Trying to make a difficult decision

[CinderSchnauzer]

CS - thanks. Didn't know that there was such a huge difference in pricing. Seems strange to me since Canadian dollars are so much closer to the US dollar now.

I once wrote to GM to ask why the base Corvette was $15K more in Canada and the Silverado trucks built in Oshawa, ON were $10K more. The answer, as I interpreted, after cutting through the PR spin doctoring was "because we can get away with it"

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Upon doing some research locally I have found that the uglier / boxier Honda Element typically found in FWD, rapidly goes down the depreciation curve (given a pretty niche buyer) compared to the sleeker CRV, typically found in AWD. I've seen a 2007 and 2006 FWD both with less than 100000 km for ~$11000-12000. They might be worth considering as they would be ideal for hauling the dogs or a dump run.

My choices boil down to:

1. Keep the truck. It will be paid off in 3.5 years. Until then find a few other corners to cut and use extra income that tends to come my way to cover any shortfall.

2. Sell the truck. Buy as cheap as possible a commute vehicle as I am prepared to without regretting my daily driver. Have it paid off in a year.

3. Sell the truck. Buy a 2009 Forester or CRV. Will take me about 3 years to pay off but I will save about $300 monthly on payments and $200 on gas.

4. Sell the truck. Buy a new Forester or CRV. Will take me about 5 years to pay off but again I will save about $500 monthly.

Right now I am leaning towards 2.

Thanks for all the thoughts.

Good to "see" you again.

I think you're leaning in the right direction. Look for a cheap, but reliable daily driver for that commute. Is 4WD an absolute necessity? Although Kentucky is obviously not a Canadian province, we do get an occasional snow in the 4-10 inch range (that's up to 25.4cm for you canucks ).

We have a FWD Mazde Tribute (aka Ford Escape), now at 113K miles that does very well in snow. As long as the terrain isn't too unforgiving in your area, perhaps FWD will work? Highway mileage for the V6 20-21mph. Four cylinder would be even better, I'd imagine. V6 has decent tow capacity for a small SUV (3500lbs or about 1500kg). Reliability has been excellent...only repair so far has been to replace water pump.

Use the savings between the current truck's costs and the cheaper replacement and buy a trailer for those occasional hauling needs, then put the rest of the savings into a fund. Accumulate money in that fund until you can purchase another daily commuter after the first one wears out. If you can realistically save $350/month, then after 4 years, you have a bit over $16K to buy another good commuter. You might even squeeze out a few more dollars if its an interest-bearing account.

I have a 63 mile (roughly 100km?) commute. I have determined that for my personal needs, there's no justifiable reason to have anything other than an inexpensive, reliable commuter.

Regards,

Lost

 

[ultrarunner]

I knew we couldn't afford to drive a truck, so for 5 years we used a 5x8 utility trailer with a suzuki sidekick then toyota matrix to bring most of the materials for our house, deliver about 1000 square bales a year, haul ATV's, bring home farm equipment (my 18 ft tedder came home on it, as did my suzuki samurai).

This year I found myself needing to move bigger stuff so I bought an older 1 ton truck for 1200$. I've put about 500 km on it, too much for gas to use it all the time. We commute in our car (50,000 km/yr).

I won't eat the depreciation, and the insurance is just liability since its not worth much.

I hate making car payments almost as far as its depreciating.

I'm a big fan of trailers... 5 year tag costs around $35 and it is so much more convenient to haul things locally... easy to load, low to the ground, no worries about scratches and dents... well you get the picture... also, almost zero maintenance, no separate insurance... wheel bearings and tires cover 99% maintenance wise.

A family friend built a great cabin in the Sierra back in the 50's... he hauled everything behind his 1950 Plymouth with a home made box trailer...

My trailer will haul more than my truck easily.

I started my business with a $800 1972 Plymouth Valiant with a lumber rack and a utility trailer... still have both.

 

[schmism]

I still think he needs to keep the truck he has and just pay it off at this point and drive it for another 5-10 years afterward.

Do you really think that will happen? its been my experience, that everyone i have run across that faces a similar problem... didnt trade in and or sell a 15 year old vehicle(they bought new) to buy the brand new one. They traded in some 3-5 year old something they were still makeing payments on (on had just recently payed off)

The idea that people drive the same car for more than 7 years is rare. over 10 years is unheard of. Ive owned my toyota truck for 11 years now... feels like a LIFE TIME ago when i bough it! it has 240K miles on it.

After moveing our house to a nearly 100% cash (as in green cash) household you quickly learn that makeing ends meat has everything to do with the money you can save TODAY! not in a month, not in a year not in 10 years.

So if you can sell the truck and not be upside down you can easly save $400+ today! right away you start seeing the saveings add up.

Of course the best option is to use $5000 of savings, buy something with cash and have no car payment period. then that $800 a month you pay back to yourself to the saveings account and guess what... 7 months later you have your money back. and every month after that your makeing an additional 800 a month in CASH. Course the smart guy continues to save 400-600 of that for the next car purchase or the occasional repair bill.

point is if you do something like the above, and you pick something with a decent reliability record in that same 3 years you could have put something like $25K in CASH into the bank.



I see most of this thread as a discussion of what "new" vehicle to get when the real question you need to answer is, how much money do i want to save?
Once you figure out that question, THEN and ONLY then can you set about finding a vehicle that is best able to meet your needs for what your willing to spend (or in this case save).

 

[Dick L]

This might not be for every one but it made a less costly truck that has served and still serving me well.

I paid 6,000 for this 1994 7.3 diesel Ford E 350 truck with 40,000 miles on it. I put 2,000 more dollars into making it look like this. I did all the work myself. So I then had a 8,000 dollar truck and has hauled loads to and from many states.

Some day I might even paint the truck bed. It is kinda my trade mark as the ugly truck.

 

[mjncad]

The idea that people drive the same car for more than 7 years is rare. over 10 years is unheard of. Ive owned my toyota truck for 11 years now... feels like a LIFE TIME ago when i bough it! it has 240K miles on it.

I'm definitely in the rare camp as I bought my Accord new in 1995 and would drive it anywhere without qualms. It has about 147,000 miles on it.

My bought new 1999 F-250 has under 36,000 miles on it. Yes, you can see how much I use it; but I'm happy with it.

Before that I somehow coaxed 150,000 miles out of an '83 S-10 pickup. What a POS that thing was. I got rid of it in 1995.

 

[aczlan]

If I were in your shoes, I would probably get a Volvo S70, V70 or XC70 (if you want a FWD/AWD car) or a 740, 940, 960, S90 or V90 if you prefer RWD. If you cant get through a road in a Volvo with snows on all 4 corners, it is too nasty to be out.

For example, there is a 2003 XC70 (FWD platform AWD car) with 155000Kms available in Toronto for ~$6K (here).

That will get you a fairly new car that will give you 13.06L/100KM (7.65Km/L, 18 MPG) to 7.84L/100KM (13.75Km/L, 30 MPG) depending on the car and how you drive.
At that point, maintenance wise, will probably need some front end parts soon, but with the proper tires it will get you anywhere you want to go.
That car will need a timing belt at about 200,000KMs.

Just my $0.02

Aaron Z

 

[EE_Bota]

Canada is an interesting place...similar enough to the US were we would not feel lost there, but yet different in so many ways. A trip through Ontario farming country is a fascinating trip for people with my sensibilities. Some of the barns alone are worth the trip.

Some of my buddies near Stratford area can do about as well with rear wheel drive as many of us can do with four wheel drive.

And the economics are different. I have the same commute as the OP, but I don't understand his costs at all. And the costs on the truck look different as well. I believe him, it is just the difference in costs make it dicey to comment with any real authority.

What can I comment on with some authority:

I can vouch for Subarus. I have always had at least one since my teenage years.

I can vouch for the concept of using a trailer to avoid having to have a truck because that has been my strategy for the last 5 yrs.

I think the farm and the house make sense all on their own for a variety of reasons. But if I may offer some advice: be very stern, cold, and calculating about what you do with that land. You and your family can be quite happy and content there without any animals at all. Make all animals (except a security pet) pay their own way.

 

[slowzuki]

Trucks are about 20% more expensive here, fuel is about 20% more, insurance etc compared to the US. From looking at our mileage rates, a full size 4wd truck is about 3x the price per km.

With 50,000 km year commute, vehicle is my biggest expense. Fuel alone is about 2500$/yr in my small car, if I drove that using the truck it would be about 7000$/yr. Figure in 16,000$ compact car vs 35,000$ 1/2 ton payments, the insurance etc.

Even winter tires, the car is about 350$ vs 1100$ for the truck. Both last about 2 winter seasons.

 

[clemsonfor]

If I were in your shoes, I would probably get a Volvo S70, V70 or XC70 (if you want a FWD/AWD car) or a 740, 940, 960, S90 or V90 if you prefer RWD. If you cant get through a road in a Volvo with snows on all 4 corners, it is too nasty to be out.

For example, there is a 2003 XC70 (FWD platform AWD car) with 155000Kms available in Toronto for ~$6K (here).

That will get you a fairly new car that will give you 13.06L/100KM (7.65Km/L, 18 MPG) to 7.84L/100KM (13.75Km/L, 30 MPG) depending on the car and how you drive.
At that point, maintenance wise, will probably need some front end parts soon, but with the proper tires it will get you anywhere you want to go.
That car will need a timing belt at about 200,000KMs.

Just my $0.02

Aaron Z

My inlaws bought a used s70 and that thing was junk. I dont think it had 100K when they got it, it was an 03 or something. It had all kind of problems, the windows did not roll up right and it seemed to always bee in the shop for something and was always $400-900 everytime. They bought it used but it came with all the service records and they were pretty meticulous. It just seemed to have these major things go out faily often in the 2 years or so they had it. I think if i remember right a brake booster was one of those.