Truck Lust

Is it wrong to lust after thy neighbor’s truck?

With the completely unsurprising news that my truck isn’t going to be a long-term relationship, I’ve started looking around for a replacement.  I found one on craigslist that is calling out to me.

2006 F250 King Ranch (top of the line) with a 6.0 liter Diesel engine.  Crew cab (4-door truck) with a long box.  It looks like it’s been well maintained, and interestingly has a powertrain warranty for nearly 100k miles.  I’m guessing it had some significant work done recently.  I’ve been reading about these trucks, and it sounds like the 6.0L Powerstroke engine had some design flaws that caused a significant number of issues.  If those issues are fixed, then it’s basically a pretty good engine after that.  I’m guessing that this truck has had those fixes performed given that it now has this extended warranty.

Oh, and it’s a two-tone maroon and tan combo.  Very pretty, in my opinion.  Check out the craigslist posting here.

So for me, the pros and cons:

Pro:

• 12,500 pound towing capacity (I need between 8,000-9,000)
• Diesel engine (good for towing in general and especially fuel mileage when towing)
• Warranty
• Tons of backseat room for me to stash anything I need with me while driving (since I don’t have a trunk)
• 4-wheel drive
• Towing Mirrors built in

Con:

• 10 years old
• Doesn’t fit in the garage (since I’m not leaving until after the snow melts, I’m going to be dealing with having the truck outside in the winter)
• Diesel engine (more expensive to maintain and a bit of a learning curve for me if I want to do my own maintenance)
• 150k miles: It’ll be due for ball joints, control arms, shocks, and who-knows-what-else soon

The price?  $15,500.  In my book, that’s a small price for a lot of truck.  If I had a bunch of extra cash laying around, I’d probably be on my way to go see the truck right now.  But I think I’m going to have to pass on this truck, unfortunately.  Between personal-life expenses and the upcoming trailer completion, I just don’t have the cash reserves right now.  And since I don’t want to use debt for any part of this new life, I’m going to have to pass.

Instead, I’ll just have truck lust.