We Didn't Sell the Maverick Because It Was a Bad Truck

Why We Sold a Vehicle We Really Liked

Quick Take

✔ The Maverick exceeded our expectations

✔ We owned it for 2 years and 18,200 miles

✔ It cost us essentially nothing in depreciation

✔ We would seriously consider buying another one

✘ We still sold it

👉 Bottom line:

We didn't sell the Maverick because it failed.

We sold it because Tesla's FSD technology offered something the Maverick simply couldn't.

At a Glance

Vehicle Sold: 

2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid XL

Ownership Period: 

2 years

Miles: 

18,200

Purchase Price:

• $24,700

• plus tax, registration, and extended warranty

Sale Price:

• $25,000 from Carvana

Extended Warranty Refund:

• $1,270

Reality Check

Most vehicle sales happen for one of two reasons:

• The owner is unhappy with the vehicle.

• The vehicle becomes too expensive to keep.

Neither was true here.

In fact, the Maverick turned out to be one of the best vehicle purchases we've ever made.

That's what made this decision difficult.

The Tesla Question Kept Growing

After two Tesla demo drives and months of research, the question slowly shifted.

At first it was:

👉 "Would a Tesla be interesting?"

Eventually it became:

👉 "Are we actually going to do this?"

About two months after our first demo ride, and roughly a month after the second one, we finally became comfortable with the idea.

Not just financially.

But emotionally.

Because replacing a vehicle you like is very different than replacing one you're tired of.

Why This Was Hard

The Maverick had done exactly what we bought it to do.

It was:

• economical

• reliable

• practical

• enjoyable to drive

And after two years:

👉 it still felt like the right vehicle.

The Real Reason We Sold It

Boiled down to one sentence:

👉 We sold the Maverick so we could afford to get a Tesla with Full Self Driving.

That's it.

Not because the Maverick failed.

Not because it became unreliable.

Not because we needed something bigger.

The FSD technology was simply compelling enough that we wanted to experience it for ourselves.

The Financial Side

This was one of the biggest surprises.

We purchased the Maverick for:

• $24,700

• plus taxes, registration, and warranty

Two years later:

Carvana paid us:

👉 $25,000

Plus:

👉 $1,270 returned from the unused portion of the extended warranty.

That meant we essentially experienced:

👉 no depreciation.

For a new vehicle after two years and 18,200 miles, that's extraordinary.

Why We Chose Carvana

We compared several options:

Buyer	Offer
Carvana	$25,000
CarMax	$22,000
Dealer Trade	$21,000

The choice was easy.

Carvana was:

• highest offer

• easiest process

• no haggling

We had sold another truck to them previously and had a good experience.

The Actual Selling Experience

The process was straightforward.

This time we brought the truck to the local Carvana location.

Paperwork was easy.

No surprises.

No attempts to renegotiate.

We chose a paper check instead of electronic deposit and walked out with the check in hand.

Exactly the way we hoped it would go.

What We'll Miss

The biggest thing?

👉 The truck bed.

The Maverick is remarkably useful.

We regularly used it for:

• Home Depot runs

• hauling bikes

• feed store trips

• moving larger items

We also never worried about:

• gravel roads

• rough fields

• less-than-perfect surfaces

It was simply easy to live with.

What We Won't Miss

A few things.

Road Noise

The XL trim is noticeably louder than we'd prefer.

Gas Stations

The hybrid gets excellent mileage, but it still needs gasoline.

Oil Changes

And yes...

Removing 17 screws to access the drain plug remains one of Ford's dumber ideas.

If Tesla Didn't Exist...

This may be the strongest compliment we can give the Maverick.

If Tesla's FSD technology didn't exist—or if no other comparable option existed today—

👉 we'd probably buy another Maverick.

That says a lot.

Looking Back

Do we think selling it was the right decision?

We think so.

But the truth is:

👉 we won't know for sure until we've lived with the Tesla.

That's the whole point of this series.

Final Answer

Why did we sell a vehicle we genuinely liked?

Not because the Maverick was lacking.

Not because it disappointed us.

Not because we needed something different.

We sold it because we believe vehicle technology is changing rapidly, and we wanted to find out firsthand whether Tesla's Full Self Driving is truly the future—or simply an impressive experiment.

What's Next

With the Maverick sold, the decision was made.

The question was no longer:

👉 Should we buy a Tesla?

The question became:

👉 Which Tesla should we buy, and why?

That's the next report.