Looking for a new DD

shaggyboarder · Posted: Jan 22, 2014 7:44 pm Post subject: Looking for a new DD

Looking for a new daily driver, pretty open to things but I cant make up my mind as to what I want. Anything that can tow a boat is a plus. To give you an idea of what im use to my last two dailys were M3s.

Im all over the board so shoot some suggestions my way.

ohsix · Posted: Jan 22, 2014 7:57 pm Post subject:

Does it need to tow a wakeboard boat? If so, Range Rover (if you go older than 2010, get a good extended warranty, it will probably pay for itself), Cayenne, Landcruiser/LX570.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

If you are used to M3's this is going to be a big adjustment. Having something on the "sportier" side of the spectrum will help, but you are going to give up a bit in other areas.

One good thing - if you are used to the M3, at least your new gas bill isn't going to be a huge surprise.

On my long-term radar is a 2014+ JGC. Preferably the diesel. 30mpg (or more) in a AWD JGC? Yes please.

shaggyboarder · Posted: Jan 23, 2014 11:53 am Post subject:

Yeah im a little torn right now, considering straying away from a sports car and picking up something with 4x4. I currently do not own a wakeboard boat but am actually in the market for one so it wouldnt hurt if it could tow. Right now Im towing around a 1720 keywest, been using my dads tacoma for those duties.

Ranges are nice but yeah not looking to spend that kind of money, im not exactly head over heels about suvs. I like them but not enough... would rather get a 4 door truck instead.

jgc= jeep grand cherokee? Looked into the srt8. The previous gens had really nice lines and an awesome interior. My gfs mom had a 2012 luxed out but boy was it slow with the 6 cylinder.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

shaggyboarder, almost everything is going to feel slow when you came from an M3. The SRT8 is a super thirst bitch, so IDK if I'd be ok with that tradeoff. FWIU it's like 11 city and maybe 18 highway in actual use.

If you drove a 2012 V6 then you have driven the Pentastar variety. It's actually not a bad performer but again, M3 to a V6 JGC is going to feel slow. IMO with the new V6 I'd not opt for the hemi. The V6 at 285hp/270tq is pretty darn good especially given the MPG. I'd take the diesel over all options, but now we are talking close to 50k because they are only available new right now.

4 door trucks are great, but IDK how you are going to really like the switch from the M. Man that would be tough.

brew · Posted: Jan 23, 2014 6:44 pm Post subject:

I would stick with the sportier daily driver and buy an older truck as my tow rig. My wife has the 2 door sports car and I have the crew cab truck, so it works perfect for us. It does suck having to drive the truck on every trip, but it sure is fun to drive her car on the weekends.

ohsix · Posted: Jan 24, 2014 6:36 am Post subject:

The older SRT8 JGC has center exit exhaust which would make for an interesting trailer hitch.

If you've narrowed it down to 4 door trucks, you've only got a handful of options and you can narrow those down pretty quickly by picking gas or diesel (I would advise against diesel if you're only towing a wakeboard boat and towing rarely). I would also advise against anything smaller than a 1/2 ton (tacoma, ranger, colorado), but it could be done if only going short distances without many hills. If you go the smaller truck route, I would suggest the Tacoma.

That leaves 1/2 tons and your choices are Ram, Toyota, GM, and Ford. I like Fords right now, some people really like Toyota, not many like Ram, and GM is probably comparable to Ford. I would suggest you test drive all 4 and see what you like best. If you want something with "cool factor" like an M3, you might look at the Ford Raptor, but they are thirsty and expensive.

My company will buy me just about any 4x4 vehicle of my choosing and I drive an F-150 with the 6.2L V8. If I didn't use the bed of the pickup often, I would probably drive a Landcruiser.

Bambamski · Posted: Jan 24, 2014 12:11 pm Post subject:

what about the new dodge diesel truck?

Chattwake · Posted: Jan 25, 2014 4:45 pm Post subject:

My Denali was getting long I the tooth and starting to have issues and needed tires so I traded it in on an 07 cpo porsche 911 s with 30 miles. 10 days later I traded it in on a 13 screw platinum f150 4x4. I thought I'd love the porsche but I didn't. Not as quick as my old ctsv and way too small. Going from a awd yukon Denali that I could tow anything with and put golf clubs in to a small dd was a big mistake. Thankfully I got a smoking deal on the car so I got all but 2k back on trade. Live and learn I guess. My wife just laughs ands says it was the shortest and probably cheapest mid life crisis ever. Honestly, I just wanted something fast and fun, but figured out quick that I can't have that for a dd. Oh, and I got a nice big check back when I traded.

Anyway, I'll probably just pick up an 07 z06 with a portion of next years bonus and give it he'll on the weekends.

My suggestion is to pick up a truck like mine. I absolutely love it.

Chattwake · Posted: Jan 25, 2014 4:46 pm Post subject:

Oh my truck is an Eco boost, which will be nice with whatever boat I buy this year.

jgriffith · Posted: Jan 25, 2014 8:28 pm Post subject:

ohsix, not many like ram? GM comparable to ford? Not sure if serious...

ohsix · Posted: Jan 27, 2014 5:59 am Post subject:

jgriffith, I am serious. I've bought 2 pickups this month and currently own 8 (2 GMC diesel, 2 Ford diesel, 4 Ford gas). These pickups are driven anywhere from 1,500 to 8,000 miles per month for a cumulative total of 30,000 miles per month. I have a pretty good idea of what's good and what isn't, but feel free to educate me.

jgriffith · Posted: Jan 27, 2014 8:59 pm Post subject:

ohsix, i have 80k on my ram with zero problems and excellant results both driving and towing. I have only had good experiences with ford and have never felt comfortable with chevys...power, feel, not sure; you feel educated know? If not feel free to "educate" me

ohsix · Posted: Jan 28, 2014 8:37 am Post subject:

Ram may be the best pickup in the world for whatever you use it for and it may go 1,000,000 miles and 50 years without a problem, but I've worked in oil fields from Wyoming to Texas, and although Ram is the cheapest truck, you don't see many of them in the oilfield. I've never seen a Ram truck owned by Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherford, BJ, Baker, or any other large company that makes money through the use of their equipment.

I think I originally suggested that the OP drive all makes and decide for himself which he prefers and I still think that is the best thing to do. I was just giving my experience with pickups, which I believe I have more experience than the average car shopper.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

The construction company we share our floor with runs a fleet of light duty trucks. Ford F150's, all of them.

That said, I do like my stepdad's Ram 1500. He bought it in 2009 when things were in the tank. It is a complete strippo (crank windows, V6, vinyl floor, steel wheels) but it gets stuff done and is pretty comfortable to drive. And "strippo" means a lot different thing these days (it has a decent CD player, AC, and other goodies). He paid roughly 14k OUT THE DOOR after all the rebates and incentives and was sold under their "limited lifetime powertrain warranty". I bet it stays around the family for a long, long time.

FWIW: my take on Ram vs Ford vs GM (1/2 ton trucks, anyway) = Ford and GM for pro use, Ram for non. Really like their current Pentastar 6, and their upcoming 3.0 diesel offering is going to be a phenomenal seller IMO.

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

Ram has a light duty diesel out now. I'm seriously interested in that.

shaggyboarder · Posted: Jan 28, 2014 12:51 pm Post subject:

Went away for the weekend so doing a little catch up on this thread. I think diesels are awesome but my penor isnt small enough to require a sweet f250 or something and it would be overly excessive for my towing needs.

I just took a trip across the west coast and took my dads work truck which is a tacoma single cab. For a city work truck it is awesome and I average 24-25 mpgs with no light foot. I can see why they are in such high demand but its too small for me.

Some of you are probably wondering why such a big switch from a sports car to a truck for a daily... well to simply put it im getting freaking old... yes at 25 Laughing

but after knee surgerys and what not my ideal fun is more so throwing in the center console and camping/fishing/freediving/spearing etc. The days of throwing just a wakeboard in the trunk just arent my priority any more.

The srt8's do have a center exhaust but after looking them up there are different types of hitches (some custom) that do the trick just fine.

So at this point im looking at suvs and trucks. Suv wise im not looking at anything xlt I dont have any kids dont need seating just looking for room for fishing gear etc. Truck im definitely looking for a 4 door.

The gf has a newer Ram 1500 4door and she loves it. Im not particularly a dodge truck guy but hers has held up pretty good and tows her trailer just fine.

As of trucks I like the gmc sierras (same as chevy silverado I know but I like the few minor styling ques) would do either. Ford F150s and at the bottom of the totem pole probably the tundra.

Anybody have any experience with trailblazer SS's? Seems like a medium size SUV ls2 capabilities/reliability. Can get awd for dirt boat ramps etc towing cap of about 6k lbs (more than I need). And its an SS should retain its value some what better than a run of the mill suv.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Nor*Cal, MSRP is going to be about 44k for a moderately equipped crew cab Ram 1500 diesel 4x4. You can tick that up to 50k or more pretty easily.

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

chavez, have you seen pricing to show what the charge is for the diesel engine over the gas? The Ram 1500 Laramie, decked out, with a gas engine is stickered around $55K the last I looked.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Okie Boarder, depends on the model. It was 3400 for an SLT Ram 1500 last I looked. The JGC I've been looking at it's a $4500 option, but a pretty loaded out JGC has ended up around 48k.

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Not too bad. A diesel is something we are considering when it is time to replace the truck (which is still several years out). We are also looking into the option of NG, since it is so prevalent here.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Okie Boarder, Ram 1500 Diesel: come for the 420lb/ft of torque, stay for the nearly 30 mpg highway.

In other words: More torque than the Hemi + high 20's on the highway. It amazes me it took this long to get inside of the 1/2 ton Ram.

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

That is certainly appealing and one of the reasons I would consider the diesel. It's hard to compete with the price of NG, though, when a person looks at overall cost.

BrtnDan · Addict Joined: 19 Feb 2003 Posts: 609

I've got a Ford f-150 FX4.

I absolutely love it. Tows my a22 like a dream. The interior is as nice or nicer than any escalade i've been in. rides well. Gas is so-so, but it is a truck.

It looks like you're in florida so this probably isn't an issue, but its basically been snowing since dec 1 here in west mi, I haven't even been CLOSE to stuck.

I am a Ford believer for sure.

BrtnDan · Addict Joined: 19 Feb 2003 Posts: 609

Also, I'm looking to sell my a22.....if you're interested Laughing

shaggyboarder · Posted: Feb 05, 2014 6:02 pm Post subject:

BrtnDan, Been looking at the f150s... Was wondering how the price values are going to hold up after this new model is released... Sounds like some major changes. Might be really good for a buyer like me. What is preferred the ecoboost 6 or the 8 cylinder? Ive got a lot of research to do.

Love the a22 wake but unfortunately where I ride limits me to a 21ft or under boat.

goofyboy · Posted: Feb 07, 2014 9:52 am Post subject:

i've heard the ecoboosts are beginning to have lots of problems.

ohsix · Posted: Feb 07, 2014 3:21 pm Post subject:

My company has an ecoboost with 110k miles with no engine problems. One driver of the truck said he thought the transmission was starting to slip. The truck was sent to San Antonio a week ago to be sold. I only bought that one ecoboost and have bought one 6.2 V8 which I drive. The other F150s I've bought are 5.0 V8s.

jason_ssr · Posted: Feb 11, 2014 10:20 am Post subject:

I bought a RAM 2500 Laramie quadcab 4X4 CTD new in 2004. Has 300k+ on it. Rebuilt tranny a few years back. Replaced low pressure fuel pump myself a couple months ago. Have bought 3 sets of BFG AT 35's, and regular oil changes and maint routines. One of the best vehicles I have owned. My wife drives it full time hauling granite and marble slabs everywhere.

Im still lusting for a new Unlimited Rubicon. Curious of the fabled new Bronco with diesel option.