New (to me) Tractor hauler

I have recently become a widower and am going to consolidate a few things. Before marrying(48 yrs), I only had a pickup. I have mostly owned GM trucks. I don't really see a need to keep 2 vehicles,(think Insurance,tag fees and taxes), so I am considering trading off my 97 G.M.C. 2500 p,u. and her 2005 Ford Escape and having only a nice pick up. There is nothing really wrong with either vehicles and they have been kept up very well. Mileage is in the 250K range on the 97 GMC and 210k on the 2005 Escape I just don't feel wise to keep both since I can't drive both at the same time. A spare is not a problem since my daughter and her family have an extra if I need it. I am looking at the Ford 150 series trucks in the 2007-2010 range. Local dealer has several good ones. I don't like the way that Government Motor Co, handled the recent auto market fiasco and DO NOT want a Dodge product.
Her Escape has really impressed me with it's dependability and service plus it drives and handles nicely. It has restored my confidence in Ford products,plus they handled the recession problems on their own, not with government bailout money.
Any suggestion/recommendation on this as far a year model. I can't justify the need for a diesel or anything like a V-10 engine. I will pull a 7500 lb rated tamden trailer occasionally with a small maybe 2500 lb tractor on it. What wisdom do you wish to offer me? Gene Davis

Likely better if you trade one, sell one privately. Or both privately. Both are high mileage, and a dealer doesn"t like taking two on trade- you"ll be the one that pays for his reluctance.

Dealers don't care how many you trade in if they can buy them right. Unless the automotive retail business is really changed since I last worked in it (about 20 years ago) most new car dealers make more on the used car than the new one, because you can't look up on line what they paid for the used car. Your only problem may be the two you have may be a different bracket than the one you're looking to buy. It's often hard to be objective about you own car, especially one that belonged to your late wife. Figure out what you could get for them if you tried to sell them yourself, then estimate how much your time is worth, read all the articles on line about people trying to scam folks out of their property when they sell it, ask yourself what it's worth to not have to deal with folks coming to your house or you having to go meet them and not have them show up, subtract that from the price you can get, if the dealer offers more take it.

Also look at the dealer you're considering buying your truck from, are they also selling vehicles like you're trading in? Will they sell your trucks or wholesale them? If they're going to sell them they may pay a little more than wholesale as the units will be delivered to their door, if they're going to wholesale them they will pay less than wholesale as they have to send them to auction and pay commission or sell them to a wholesaler who will re-market them, usually to another dealer.

As for the truck you're looking at, I feel Ford has consistently made a better truck in the last 20 years, although some GM powertrains are a little stronger. Most of my issues with/about Fords is the dealer network and their unwillingness to do warranty work, to the point on my truck the cab leaked and it only ran on 7 cylinders but they're all that way and they can't do anything about it. Or to put it another way be very careful about what you buy as Ford dealers have been known not to have staff and tools to handle the increased complexity of newer Ford products.

Sells the car and truck yourself youll get more money. Dealership is not going to give you anything for something that has 250k. And stick with the GM truck. You always better with the devil you know verses the devil you dont know

I would keep both (you know the maintenance records of what you already own) and when you want to haul something you know your truck can handle it and when you need the economy and comfort of a car you will have that also.

Armand

First of all I am sorry for your loss. Secondly, your vehicles are high mileage and of no use to a dealer. They will take them for a little money and tell you how nice they are, but will immediately send them to auction. The dealer will see your vehicles as liabilities that have to be dealt with, not vehicles with value.

I would sell them privately since the condition will matter to a private buyer. Alternatively you could keep one since the taxes cannot amount to much on either of them and liability insurance is pretty cheap if you have a good record.

You must be going about it the wrong way.
Buddy bought a new pickup and had a problem with it took it back and they took it in and said they fixed it and it did the same thing took it back and after the third time he went in the show room and anyone that was looking at a new auto he told them to go somewhere else because the service was no good. It didn't take too long and the owner took him into his office and was told what was wrong and the owner walked out and when he came back in he had all the paper work to replace his truck under the lemon law. Try it and don't let them scare you into shutting up.

Bob

I agree to keep them, if you trust them, with that kind of miles they really aren't worth much. On that old a vehicle license and insurance usually doesn't cost much either. On the other hand her vehicle might bother you to drive it, just a thought.

I have a few friends that have F150's and it is a bit light for towing that trailer and tractor. F250 would be better. What Engine? Auto or manual. What are your friends pulling with. Was that GMC 2500 to much?????

Gene, I just did the same thing, my wife can't get in a car any more, traded my 11 f150 and 14 Escape for a new 2015 150 Lariat, cost me a whopping $450.00 to do the deal. If you can swing it go to a 2011 f150 with the 5.0 engine, more power and none of the spark plug problems.

I am sorry for your loss,it's a different world when you are suddenly with out the one you have spent most of your life with...Changing vehicles is a good way to make the next step in your life, and I agree with you on your thoughts about Ford Motor company, I have driven Fords all my life, and have had the best of luck with them, and I do respect the other companys and know full well they are all good units, but I too don't like the way the Government dealt with the bail outs, The Ford 150's with Eco-boost are very strong, and would give you the small to mid range towing capacity that you will need, I always thought the 4 door models were too long, but they do make a good unit that splits the difference between a car and a truck..

I have to agree with some others, and trading those two in is likely akin to giving them away. A family member has worked many years in the car sales business, and an older vehicle with over 200,000 is going to bring wholesale, if that. If you are set on buying a newer truck, I would clean your two vehicles up, and market them myself, then bargain for the newer truck, you will come out thousands ahead, and time is on your side in this case. You will also have much better bargaining ability with cash in hand vs. bickering about the value of two trades that the dealer likely does not want anyhow. Remember, used vehicles on dealer lots have a very large markup in most cases. Much higher markup than new even though it may not appear to be the case. I have went into dealerships to purchase a low mile used truck or car and ended up buying new simply because I could buy new for less, and have a full warranty and much longer service life - of course that usually is only the case on 2-3 year old with lower miles vs. new.

I would keep your pickup for hauling and a backup vehicle.
Sell the Escape outright. Then buy what ever you desire for your daily driver even if it is another smaller pickup.

I have a friend who regularly pulls a 45 horse JD tractor with a front end loader and box blade from Douglasville Ga. To Lafayette Louisiana with a 2014 F-150 with no problems. I think your 97 GMC 2500 would be an easy private sale and you could get substantially more by selling it your self.

An F150 will be an excellent choice for what you want to do with plenty of extra just in case. I pulled a 9,000 lb tractor all over creation behind my f150 with a 5.4 and auto trany on a 14k trailer with no issues. My trailer was aluminum and light tho.

Let me add one more dimension to this post.The insurance for each vehicle is more than $500,00 each six months.

Actually the 2500 GMC was a little bit of overkill.

In a situation with older vehicles I only carry liability insurance. My daily driver is a 1998 with 240,000 miles, worth about $2000, and pay about $150 a year on insurance on it. If I have an accident that is my fault, I can either choose to fix, or scrap it and eat the balance, but with cost of full coverage, you are buying them quickly at that rate in my opinion. Crap shoot, but not worth it to me to carry anything but liability insurance on anything worth less than probably 4,000 these days in my mind.

Seems like a lot for insurance. I pay 546 every six months for full coverage on a 2012 F150 4 x 4 and a 2009 Escape, 2000 Harley and liability on a golf. Tn Farm Bureau

You didn't say how many miles you drive per year. From the high mileage on your vehicles, it sounds like you do a lot of driving.

I agree with DoubleR. Keep your existing pickup for occasional hauling and use a car for distances and economy driving. A midsize or full size car will get about twice the fuel mileage of your pickup with lower tire and maintenance costs.

Even at today's low fuel prices, $500 in insurance savings will only buy 200 gallons of gas, maybe enough for 3000 miles in your pickup.

I'm not familiar with an Escape. If it is in good condition and gets good gas mileage, I'd keep it as your daily driver and trade it when it starts to break down.