My dad recently told me that I could sell my truck and use the money to lease a brand new one for 3 years until I graduate. My first thought was "hell no, I love that truck" but now I'm having other thoughts. I love the truck but it sucks down gas like no other and the 4.7 isnt exactly the most potent engine out there. I think my rear axle is starting to go and I recently found out my front axle is getting bad too. By the time I rebuild them I'll have another $2000 into the truck. Then there is the rust and power steering whine. If I buy a new one I wont have to spend time and money working on it, then again customizing it is half the fun. If I go new the 36 month lease will end right after I graduate and get my degree in electrical engineering so Ill need to buy it or get another used one, also I wont have much money to do that with. I would love to own a brand new ram hemi for a few years and it wont suck as much gas but then again my current truck is mine. I put a lot of time and hard earned money into it and its setup how I like it. Im really torn here guys, whats your opinion, should I keep or sell?

 

I can't deside for you,only say my 03 5.7 hemi likes gas too. About 15mpg average if I keep my foot out of it. LOL

 

if its for gas its not worth it cause mine get 10 pretty much all the time and if im lucky 12.5-13 on the highway thats with 35 mts with the stock tires i would get 12 in town and like 16 on highway

 

Short term gain for a long term loss in my opinion. I hope, if you sell it, you'll at least disclose the potential issues you listed, if not fix them first.

Do you have college loans? You'll have to start paying them back when you graduate, putting you even further in a hole. I'd rather be 3 years closer to a newer paid for vehicle than 3 years of payments down the drain on a vehicle I have to turn in, knowing full well I can't afford anything decent to replace it.

 

First thing I would do is try to trade it in, if they dont give me what I want my next option would be to sell it. I have some loans now but I also have enough in the bank to cover all of them so I wont be too far in debt by the time I graduate. The other problem is that I dont have any credit right now so a lease would help me build credit. We should have thought about this before my dad traded in his 2011 ram less than a month ago and bought a 200. I want to do it on my own but the parents will help out a bit if I need it after I graduate, plus I always have a good paying job to go back to if all else fails. I loved my dads last truck so a new one would be awesome, then again I cant beat on it and break trail without caring about scratches like I do on this one. I'm still up in the air on it, with some new axles under it my truck would be damn near bullet proof, those are the only parts I'm worried about at the moment. If I do keep it I'll just keep putting money into it to make it more reliable. I'll just have to suck it up on the gas mileage part.

 

Well, I have to admit, my thoughts are founded from some age and experience. When I was your age, I usually never thought "what about 3 years from now?" and probably would have gone for the new truck. Things tended to work out for the best anyway. Your parents could help you on credit by simply signing their name beside yours. I usually don't drive a lot of miles, compared to many people. But a lease was never a comfortable option for me because of the mileage limitations. Leasing is good if you can manage the mileage restrictions and you are likely to trade vehicles every few years anyway. Just seems that taking whatever so called equity you have in your current truck and putting it towards a lease would be a shame when, at the end of 3 years, the money is gone and so is the truck, and you aren't sure where the next ride will come from. But, hell, you got your whole life in front of you...

 

There are lots of ways to build credit, you can get a $500 student credit card from chase or anywhere and start to build credit that way, I wouldn't let that effect your decision. Also, your parents can co-sign as greg says to help you out if you need it, and it sounds like they are willing to do that. Those new dodges are pretty sweet, so that would be sweet. I would think about what you would want in three years, are you going to want to get a new truck anyway when you graduate? If so, why not sell or trade in your truck and then just make payments on a new one? That way you are on your way to buying it and not flushing lease money down the drain. If you liked your dads 2011, why not find a used 2011-2012 dodge and trade in-sell your truck and make payments on that? I bet they would be similar if not less than payments on a 2013 lease. Just my 2 cents.

 

You guys have some good points, I don't want to do it for the wrong reasons. When I graduate I plan on buying a new truck, preferably a 2500 so I wont be any closer to my goal with a lease. I have so much work into this truck already, I might as well just rebuild the diffs and have a solid truck until I graduate. I do want to try to get some mpg's back, maybe I should get some 3.55's when I have the diffs rebuilt. The rest of the truck is already how I want it, but burning half a tank of gas just to make the 2 hour drive home is killing me.

 

id keep it and just buy a car when you graduate I dont think I would ever lease a car unless i wanted to change cars every two years lol but im not like that i like to mod them to much to do that

 

Yea leasing is a bad idea IMO. If I was in your position I would just suck it up for now and when you graduate put that saved money on a down payment for a 1500 Diesel . I'm in my final 1.5 years of college so I know the feeling you're going through. That's why I got a bike so that way I don't drive as much. But half a tank for 2 hours of driving sucks! I get home (275 miles or about 4 hours) on 3/4 of a tank. I wouldn't put 3.55s in though. Go with 3.92s, that's what I have and I feel like its a good medium between power and MPG