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trade in my Ranger?

evenin' gents, bit of a dilemma, soliciting advice:
my commute is going from 6 miles to 36 miles in a couple months,
gonna cost roughly 240 bucks a month, been thinking of trading my
beloved Ranger in on a Subaru, not really sure it would actually save me any money in the long run, running the numbers but anyone else been in this spot have any decent advice? thanks for being here smilieFordlogo
 

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
How many miles on the Ranger? That's an important criterion.

Son-in-law was commuting 110 miles a day in a (then new) '12 4X4 Dodge Ram (yeah, has a hemi). Bought a yr. old Avenger for commuting duty- 4 cyl. @ 30 mpg, back when gas was $3-$4/gal. Over 100K miles, the Avenger paid for itself. He kept the pickup tho.

Used Subaru's go for an insane premium up here. $5,000 buys you one at least 10 yrs old with 200K miles on it- definitely the wrong side of the lifespan curve, especially if you're going to put a ton of miles on it. Would I consider buying a new Subaru? Yes- stellar resale will make up for the price premium. Used though? Hell no- I'd look for something that depreciates like crazy. Not a Toyota, Honda, or Subaru, in other words.
 
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O'Rattlecan

Redneck Prognosticator
26,687
797
Belton, MO
Man if you're going to get a commuter I'd get something a little more vanilla than a Subaru as well. They tend to have a little premium on them unless you're in 150k+ beater territory.

Ryan
 
117k on the Ranger, 3.0 w/5spd, 2wd, a solid 20 mpg. Looked at a 2012 Fiesta w/manual, but have not heard great things about them mostly the auto.
Looked at a new 2015 Jetta w/maual that I liked, decent price, about 16k.
Leaning towards a Subaru wagon (Impreza, Forester), for two reasons, one I'd like to match the utility of my lil truck and two, I live at 5000' elevation, shaping up for a decent snow year... I will be keeping my old diesel, not really in a position to have 3 vehicles. Love that damn Ranger, had it for 11yrs, crossed the U.S. at least 7 times in it, such a simple and reliable vehicle.
Subaru's I've looked at are newer used, 20-30k miles, around $20k, prolly fetch a premium this time of year, poor planning on my part, lol.
 
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ps- aside from the drivetrain and my camper shell, she's the cousin of the totm :)
 

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
117k on the Ranger, 3.0 w/5spd, 2wd, a solid 20 mpg. Looked at a 2012 Fiesta w/manual, but have not heard great things about them mostly the auto.
Looked at a new 2015 Jetta w/maual that I liked, decent price, about 16k.
Leaning towards a Subaru wagon (Impreza, Forester), for two reasons, one I'd like to match the utility of my lil truck and two, I live at 5000' elevation, shaping up for a decent snow year... I will be keeping my old diesel, not really in a position to have 3 vehicles. Love that damn Ranger, had it for 11yrs, crossed the U.S. at least 7 times in it, such a simple and reliable vehicle.
Subaru's I've looked at are newer used, 20-30k miles, around $20k, prolly fetch a premium this time of year, poor planning on my part, lol.

Around $20ish almost buys a new one.

http://www.carrsubaru.com/specials/new.htm

Carr is one of the largest Soobie dealers in the USA. Some of you may recognize another name on that list.

1 Heuberger Motors.......Colorado Springs, CO
2 Van Bortel Motorcar....Victor, NY
3 Burt Subaru............Englewood, CO
4 Continental Subaru.....Anchorage, AK
5 Carter Subaru..........Seattle, WA
6 Manchester Subaru......Manchester, NH
7 Carr Subaru............Beaverton, OR
8 Bill Kolb Jr. Subaru...Orangeburg, NY
9 Colonial Subaru........Danbury, CT
10 Flatirons Subaru......Boulder, CO
 
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just had this discussion w/my brother, I guess different people have differing ideas of what almost is...

to me it's worth knocking 3k off the price for 20k miles, given it wasn't driven into a river during that time...

but thinking, they ain't makin Rangers here anymore, so mebbe hang on to the ol' girl...
that thought is subject to vacillation ;)
 
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Just my .02 worth - if you like the ranger and given that you know it's history plus they're known to be reliable if looked after i'd suck up the extra fuel cost per month as it will be less than the depreciation you'll get on a new or nearly new car.
.
 

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
117k on the Ranger, 3.0 w/5spd, 2wd, a solid 20 mpg. Looked at a 2012 Fiesta w/manual, but have not heard great things about them mostly the auto.
Looked at a new 2015 Jetta w/maual that I liked, decent price, about 16k.
Leaning towards a Subaru wagon (Impreza, Forester), for two reasons, one I'd like to match the utility of my lil truck and two, I live at 5000' elevation, shaping up for a decent snow year... I will be keeping my old diesel, not really in a position to have 3 vehicles. Love that damn Ranger, had it for 11yrs, crossed the U.S. at least 7 times in it, such a simple and reliable vehicle.
Subaru's I've looked at are newer used, 20-30k miles, around $20k, prolly fetch a premium this time of year, poor planning on my part, lol.

I live in a different world- but 30 yrs in the car biz colored it. A $3,000 savings on a two yr old (16's are out) wouldn't even get me to pick up the phone. In the 10+ years I'd own it, it's just not enough to talk about. Talk to me about 50 cents on the dollar... I'm all ears. Minimum 30% under new price would be the number that would even get me to start thinking about the option of new vs. used.

(I have a long history of being patient and stumbling into the right car at the right price).

In absolute dollars and sense (no mispelling), I don't think you'll gain enough in mileage to justify the trade. I'm figuring about $300/yr in fuel saving, gaining about 6 mpg, factoring 36 mile commute, 52 weeks/yr, with gas around $2.25/gal.
 
well...
been vacillating as I am wont to do, lol
Found a 2016 crosstrek for $21.5k
tentative online offer of $5k for my Ranger,
sad to see her go, but happy to know someone will get a clean good running truck
oh, gas up in my neck of the woods is closer to $3.00, jus sayin
 

O'Rattlecan

Redneck Prognosticator
26,687
797
Belton, MO
A $15k gas card could buy a looooot of $3/gallon gas. And remember, calculate it on the marginal gas saved, not the total amount of gas you would've burned.

You sound like you have car fever, not the need for a new ride. lol

Ryan
 

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
A $15k gas card could buy a looooot of $3/gallon gas. And remember, calculate it on the marginal gas saved, not the total amount of gas you would've burned.

You sound like you have car fever, not the need for a new ride. lol

Ryan

I think you're right Ryan.:wasntme:
 
A $15k gas card could buy a looooot of $3/gallon gas. And remember, calculate it on the marginal gas saved, not the total amount of gas you would've burned.

You sound like you have car fever, not the need for a new ride. lol

Ryan

I know, it burns!
gonna save approximately a whopping $347 dollars a year if I drive 10,000 miles, (20mpg vs 26), which I will more than end up paying in add. insurance,
spending way too much time obsessing here, thank you being my sounding board.
Ranger got a lil reprieve today, had to file for a replacement title, my records keeper (me), is a knucklehead,
saw it about 8yrs and 6 moves ago, I recall...
 
well, I'm sure you guys are eagerly awaiting an update, lol
gonna keep the Ranger for now, between insurance and registration it was not gonna save me any money getting a new ride, and then putting miles on it. Just put some snow tires on the back of the Ranger, got the air bag recall took care of yesterday. Looked at some new Fords and I am utterly disgusted with what they are asking, the cheapest awd Escape I saw, $40,000, all the way up to $70,000 Expeditions, who can afford this stuff? Seriously more than I paid for my house. Oh, and another grip if any cares to listen, if you get in a fender bender with your vehicle at any point, don't bother reporting it like we are taught, you will just get royally screwed in the long run.
 
cheapest truck I saw was a stripped down F250, gas 4x, $42k, seriously, I paid $43.5 for my house. Most of the F150's were in the $50,000 range, Henry Ford must be rolling in his grave.
 

O'Rattlecan

Redneck Prognosticator
26,687
797
Belton, MO
Price sensitivity is very low. People don't ask "how much" and they all ask "how much per month." They're writing 6.5 year car notes now. That's the main reason they don't produce more inexpensive models.

People go in there thinking, "I can afford $400 per month" and then they start tacking on other goodies and creep up to "only" $450 or $500 a month, and people don't feel like they splurged very much.

$450 x 78 months = $35,100 for a stupid car. And this is more of the "car" price, not the truck prices. Those are easy to get to $800 a month. $800 x 78 = $62,400.

Buuuuut.... People keep paying it!

Ryan
 

CowboyBilly9Mile

Charter Member
7,118
442
USA
You guys got it all wrong, the modern way for the salesman to screw a buyer is to lease (ie, rental) the vehicle to him. There are many benefits, like, the person getting (notice I didn't say, buying, because they aren't) the vehicle get into something they can't actually afford, the salesman makes a commission, sucker/person acquiring the vehicle comes back when lease is up, with luck salesman leases the guy another vehicle and makes another commission, and ideally, salesman sells the lease return, thus he made out very well on commissions.

Lease because, it get's people into vehicles they can't afford to own. Suckers, to put it lightly.
 

O'Rattlecan

Redneck Prognosticator
26,687
797
Belton, MO
No doubt about that! Leasing is the most expensive way to operate a vehicle. Then you're "stuck" at the end of the lease and so desperate for another set of wheels, you just sign another one!

Ryan
 

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