After three long hard days...

I have narrowed the field of potential vehicles. Right now three pickups are fighting to be the next ride for "The Cube".

I have chosen a truck because it maintains it value better here in the south. For example, my dad hit a deer in his 1994 Chevrolet S10 this year. The truck had 160,000 miles on it and the insurance company gave him 3,500 dollars to replace the truck with. My car was not even worth half that, and it was newer and had less miles.

The contenders.

A 2001 Chevrolet S10 , extended cab, with 32,000 miles. This contender has a fabric gray exterior, a dark black to dark blue interior, a manual transmission, and has only been owned by one owner. The dealership is asking 7,000 dollars for it. This represents the best value out of all three. I test drove it and the breaks felt a little mushy, but that happens to be a standard feature (I think). It moved like and rode like a big truck, but felt like it was lacking to power of a big truck. Which since it has a 4-V, it is.

Presently this truck could be bought, then I could trade it in for about 7,500 on a new vehicle according to the blue book values I looked up on the internet. The dealership is selling this way below what they could sell it for.

A 1999 Chevrolet Silverado, extended cab, with 40,000 miles. This contender has a fabric gray exterior, grey interior, automatic transmission, and has only been owned by one owner also. The Dealership is asking 13,000 for it. If I was in the market for a large and in charge truck this would be the one. It has a V-8, more than enough power to pull my lazy butt around. Though it also eats up the gas. Another problem with this vehicle is the lending structure that banks have. Since it is a 1999 they will extend the loan for as long I could get the 2001 extended. I would not need it on the first contender, but having a three year loan term (that is what the bank quoted me, and I have not talked to the car company yet) for the this truck is a little steep.

They are selling this truck for right around it's market value, though I could talk them down a little and get a deal. It is by no means a steal, but it is a good value and it is worth considering.

The last contender is a NEW GMC Canyon Regular Cab. The dealership is asking 14,000 for it. I test drove one of these vehicles and it was great. It rode the line between a ford ranger (really tight suspension) and a S10 (soft like a large truck) really well. The best way to describe the ride, was that it was soft but yet firm. It felt like it had plenty off power, where the S10 felt it was lacking. I do not know if I was driving a V-6 or a V-4, I could not tell. If felt like a V-6, but the V-4 is standard. Which once I read the link for the S10 I knew why.

"Regular cab 2WD S-10 ... 4x2 models come standard with a 120-horsepower 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with a 5-speed manual transmission. A 180-horsepower 4.3-liter V6 is an option on 2WD S-10s"

The canyon comes with a 175 hp V-4 engine standard.


Right now I am in examining my lending options for these vehicles. The S10 came out ahead in that area so far. The bank could give me a better loan at a good APR on the S10.

The next phase is comparison of the operating and maintenance costs between the trucks. I do not expect this to make much of a difference in the overall cost, but I am checking each of these vehicles to see what the differences are. I expect the operating cost (out side of gas) to be about the same for the used models, but I expect it to be less for the new model. Though I expect the new model to be cheaper to insure, but I am checking those numbers after I post this post.

update: I have settled on the S10

cube