Gas Mileage V6 vs. V8

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Amy Coleman

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Hey guys.... it's been like 2 years since I posted on here!! WOW!!



Anyways, I have an 01 ST and I have loved this truck. She's getting old, I have 153k miles on it and I have been looking at getting a new 08 or used 07. I was hoping to get some advice from you guys about some things.



1 - V6 vs V8? I LOVE power but I have always gotten about 15-18 mpg on my current truck. I would love to get a V8 but if the MPG is lower than what I have now, then that can't happen.



2 - Trade-in or Pivate Sale? I've never sold a car on my own but it seems that I am not gonna get much on trade-in and was thinking that selling the car of my own might be a better idea. BUT, if that's more trouble than it's worth, then no thanks.



Thanks for any advice guys, I appreciate it!!!!
 
The V8 is only rated at 1 MPG lower in the city and the same on the highway, if I recall correctly. I get 20MPG highway and 12-14MPG in the city with my V8. Its totally worth it for the extra perfoemance IMO. Not that there's anything wrong with the V6-its a great engine too. The V8 will also be harder to find, especially if you go used.



I would highly recommend buying from a private seller and selling your own vehicle privately. Car dealerships are there to make money, and they will make it at your expense. You will probably get $1500-$2000 more by selling your old ST yourself. You will also probably save a bundle buying your new one privately. Example: A new 08' V6 XLT was going to cost me around $24000 after the incentives, tax, T+L. I bought an 07' V8 XLT with only 5000 miles from a private seller for $17500. Big differece! That same 07 on a used lot would have been at least $21000.
 
That's what I did, bought the V8 because of the extra performance you get and only 1 mpg difference between the two. It's def worth it, even though you still can't pull a U'haul...lol.
 
Your 01 ST is going to be extremely difficult to sell. If you can privately sell it for $3000 I'd jump on that. The vehicles ACV is between $3,000 and $4,100 depending on condition.



Buy the V8. However, if you're going to mod it get the V6 and supercharge it with explorerexpress.com. It will have more power and weigh less than the V8!



No one will finance an 01 with 153,000 miles. So you have to have a cash buyer or someone dumb enough to take a personal loan on a vehicle with no warranty and 153,000 miles on it. That buyer will be someone who wants the utility it offers. No price point buyers (interested in it solely because it's cheap) will purchase it because of the terrible fuel economy known of the 4.0L V6.



I prefer to buy from a dealer. I originally posted a book on why. Basically, if you give the dealer a chance, they will match or work with any pricing you find within reason. You need to compare apples to apples. A year old vehicle with a few thousand miles isn't a brand new car.
 
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I agree with SKRX. I just sold my my wife's car and got well over a $1500 more than trade in value. I also bought her a 2006 car still under factory warranty for way less than dealer retail. Plus I didn't pay sales tax. Just $38 for tags here in GA. Even if you decide to buy new I suggest you sell your car on your own.

Just to let you know, I listed my wife's car on Autotrader.com ($ to post), carsforsale.com, Vehix.com and craigslist (all free). In a week's timeframe only got inquiries from craigslist and sold the car to one of them.

Have the ST detailed or do it yourself, and remember pictures are worth a thousand words.
 
From what I have read from members. The MPG is about the same. I would go for the V8 if I ever get a new one. I did card a guy yesterday, that said he got 23 highway, with his '08 V6.
 
I have an 07 ST 4X4 V8 and I get 13-15 around town and get in the 20's on the highway. Usually 22 MPG. I did get 23.5 MPG once on a long trip and verified with manual calculations. Go with the V8....IMO!



'07 ST
 
KBB has my truck at 3,400 Good & 3,800 Excellent for trade-in value. There is a local carmax that everyone says will give you best $$ for your ride. So I figured I would clean the truck up real nice and see what they offer me. I figured I would let that be my base idea about trade-in. As for Private sale, I would like to get 5,000 but I just don't know that I will get someone with that kind of cash with the economy being what it is.



The truck is in very nice condition, never in a crash, I have been the only owner I have taken good care of it. It has a remote start, EE Sway-bar, Rancho RSX shocks, K&N FIPK, MB Quart speakers with an 8" sub box in rear compartment. Really nice truck.



I think I would rather get a V8, I really like the power. I don't mind a dealer because I already know what I am willing to pay and I don't haggle. I just say this is what I can do and can you sell it to me. When they get into all this other blah, blah, blah, I just walk away. I don't like to waste my time.



Thanks again fellas, I really appreciate the info!!!
 
I average around 17mpg in city and around 23 mpg on highway w/ my V6. Sounds pretty close to V8 mpgs, so definitely go bigger. More performance and better value w/ similar results. If I could do it over I would go V8, but mine does just fine since I dont haul much.
 
you may want to take the sway bar and K&N filter off and put the stock items back on, then sell them in the swap/sell here, those items will gain you nothing on trade in or sale value. You can sell yours for more than trading it in, depends if you want to deal with that issue. Car max will give you wholesale or low trade in value, as they need to make a profit as well. My 07 v6 gets low 20's mpg on the highway, can't really say about city driving as don't do that much of it where I live, Interstate can get 25+mpg if I'm careful w/ the gas.
 

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