What makes more sense...driving a long paid for old truck, or making huge payments??

[MF283]

I bought my 07 JD 5303 IN 2011 with 158 hours on it, the 3 pt hitch had never been used & the FEL bucket was like new as well, saved a ton of money on it & have been offered my money back with 700 hours on it now, not bad for a 10 year old tractor.
I have been "jonsing" for a cab tractor though, it won't be brand spanking new either, the 0% interest is very tempting though.

Ronnie

 

[sld]

Some people look at vehicles as strictly transportation and others are vehicle enthusiasts. I am the latter and usually have newer vehicles around.

I get a lot of enjoyment from maintaining and even driving our vehicles. To me, that counts for something and I don't look at vehicles from only a bean counter perspective.

I always bought the kids older cars and didn't mind working on them at all. But, anymore I would rather spend an afternoon washing and waxing one of ours than spend an afternoon doing a brake job, tune up, starter, alternator....etc.

I have somewhat drawn the line on a new truck. Mine is 10 years old with low miles and the way prices are going I'll keep it for awhile. My 2015 Taurus has 10k and the wifes 2017 Escape has 2k. Both of those were under $30k to buy new.

 

[KubotaToy]

I will admit I traded a perfectly good 2005 F350 KR with 72K last year for a leftover 2015 F350 Platinum which I only have 7200 miles on right now, the only thing I wanted was to go from a diesel to a gas motor as I wanted to use it as my daily driver, my beater car died a violent death (80' pine fell on it during a storm last year). The dealer offered me about $5k more than I was expecting and sold it 2 hours later, must have had one of you guys wanting a good used truck...

I always try to keep a newer vehicle for travel if needed, but my wife believes if a vehicle is able to be driven to the dealer it still has too much life left in it to trade. Her last truck I bought her was a 84 Chevy 1500, it just ticked over 495K when the oil pump broke, towed it to the the ford dealer who was offering no questions asked $5000 trade value for any vehicle brought to their lot, they argued for a while but I ended up with a new 03 ranger which just ticked over 175K, I tried to get her to trade it for a 2016 F150 that they were offering about $15K off at the end of the year but she told me it did not need a tow yet...

BTW- we save what would be a payment each month and pay cash when or if we buy a new vehicle. Same thing for tractors, I paid cash which seems to confuse a lot of dealer nowadays.

 

[ovrszd]

BTW- we save what would be a payment each month and pay cash when or if we buy a new vehicle. Same thing for tractors, I paid cash which seems to confuse a lot of dealer nowadays.

Less potential for profit to the dealer when dealing with cash. Their profit margin hides better with financing.

 

[rankrank1]

Well for now I am keeping what I got as well....

1992 C1500 2wd, RC LB, 4.3 V6, AT. . Bought this one new. Worked it 5/8 ton hard for years. Gave it to my Mom in 2001 who drove it as a daily driver for over 6 years. Mom bought a new car in 2008 and gave it back to me. Not worth worth much $ wise so it stays around. Still in pretty darned good shape for 25 years old. Gonna treat it to my hack welding skills of new cab corners and rockers this coming year hopefully.

2003 GMC Sierra K1500, EXt Cab LB, 5.3, 4-speed AT, and kinda rare in a half ton 4.10 rear end. Bought this one slightly used 2005 as a hopeful upgrade to a new 2001 Silverado 1500 EC SB 2WD 4.3 V6 purchase that I was less than happy with. This thing is a towing beast relative to the 1/2 ton truck it is and has been a pretty darned good truck.

That all said I have been researching new trucks and test driving the ones that interest me:
a) I do not fit well in the new GM cabs so have not even proceeded with the test drive portions of my trial sit my fanny in the seat. Sad for me because I think the venerable 6.0 gasser in a 2500 is a proven workhorse with unsurpassed reliabiliity for the 20 years I would likely keep the truck.
b) 2016 Ford 1500, 4WD, 5.0, 6 speed AT. (Nice truck but I do not feel $40K better than my 14 year old truck)
c) 2016 Ram 1500, 4WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8 Speed AT. (Nice truck and I was buying it but dealership would not honor their internet price on it. Kinda glad the deal fell through in hindsight as my money would be better spent on a 2500).
d) 2017 F250 Super Duty, EC LB, 4WD, 6.2, gasser 6 Speed AT. (Terrible handling truck. Ride was severely harsh and steering feel was even worse. Had to fight it to turn it and worse yet fight it to return it back to straight line. I am hoping both of these undesirable traits are due to the snow plow prep package that was a sticker option on the truck. Sadly I have yet to find one without that $85 option in my area. When I do I will test drive it to confirm. Otherwise no way I would buy this.
e) 2017 Nissan Titan XD, 4WD, 5.6 Gasser, 7 speed AT. Truck rode and drove fine. I do not have enough headroom so truck would not be comfortable for me longer term so is out of consideration. Engine was a gutless slug until 3K rpm and then pulls strong. I pulled out from a side street unto 2 lane highway and mashed the pedal and had nothing at all - like 1/2 pedal of dead pedal. Salesman tried to tell me computer retards things if slippage is detected, but roads were dry and we were not slipping or slipping at all. Once it hit 3K rpm then pulled hard again. No thanks.
f) 2016 Ram 2500, CC SB, 6.4 gasser, 4WD, 6 speed AT, 3.73 rear end and 2017 Ram 2500 CC SB, 6.4 gasser, 4WD, 6 speed AT, 4.10 rear end. So far this is by far the truck for me if I were to spend some money (I want the 4.10 rear end).


That all said I have yet to find anything that is light years ahead of my current 2003 truck so it will likely just stay around a few more years longer. (Back in 1992 when I bought that C1500 I felt that design was light years an improvement over most of the stuff I had previously driven from the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. GM for sure hit a home run with that redesign in 1988). Until I get that feeling again I may not buy anything. Sure the newer trucks are nicer than the older ones but the difference is not night and day. Cheap for me to maintain what I already have....and money in a 401K instead of a truck may help me retire a year or two sooner I hope.....

 

[CADplans]

As far as buying new,,, I believe all of the manufacturers are being crippled by the computer assisted features.

Consumer Reports gives bad grades to a lot of trucks,,, most negatives sound computer related??

Least Reliable Cars in America

Our new 2016 Honda has computer features of which fully 50% we do not use.
I do not want to "learn" that much to drive,, also,, I think the features are a distraction from actual driving.

How can I concentrate on traffic when the car is beeping at me because I am close to a lane marker?
How am I supposed to differentiate beeps for lane markers, seat belts, fuel level, distance to the next vehicle,,, etc,,
I think the new cars have WAY too much "feed-back",,, just let me drive,,,

 

[Retiredguy2]

As far as buying new,,, I believe all of the manufacturers are being crippled by the computer assisted features.

Consumer Reports gives bad grades to a lot of trucks,,, most negatives sound computer related??

Least Reliable Cars in America[/ur

Our new 2016 Honda has computer features of which fully 50% we do not use.
I do not want to "learn" that much to drive,, also,, I think the features are a distraction from actual driving.

How can I concentrate on traffic when the car is beeping at me because I am close to a lane marker?
How am I supposed to differentiate beeps for lane markers, seat belts, fuel level, distance to the next vehicle,,, etc,,
I think the new cars have WAY too much "feed-back",,, just let me drive,,,

You make an excellent point about new vehicles having too much feedback...EXCELLENTLY stated. I too have no use for the incredibly complex crap they load onto new cars and trucks...who really NEEDS side mirrors that signal when there is another vehicle nearby? I truthfully think having all this gewgaws and gimcracks and add-ons basically let most drivers be more inattentive and that is why so many accidents occur. "But my car told me the lane change I made showed nothing there...."

Just saying here that because I have been an attentive driver since 1968 I have NEVER had an at-fault accident and most of my career over a 35 year period involved driving Class B straight trucks for a living. No at fault accidents nor citations there either.

 

[Oaktree]

Our new 2016 Honda has computer features of which fully 50% we do not use.
I do not want to "learn" that much to drive,, also,, I think the features are a distraction from actual driving.

How can I concentrate on traffic when the car is beeping at me because I am close to a lane marker?
How am I supposed to differentiate beeps for lane markers, seat belts, fuel level, distance to the next vehicle,,, etc,,
I think the new cars have WAY too much "feed-back",,, just let me drive,,,

Because cars are being marketed to millennials who are into all these tech gizmos, not us old guys. Some of it (tire pressure monitors, backup cams, etc.) is government-mandated. I don't know why automakers can't seem to build a car anymore that you can see out of, then we wouldn't need half of this stuff.

I've only bought one new vehicle in my life, and that was when I got out of school in the early 70s. Had my first "real" job, time for my first new car ('70 Dart for anyone who cares). That car was like a pair of jeans...the longer I had it, the more comfortable it became. Drove it right into the ground, put almost 300,000 on it.
Since then I've bought "middle aged" vehicles, which today means something 7-8 years old. Old enough for someone else to have taken a hit on depreciation, and to know which models stand up and which ones don't but new enough to still have plenty of life left in them. Registration & insurance are a lot cheaper on an older vehicle too.
I've personally had the best experiences with GM & Chrysler products, YMMV.

 

[nybirdman]

Put me in the camp of buying new and often.I trade cars and trucks about every two years and have for the last 20 years.I like new stuff and can't stand break downs and rust.I traded a 2013 Silverado with 5500 miles for a 2014 because I liked the body style change.Retired so this truck only has 12,700 miles and may trade it in the spring.My wife's 2015 has about 14,000 miles(she is still working) and running for the grand-kids.I have purchased one set of tires in the last 20+years for a Subaru that we put 60,000 miles on.The North-East is tough on vehicles;I know I could keep them longer but can afford to trade.

 

[YardBikeBob]

Pretty simple guideline for me: when the price of a new transmission equals the value of the vehicle, let it go.

Last 3 auto trans cars had issues. Last 2 drivers purchased new have sticks.