# Why do some truck owners have such inflated ideas of their trucks' value? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857 "2014-11-17T15:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/21 "2014-11-18T23:24:49Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’m kinda with the OP. > > I tried to sell an 88 F250 with 60k miles about 12 years ago, and only had one offer of $2000. I ended up keeping it. I was looking at stuff for sale last month, and now people are selling the same 88 F250’s, but with 300k miles and they want $5000! 😕 > > As **HoneyBadger** will attest, nothing classic or collectable about them. Also, the '75 Ford link I posted was just an example. I’ve seen this phenomenon with other makes and models, over a wide range of model years. Many of them with nothing “unique” about them (like, there are scads of trucks just like them around town). Some of them quite beat up. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/22 "2014-11-18T23:58:42Z")
I think those two examples you’ve chosen are kind of cherry picking on either end of the spectrum. The '02 F-150 has 220k miles one it, which means it’s pretty much approaching the end of its useful life so reduced utility appeal and obviously no real collectors value either. I think with the '74, it’s at an age in which the trucks could go either way in terms of being bought for utility or collector’s value. I’m sure you can still buy a pretty beat-up but still functional '74 2wd F100 for sub-$2k and use it to haul gravel or whatever, but the one you linked to only has about 100k, which is amazing for the age and the body appears to be in unusually good shape so there’s definitively some collector value there. $4.2k is probably a little high, but I don’t think by as much as you’re thinking. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/23 "2014-11-19T00:28:09Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > And then I see ads like this: [1974 F100 Ranger Short - $4200](http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/4764197677.html). 40-year-old vehicle with an asking price only $300 less than the 12-year-old truck above. Judging by the ad, this is a bog-standard truck with no “customization” aside from the mag wheels. It’s not even a 4x4. > > Or another recent ad for a 1975 Ford F150 with an asking price of $3500. > > These are just recent examples. Like I said, I’ve noticed this for _years_. > > What’s going on? It’s a 1974 Ford pickup _in nice condition._ How many of those do you suppose there are? practically all of them have rusted away to dust by now. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/24 "2014-11-19T00:53:55Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I think those two examples you’ve chosen are kind of cherry picking on either end of the spectrum. > [@jz78817](#): > > It’s a 1974 Ford pickup _in nice condition._ How many of those do you suppose there are? practically all of them have rusted away to dust by now. It’s not about _this specific truck_. The examples I linked were simply currently-running ads that I could link to for illustration purposes. The '74 Ford link was just the first one I spotted as I scanned the list. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/25 "2014-11-19T00:56:48Z")
I’ve noticed that a running four wheel drive vehicle (trucks, and especially jeeps) tends to have a floor on the minimum price. I’d say that buyers put a value on the functionality of the trucks. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/26 "2014-11-19T01:29:38Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > It’s not about _this specific truck_. The examples I linked were simply currently-running ads that I could link to for illustration purposes. The '74 Ford link was just the first one I spotted as I scanned the list. Well, can you post some better examples then? Just skimming the Wenatchee cars and trucks by owner section, the pickup truck prices all look pretty reasonable to me. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/27 "2014-11-19T20:09:40Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I’ve noticed that a running four wheel drive vehicle (trucks, and especially jeeps) tends to have a floor on the minimum price. I’d say that buyers put a value on the functionality of the trucks. I think it’s this. Cars tend to lose value as they get older and less attractive, but that’s not as much of an issue for a truck. If they run, trucks are useful for work, hauling, hunting, etc. And older trucks are potentially cheaper and easier to work on than newer trucks. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/28 "2014-11-19T20:25:26Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think it’s this. Cars tend to lose value as they get older and less attractive, but that’s not as much of an issue for a truck. If they run, trucks are useful for work, hauling, hunting, etc. And older trucks are potentially cheaper and easier to work on than newer trucks. True to some extent, but I’ve seen 2WD trucks with rusted out beds and tires with no tread left being sold for ridiculous prices because the owner says the engine is still good. It’s going to cost up to a grand or more just for tires installed, and a lot of the old ones need front end work also. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/29 "2014-11-20T02:51:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > True to some extent, but I’ve seen 2WD trucks with rusted out beds and tires with no tread left being sold for ridiculous prices because the owner says the engine is still good. It’s going to cost up to a grand or more just for tires installed, and a lot of the old ones need front end work also. the other thing to consider is that trucks are the last bastion of body-on-frame vehicles. if the bed rots away, you can either find another one or bolt on a flatbed. If the cab is toast, you can maybe find another. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857/30 "2014-11-20T05:38:09Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think it’s this. Cars tend to lose value as they get older and less attractive, but that’s not as much of an issue for a truck. If they run, trucks are useful for work, hauling, hunting, etc. And older trucks are potentially cheaper and easier to work on than newer trucks. This is the reason that trucks loose their value more slowly than a car, and why the prices bottom out at a higher value. Trucks can be the key to having a particular job. Even the most beat-to-death truck can haul stuff to and from the job site provided you can keep it running and legal. You can’t haul much in a Mustang, no matter how nice it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-truck-owners-have-such-inflated-ideas-of-their-trucks-value/704857.md?page=1)