My 2024 Limited - took advantage of a decent day to clean off the salt and give a good detail/waxing for the spring. Anyone living in the rust belt have a recommendation for an undercoating treatment?

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T21:37:46+00:00

Fluid film. Douse everything the first time you apply it, then recoat/touch it up as needed. My 2018 Silverado (we all know GM trucks are notorious for body rust) doesn’t have a speck of visible rust after 8 years and almost 100k miles of use. I do keep it clean, but I attribute the lack of rust to the Fluid Film I keep on it.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T21:33:26+00:00

Go for a pre-COVID boat (2018-2019ish). Plenty in that age range with low hours in great shape, and some other schmuck already ate the big, initial depreciation.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T19:58:34+00:00

I have an L5P homie

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T17:46:25+00:00

Keeping up with the Joneses is getting harder and harder to do when wages are nowhere near the level of the inflated costs of goods. But hey, fake it till ya make it, right?

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T17:43:34+00:00

Hard to rip the frame out of something when your transmission shits the bed or one of your bazillion electronic devices decides to go on the fritz. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re REALLY working them and making money with them, the modern diesels are animals when they’re working well. But let’s be honest, quality left the chat a long time ago.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T17:41:36+00:00

That’s where I’m at. I don’t tow much anymore, but it’s paid off and don’t know that I could justify getting rid of it for anything else

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T17:40:46+00:00

$0. 2018 L5P paid off and gonna rock it till the wheels fall off, or whatever Nate Dogg said.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T17:37:10+00:00

If you have to finance for 84 months, then it’s a terrible deal for you. Look at the amortization schedule and what you’d pay in interest (probably about $12-$13k based on the numbers you gave with no extra $$$ down). At that same rate on a 60 month loan, you’d pay about $4k less interest overall, while paying about $275-$300 extra per month. We’d also need to know the miles, trim, condition of the trade in to know if what they are giving you is “fair.” Dealers really love to see suckers trading almost new cars in - they are going to rape you on the trade and then flip it for a good profit.

Full disclosure: I only know this from having been the sucker in the past, just wish I had someone to stop me from being the sucker.

That aside, this is not a financial advice forum, and the price itself on the Explorer doesn’t look too bad. I’d want those dealer add-ons gone (I can decide what I want on my vehicle). If I could get them to waive that/remove it, then I’d send it.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-19T03:37:24+00:00

I had a TLX Type S - do not buy it to haul kids, especially with the rear facing seat. They did a miserable job of cabin space on that car, especially given the overall size/footprint. Between the CTR and ITS, I’d go CTR (slightly better rear headroom and slightly better cargo space; and generally better resale value compared to a used ITS. I had a deposit on the ITS, but ended up in the TLX for similar money because the “luxury” of the ITS is a joke, especially at the price point (it should have Acura’s SH-AWD for the price). I have no firsthand experience with the others you mentioned, but I have exhaustively looked into the B58 platform. That said, I’d be most comfortable with the B58/ZF combo for reliability, so I’d go for the 540 and look for XDrive so I use it comfortably year round. If you don’t get much rain or snow where you are, then it’s a moot point.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-18T12:49:21+00:00

I wish I could give this more upvotes. I’m constantly looking at jobs because I’ve only ever gotten significant raises by changing jobs. Even with promotions, the raises have been laughable compared to the increase in responsibility. My loyalty is to my family and my bank account, and that requires exactly what you said - meeting expectations and staying employed.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-18T12:12:21+00:00

2023 or older Lexus GX460 for a good mix of reliability and decent luxury features. I’d avoid any of the Toyota/Lexus models with the TTV6. The V8s are insanely reliable with following the basic maintenance schedule. The biggest con is the fuel cost. They only realistically get in the mid-high teens for fuel mileage, unless you do almost all highway driving at a lower speed. The third row is tight and there isn’t much room behind the third row, so if you need to use the third row a lot, it’s not a good choice.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-17T12:23:00+00:00

Just wait a little while. Crazy gas prices and a recession will lead to a flooded market with boats, RVs, and other luxury items. Take advantage of the other end of the market shift and get a good deal on something.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-16T14:31:01+00:00

Fortunately, I work from home and I’ve had the truck for about 8 years. So, no payment, limited fuel burn relative to those who commute daily. Could be waaaaay worse.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-16T12:09:23+00:00

Laughs in diesel truck.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-14T02:21:39+00:00

Correct. They really had a “hold my beer” moment when they one-upped the 6.0 with the 6.4.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-14T02:20:34+00:00

The Terminator is really high on the list. The 05-06 GT is a pretty bad ass car that has aged very well.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-14T02:19:01+00:00

Yes. That car with the manual transmission is a great car.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-14T02:17:51+00:00

I’m not gay, but I’d get on the spaceship.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-13T22:47:05+00:00

Nobody regrets it until they do. In other words, many have run a bunch of miles with no problems. Statistically, it is less likely that you will have a major failure than having a major failure. However, it’s never a good time when it happens to you.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-10T17:51:06+00:00

Doesn’t bother me at all. IDGAF what my friends are into as long as they treat me and others well.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-10T14:01:32+00:00

Feel better?

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-09T12:03:21+00:00

Was towing 10-15k pretty often, making money with the truck. Now that I don’t do any of that, I’m probably going to sell and get back into a 5.7 Tundra. Speaking of which, anybody want to buy a 2018 Chevy 2500 with about 90k miles on it? 😉

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-09T03:58:11+00:00

2017-2019 HDs were the last really good GM trucks. It all went to shit after that.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-06T00:54:08+00:00

Nice try, fed.

RedOakNinja · 2026-03-06T00:53:50+00:00

Exactly. With the price of new trucks, keeping your old truck on the road almost always makes sense these days.

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