Have you ever treated your favorite old ride to a makeover

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tattooman

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I have a 15 yo F150. Love it. I've taken such good care of the motor, tranny, and all fluid systems so well, that I'm sure I can get another 100k out of this beauty. HOWEVER, I'm a home mechanic, but not a body man. I love detailing, but with normal wear and tear like dings, minor booboos, walmart shopping cart visits, the occasional scratch during a hauling project, rock hits that don't age nicely, etc., eventually an otherwise wonderfully running vehicle doesn't look as well as it runs. For guys that use their trucks as trucks, though not like true tradesmen work trucks, but more than just for commuting and travel, eventually it runs better than it looks.

So I'm contemplating sending her to the body shop for an assortment of repairs to dings, scratches, rock hits, the beginnings of some minor rust jacking on the edges of the rear bed wheel wells, and some damage by other drivers to the tailgate and on three panels on one side. So lots of little things, though nothing big like the remnants of a collision.

So far I'm thinking this might cost around $6k or more. Though the trucks isn't really worth anything to brag about at 198k miles, I'm just thinking how nice it would be to drive this baby with something akin to a new paint job for lack of a better term.

So have you guys ever done anything like this ? Just to be sure, we're not talking about a true collective or valuable luxury classic, just a regular light duty pickup.

it's a hard decision. What say you guys?
 
If you love the car, can spare the money and plan to keep it till the wheels fall off. I would.


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If you really love it and it will make you happy, go for it.

However think about the possibility that cleaning it up will make you not want to use it as a truck. $6k will buy a lot of fun toys.

Do you see yourself driving this truck in 2035?
 
yakky said:
If you really love it and it will make you happy, go for it.

However think about the possibility that cleaning it up will make you not want to use it as a truck. $6k will buy a lot of fun toys.

Do you see yourself driving this truck in 2035?
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well lets see - 18k/yr for 10 years is 180k. Have 198k now, so that's 180k + 198k = 378K

Yes, this truck could see 378K, with some once-only maintenance along the way, such as timing chain refresh, u-joint replacements, additional tranny flushes every 75k, and at some point will need some suspension refresh work. I already replaced new struts and front wheel bearing hobs, and I do pretty much everything else myself under the hood. So yea with some luck I could drive it another 10 yrs., but I prob wouldn't feel comfortable in the 80 mph traffice I sometimes find myself in during morning rush hours with a truck much older than the 15 years it is now. I notice that newer and outright new cars are more comforting at high speeds than with older vehicles, even when well maintained. It's just not the same, though I can't put my finger on it. Who knows it may be the driver, none of us are getting any younger.
 
Alot of .... everything built today is junk. Thats the truth. From toasters to cars and everything inbetween, they build everything to look pretty and last a short time. Quality control is out the door and gone home for the season, it's sad. We are a throw away generation. Repair companies are dwindling. Television and appliance repair men was in industry, now they say replace it rather than trying to fix it, IF you can both find the parts and get them for a decent price. Price of everything is through the roof. A fully loaded top trim half ton pickup of the 3 big brands all top $100 CDN. Thats batshit crazy! All auto brands are pinching pennies and cutting quality until they get caught. Look at the amount of recalls from them all. And all from issues they should NEVER of had. GM just issued a recall on their 6.2's. Thats an engine that should be problem free by now.
If you like your truck, throw some cash at it now and then and keep it in good shape. No reason you can't get 10 more years out of it. Use quality oil and change it regularly. Don't go by the manufacturers recommended intervils. Auto brands are pushing for EPA regulations so do things to meet that, at the expense of vehicle owners.
Throw some parts at your truck. Throw a few mods at it as well to make it fresh and interesting, it'll still be cheaper than a new truck.
Ram just announced a new Express trim coming, entry level. Up here it will start at $62 CDN. 🤣👎
 
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