Hello, everyone! I've been reading on here for a long time now, didn't create an account til just a few weeks ago, never posted before.
For a year now, I have been the proud owner of a rough-looking but reliable Mazda truck. 2002, ext. cab, 5-speed manual, RWD, 3.0L V6, mostly stock. Oh, and it's red. I call it Zoidberg. Pics will follow one day.
It's the Dual Sport model, so it has the nice 2'' factory lift.
Note: I'm gonna go ahead and warn you that I ended up writing a whole novel on here, waaaaay more than I originally anticipated, so I won't blame you if don't read it. I'll prob just use it and post it later on a different site anyways.
My situation is that I'm just finishing up my studies away from home and therefore I am depressingly broke and indebted. This truck is the first vehicle I've ever owned, which I can barely afford by working while in school.
So last year when I was shopping for my first set of wheels, I needed something inexpensive. Yet reliable. Most reasonable people would have gone for a small, fuel-efficient sedan, right?? I almost did... But I wanted something fun. Something better. After all, I had worked my ass off for over two decades, I felt like I deserved more. (Can I say ass on here?) I also knew that whatever I ended up buying, I would work on myself quite a bit, even if it didn't need it, simply because I like to. So something easy to fix myself, to learn on, to figure out, to find used parts for, to crawl under, to upgrade and such. But with gas prices, how in the world would it make sense for me to buy a pickup truck?
Well, the main reason is that I found out insurance on trucks for me was much cheaper than cars. (I live in Canada. I now feel obligated to say 'eh' before you guys beat me to it) It had something to do with them being safer in collisions, not being able to carry as many passengers, and the insurance companies recognizing that trucks don't really behave like sports cars. So I crunched some numbers, did my math, estimated how much I would drive, fuel price trends, guessed how much I would save if I could fix things myself instead of taking it to the shop... Lastly figured out whether a small, fuel efficient car with higher insurance really is cheaper than a small, basic, RWD manual truck or SUV that burns more gas, but is cheaper to insure and maintain. Let me clarify that I am obviously buying used, and was looking for a daily driver.
So with a mere $3500 budget, I was on a mission.
In the end, the car was cheaper to own. But the hell with it, I bought a truck. And I have never looked back on my decision.
Other factors I considered to justify my choice:
I figured I would own my first vehicle for a long time, so I was planning for the long run on this one. I knew that with the constant work I would do in the future, mostly just as a hobby, I could turn a beater into something nice. Well I hope. Anyways. I also obviously considered our four magnificent seasons, including the dreaded winter and all the salt it brings with it. Most 10+ year old cars here are in baaaad shape, it would seem that unibodies and salt don't fare too well together...
Then there's the practical side. I can carry a lot of stuff. I can tow a lot of stuff. I can help people out. I always carry way more stuff than people, so a truck is very convenient. I sit higher in traffic. I see above them. Speaking of sitting higher, I'm 6'2'', and I don't think I've ever really been comfortable in any of the compact cars my buddies are driving. But getting in and out is the worst part... Not in my truck! Oh, and go camping in a car with 4 people and all their gear. And a canoe. Then try again in a truck. Tell me you don't like it. Tell me it don't feel good. Same applies to cottages, mountain biking excursions, trips to the dump, the beach, the wreck yard, the slopes... The possibilities are endless.
On top of that, there is the coolness factor. Trucks are cool. Always have been, always will be. Don't know why I like them, I just do. And unlike a car, even when it's all worn-out and rusted and falling apart, it still looks good. And runs. I would never be ashamed of driving a rusted truck, but I might in a car. And that rear sliding window? Freakin' amazing in the summer. Almost a convertible, without the sunburn! It's easy to customize your truck too, to make it your own, to make it stand out from the rest.
My truck is rated I believe at 17/22 MPG or 14.1/10.5 L/100km. I get around that, and truck now has 166000km on it. It's much better economy in the summer than in the winter. I changed the air filter, did the air box mod I learned about reading here, installed a fiberglass Leer cap i found and repainted, so they all help a bit I suppose. Tires are always inflated properly, think the best I ever did was 580km on one tank, mostly highway, but with decent amount of cargo. I'm shopping for a muffler, I'm thinking Thrush welded. Nice and cheap, but sounds good. Does anyone actually notice an increase in fuel economy with an aftermarket exhaust?
Nothing has ever gone wrong on it, starts every time. Mechanically, it's pretty nice. But the body is rough. Like, real rough. My passengers doors at the bottom are rusted through, my tailgate is rusted in a few spots. It's all beyond what Bondo can do at this point. I've been looking for new doors and tailgate, but no luck and no money lol. I think the front end got submerged, because the original foglights are all opaque and cloudy on the inside. Gotta take the bumper off some sunny spring day. Paint it while I'm at it. Right now, my truck only looks good in the dark. The frame has surface rust pretty much all over, but it's still sturdy. Passes government inspections anyways. I think the brake lines are ok. Parking brake used to stick, I seem to have fixed that. The interior is mint though, oddly enough.
I take real good care of it, wash it pretty often, inside and out. I fixed some trailer wiring issues, changed most of the fluids, make sure they're always topped up, cleaned my headlights, installed fog lights, changed the tires. Did the throttle cable mod. I don't know when the last time Zoidberg got a good tune-up, so I guess I should buy me some ignition wires and sparkplugs. Fuel filter too, I checked my MAF sensor and it looks ok to me, but I should check the throttle body to see if it needs cleaning soon. But it's winter. And i don't have a garage. Or much of a driveway, to be honest. So a lot of the work I want to do has to wait, even simple stuff like paint touch ups and whatnot.
In the end, money wise, I don't think I spend much more on my truck than my buddies, roommates or neighbors do on their cars. Comparing insurance, my friend pays $150 more a month for his Civic than I do for my B3000. His is a bit newer than mine, but we both have the same age, clean record, registered in same city. The way I see it, that buys me two full tanks of gas a month, or about 1000km. And HE has to take it to the shop to get his sparkplugs changed FOR him!
Well. That's my story, and my truck. It's a diamond in the rough. I do the basic, cheap, easy stuff that doesn't require too many tools for now. When I get a real job and I actually have the tools and facilities and means to do major modifications, I'll turn it into a more aggressive and off-road ready beast. I know, it's 2 wheel drive, but I think a locker, good tires and a lift should get me far enough without tearing up the trails too much. Maybe a winch