New pickup pricing

[Ashful]

THere is a lot of good miles left in todays pickups after they pass the 100k mark. I usually expect another 100-200k can be added to that with no problem. A 10 yr old Silverado 4x4 Ext cab can be had for 10 -15K depending on condition and miles. About a third of new price. Since i use it mostly for work i dont want a truck that im afraid to get dirty or a scratch.

There are secondary factors. I need a presentable vehicle for business and social reasons, and can't really justify storing and maintaining two vehicles for the less than 5k miles I drive each year. I need a full sized vehicle for pulling trailers, and the extended cab pickup is my best option, since I haul something in the bed of the truck more than once per week. So, I'm pretty much stuck buying new'ish 1/2-ton pickups, like it or not.

I've been tempted to just buy a little sporty sedan (I miss my Audi...), and keep my current pickup purely for hauling stuff. But, I don't like the idea of keeping another vehicle, and having a pickup slowly decay in my driveway all year round, for maybe 40 - 50 uses per year. I'm not into keeping spare vehicles as lawn ornamentation.

 

[jharkin]

There are secondary factors. I need a presentable vehicle for business and social reasons, and can't really justify storing and maintaining two vehicles for the less than 5k miles I drive each year.

And here I thought you would have some giant 5 bay heated garage with a bar & entertainment system


Good points, since we moved into the house I had toyed with the idea of buying a 10 year old beat up pickup cheap as a 3rd vehicle for weekend duty and keep my Acura as an economical commuter vehicle.... But every time I ran the numbers the extra insurance, maintenance, etc outweighed the fuel savings of having a car for weekdays.

Though I imagine sooner or later I will tire of driving a truck every day and want to get a car again, at which point maybe I will demote the truck to weekend duty.

 

[Ashful]

And here I thought you would have some giant 5 bay heated garage with a bar & entertainment system

I actually have six garage bays, but only four of them are heated, and there's no bar! Among them, there's only room for two cars, tho:

1. wife's car
2. my truck
3. mowers, tractor, OPE
4&5. work shop (old carriage barn, only 20' deep, anyway)
6. boat (off-site rental)

Nothing is left outdoors, 'cept the firewood.

...every time I ran the numbers the extra insurance, maintenance, etc outweighed the fuel savings of having a car for weekdays.

Ditto. I've run this scenario myself. You gotta drive a LOT of miles to financially justify a second vehicle.

 

[begreen]

There are secondary factors. I need a presentable vehicle for business and social reasons, and can't really justify storing and maintaining two vehicles for the less than 5k miles I drive each year. I need a full sized vehicle for pulling trailers, and the extended cab pickup is my best option, since I haul something in the bed of the truck more than once per week. So, I'm pretty much stuck buying new'ish 1/2-ton pickups, like it or not.

I've been tempted to just buy a little sporty sedan (I miss my Audi...), and keep my current pickup purely for hauling stuff. But, I don't like the idea of keeping another vehicle, and having a pickup slowly decay in my driveway all year round, for maybe 40 - 50 uses per year. I'm not into keeping spare vehicles as lawn ornamentation.

At 5K a year, keep the current truck. It is easily good for another 5 yrs. It's not going to rapidly decay. My truck is a '94 Ranger and stays outdoors all the time. It only sees about 3-5K miles a year. All I do is routine maintenance. It looks and drives great.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

I put about 25000 a year on my truck between personal and work.
Keeping the 08 4wd for my personal duties and possibly adding a new 2014 2wd for work seems the way to go.
Since its business it's easier for a lot of reasons to not have to unload a ton of tools so I can fit groceries or the dog, plus it cleans up the tax sheets with a separate work vehicle.
The 08 has a few good years left in her but a new light on the dash comes on every month, and every day it's in the shop and I have no truck costs me quite a bit in lost wages and productivity.
We'll see if the FL dealer comes around or not. Going to call the sales manager this afternoon right after I check insurance and registration costs.

Edit:

That was easy. Just looked over the web page again, and none of the trucks on it this weekend are there anymore.
I printed out the one I was looking at with the 9 grand in "savings" off the MSRP on Saturday, but it's now gone and they're 5 grand more.
Guess I save 20,000 this year and try again next year.
Why are car dealers so sketchy?!

 

[Ktm300]

Buy in late fall for the "best" prices on left overs. Check out Penske Gmc in reading

 

[blacktail]

I think trucks have gone up because of demand. But why is there so much demand for trucks that cost $50k? It's because of the financing. People are paying a bundle for vehicles and financing them for ridiculously long terms.
Many people decide what they can "afford" based on the monthly payment.
I can't remember where I heard this, but I like it...
"A wise man asks, 'how much?'
A fool asks, 'how much per month?'"

 

[Ashful]

I think trucks have gone up because of demand. But why is there so much demand for trucks that cost $50k? It's because of the financing. People are paying a bundle for vehicles and financing them for ridiculously long terms. Many people decide what they can "afford" based on the monthly payment.

Yes, I think you nailed it. I won't finance a vehicle. Just doesn't make sense. Aside from a small home mortgage, I pay cash for everything, including all of my vehicles. This is why most of my friends drive newer cars than me.

 

[firefighterjake]

I think trucks have gone up because of demand. But why is there so much demand for trucks that cost $50k? It's because of the financing. People are paying a bundle for vehicles and financing them for ridiculously long terms.
Many people decide what they can "afford" based on the monthly payment.
I can't remember where I heard this, but I like it...
"A wise man asks, 'how much?'
A fool asks, 'how much per month?'"

And the reason why I quickly learned to not take my father with me while buying a car.

First car buying experience fresh out of college ... took him along to "help" ... walked into the dealership and first words out of his mouth to the salesman were "We have X amount of cash and can pay Y amount per month."

Not surprisingly my monthly payment happened to be that exact amount ... pretty sure we were the salesman's perfect customers. Never took dad with me again when I realized what I had done.