Looking for first car [Archive] - Baywind Farm Horse Forum

Blue

01-02-2010, 06:19 PM

Finally, I'm about to get my license. I got my learners late. I'm almost 18. :/ Senior...and I still don't drive. Hehe. My dad said we can start looking at used vehicles now since he's tired of driving me out to the barn :cool:. I was going to inherit my dad's practically brand new Nissan Altima...but...:D horsey girl. He doesn't want it dirty.

Definitely want a truck. =] And he agrees. What with me driving to the barn twice a day. A truck will just be the best choice for me. Definitely want something with good gas mileage. Nothing big, but something that COULD pull a two horse bumper pull in the near future. =] Small extended cab would be great. Something around $4,000-$5,000 and under.

Any suggestions??

gabhainn

01-02-2010, 07:02 PM

livaward

01-02-2010, 07:30 PM

Heck....when we had our 2000 dodge 2500 diesel we were going to sell it outright if the dealership didn't give us what we wanted for it as a trade in.....we were going to sell it for 5,000 and it only had 188,000 miles on it....and a diesel will get better mileage then a gasser would ever get.

dame_wolf

01-02-2010, 08:13 PM

They dont make a small truck that is good for a horse trailer, period.. if you want small(er) your best bet is a Dodge Dakota with the small v-8 esp if you can get it with a 3.73, 3.93, or 4.10 rearend. A tranny cooler is an absolute must.
If you dont want a BIG truck at least get a full size half ton with a v-8, again a tranny cooler is a must, and I recommend a 3.73 or better rear end.
I hope this helps.....................Kevin

Exactly!!! I have a Dodge Ram 1500, extended cab with the short box and it pulls my 2 horse without any problems. Don't know about over mountains but it works for what I need. It's a 97 and I got it for $3200. Oh and you are not going to find a truck that will haul and get good gas milage. The best you can hope for is one that doesn't get terrible gas milage. Good luck!

AUEquine

01-03-2010, 12:57 PM

I have a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab... Love this truck! But it does not pull! It will barely pull my 2 horse bp empty. True it is the V6. But weight wise I can tell even with the v8, I don't wanna have to try to stop my trailer even with trailer brakes! Great truck for running around, really gets good mileage. But definatly not a hauling truck!

I also have a dodge 2500, love this truck too! Great for pulling, great for stopping, never even know the trailer's there!

However I would not recomend a full size truck to an 18 year old who doesn't drive. This is not a good place to start. These trucks are big, floating, hard to navigate, and hard to park! You need to learn to drive in nothing larger than a small SUV first. Then move up to a larger vehicle. And I really don't think it's a good idea for you to be hauling a trailer right now either. You need ALOT of road experience before hauling a trailer, they change everything!

dustys_girlly

01-03-2010, 01:17 PM

my first car is my 88' Chevy blazer, they are great great trucks. you never get stuck and they have the power to pull a little two horse trailer. and with a short wheel base they are easier to handle while getting used to driving. plus as a bonus if you ever get into a crash, the other car is going to be the on with problems. and finding parts are really easy. only down side to mine is it only get about 14 m/g,

shewasmyshadow

01-03-2010, 01:23 PM

miatapony

01-03-2010, 04:18 PM

AUEquine

01-03-2010, 04:40 PM

wow ok i think the on the other side of that one i think buy the one you want now and get used to it ... there is no reason to get a small one first to get comffy with that then get into a big truck and go omg ... get a half ton like Kevin said .. the nissian titans are a nice truck v8 and all ... had one so i know they pull like a dream too .. both gooseneck and BP. i have driven a big truck since i could drive at 16 .. then i got the little ones as i got older ... good luck in your search.

Bet you'd feel differently when it's your car she sideswipes trying to drive a tank!

Blue, I'm not at all attacking your driving skills. Can't, I've never seen you drive. I just had a couple of friends who didn't get liscenses until 18. Most of them were due to either controlling parents or fear. And I found that the learning curve for them was alot harder. They seemed to have some emotional hurdle to get over to learn to drive. Again I don't know you, or your reasons for not driving yet. This is just based on what I've had experiences with!

Blue

01-03-2010, 06:28 PM

Thanks for the input everyone.

What about good trucks that don't necessarily have to pull a trailer? I think it might be a while before getting a trailer anywho, guess I don't want to put the trailer (in this case) before the horse. Hehe. :p

AUE - That's fine. ;) Haha. I'm really not that bad of a driver at all, but maybe you're right. :) I'll probably look for something smaller right now and worry about trailering much later. :)

Remali

01-03-2010, 06:40 PM

I had a little Chevy Blazer many years ago, it was a neat little vehicle.....not too big and not too small.

zoel_222

01-03-2010, 06:53 PM

I'm actually your same age and I don't have my license either. :D I drive a lot though, just never got around to taking the test. I've had my permit for almost a year.

My first (and current) car is a '98 GMC Sierra. It's not a huge truck, but it's not tiny either. My brother gave it to me for free, but it needed $2500 worth of repairs done, but my brother just bought it two years ago for $7500. I got the repairs done, and now I'm selling it. It's really nice, and runs perfectly but it's not for me. It only gets 15 miles per gallon, and I think it's a little too big for my liking. I can't reach the clutch lol. I have the seat as close up as at it goes and have to streeeetch like crazy to put the clutch in lol. I guess it's not made for short people. When I sell it I'd like to get a Ford Ranger or a Toyota Tacoma, but I might get just a small regular car to get by with until I can afford something nice.

Here's a pic of my truck. If you're looking for an inbetween size truck, I think the older GMC Sierras are great. But me, I prefer the baby trucks. :p

lisakaye

01-03-2010, 07:18 PM

I have a GMC Yukon and we tow an older heavy 2 lorse BP with 2 horses with no problem at all. I did put a brake box in though and generally stay under 55mph. I love my truck but I would love a bigger one.

miatapony

01-05-2010, 07:57 AM

ok if your not looking to pull a horse trailer i loved mt little 1996 chevy s-10 it was a sweet little truck.

miatapony

01-05-2010, 08:02 AM

my best friend started out in a 3/4 ton lifted dodge .. at 16 .. pulling a horse trailer with 4 horses in it everyweekend ... it dont matter how old you are im going to have a FIT if you side swipe my truck or car .. so really what does age have to do with it .. but like i said chevy s10s are very nice little trucks and can still haul hay.. i did have a subaru brat once .. that was fun too 4x4 and all and it only seats 2 in the ca cab . if you can find one it also seats 2 in the bed... lol good luck.

gaited07

01-05-2010, 09:13 AM

I just got a Mercury Mountaineer SUV. Basically the same as a Ford Explorer. Gets decent mileage, V8 and "could" pull a trailer if I NEEDED to. I wouldn't tow anything big and probably just one horse at a time, but it could if I needed it to. ;)

These vehicles has too short of a wheel base for towing anything longer/bigger than a SMALL two horse with only ONE horse in it regardless of motor size. Not safe at all and most just suck up more gas than a pickup truck like the Dodge Durango IMO.

They do have some F-150's or half ton trucks that would fit your bill for a small two horse trailer and a nice first vehicle.

I find it a lot easier to drive my trucks instead of cars because you sit up higher. Now to make those tight turns and finding a parking spot for my "economy" truck LOL, well that is a different story;)

gabhainn

01-05-2010, 09:24 AM

However I would not recomend a full size truck to an 18 year old who doesn't drive. This is not a good place to start. These trucks are big, floating, hard to navigate, and hard to park! You need to learn to drive in nothing larger than a small SUV first. Then move up to a larger vehicle. And I really don't think it's a good idea for you to be hauling a trailer right now either.
My first vehicle was a 1975 1 ton extended cab, I was pulling a trailer within days of getting my license, and the only way you are gonna learn is to do it, so sorry we are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one Julie....Kevin
ps if your steering "floats " you have a problem in your steering wheel gearbox

dame_wolf

01-05-2010, 09:30 AM

I learned to drive in a souped up 84 Ford F-150 that blew the doors off all the trucks and most of the cars in town and still regularly hauled about 3/4-1 ton of junk to the dump, so not your normal 150. I loved that truck and I really think that if the new driver is mentally mature and knows that they must take it slow and learn the vehicle as well as how to drive then it is ok. It's only when you get the young stupid hotshots (my younger brother was one) behind the wheel that odds of accidents greatly increase. I started driving in this truck when I was 16 and have yet to be in an accident where I was driving.

Wish I still had Ol' Red but dad sold him...

Kaitlyn

01-05-2010, 09:40 AM

LOL I learned to pull a trailer even before I had my license..not a horse trailer..but our quad hauling trailer. Driving big red and 2 of the quads across PA at 15 and a half with my dad sleeping in the passenger seat.

We all learn differently. An F-150 may be a good choice for you..that was my first vehicle..but it sucked gas like a HOG..it was older of course..but a Ranger, S-10, etc may be a good choice for you, convenience of a truck with the gas mileage closer to a sedan.

WashingtonBay

01-05-2010, 09:42 AM

Well, if not to pull a trailer, my first car was a cute little red Chevy Luv truck. Too bad they don't make them any more, they had a lot of style.

If you want a small truck, we've been real happy with our Ranger, but it has the larger V6 engine in it. I've heard bad things about the models with the smaller engine... there's just something not as reliable about that engine.

In bigger trucks, we have a 'heavy half' Chevy Silverado that will pull our two horse safely, but I wouldn't climb any major mountain passes with it.... It doesn't have quite enough pulling power and we'd burn it up. But it's been fine for local easy hauls to the lower trailheads.

AUEquine

01-05-2010, 10:27 AM

My first vehicle was a 1975 1 ton extended cab, I was pulling a trailer within days of getting my license, and the only way you are gonna learn is to do it, so sorry we are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one Julie....Kevin

I was pulling trailers before I was 16. I'm assuming you were raised similarly to me. I bet you were driving long before you were ever legaly able to. Before I was 16 I had to learn how to drive trailers to help out. I learned with our boat trailers. Lots of times it was just me and my dad so I had to learn to back the boat trailers down the ramp. By the time 16 came around it was just a matter of a piece of paper.
However I was still raised in the city, so most of the kids I grew up with were not as lucky as me, and many never sat in a driver's seat until they were 15. Being younger than most of those in my class, I had to ride with my friends for many months until I got my own liscense. And I was quite scared of 90% of them. There was a big learning curve of driving in large cities, that apparently I avoided by driving all my life on my families farms.
I'm not saying it's true of everyone, and again I say I don't know Blue to know how she drives. I just know it's alot differnt to hand a farm boy the keys to a 1 ton truck than it is to hand the keys to a city girl.

Fork

01-05-2010, 10:55 AM

I have a car, so no help there. I've always wanted a Chevy Canyon because they look like an oversized car :).

Before you take off, rent a good used car book from the library. They will tell you everything you need to know. Consumer Reports puts out a nice annual issue, but you could also look for something like Lemon Aid.

gabhainn

01-05-2010, 11:07 AM

.
I'm not saying it's true of everyone, and again I say I don't know Blue to know how she drives. I just know it's alot differnt to hand a farm boy the keys to a 1 ton truck than it is to hand the keys to a city girl.
there is no argument there!!!Kevin