Cheap trucks frequently get a bad name. Frequently the idea is that used tow trucks for sale make no sense. They don’t regularly get good mileage. They are big, often loud and infrequently very pretty. Here’s why old pickups should be valued, not scorned.
1. Poor mileage, compared to what?
My 1980 Plymouth Arrow Pickup gets 25 MPG. My 1976 Chevy C-10 gets 15 MPG. Comparable new lorries are miles more dynamic, but not too much better on the mileage. So, you’ll never make a case for a new wagon just on mileage.
2. Energy cost to make a new van.
An old automobile, car or truck, sitting there’s a cache of value and energy. All the energy, human and fossil, that went into building that vehicle is stored right there ready to work. Scrap the vehicle and most of that energy isn’t available to be used. Sure, you can recycle the basic materials. You can’t recycle the value-added design and producing that went into that truck. Scrapping helpful trucks is a terrible waste.
3. No money time bombs.
Older vehicles often are inexpensive to maintain. That is’s in part because of all the infrastructure that is’s already there to keep them going. Buy the latest and greatest and the upkeep issues could be far larger than you dream. Take batteries. How much will a battery replacement cost for a hybrid down the road? What is the environmental cost of battery recycling and replacement? These are lurking cash time bombs which will make many more modern cars unaffordable for poor people.
4. Parts are everywhere.
Used parts and the people to install them are the way to keep old wagons working. Many autos hit the scrap heap not because they’re worn out or obsolete. It’s simply because parts are highly priced and the talents to handle that particular model are not common. Drive old Chevy, Ford and Dodge wagons and forget all that, at least for the moment.
5. Tools not toys.
Trucks are tools like shovels and hammers. They can be art objects too. But older wagons keep going because they make sense. Will the newest vehicles stand the test of time? Perhaps, but maybe not.
Cheap trucks represent plenty of energy and work that has been spent. Scrap a van and you’ve made unavailable huge amounts of energy invested in designing and putting that machine together. Keeping vans working is much more environmentally provident that dumping them and replacing with new.
What about comparing an old Chevy pickup with new hybrid pickup trucks SUV. No comparison again. Look at what you can move with old lorries and take a look at what your little cross-breed will do. The old lorry is a different beast that excels at what it does.
