Is it blasphemy or entirely sensible

[Burbdood 74]

OK, I get what you want to accomplish. I know its not an easy choice to keep or get rid of a vehicle. Especially one as cool as a square body. These vehicles stand out in a world of "blah" rigs. So....

Why not buy a 5.3 or 6.0 and all the related stuff to replace the 350 in it now. IMO, if you spend $3000 total on the swap, you get a modern drive train in a classic vehicle and it's still cheaper than spending $8-9K on a rig you may need to spend money on to fix who knows what. If you do the work yourself, you'll know what needs attention at that time, fix it and when your back on the road, everything will be A-OK.

You know you'll never get out of it what you put into it so why not make it to suit your needs? Just because you get new(er) doesn't mean you get better sometimes.

 

[shady]

that's what im trying to decide now. right now im in it for about $6500. had it for over 4 years. 1 year longer than ANY other vehicle ive ever owned. And in its current shape I should be able to get about $4500-$5000 for it here. it wouldn't bring that in Arizona, but here it will. so I'm at the turning point. sell it now with a reasonable depreciation and upgrade years wise, OR just pour a$$ loads of money in it that I'll NEVER see again and watch it rot.

Keep in mind that I no longer have a place TO change motors and such unless I rent space.


And I cant afford to do any of that until its paid off

the reason for looking into the newer one is because all the stuff I want to do to mine is already done to them. and it would be an even payment swap. I pay $225 mo, for mine and would pay about $250 mo for the newer one.
only draw back is it isn't a square

 

[campfire]

I can if the commuter is AWD. im looking at the fact that the denali is gonna go down at some point. ALL cars are sh1t. had 39 of them and know this well. we haven't found a CAR yet that she can drive. its odd I know but the seat, pedals, steering wheel, dash combo never lines up n fits

I want 3 vehicles so theres always a spare... If I can mod my burb so that she can drive it and retain the stock seats ill gladly go that route... had a few ideas lately... and I have all the tools/knowledge to fab something. Just gotta get to looking into it closer.

but the newer burb would cure that.

and as for thinkin BURB the whole time.... Im a suburban guy I love em and will have at least 1 most always. I've liked every version of burb ive ever seen.

plus the denali is NOT going 4x4in lol wife would shoot me

Fair enough. That makes this situation sound like a tossup. As said before, building the current truck gives you the chance to get exactly the truck you want. Buying a truck is a lot less work, but you inherit all the unknowns and issues from the P.O. You can spend more time and less money, or you can spend more money and less time. None of us knows which one you'd rather do.

If you're tired of working on the truck AND you don't have a great place to work on it, perhaps you would be better off swapping.

so I'm at the turning point. sell it now with a reasonable depreciation and upgrade years wise, OR just pour a$$ loads of money in it that I'll NEVER see again and watch it rot.

I think you're going to pour loads of money into this situation either way you go. The newer truck will be depreciating more quickly, and the older truck will be costing you if you go with the planned upgrades. So you wind up poorer either way!

It does sound like the actual burb isn't costing you (yet), just the unrelated loan made against it. So it's not honest to say that it is costing you $225/month. The new truck would be costing you that payment. And you'd still be on the hook for the other payment, unless the sale would wipe out the balance. Right?

I'm just finding it hard to believe that you'll find a newer Suburban for the same price as your old one.

 

[shady]

not the same price but the same loan amount... payment stays the same that way. plus I can go out another year on the newer one so I can get up to like $9k and stay the same payment wise... I owe $4600 currently as of today and could get that for mine.. AFTER it sold I would be able to look for another...

As for a newer one coming with issues,,,,,, Any motor, tranny, axle, etc. that I buy to upgrade the drive train of my 88 will have 100,000 miles on it most likely. Still inheriting problems... A 3/4 ton 03-06 burb with adjustable pedals and 90,000-140,000 mi runs about $7k-$10k. and all I gotta do is drive it and fix small chit... maybe a tranny at most, and that's not horrible. Mines going to need one too eventually

theres no real way to make this decision I guess.... comes down to I want to keep my square body, or I don't I DO, but keeping it will most likely mean just leaving it stockish and fixing whatever breaks in the future as it comes. Body included which I HATE doing lol. With a newer one id just drive it and not give a chit what it looks like because I don't care if one of that year rots, has dents, scratches and so on... I care about squares. don't really give a chit about the newer ones because they aren't as few in numbers.... they made ALOT of them.


IF I had the time, place, and money id take a newer body burb. and body swap my 88 on to the entire frame and drivetrain. then graft the adjustable pedals and electric seat mount in. don't have that luxury though

 

[campfire]

theres no real way to make this decision I guess.... comes down to I want to keep my square body, or I don't

That's pretty close to what I said...

I will say that I don't see what you would gain by extending the loan period out. I'd rather own a cheap car than make payments on a nice one. So I would be inclined to shorten the loan period rather than lengthen it. But that's just me. I like being out of debt. I'm odd that way.


You still wanna meet up sometime? I should be coming down 151 a couple times in the next couple months. Could have a 3-way meetup in DBQ if you want.

 

[Chief Brody]

I didn't realize your circumstances. A man has to do what a man has to do...

 

[shady]

as long as I have the day off im down. missed and passed up a few chances already and don't want to again lol.

The extending the term thing was to keep the same payment and get a lower mile newer burb if I found 1. I'd like to be more debt free too but im not really that in debt now. I owe in total only about 2/3 of what I gross in a year. an extra 2-3k over what I currently owe wouldn't be so bad as long as it didn't increase my total monthly's much


currently I've decided F' it, I'm going to mod mine for her to drive and slowly do upgrades.

maybe at some point I'll be able to afford storing it inside, or even have space for it in what ever house/garage I get when I sell this house in a few years.

 

[shady]

thanks for the opinions and advice guys

 

[blazinzuk]

Very cool Rick. I think the key is to save money every month. So if a screaming deal on say an LS motor comes up you can grab it. Or if a sf 14 6 lug pops up its yours.

I am one of the idiots out there who's daily driver is an old truck. Not even that old in my mind. It's an 89. But it has some disadvantages. Thing is I feel great every time I drive it

 

[shady]

I don't see it as really having disadvantages as a DD for me in my book. just sucks that i'm not willing to wheel it in the area I live in... which means I'll still not have something to 4X with. that sucks. if I lived near dunes or light rocky trails or something it'd be fine. but I live near mud... not much else around here. If im going to do body work on it I'm NOT going to mud it up very much. and speacially snow.... As little of that as possible so I have a 4x4 with my hands tied
so I wont have to upgrade much really.... im thinking a very similar setup as johns bobbed burb engine and tranny wise. 383 vortec, FAST setup, and built 700r4

if I can talk my wife into letting me pay it off at tax time I may look into still getting a newer burb anyway.

probably wont be able to... but it's fun to think of

now, getting rid of the pickup....... just kidding

guess im stuck with what I got.

 

[ccj8008]

Sale Price

Where I live, a square body seems to have a fixed price of $1,500. Sold my 1991 Sub for that then regretted it. A year later, I saw it on Craigslist for $1,500 except with new tires and a nice custom deer guard bumper. Happily bought it back.

It has no rust and a 4" lift + original 5.7L (250,000 miles) and 3/4ton axles. The 700R4 went out (again) so I swapped in an NV-4500. Now it's funner to drive.

To answer your question: buy a newer rig. Seems like that is what you need.

I can always jump in my 2005 Excursion if I want to feel pampered. Choice is nice.