As the owner of an older pickup truck, I know firsthand that there are many reasons why someone would buy an old pickup truck instead of a new one. To start off, one of the biggest advantages of an old pickup, over a new one, is the price. Obviously, the cost of purchasing an older pickup is much cheaper. Personally, my truck only cost about $3,000 to drive away from the dealership. The cost of a newer pickup truck, however, is much more expensive, with many new pickup trucks having a retail price of more than $25,000. Not just the purchasing price of an old truck is cheaper, but also the cost over time is usually much cheaper too, with it being cheaper to insure and also repair. In the case of many old trucks, the parts are plentiful and repairs are simple, which leads me into the next advantage of an older truck.
A big advantage of an older truck is that you don’t need to be an experienced mechanic to make repairs yourself. Trucks that were made in the even just the ’90s have more basic engines that are a great way to learn how to work on your own vehicles, while also saving money by not having to always hire a mechanic.
You won’t be making too many repairs though. Many engines made 20, 30 or even 50 years ago are almost bulletproof. A great example of this is Chevy’s line of small-block engines that were used in many of their cars and trucks from 1955 to the late 1990s, and lots of them are still on the road today. Another example of this would be the Cummin’s 12 Valve that was originally designed for commercial applications that required a lot of power. In 1989, when Dodge shoved the turbodiesel under the hood of their Ram pickup, these engines were, and still are, simple, overbuilt and almost invincible. Both of these engines are great examples of the reliable engines that were made back in the day. While engines today are good, the more technology added means there is more that can go wrong, and there are more complicated repairs required to fix a lot of things. In the case of an old truck with cheap parts and easy repairs, what more could you ask for?
The last advantage of an old pickup is that there is no need to baby an old pickup as you would do with a shiny new F150 with fewer than 100 miles. Door dings, little scratches, and a little bit of rust here and there just add character and don’t stress you out as much as they would if your truck was brand new. This makes your truck more realistic for everyday use, whether doing hard work or just driving around town.
With many old trucks being less expensive, easier to work on, more reliable and less stressful, they are in most cases more advantageous than a new truck. After all, there is a reason that you still see so many old pickups on the road, and really, who doesn’t love the classic look of many old trucks.