3-2-1

3-2-1 was Originally Posted on March 28, 2015 by lavarock

I had 3 trucks scoped out after almost 2 months of searching.

The 3rd choice, a Nissan had more reports of transmission problems then I wanted.

The 2nd choice was a Ford F-150 which had a lower price a was an earlier model. I saw many reports of fuel economy issues but nothing much major.

The 1st choice was the Toyota Tundra, which I purchased Friday. It hurt writing out a check for almost $16,000 and funny when the guy went with me to cash it. They gave him all $100 bills and wrapped then in a band.

When my neighbor and I went to pick it up, the owner noted a small power steering leak. Since this had just come back from the dealer, I wonder if he knew about the leak and after finding the cost to repair, decided not to have it addressed. A dealer might easily charge $1,000 for this type of repair, that a shade tree mechanic might be able to do for a few hundred dollars.

The truck is parked on the farm and I have a guy scheduled to look at it on Sunday.

It drives smoothly and only has 4 problems we found; the  leak, it will need a round of tires soon, is missing a spare and the oil pressure gauge is not working.

An oddity with the searching process was that a few days after the accident there was a Ford F-150 for sale within a few feet of where I had the accident. The vehicle was this size and I felt a bit too big for my needs. I lost the number and it disappeared from the roadway. As I went into town this week, after making the decision of which truck I wanted, that Ford showed up again across the street from where it was before. It was priced half of this one but of course 4 years older. I figured that it could be a backup for the 3rd choice that I had and had crossed off the list.

So as I was ready to purchase this one today I still had 2 others in the wings, just in case.

Upon leaving the bank with all that cash, the owner took a drive back home with a neighbor who was in the bank (I say bank but really a Credit Union). Anyway my neighbor and I went to COSTCO to get gas for the truck and there he was with his neighbor in the next lane. I asked him if he used Regular gas in the vehicle but he said he was using Premium fuel.  I filled it with Premium and will check fuel economy and get used to how it runs. Then I’ll try switching to Regular, check MPG again ad see if I detect any performance issues. I think I’ll be able to stick with Regular.

I completed the registration transfer of the vehicle and my total cost at DMV today was $5 processing fee and approximately a 20 minute wait.

I’m happy so far!