In the 40+ years of buying and trading vehicles I've never traded or sold one that I wouldn't have liked to have kept. When I was younger I bought what I could afford and made it work. As kids came along and other things in life changed often I found the vehicle I owned no longer got the job done. I've never traded just because I wanted something newer or fancier, or even worn out.
In 2002 I bought a Supercrew very similar to this 2014, but made the mistake of getting the 4.6L V-8. In that big of a truck it was a dog. Fuel mileage was only 13 city and 16 hwy. I think this is why I'm hesitant to try the 3.5L. My mind says it will work just fine, but they told me the same thing when I bought the 4.6L in 2002.
I traded it for the 2007 Tacoma and at the time am confident I made the right choice. The Tacoma gets 17ish city and 20ish hwy and actually has more power than the F-150 with the 4.6. Over most of the 9 years I've owned it gas was $3-$3.50/gal and 4mpg over 172,000 miles does add up.
In 2007 my youngest had just moved out and it was just me and my wife. The smaller truck wasn't bad. But now I've got 3 grand kids and something a little bigger is needed.
The Tacoma has some peeling paint and a couple of dings which don't bother me at all. But really hurt trade value. I decided it was worth more to keep than trade or I'd have gone with a new 2016.
