I hate car shopping

[azoomm]

Dude, you need to come down here.

[CasterTroy]

Originally Posted by azoomm

Dude, you need to come down here.

I'm seeing that!

[TommyHotWheel]

Damn...in Michigan, if I remember correctly, there was a dealership selling overstock, brand new, fullsize, short bed work trucks for around $18,000.

[CasterTroy]

Originally Posted by TommyHotWheel

Damn...in Michigan, if I remember correctly, there was a dealership selling overstock, brand new, fullsize, short bed work trucks for around $18,000.

They sell those here too......but not 4x4 solid front axle F250's It's the 2wd F150's

I got my LAST truck as an overstock W/T

It was a 2002 Chevy Silverado EXT cab short bed. Listed for $23,000 and i got it for $17k OTD

[wildchild]

i hear you. just went through the same here. last truck i looked at before buying the one I got was a new left over 2010 dodge 2500 4x4 work truck. dealer used it to plow with for 700 miles.
they dented the front and back and just a little bing on the bed as well. he offered to "take all the fat out of the price" and offered it to me for 26,800. i didn't stick around long enough for him to come to his senses and offer a real price.
they had a used one on their lot as well. with 34000 miles on it. it was interesting until he told me the whole front end had been rebuilt. why? didn't matter as soon as we hit the road the front end was vibrating all over the place.
and then there was the 3/4 ton that was really a half ton with 2500 markings. gotta love scam artists

[Particle Man]

Originally Posted by CasterTroy

They sell those here too......but not 4x4 solid front axle F250's It's the 2wd F150's

I got my LAST truck as an overstock W/T

It was a 2002 Chevy Silverado EXT cab short bed. Listed for $23,000 and i got it for $17k OTD

There's a ton of those around here - they're all 4X4 though and on most of 'em, the bed and cab corners are rusted to shit.

[CasterTroy]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

on most of 'em, the bed and cab corners are rusted to shit.

Yeah that's why I look for florida vehicles most of the time. If this OTHER one we looked at last week doesn't pan out I'm flying down to see Moira

[CasterTroy]

The whole REASON for looking for a truck had to do with the fact that my 2004 exploder (valued at a whopping $7000 trade-in) needed so much work that it wasn't worth fixing.

See it's been roaring for a few months now, and popping and jerking at very low speed turns. I knew the clutch packs had given out in the LS rear. Not a big deal. But I was concerned for the ring & pinion health so I had it checked out when I got it inspected last month.

The mechanic at the inspection station said it WAS pretty worn and maybe I needed to look into it further, but there was no leaking. SO he said no hurry. He priced a new rearend at $1,700 + $200 install.

Since he wasn't a ford dealer he couldnt GET the internals...he needed to get the entire rear assembly from JASPER. But that had a lifetime warranty. See it's a full independent rear suspension, not a live axle so it's a stationary rear assembly with floating axles and rear wheel bearings.

OK...an option.

So I took it to Parkway ford to have them look at everything it needed.

Parkway Ford won't even LOOK at your car unless you give them $95 But I wanted to know everything so I paid it

Their estimate?

$1650 for new gears and clutchpacks
$390 for right front bearing
$634 for BOTH rear wheel bearings
$298 Leaking front pinion seal

OH and you're getting close to 100k.....

$280 for new plugs

I got to thinking....a few months ago when I got tires I decided to put some Jeep Rubicon wheels on...




had a painter buddy spray them and fill in the JEEP on the centercaps. Thought it'd be "different" but ever since then is when it started acting funny and roaring. I got to thinking, maybe since the JEEP wheels stuck out about 1.5" maybe THAT had something to do with some of the issues. So I thought....I'll just put the stock wheels back on it while I'm at it.


So I took it to King, NC to Piedmont Radiator and Tire where I have all my work done.

He replaced the front wheel bearing and threw the stock wheels back on then drove it. Said I didn't NEED any of the other work done (well, I'll need plugs in another 1000 miles) and said as long as I didn't care that I now had an OPEN rear diff instead of an LS, then he wouldn't do squat about the rearend....that ALL 8.8's hummed like a bad streetlamp. Since it's an AWD model I don't care about the LS.

I literally had to argue with him about the rear bearings though. I figured he just didn't have the time that day to DO the rear bearings or didn't WANT too. I told him I'd schedule another day to do the rear bearings if that would help him?!?!

He said "You don't NEED them man....I'm serious!"

?!?!?!?!

SO I happily paid him $300 for the front bearing and jumped in the exploder. On the ride home I found that it road fine, no roaring, no vibration....no nothing. Smooth as silk....other than the typical 8.8 rearend hum.

Apparently the rubi wheels caused most of the vibration, slow speed wheel hop, and chatter....and the roar was just the front wheel bearing.

[Riceaholic]

Originally Posted by CasterTroy

Yeah that's why I look for florida vehicles most of the time. If this OTHER one we looked at last week doesn't pan out I'm flying down to see Moira

Give me a list of vehicles you'd be interested in and with what options and I'll keep an eye out. I see sweet deals around here all the time. I'll even stop and check them out for you.