How do you know when it’s time?

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Mopar man

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My new truck which is a 2014 ram big horn 4x4 just needed the engine replaced and the original only had around 70k on it. Main bearings went out. Point is no matter what you get, you never know what can happen
 

BWL

Embrace the skeptisism
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hemi 5.7
Regardless of my current luck or lack thereof with my new truck my usual replacement time comes when maintenance cost grow close to new truck payment costs or if a vehicle starts to get too unreliable given the miles I put on it and that I can't afford to go without it very long. If neither of those things occur and I like what I'm driving I see no need to change for the sake of change.
 

tidefan1967

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Under normal circumstances, when I get a wild hair up my ass or roughly every two years. For some reason though i'm still extremely happy with my current Ram after 16 months so I'm going to keep it for awhile. While the 5th gens are nice and I really dig that interior there's just not enough there to make me want to upgrade. I guess when they improve the powertrain significantly like GM and Ford(mostly Ford) have done I'll consider it. For reference GM's ****** 5.3 picked up 40HP and almost 50 lb-ft of torque last time they upgraded it. Of course the most impressive is the Ford 5.0. now making 395 hp and 400 lb/ft torque. I just can't see upgrading until that happens.
 

Purplert

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I usually just ride it to the wheels fall off or when I get tired of having to replace parts every other weekend. I don’t get the new car feeling to often, I like to pay off what I have and enjoy not having a truck or car payment for awhile until I absolutely have to.


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Immortaldaul

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Location
San antonio tx
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2002
Engine
5.9 magnum
My 02 ram that started with 170k miles on it and has about 207k on it now has been a money pit. However that's because I didn't have it inspected first and the dealer got one over on me. The minute the tranny dies or motor seizes I'm selling it. Last big dollar repair I'm doing is the air conditioning

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Kukailimoku

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Honolulu
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2005
Engine
Hemi
It's time when you find you're spending more time under it than in it.

That!
Funny, but true.

Mine is 2005 - 13 y.o. - 241,000 miles. I've already decided to replace it with a factory order, but waiting until 1) the second model year (2020s) of this new generation comes out and 2) they produce the exact combo that I want (Laramie Quad w/6foot bed and RamBox).

Over its long life i've replaced probably all the sensors - some more than once - and numerous DIY parts (rad, H2O pump, etc) but for me the death knell was when I saw bubble-up-from-under type body rust. Granted, I "could" keep it a whole 'nother decade, probably, but while I don't mind driving a dented old thing I really don't want to be "that guy" who always shows up in the bondo-mobile, either. Besides the rust, probably for me (like you!) the critical mass in the decision to replace was the RATE of increase of broken stuff. Seems that within the past year and a half I've needed to replace a steering knuckle, pinion, most of the suspension (upper/lower control arms, sway bar links, etc)... Now one of the O2 sensors was jammed and I stripped its threads changing it and the new one sits ****-eyed in the **** and that's giving false readings which is causing the engine to stutter upon throttle changes...

Granted: I coulda done bushings instead of the actual control arm, and i coulda had a pro do the O2 sensor so I wouldn't break it, so a lot of the degeneration I have is "my fault". But still, the pinion dying, the water pump failing, other parts... all coming at an increased rate of occurrence to each other. Most lately now I'm looking at routine tire and brakes replacement, but I'm even holding off on those because I'm thinking of replacing.

I'm at a point now where I'm trying to stretch out the last remaining life of the truck without sinking any more money into it, but my not sinking any more money into it is accelerating its demise. A vicious circle of decision/indecision and deteriorating useful life.
 

Kukailimoku

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Hemi
I usually just ride it to the wheels fall off or when I get tired of having to replace parts every other weekend. I don’t get the new car feeling to often, I like to pay off what I have and enjoy not having a truck or car payment for awhile until I absolutely have to.


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word. paid-off and prolonging that paid-off situation for as many years as possible. Yup.
 

hotrod45

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Here's a slight detour, but it demonstrates the issue and some thinking. My sister in law had a car that had been in the family and she inherited it. It was old. I told her to get rid of it. "Oh, NO!" she said. "I just put a new battery and a set of tires on it. I want to at least get my money's worth out of that." Two months later, the timing chain broke (OHV engine) and the car stopped in the middle of a limited access highway. I don't think she met her goal on that one. A running/operating vehicle usually has more value than its scrap value. There's almost always somebody who can see potential in it.:D
 

rocket

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connecticut
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was 2006
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was a HEMI 5.7
I have a 2010 with 141xxx miles. It’s in generally pretty good shape, and I have no real desire for a new truck at this point. But over the last few months or so maintenance has seemed to pile up - had a transmission solenoid need replacing about a year ago, hub assembly in front passenger wheel, etc. Mostly just general wear and tear kind of things, but at this many miles that’s bound to keep adding up. But I came home last night from a 5 day trip and I had a leak in the cab and my front floorboards (weather tech) had an inch or so of water in them from the a-pillar. Looks like an easy enough fix to unclog the drainage holes on the sunroof, but still. It got me to at least start looking around.

For y’all others like me that try and keep your trucks as long as is reasonable, when do you decide it’s time to trade in and upgrade? It’s my daily driver, but my folks have a good chunk of land so it gets to get out and take some abuse every once in awhile.
Found a 2018 kia stinger for sale in my area, 6,000$ below retail......it's time.
 
Joined
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Location
Florida
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I have a 2010 with 141xxx miles. It’s in generally pretty good shape, and I have no real desire for a new truck at this point. But over the last few months or so maintenance has seemed to pile up - had a transmission solenoid need replacing about a year ago, hub assembly in front passenger wheel, etc. Mostly just general wear and tear kind of things, but at this many miles that’s bound to keep adding up. But I came home last night from a 5 day trip and I had a leak in the cab and my front floorboards (weather tech) had an inch or so of water in them

Sounds very much like what I went thru last year. I had a 2002 SLT quad-cab that I bought brand new and drove for 15+ years. Only had 124K miles. I loved it and did not want another truck. It was perfect for my needs. Cosmetically, in was in great shape. I had decided a couple years ago that I would hold on to it as long as possible, so at that time I sunk about $4K into it for new tires, shocks, ball joints, tune up, professional detailing, floor mats, top-of-the-line 3M window tint, etc., etc., etc. It was basically a 13-year-old "new" truck. It wasn't long after that the AC stopped being "ice cold." Still, I hung in there doing my best to keep cool during summer in Florida. Then the check engine light started coming on whenever it got below 45 deg. (New gas cap didn't fix.) Then I noticed a leak around the radiator fill tank. Then last August, I discovered a floorboard full of water and coolant: heater core broke. I bypassed the heater core and decided to see if I could make it through one of our winters without a heater/defroster. Nope! I could handle the cold, but not the fogged-up windows.

I finally gave up in mid-Dec and bought a new 2017. Hindsight being 20-20, I realize I should have gotten rid of it much earlier. I hope I never wait too long again, but it's darn tough to let go of a paid-off truck that you like.
 

Pull Ya

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To answer your question, around my house the answer would be, when ever the wife and wallet says it's time! I may fudge a little, but that basically is the answer. And she said she approved this answer :33:
Jay
 

hotrod45

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To answer your question, around my house the answer would be, when ever the wife and wallet says it's time! I may fudge a little, but that basically is the answer. And she said she approved this answer :33:
Jay
It's always best if it goes that way.:word:
 

Pull Ya

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"Happy wife, happy life"
Jay
 

Kernal Clink

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My old F150 was paid for. 208K miles and ran like a sewing machine. Then the oil pressure gauge started to drop at idle. It was time to get something else. Other than the oil pressure issue it was perfect but I figured I would be much better served by a new truck than by new parts. I miss the Ford but not enough to wish I had kept it.
 

indept

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You know it's time when you see this hanging out near your truck...

512172844-612x612.jpg
 

Quint

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2021 Big Horn 1500
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5.7L v8 eTorque
Everyone has different "need a new vehicle" moments. You may want the new technology more than the next person, not want to put as much maintenance effort into it, do longer haul trips in remote areas, etc...

If you plan to "run it into the ground," I do what others have said and go for something newer when the average monthly repair bill goes higher than the monthly payment on a new or new-to-me vehicle. I'm also a big believer in stashing money away. When I pay off a vehicle, my monthly payment just goes into my "repair" fund. If you keep that up you'll have a nice nest egg for the next vehicle purchase and won't need to finance as much, or at all.
 

Mazer

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South Carolina
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2018 Power Wagon
Engine
Hemi 6.4
For me, it's the 100k mileage mark, I don't go beyond it. Prior to that mark the vehicle is worth something, and if it is a truck or jeep, it is still worth quite a bit to reduce what I will pay for a new truck. I don't trust buying used unless I absolutely can't afford it otherwise because most of the time you end up buying someone elses problem.
 
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