I'm thinking of trading it in on a Jetta or Golf. Just in the thinking stage now, but the warranty is out, and gas prices have a grim outlook. If I did trade it in, I would strip the truck and part out all the stuff I put into it. Including the new tires, I would just put the old trxus back on there.

 

I thought about getting a diesel Jetta and doing the biodiesel thing. I can feel your pain. What's right for you, only you can decide. Personally, I will own my truck until I die. May not be my DD, but I will own it (unless something MAJOR happens...).
On a selfish note, sell it and part it out :)
I'm not voting because really that's something only you can decide.

 

Heh, I won't take the result from the vote and decide what I want to do. I just wanted to see what others thought and if they are thinking the same thing as I am. Like you, I will most likely never get rid of my truck, but the thought comes more often now every time I hit the pump.

 

I said to wait out the gas prices. I thought about trading in my truck for something with better gas mileage, but I put it off and put it off b/c I don't really think I can afford it, and gas prices have started to come down. If you really just think about it, all the signs will point to what's best for you - if it's meant to be, it'll happen. :)

 

And if you adjust for inflation it's still lower than it "should" be...

 

i have been thinking about this also, but then i dont know what id do without my truck... so for now im just paying for the gas...

 

keep it or get a beater

 

What year Jetta are you looking at?

Every thing I'm going to say is based on my guesses and is for comparison only.. take it for what its worth..

Private Party Blue Book (best you 'could' sell it for)for a truck like yours is ~$14,500.00

Priave Party Blue Book for a 2003 Jetta GLI 4door Manual is $17,000.00

2005 Diesel Jetta Blue Book is $23,000.00

Now if you sold your truck for the highest price and paid the lowest for a jetta the differance would be $2500 for an 03' and $8500 for the 05' diesel.

Now lets say gas is $3.00 a gallon right now and going to stay there for a while.

Rangers average ~15mpg (from what we've seen on hear)
Jetta's average ~25mpg (yahoo autos)
Diesel Jetta average ~35 (what I'v heard, couldn't find it)

If you average 12,000 miles per year..

The Ranger will use 800gallons of gas.

The Jetta will use 480gallons of gas.
For a differance of 320gallons.

Diesel Jetta 345gallons of gas.
For a differance of 455gallons.

320gallons X $3.00/gallon = $960 savings/year.
455gallons X $3.00/gallon = $1365 savings/year.

$2500/960 = 2.6years...
$8500/1365 = 6.2years...

So... if you sell the truck, buy an 03 Jetta it will take over 2 1/2 years before any real savings appear.

And if you buy an 05' diesel it will take over 6 years to see any savings.

So I vote keep the truck. Or buy an old Jetta.

 

Damn dude, that's alot of calculations. Great info though! I was thinking about the most i can get for my truck is 17 grand if I traded it in as is. 14 grand if I stripped it back down. I'll probably just end up keeping it and looking for a beater to drive or maybe even get a cycle. I might go as crazy and riding my Cannondale to work a few days a week. 21 speed mtn bike gets goin pretty good but there are so many crazies around here.

 

I'm not sure I'd go for the VW anyway. Don't get me wrong, I love the cars, but I just don't think they're worth it these days. VW used to be affordable, used to be accessable to us meare mortals. But I don't think that's the case anymore. I practically grew up in Rabits (we had a bunch of 'em). Later my first ever (running) car was an '86 Jetta hand-me-down. My mother still drives a '96 Jetta, my best friend has a '98 Golf. All are good cars, but the quality is definitely heading south in my opinion. And the prices are headed north.. I just don't think they're worth it anymore. Everyone I know that used to be die-hard VW fans is either driving or looking to drive something else these days.

..

Although the VW TDI system IS interesting. And you'd be surprised how much stuff & people you can fit on/in a Golf. My buddy is a paddler, like you, and easily fits two ~10' boats on the roof. Just a few weekends ago he went camping in it. His 9' recboat on the roof, a cooler in the trunk, and enough camping equipment for two packed in the rest. Peice of cake. Hatchbacks really do rule..

You might want to look at the Mazda 3 hatchback. My GF has a sedan (4-door) version and it's remarkably nice. Seemed like a real good value too. My buddy (who drives the Golf) is actually looking into a Mazda 3 5-door (hatchback) himself..

All that said, I really don't expect gas prices to go 'back down' anytime soon. I think were stuck above $3/gal from here on out..

And I hear you on the mountian bike plan. I've been riding to work alot myself lately. I rode to work every day this week except Tuesday and today, and even then it was because I was either going somewhere or coming from somewhere other than work. My ride is relatively short, something like 2 miles.. but it's right through town. I've had 5-6 close calls just this year! You definitely have to look out for yourself. Then there's the problem of being sweaty and what not at work. I don't have the option of showering once I get here. That can be kinda not-so-nice in an office environment..

 

Damn Jason...that was awesome. My turn! How about getting an early 90's or late 80's diesel Jetta and using Bio-Diesel. At $3000 for the home bio-diesel making kit and per the website $.70 a gallon. That's $2158.5 savings in gas a year averaging 12k miles. So after roughly 15 or so months after the switch you've paid for the bio-diesel maker dealio. I average WAAAAAAAAAAAY more than 12k a year. I'm at about 22-24k a year. So I'd make that money back in about 7 months. Then $2158.5 a year after that I'd have the Jetta paid off pretty damn quick....so why am I typing this? grrrr

 

buy a beater, I have a focus for my DD and use my truck for play.

 

I think you should part out your truck COMPLETELY, or just give it to me whole. Yeah, that's probably better...

But, if there's things you want to keep for old times sake, I'll just take the drivetrain (engine, tranny, PCM, front axle, both driveshafts and transfer case). You can keep your stinkin' 28 spline rear axle though...

Is you comin' to Wharton tomorrow, eh? If not, why not? If so...no further questions...

 

i'm with the majority... wait a while until someone says that gas prices are never going to go down, or something.

and plus i dont like VW...

 

thats not true... this week gas prices have been slowly falling here, got to a max of 3.39 a gallon and now most stations are selling it for $2.93.

 

Eh, well, that isn't the case here. According to my log book I managed to fill up last week at $2.999/gal-and that was at the height of the 'gas shortage' hysteria. I just filled up today. Searching all over town the best I could do was $3.099. Gas prices usually go up, not down in winter for us.

 

well then you didnt get much of hike with the gas shortage... took one day for our prices to go from 2.54 to 3.39 a gallon. so i think ours better go back down.

back on subject tho, ive heard vw quality is way down too.

 

It was a pretty good hike. Things went from the ~$2.70 range to well over $3/gal within 12 hours. The place I found $2.999 at was lower than everyone else by at least $0.20, so I grabbed it. Earlier in the day that same station had been selling for $2.79. I figured that things would get worse, I was right!

What was weird was there was a sort of shakeup. There are certian outfits that consistently seem to be cheaper than the rest, and a week ago that all went to hell. The place I usually buy my cheapo gas from (Cumberland Farms/Gulf) was suddenly one of the most expensive and the name-brand stores (Shell in this case) was cheaper.. far cheaper.

Today things are back in check. Cumbies is the cheapest again and Shell is up ~$0.20 from a week ago. My assesment was that the hysteria had everything all fawked up, there was a spike, but some sellers (Cumbies) spiked higher/faster than others (Shell). Now things have cooled off and the hierachy of retailers is back in check.. but prices are still a good $0.30-0.50 more than they were just a week or two ago. This is why I think things are not going to get cheaper again.

But then I'm far from an economist or gas expert. I just don't think we're going to see $2.399/gal again anytime soon.

 

a jetta will probably cost you alot more in repairs and such and they dont have the reliabilty of the ranger, but yes the gas is much better

 

Gas has been going down here

Last week it was $3.49 now its $3.19 most places some $3.16, never thought I would happy to pay anything starting with $2

 

jeez... $3.49? and i thought ours sucked... i saw it for like $2.60 at one station yesterday, down from $2.93 i think

 

buy a $1000 beater car. if ur truck is paid off ur not going to see any savings for a few years. how much do u really think ur gunna save? pay $30 a week for fuel and have a $300 car payment or spend the $60 a week for fuel.

rpg makes an excellent point. ur gunna be in debt for the price of a new vehicle minus the money u get now. a $1000 beater car (using it for a nice, even number) will be the best bet. even if u need to drop a little $$ on repairs its still better in the long run. insurance shouldnt go up much either.

and yeah, gas prices are slowly going down, i heard it should be down another $.10-.15 by next week.

if u do decide to get a VW, make it the TDI...those things r0x0rorZ...

 

id say keep the truck and wait it out.

and damn.. our prices are still up at like 3.35 a gallon.. why the hell aren't we dropping our prices yet??

 

i dont know we are down to $2.80 now...

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to keep the truck.