Anonymous wrote:This weekend I bought a used truck off of Facebook marketplace for under $4K. Its an '07 F150, no rust, 85K. Runs well (so far - only a few days into it). I was also looking in the sub $5K range. What I found was that you will likely find a truck that is about 15+ years old and likely around 150K miles. The biggest problem I found is that a lot of the truck out there are work trucks that pull double duty as plow trucks in the winter. That means they have a lot of rust under the doors and in the rear tire wheel from the salt being thrown up from the tires. But I was looking for a full size with 8ft bed which limited the market. Lots more available in the small truck (Ranger/S10) and extended cab/6.5 ft bed mareket.

I know 150K sounds like a ton of miles but trucks are built a little tougher than cars so its expected that trucks will make it well past 150K (to to 200 or 250K+ range). In my opinion, there are trucks to be found in the $5K range and FB marketplace is a fine place to look (much better than Craigslist). I did drive all over Virginia this weekend and looked at 5 trucks that looked great in photos but were rust buckets when I got there. But I eventually found one with solid bones. Just be prepared to be disappointed and ready to move on when the reality does not match the dream seen in the photos.

And a note about trailers. That was my first thought -- I'll just rent a trailer. Three problems that made me abandon that plan. 1. I tried to go to Home Depot on a beautiful Saturday to pick up supplies. Problem is there was no place to park with a trailer because the parking lot was full - you need two parking places back-to-back to fit a car w/ trailer. Also maneuvering around a packed HD parking lot with a trailer was a non-starter for me. 2. I wanted to bring construction waste to the dump (I am in DC so I am talking about the Ft. Totten dump) but they do not allow you come with a trailer -- only cars, SUVs, truck or vans -- the point is trailers are sometimes too big to get in where you need them to get into. 3. Driving with a trailer is a pain -- even with experience its just harder than driving a truck (backing up is a tough skill to master )

Lastly, for me, Uhaul is about 30 minutes away. Going there to get the trailer, then coming home to do the work, then returning the truck and then coming home = 2 additional hours. That only represents a big opportunity cost for me that I factor into the cost of a trailer/truck/van rental. Also, it makes it hard to do things after work mid-week so renting for me is basically limited only to the weekend. That just makes everything harder and more expensive.

So I say go for a cheap truck on FB.