Truck Soap Opera

I have been thinking the past month about buying a truck. I hate the mileage. I hate the culture. I hate the bouncy, rough ride. I hate the prices. I hate the thousands of configurations (Regular Cab, Super Cab, Club Cab, Crew Cab, Long Bed, Short Bed, 2x4, 4x4, Sport, etc.) Despite all that, I think the time has come where we need one of our vehicles to be a pickup.

At first, I thought I'd sell the Focus Wagon. It has 118,000 miles on it. Things are going to start going wrong. It's time for new brakes and tires (again!). I got the A/C fixed and the interior and exterior detailed, and researched all the websites for values, to get it ready for sale.

Then, after my trip to IL last week, I decided that after 38,000 miles, I really don't like the Hyundai all that much. I like the Focus' mileage and ride better. The Hyundai is worth more than I paid for it (thanks to the Cash for Clunkers rebate), and its value right now is substantial, but will drop dramatically from now on. The price of trucks being what they are, this is the smarter trade-in. So I got that one detailed yesterday--it looks brand new again.

And--perhaps I can bundle it with two of Dad's cars and come out of the deal without too much cash flowing south to buy said truck.

But what to buy? Compact, mid-size, full-size? Ford, Dodge, GMC, Chevy, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota? Dodge can tow the most, Ford has the most available parts & service, Nissan and Toyota are overpriced, GMC and Chevy don't interest me for some reason. I like the Suzuki the best, it has the best warranty, but there are few new or used available, and the nearest dealer is in Virginia for warranty service, so what good is that? I'm car shopping again, with all the research angst that implies.

My idea is to drive up to IL with the Hyundai (sheet spread over everything so Ozzie-hair doesn't get in the now-clean carpet), trade it and the two Fords in on a truck, and then drive home with apartment detritus in back. I might even hook up his travel trailer and tow it to TN. I'll bet I could put a ton of stuff in the trailer too--well, not literally a ton, but a bunch.

It's an idea, slowly making itself into a plan.

Now, all I have to do is get the mental picture of Myself-as-Yahoo-in-Truck out of my head.