# Should I buy a truck?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 22, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141 "2005-01-22T20:51:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/1 "2005-01-22T20:51:38Z")
I need to buy a vehicle in the next couple of months. Since moving to Texas, I’ve gotten the crazy idea to buy a pickup truck. Should I? Anyone have any recommendations? I’d be using it to drive on crazy Dallas freeways about 20 miles each way.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/2 "2005-01-22T20:58:29Z")
IMO nobody should buy a truck unless they need it for their work, or they are into outdoor activities where a heavy duty vehicle would be useful, e.g. dirt biking, camping, perhaps fishing, and so on.
Seriously, it just doesn’t sound that great for commuting; I’d consider something else.
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### Author:  [@chaparralv8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaparralv8)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/3 "2005-01-22T21:29:41Z")
Absolutely not.
They don’t handle, they swill gas, everybody will ask to borrow it so they can haul s\*\*t around or to the dump, and the depreciation is terrifying.
Go for a little Bimmer or Mazda.
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### Author:  [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/4 "2005-01-22T21:55:17Z")
Did you ever consider evaluating your actual needs? Are you going to be hauling things that can only be safely hauled in a truck often enough to justify one? Can you live with having a vehicle that is really only comfortable for two passengers unless you get an extened or double cab model? A pickup truck isn’t a BMW, well no shit guys. :rolleyes: Most people know not to drive a pickup like a sports sedan. I loved my 325i but a pickup truck is the right vehicle for me now. FWIW I drive a 2000 Dodge half ton with a regular cab and short wheelbase.
I’m not going to tell you to not get a truck, I think you can figure that out on your own. I would not advise you get one just to fit in when you move to Texas though but if that is really an important issue to you go for it. One question, what do you drive now? What do you like and dislike about it.
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### Author:  [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/5 "2005-01-22T21:57:51Z")
Well do you want a truck? Test drive some. You’ll either like them, or hate them. I myself hate them, but I would never suggest to anyone to never get one. If you’re always moving things around, a truck would be a good buy. Even if it’s just the comfort factor.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/6 "2005-01-23T02:51:14Z")
Just don’t buy a Jeep. “Jeep” stands for Junk, Each & Every Part.
Did I mention I have a Jeep? I actually just bought another one last week. What the hell is my problem?
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### Author:  [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/7 "2005-01-23T02:59:57Z")
I gots me a Toyota Tacoma extended cad, 2002. I love it. The new ones are nice too.
I get 22-24 miles per gallon. (4 cyl, stick shift).
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### Author:  [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/8 "2005-01-23T07:54:35Z")
> [@dalej42](#):
>
> \*\*Should I buy a truck? \*\*
Yes!
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### Author:  [@Necro\_Romancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necro_Romancer)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/9 "2005-01-23T08:02:12Z")
If you don’t need one, no.
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### Author:  [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/10 "2005-01-23T08:13:57Z")
Do you like to help your friends move? That’s what I did with my one-and-only pick’em up truck.
A lot.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/11 "2005-01-23T09:01:32Z")
If you live in Texas and own a penis. Then you absolutely must but a truck. Unless you want to be a sissy boy…
Just bought a 2005 ford F150 myself! 😉
(btw, people trucks always come in handy (sooner or later) now matter what your job is.)
As far as helping friends move???
Bwahahahahaha!! Yeah, right, like THAT’S gonna happen. I don’t even help MYself move, so why should I help anyone else??
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### Author:  [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/12 "2005-01-23T15:40:33Z")
Arranged in “ **pullin’s order of sheer usefulness** ™”:
1. Minivan
2. Pickup truck
3. SUV
4. Sedan
5. Sporty car
6. Sporty pickup festooned with useless shiny bits.
You decide. 😃
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-buy-a-truck/286141/13 "2005-01-23T16:12:00Z")
Ex-fiancée has a 2000 Toyota Tacoma Extended Cab. It’s a base model with a four-cylinder engine and a standard transmission. She gets about 25 mpg in it. If I were buying a truck, I would get the same thing (but with the SR5 package). A four-banger is all I need, and I prefer standard transmissions.
Ex loves her truck. It has come in very handy on many occasions, as she likes to work on her house and the supplies are bulky. It’s very reliable. She has a camper shell for when she wants to carry things ‘inside’, and it’s light enough for her to take off by herself. The only thing she doesn’t like is the gas mileage.
I drive a 1999 Jeep Cherokee, which is about the same size as the Tacoma. Its six-cylinder engine has proven to be _very_ useful for hauling heavy trailers. But I sometimes need to carry more stuff than will fit inside of it. Now that I’m relocated to the PNW, a truck would be more useful to me than the Jeep.
But the big thing for me is mileage. The Cherokee is getting about 20-22 mpg. I no longer need to haul heavy trailers, as my zodiac/engine/trailer combination probably weighs only about 800 pounds or so. My ‘mission’ is basically commuting. The Jeep is great because of its realtively small size and 4WD capability, but a pick-up might be more useful to me now and would get better mileage. But when it comes right down to it, a pick-up isn’t the right vehicle for me. If your primary activity will be commuting, I’d suggest getting a nice efficient sedan or coupé and just rent a truck when you need it.