new one finally being a clean sheet of paper redesign with the new good powertrains etc. I bet what you will get offered in trade for an "old" one is ridiculously low.

[05caddyext]

I know what you mean with the brand new 200 out now. I am fully prepared to get raped on the deal, I just have to have a truck. I bought a small utility trailer and it just isn't going to do what I need it to do. I tried to deliver a grill and a lawnmower with it and it's just not what I need. I bought one without a floor, only mesh, because my car can only haul a max load of 1000lbs. The trailer itself is 400lbs. The grill nearly bounced right off the trailer, I had it strapped down really well. I have delivered about 200 grills so I know how to fasten stuff down, that wasn't the issue. The trailer just rides too rough back there. It was a good thought, and I will probably keep it as I can still use it with a truck when I find one.