Hey folks, I was just curious if any of you all could help me out with some advice on my situation - this would be a great question for those of you who use your trucks for work.

I'm a 23 year old guy who is in the construction industry; I do my own jobs on occasion as an independent "contractor", used to do this sort of full-time, but now I work as a foreman for a demolitions company. I live in new jersey, and the price of gas is horrendous; I often have to drive to jobsites that are far away and I am in desperate need of a new vehicle and dont know what to do.

My first idea was to just suck it all up and buy one truck that would last a long-time. It seems to be more practical than a car, say like, a used dodge ram 1500...but the prices on used cars right now are robbing people blind! and the mileage and cost in a modern full size truck doesn't pan out for me; i don't really have my own business or anything. In my area, for ex. a used ram 1500 with 70,000 miles (circa 05-07) goes for almost 15,000 thats with no 4-doors, just a base work truck. gas mileage is terrible; albeit the hemi's im sure to last a long time.

So with doing all the math I've realized that its cheaper for me to just a buy a used sedan (say like, a 4-banger nissan altima with 50,000 miles) and then have a truck on the side (and by all means, I want a truck. I want the 4-wheel drive, and I could make a good chunk of cash doing my own side-jobs, especially if I were to be laid off - which is always in the nature of the business).

What I would do for this is to grab a big old fun truck for cheap, lets say like 1991 to 1998 era. It would only cost me several thousand dollars and it would be a great second vehicle to have, and there is always the possibility of being able to plow snow and make good cash too

I currently have a 1991 chevy s-10 pickup (V-6, 96,000 original miles) that I bought for $650 when I just totaled my old 97 taurus a week or two ago. It just a coincidence that I stumbled upon this truck...its just a *temporary* vehicle to get me by until im ready to finance whatever it may be. This truck has no major problems it was a blowout deal - only thing is, the left front shock is leaking gas and the left front balljoint is leaking; aside from that it has some rust.

Should I put money into fixing this 1991 s10 an using it as a work truck? Im leaning towards no; only because it doesnt have 4wheel drive, it has rear wheel drive and already it has skidding problems even when the pavement is wet. My idea was to grab say, a 1992 chevy silverado 1500, 4x4 for maybe $2500.00, and then start throwing money into it as having a long-term second vehicle. I also plan to be doing some bricklaying and masonary sidejobs which brings the question of v6 or v8??

Also, is getting an old used plow a good idea? is plowing worth it for a dude like me? would a truck like that withstand a plow? and what about longevity/maintenance...please someone point me in the right direction. Thanks.

 

well my opinion is dont give that guy 2500 for that 92 i have a 94 and only paid 1100
also the older the truck the worst on gas and the more problems you will find after you buy it as i found that with all my trucks i baught
i have owned a 94 silverado 1/2 ton 2wd i baught for 250 bucks alls it needed was a master cylinder so i replaced that and i did a tune up and fliped it for 600 then i baught my 88 chevy half ton reg cab with that money then i fixed it up as it had some problems but the frame was weak so i sold it for 900
then i baught my 94 silverado 1/2ton 4wd ext cab
and it has over 215xxx it has typical chevy rust
frame is almost solid but needs welded in a few spots
and im currently working out the mechanical issues and will have to be replaceing a trans soon
so my best opinion is just save up and get a newer truck
newer i mean 94 or above as there is alot of them and not many major problems with them other then the normal where and tear

but honsetly if your looking for a good truck i would find a reg cab longbox for hauling your materials around
i would suggest goin thru the truck like a fine tooth comb going thru hair i would have a ase cert mechanic look at it first hook it up to the computer scanner to see if any codes were deleted and not fixed and what codes are there that may be hidden and i would drive the truck on the highway and then in the city to see how she shifts and if she over heats or if the gauges work properly

 

Hey Tom, have you got finance preapproved for your new truck yet?, my advice is to sort out your finance first before shopping for new truck..I have bumped into this website that talks about main criteria to get your truck finance approved, they also can help you get finance without deposit or if you had a bad credit history issue, worth checking it out: Harley Finance- Truck Finance