I'm gettin' a new truck this weekend!

[texherp]

And I can't wait! It'll be my first car that I actually bought on my own. It's a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT, 4 cylinder, standard transmission, dark grey. Nothing fancy, I'm mostly using it to commute but I'll be moving a lot when I go back to school so I needed something to haul my junk around in (and I've always wanted a pickup).

I've driven a lot of different trucks for jobs and stuff but I've never owned one personally, so I'm wondering how different it's gonna be to the Accord I've been using since I was 16.

I'm not crazy about the color, and it's a standard cab so there's not space behind the seats, but it's been tough finding a relatively new truck with a manual trans. But I'm still psyched! I'm already thinkin about getting a lift kit (just a tiny one like 3").

 

[roadfix]

You'll love your truck. Enjoy!

I had my share of pick-ups over the years and have enjoyed them but never put them to good use as intended. Now that I don't have a pick-up, I wished I did as I am doing major yard/patio renovation in my home. It's tough making multiple trips (almost daily) to Home Depot for bags of concrete, rebars, and cement blocks on my Ford Explorer.

 

[justplainbill]

Interesting to hear that manual transmissions are somewhat uncommon down your way. They've become as rare as hen's teeth up here too. Guess people just don't mind risking the high cost of auto trany repairs. Good luck with your new vehicle. Hope you've got a really low 1st gear and a really high 4th or 5th.

 

[texherp]

Yeah, I was even looking into buying a restored older car from the 70s/80s and even then nearly all the ones I could find (on CL anyways) were automatic.

 

[Claire]

I hope you like it as much as I love my F-150. I'm going to have to part with it in a year, and I think we will both boo-hoo when it goes!

 

[justplainbill]

I hope you like it as much as I love my F-150. I'm going to have to part with it in a year, and I think we will both boo-hoo when it goes!

How old is the F-150,Claire? One fellow at work had one and had several problems. Another coworker and myself had Ford Explorers and both of us compared notes on a fairly extensive list of component failures.
One common thread between all three of us was exhaust manifold deterioration. Makes me kinda leery of buying another Fix Or Repair Daily.

 

[Claire]

I've had my F-150 for oh, 11 years I think. Bought it new to tow the trailer around the country for three years, putting on a lot of hard mileage. The only reason I'm replacing it is that we didn't buy 4wd, didn't need it until we moved here, and have been saving for a new, 4WD or all wheel drive, smaller vehicle. The truck has caused us no anxiety. Even after a few days of well below zero temps, it has started right up. The maintenance has been less than on any other vehicle I've ever owned, period. I think in the past few years I've only replaced a fan belt --- that was, well, ten years old. I will say, though, that we bought it brand new (no previous owner abuse) and, especially during those on-the-road years, we were practically religious about finding a dealership and getting the periodic maintenance and checks. We didn't want to be caught somewhere on the continental divide and think, gee, I guess we should have ..... The only time I was caught out in the truck was once when a woman ran me off the road into a creek (a C&W band were nearby and helped me out), and once when I drove through a construction site and picked up a nail. Neither, obviously, were the fault of the truck. Oh, hubby just came home, it is a '98. Couldn't ask for more, I just live on the side of a very steep hill, and in a very old town where parking is at a premium and often parallel.

 

[justplainbill]

Thanks for the info, Claire. Wish I'd had as good an experience with my '92 Ford Explorer. My wife rammed a phone pole with the Camry she inherited from my father so I bought her a Subaru Forester in 2005. It's all wheel drive and barely and somewhat adequate for carting whatever we buy on our triweekly (every 3 weeks) 75 mile journey for food & such. The Subaru AWD's ok, but doesn't have the ground clearance of my 1980 Landcruiser. It's nice to be able to roll over and through the berms created by our highway departments snow plows.

 

[Chile Chef]

And I can't wait! It'll be my first car that I actually bought on my own. It's a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT, 4 cylinder, standard transmission, dark grey. Nothing fancy, I'm mostly using it to commute but I'll be moving a lot when I go back to school so I needed something to haul my junk around in (and I've always wanted a pickup).

I've driven a lot of different trucks for jobs and stuff but I've never owned one personally, so I'm wondering how different it's gonna be to the Accord I've been using since I was 16.

I'm not crazy about the color, and it's a standard cab so there's not space behind the seats, but it's been tough finding a relatively new truck with a manual trans. But I'm still psyched! I'm already thinkin about getting a lift kit (just a tiny one like 3").

Congratulations Man. I know how exciting that is. I know when I purchased my first car I was very excited and I purchased a 1995 ford escort when I was 19. So congrats again.



By the way we need pictures.

 

[GrillingFool]

People want automatics because they are using that gear shifting hand to eat and talk and text and program their Tom Tom and change CDs and and and and....

 

[roadfix]

People want automatics because they are using that gear shifting hand to eat and talk and text and program their Tom Tom and change CDs and and and and....

.....put on make-up.