When do you throw in the towel?

[Mickeyfan0805]

We have a 2006 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1. It tows like a dream and only has 115k miles on it. The problem? It's age is starting to take it's toll. In addition to having to replace head gaskets earlier this spring, we are recurrently running into the impacts of 14 years of salt exposure in the northern winters. In the past 12 months we've had to replace the rear AC lines, the gear shifter and cable, and on a July trip the front brake lines blew (the rear are ok, but will soon need to be done).

We now have all of that work done, plus brakes and tires that are only a couple of years (maybe 15-20k miles) old. Our local shop says it is worth limping along with it, and I have felt ok still putting money into it, but DW is getting increasingly frustrated and we are finding ourselves running into surprise repairs more and more often (to the tune of some $4,000 this year alone).

When have you all decided to throw it in? What is your litmus test?

[1320Fastback]

Grit dog wrote:

1320Fastback wrote:
What about new vehicles leaving you stranded on the side of the road? We have over 6,000 miles this year in my 28 year old truck and honestly have seen probably 5 or 10 new trucks on the side of the road with the hoods up. I can't imagine spending north of $50k on a truck and having it break down, how could you ever trust it again?

Different strokes for different folks...
Someone like yourself, presumably knows both ends of a wrench and how to use it. What is an "issue" for someone who knows only that the fuel goes in the hole in the side of the truck and hopefully where the oil goes, may not be an issue for the mechanically inclined.

No surprise, this topic is as subjective as any...
What isn't as subjective is the original topic of rust. It never sleeps.

This is true, I do have my fingerprints on the Pistons, internals of the injection pump, gears in the transmission and bearings in the hubs. Now if my computer crashes that's my hole in the side of the truck.

[Mickeyfan0805]

Grit dog wrote:


No surprise, this topic is as subjective as any...

Absolutely, and I anticipated such in my OP. I do, however, appreciate the different perspectives and how they help add to our own thought processes in this.

[Grit_dog]

1320Fastback wrote:
What about new vehicles leaving you stranded on the side of the road? We have over 6,000 miles this year in my 28 year old truck and honestly have seen probably 5 or 10 new trucks on the side of the road with the hoods up. I can't imagine spending north of $50k on a truck and having it break down, how could you ever trust it again?

Different strokes for different folks...
Someone like yourself, presumably knows both ends of a wrench and how to use it. What is an "issue" for someone who knows only that the fuel goes in the hole in the side of the truck and hopefully where the oil goes, may not be an issue for the mechanically inclined.

No surprise, this topic is as subjective as any...
What isn't as subjective is the original topic of rust. It never sleeps.

[1320Fastback]

What about new vehicles leaving you stranded on the side of the road? We have over 6,000 miles this year in my 28 year old truck and honestly have seen probably 5 or 10 new trucks on the side of the road with the hoods up. I can't imagine spending north of $50k on a truck and having it break down, how could you ever trust it again?

[minnow]

If the old vehicle left me stranded while towing a trailer, it would be gone before sun down. I can stomach fixing things when I'm home and on my terms. It's a whole 'nother story when you are sitting along side some interstate with big rigs whizzing by you at 75 mph and 3" off your mirrors.

[krobbe]

For me in Michigan, the amount of rust usually determines when I offload a vehicle and look for another rust free one. The southwest states should have something in the used market to tow with.
My '03 3/4 Burb with 140K miles is from TX and has no rust. It still has never seen salt and I'm fortunate to only occasionally drive it in warmer months. I would cry if anything should happen to it.
The insurance and registration on a new vehicle is also a consideration at least in my state.

[garyp4951]

You just spent a years worth of payments fixing it, sell it before something else breaks down.
You don't want to put your family in a dangerous situation breaking down on the road.

[Vintage465]

I had somewhat the same issue with a '99 suburban used for everyday driving and towing. Put an engine in at 205,000 miles. Transmission @ 319,000 miles. Replaced heater cores, power window switches, compressor etc over the years. Started a "growl" somewhere in the drive line I couldn't locate. It was a great car and tow vehicle, but we got to a point that my bride and I weren't comfy with taking it any real distance. At 400,000 miles, I gave it to a needy family that needed a daily driver. Saw it the other day! Still running! Bought the Denali and been happy since. Since we are going to do "real travel" when I retire, I will likely use the same type "maintain it like crazy and sell it when I lose control of the repairs" montra

[FishOnOne]

Sometimes it's a crapshoot... We always buy used diesels for farm/ranch work and sometimes they can go on for years with very little repairs and sometimes it's one thing after another. We buy these trucks knowing that there will be repairs along the way but the key is we buy diesel trucks that don't have EGR's and DPF's. Having said that we had one truck that everyone hated to drive because of the manual transmission we cut our losses after the transfer case took a dump so off she went after a list of repairs. Early this year we had another truck purple aftermarket transmission took a dump and the dealer didn't want to take it for the core. It's currently on the short list to be sent on it's way.

[Grit_dog]

I had a year where i dumped new injectors, new clutch, new rear driveshaft, new hydro boost pump and a couple other small things into the old Mega cab.
Some things I spent more $ on for better parts that would last longer or make the truck better, and if I had it all done at the dealer, it would have been, idk, probably $10k or more. As it was, I put probably $4k worth of parts in it.
Shoulda traded it in? I'll say no, since that was 5 years ago and since then I've put about $600 into repair parts, which could have been about $40, but the avg life span of the components surrounding the failed one was about up, so buy once cry once.

Point is, it's subjective. The uninformed would have said this truck is junk, dealer charged me $10k this year alone. I can buy a new truck for $9600 a year in payments.

Btw none of this was/is rust related. That adds another level of uncertainty.

[Grit_dog]

^How long do you average annual reaper costs before making that determination?
Trying to put a hard fast quantifiable number to this is like trying to pick the winning lottery numbers.
For those that aren't mechanically inclined and pay retail rates for even basic repairs, nevermind larger repairs, that "time" is much sooner than the guy who can do a complete brake job in his driveway on a sat afternoon for $300 and a 6 pack.

The OP is not fighting age as much as he's fighting the Wisconsin DOT, lol!
I remember replacing brake lines, fuel lines, all sorts of stuff that get ate up by road salt prematurely. It's a never ending battle once it starts. Sure you can limp anything along, but put the price tag on luxury, power, reliability and other even more subjective stuff and the waters get pretty muddy.

[solismaris]

At $60000 for a new truck I'll keep mine going as long as possible. $5000 already this year for fuel lines, brake lines, and new brakes. That's a lot but still well under the cost of new truck payments.

I agree with the person who advised "When annual repair cost reaches 70% of new car payments, that's when it's time." Which is about what I would do if I was comfortable with new truck prices. But for me, when my truck and trailer wear out beyond repair I plan to majorly downsize.

I don't subscribe to the "When repair costs exceed replacement cost it's time" theory. The used vehicle I own and know inside and out is always better than the new-to-me used vehicle I don't know.

[Grit_dog]

Age and miles are low and the 8.1 is a monster but hit and miss for reliability.
13-14 midwest winters is alot for most any daily driven vehicle to hold up. Even with the super low miles, presume it was the snow-mobile and not just a summer towing rig. There's more things to rust out, you've just started with that stuff, although some would be replaced soon based on time and miles anyway.
If the body looks good still, it's the perfect time to sell it. That rig is in demand and they fetch a decent amount of money, until the body is rusted out and then it's a beater with a heater.

I'd ditch it now, especially because it will cost you several times more $ to keep on the road than someone who does their own work.
(Based on your post, you pay retail rate for repairs.)

[gmckenzie]

GW Rider wrote:
When I have to pay for the same major repair a second time, time is up.

Had a 2001 GMC Duramax.

First time the injectors went, I did it myself. Major PITA and ~$2,500 CDN, but would have been $6K for a shop to do.

When I started to see a puff of white smoke again, it was off to the dealer to trade it in. Was not doing THAT job again.

The rust would scare me as much as the mechanical issues.