Unbiased Opinions on Possible Vehicle Decision

[Olympus]

Hey guys, I need a panel of unbiased opinions to evaluate my thinking on a potential vehicle purchase/decision. Sometimes I have these "seemed like a good idea at the time" moments and I want to make sure this isn't going that direction.

Right now, vehicles are all paid for. Wife drives a 2013 Kia Optima and I'm driving a 2012 F150 SuperCrew. The Ford is a very nice truck, but it was an emergency purchase from my grandpa when my last vehicle laid down on me. So I got a good deal, but had to settle for a truck that I wouldn't normally have picked for myself, color, options, etc. The truck has 70k miles and still has some value. KBB says about $22k private party value, which is how I sell most of my vehicles.

That being said, I've been thinking about getting a third vehicle for several reasons. One to have a spare just in case, to have a second 4x4 vehicle during winter, third reason is our son goes to day-care that is down a rough, dusty gravel road (two trips up and down each week day), and fourth because I now have some hunting land that is 1.1 miles one way down a really bad gravel road. The two gravel roads will slowly start to do a number on both vehicles over time, squeaks, rattles, loose door panels, suspension wear, etc to both our vehicles. So having a third vehicle not as a daily driver, but as a daily day-care transport and transport to my hunting land is my thinking.

Now comes the kicker. I'm thinking of selling my 2012 Ford and using whatever money to buy TWO vehicles, a nicer daily driver of my choosing and a cheaper third vehicle. So that means probably having to go from a 2012 vehicle to say a 2008 or 2009 vehicle to still have money for a decent third vehicle. So say $16k for the new daily driver and $6 for the third vehicle. Is that a bad idea?

Here is my scenario I'm playing in my head, 2008ish Yukon/Tahoe and 2000-2002 Toyota Tacoma. I don't use the bed of my Ford for hauling anything that a Tacoma couldn't also haul in its bed. The Yukon/Tahoe would still be able to pull my 12ft trailer in the rare chance I needed to tow something heavy. And the Tacoma could tow my little 4x7 four wheeler trailer and four wheeler when I go out to my hunting land. Again, I'm just spitballing here. If I kept the amount paid for the two vehicles roughly the same as the amount I sold the Ford for, I'd still be able to spend some money on sales tax, license, and registration for both vehicles. Insurance-wise, I'd just keep liability only on the third vehicle, so that probably wouldn't change much.

 

[two_bit_score]

Normally one does not trade for older daily driver vehicles.

Every day that you drive a paid for vehicle you are basically making money.

Wants vs needs.


TBS

 

[Diamondpilot]

I tried the 3rd vehicle twice. Both times it was a 5 to 7 grand car. Both times it did not work out. Both mechanical issues and the added cost just made it not work financially.

 

[RickB]

I think trading back that far twice is nuts. One would be bad enough.
I onw a 2004 Sierra, but I have owned it since brand new and know everything about it. You buy a couple 8-14 year old vehicles and the tuition can get high fast.

Keep the F150 and buy an older third vehicle if you have to have 3.

 

[Olympus]

I guess I should add some additional info. My daily drive to work is 11 miles one way.

The day-care is 2 miles one way.

The hunting land is 25 miles one way.

So I don't put a lot of miles on a vehicle in a year.

 

[pyro29]

My wife and I have two vehicles each, for basically the same reasons.

She drives a 2013 Cadillac CTS4 most days.

I have a 2011 Ram 3500 crew cab which has never seen a single snow flake, it goes into the garage the weekend before Thanksgiving and doesn't come out until there has been enough April rain to remove the road salt.

All winter, and throughout the summer too, I drive a 1991 GMC K1500. I got it at the auction in 2011 for $930, which included the 7.5' Fisher plow.

We also have a 2004 Explorer which my wife will use of the roads are bad, we'll also take it to pick up feed if its raining and I cant wait for a dry day to put it in the truck although I hate dealing with bags instead of full pallets.

The only vehicle that still has a loan in the Cadillac. Some people, especially my wife, ask me all the time why and how it is that I can drive such an old truck. I honestly love it as I don't worry about dirt, dings, bumpy roads or whatever else.

I say go for it, sell the truck and get yourself something nice and some beater car or small truck. It only has to be reliable, not pretty.

 

[Olympus]

That is pretty much exactly why a I had been thinking about a Toyota Tacoma. My father in law has an 02 and the thing just runs and runs. I did some reading on some other forums and there are tons of guys with over 300k miles on those little trucks with nothing but regular maintenance. They seem bulletproof.

 

[gsganzer]

A new 4 x 4 Toy Taco crew cab would fit the bill for a daily driver and hunting rig. Put a topper on it if you don't need an open bed that frequently.

 

[Egon]

Unbiased eh??

The decision should be based on the used vehicle condition/rust. If those meet your requirements bring the vehicle maintence requirement up to date. If one has patience good used vehicles can be found. Also use the Internet to identify vehicle problem areas.

Mine are twenty and twelve years old.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My opinion is that you should keep both of your paid for cars. I would never get rid of a fairly new car that was paid for. You should be saving now for the next car that you will need so you can pay cash for it. If you put aside what your monthly payments would be for a new car each month, and continue driving the ones you have for another 8 years or so then you would have saved enough to buy your new car /truck without any financing.

If you absolutely have to have that 3rd car, look for an old beater, maybe one that has been wrecked, that is mechanically in good shape for that day care /hunting lease trip. Many times older cars are totaled by the insurance company that are still drivable and require little to no actual repair if you don't care what they look like. They can be bought cheaply at auctions. I see these going down the interstate lots of times heading for Mexico where cheap body work can be done and the cars resold for big profit.