[DanielDudley]

I usually keep a truck around 10 years, and sell it still running with some rust and high miles. I have gotten rid of a few that just seemed as if they were never going to be right. If the last one had been as good when I bought it as it was when I sold it, I would have kept it. If it had been a weekend toy, I would have kept it. But a truck is a tool to me. I decided that to bite the bullet and get a better truck with lower miles was going to be the better option in the long run.

For me it was the better option, and the new(er) truck has been flawless for 2 1/2 years. The real kicker was that even though I took a loss when I sold, I figured that after five years the newer truck would still have lower miles than the current miles on the one I was selling, which would then have over 200K on the dial. So even if I took a loss, it should be made up for in the long haul.

Of course, the real reason I got rid of it was that I was sick of unexpected repairs, inconveniences and down time. The truck was an unpleasant distraction that was making my life harder, and taking up head space.

The new owner is probably happy. He got a new motor, and a great deal. I was never going to be happy with it, and it wasn't fitting in with my long term plans. I loved that truck, and I loved driving it, but it wore me out. My parents are in their 90s, and live one state away. I need a truck that I can just turn the key and go. It isn't like me to give up on mechanical things, but here we are, and I'm happier for it. Emotionally, I just wanted that truck to work. Rationally, it wasn't doing what I needed it to do.

The Truck from the Twilight Zone. Only you can look at it with a cold eye and balance out the pluses and minuses.