I have been renovating a Victorian house and found I really needed a truck for hauling. I went to the local car lot to see what they had. I'm guessing the dealer stereotyped me a bit because he showed me a crew cab truck with a 5 foot bed that he called "a minivan with a truck bed."
I ended up looking on Craigslist for a truck and found an old farm truck. I took my 4-year-old with me to see the truck and it was obvious from his excitment that I would have to have a good reason not to get the truck. It had a few dents and dings but was in solid mechanical condition and the price was right. The "new water pump and fuel tank cleaning that wont take anytime at all...." repairs that I was planning has evolved into "I can pound out some of those dents and give it a new coat of paint and some new upholstery..." I figure I can make this truck a looker and still not spend anything close to the $17,000 they wanted for the "mini-van with a truck bed."
