Is it Worth the Cost?

I taught a class called Advanced Tune-Up and Troubleshoot, which has little to no academic or WECM guidelines, and even less to teach from. As part of the curriculum I developed for my students with the goal of making them more effective techs, I taught a Repair Cost-Value section. We evaluated the income a machine made, verses the cost of a repair (from basics to as complex as full refits like Caterpillar does older machines) versus the actual value of the machine.

The funny thing about that is it translates to just about anything you want to work on, from lawn mowers to semi-trucks and anything else you can think of.

But most of all, it translates to performance or show builds and regular repairs.

There are a lot of factors to consider, so I have compiled a list of questions I always ask when making an evaluation. The first one, most importantly is:

Are you going to keep the truck long term?

Now, for me, that means forever, and I know some people just can’t imagine that. So if you cannot picture yourself happily driving the same truck in ten years, then you have your answer straight way. Do good maintenance and only spend on upgrade parts when you need them.

If the answer is anything like “I’ll be buried in the driver seat” then none of the rest of the questions matter, the only limit is your wallet.

Anything in between is going to need follow up questions.

Is it paid for?

If the answer is, Yes, the value of the truck goes through the roof. A paid for truck is automatically worth more than one you are making payments on. (I don’t mean resale value, I mean you aren’t throwing parts at a truck the bank owns half of.)

If the answer is No, work out the next three questions:

How much do you owe?

How much is its trade in value?

Are you upside-down on it?

If you owe 60k on a truck that’s got a resale value of 20k, you’re stuck with it. You have some hard thinking to do, and not just on the truck, but also on your life choices. Avoid Go Fast parts, you’ve got a cheep college beer budget, shop accordingly. Make sure you have gap insurance.

If you owe 5k on a truck with a 40k trade in, and you plan to keep it long term, keep reading.

Is it mechanically sound?

Is its chassis sound?

Realistically how much work does it need to be mechanically and chassis sound? (Minor wear and tear, vs major work on rust, needs an engine ect.)

What is your goal with the truck?

These are all cost analysis, and require both some realistic views of the truck and maybe even the honest eye of a mechanic, though not everyone is going to be honest with you. Including yourself. The goals question needs to be realistic for what the machine can do, so consider that too.

And last, but not least, the trump card questions:

Do you plan on keeping it long term (for life basically)?

Does the truck have collectors value (age, rarity, etc.)?

Does the truck have emotional value?

The first one I already covered, but it is still a trump card question if the answer is Forever. The second one needs no explanation. The last… the last one trumps everything. If making it whole again means you keep the driver side door panel and the entire rest of the truck has to be refurbished or replaced, and you want to commit the time and money to that, its time to go to work.

I am sure there are other factors that some people would consider important, but to keep the list fairly short, these are the questions I use.

Things we do not count against them:

Cost of fluids, filters, brake and tire services, and fuel. Generally basic wear and tear items too, but some of that will fall under mechanically sound (bit of a gray area, usually based on Level of Neglect).

There is one last question I always ask rhetorically.

Do you have the money for Go Fast parts?