I just got a new chevy 2500hd at work which replaced a '00 F150. The F150 had the 4.2 v6 and I never had a single problem out of it. It had 150k when they gave me the new one. In alot of ways I liked the ford better than the new chevy, but my employer got alot cheaper price from chevy.

As far as the f150, it had a transmission and clutch put in it at 100k, but I kept it full of equipment. I'm a heat/air tech and it was OVERLOADED from day one. Average mileage was 12. Simply too much weight for the five speed and v6.

I agree with others on the used part. The 92-96 trucks are plentiful and they are built strong. If I was buying I would find one with the 300 six and automatic. Goobs of low end torque and good mpg. I've had 3 in the past and two had the 300 and the other had a 302. I prefred the 300.

If you have to go new, do as suggested, research. To find one without a/c, your gonna be lucky or have to order it. The ford is my choice, but that is partly due to personal preference.

 

Ford replaced the ailing OHC 4.2L for a new OHV 4.2L for 2005. The May/June issue of Truck Trend did a side by side comparison of the full size V-6's. They didn't actually test drive the trucks, just compared the engines. The specs are as follows:

Chevy/GMC: 4.3L OHV V-6 cast iron block and heads
HP: 195 @ 4600 rpm
Tq: 260 @ 2800 rpm
GVWR: 6100
Payload: 1875
Max towing cap: 5100
EPA milage (manual): 17/23

Ford: 4.2L OHV V-6 cast iron block and heads
Hp: 202 @ 4350 rpm
Tq: 260 @ 3750 rpm
GVWR: 6500
Payload: 1830
Max towing cap: 5600
EPA milage (manual): 15/20

Hope this helps.

 

I got my truck at "truck town" off of auto center way in Bremerton (hwy 3 north, just past gorst), good selection of clean used late model trucks at the best "dealer" prices I have found. They have all makes and models, and years vary from early ninties up to 2005.

My truck was bought to be a tow mule, hence the 460 and 4.10 gears. the 300 I6 would be a good choice for lighter duty and general cruising around.
My boss I work construction for has 190k on his 96 f150 with the 5.8L, it has driven overloaded since day one and is still holding up fairly well on almost all the original parts.

I am not sure of the tax laws, can you depreciate or write off a used truck for business purchases or does it have to be new?

 

The truck has to be new to you, not new in general.

For a Sect 179, the asset has to have a GVW of over 6000 lbs to qualify for the up-to $25K deduction, however assets under the 6000lb GVW could qualify for up to a $10K 179- so theoretically, a base Ranger would still fall into this catagory. Consult your tax professional to verifu this.

 

Correction, the s-10 is a 4.3L...brain fart!

 

Hotrod - thanks for the input, I've dealt with Truck town before and they are pretty good. They usually have low mileage, late model trucks. They don't usually get many 300 I6's, they tend to like diesels.

Polarbear - it's been a few months since I've read the section 179 rules, from late last year they reduced the amount that an SUV could be deducted to 25k dollars, but trucks should still be at the higher 100k until 2007. That was part of Bush's recapitalization initative. The under 6k lb gvwr vehicles are deductible for reduced amounts and is in general harder for the average bear to figure out. Simpler for the over 6k lb vehicles.

My wife's Pilot has a gvwr of 5950 and the Explorer is 5984, both suspiously close but under the 6k gvwr needed. That makes you move up to an Expedition.

If I could get an EB Expedition for what I owe on the Pilot than that would get the Tax credit too.

PolarBear can I trade a 2005 Honda Pilot EX-Leather, AWD, moonroof, etc with 7000 miles for a new 2005 Ford Expedition EB, Leather, moonroof, AWD for what I owe on the Pilot ($25,500). The Pilot should have some positive equity, no?

Anyway, back to the shopping spree
Tony

 

Go test drive both of them yourself, For the body strenth on the ford and chevy the only reason the fords shows more when they remove the fenders is because the chevy has the support bulit in to the fenders. They are both good trucks just buy one that fits you best.

 

sheesh get a 93-97 f-150 there cheap and they can ttake alot of crap and they aint that hard to work on if any thing goes wrong

 

To be continued Monday! the graduation party marathon continues.

 

I went to the Casino after my niece and nephew's graduation party. Me and the little missus pulled about $400 in cash and free food in half an hour. Not too bad, that covered the graduation gifts, gas and time.

Tony

 

Well I decided to buy the Ford, I know I should have bought a used one but I got a new truck for not much more than a used one would cost. MSRP $19,795 - 3k discount - 4k rebates - 1k positive trade value = $11,695

I'm trying to reduce my expenditures and traded in my wife's 05 Pilot in on a 05 F150 XL reg cab 2WD stick, which saves me about $250 a month. I even sold my Harley and a couple of months ago I sold the F250 in my Avitar.

I'm hoping that once business picks up I'll buy a new Van or Suv for the wife and a bigger truck for me, keeping the F150 for messy jobs..

Besides I got the F150 with A/C for what Chevy wanted for their Work truck without A/C, and the truly strange thing is that the Chevy had a $1600 dollar lower MSRP to begin with. So much for the GM employee price.

Tony