Anyone who bought their truck with cash?

The system is broken. That's for sure.

 

New to the forum - Just bought my 1st Tacoma 2 weeks ago - base as it gets 5-lug AC 2.7L MT. Playing with it, but that's for another thread.

Relevant to this thread - the dealer wasn't pushing Toyota financing at all. They said outright they could help us get better terms from a local credit union than Toyota at something like 2.7%. We'd been thinking about cash vs. 'financing' - had the cash, would have financed if the total price was lower and paid it off quick. As it was, there didn't seem to be anything in it for either us or the dealer in a loan - unlike other's experience above.

Anyway, after the usual 'check with the manager' back and forth BS, we pulled out the checkbook and said you can either have a check for $18.6k right now or we're out the door in 5 minutes. Don't know how much money we saved, if any, but it sure did save time.

 

Whoops I mean 750+
But just checked mine on my discover card. It is 800 so I am happy.

 

Never said I didn't use credit. I was about 28 when I financed my first car, the last one I didn't self finance. I still use a credit card for fuel, travel expenses, etc etc (paid monthly). The thread was about paying cash for a vehicle. And by the way, when I was your age, the National guard was shooting students at Kent State, Vietnam was just ending, the country was divided, Gasoline went from 50 cents a gallon to a buck, mortgage interest rates were double digits, and I thought I had the same shit hole to climb out of - and I did!!

 

I agree. I left my parents house 8 months after graduating. I left in an old pick up truck with 500 dollars in my pocket. I'm 31 now, wife, 2 kids, and I am debt. Owe 47k on my house, 13k on my truck 18k on my wifes car, 8700 for our furnace/ac/new duct work install. No credit cards(work of the devil). I never went to college, she went to college on scholarships and got a free education.

If I can convince my wife to stay in the house we have. We will be debt free in 5 years. Less if we wanted to really bomb out our savings. My goal in life is to never live payment wise where we can't survive on too low paying jobs.

 

That shit hole is deep. And SS ain't going to help much either when we retire.

 

This is true too.

 

That's an excellent piece of financial advice for the young people out there.

 

The US military has been in a few "Vietnams" in the last ten years. Students get shot everyday in the school system. Gasoline has easily doubled from the time I was 16. Mortgage rates are good, but that's only because the US is broke and everyone is clinging to a dying financial system.

Trust me, the world has just gotten progressively worse at the same rate since the events you described. At least your generation had an economy. Yes it started to leave during the 80's, and good for you that you got through that, but with the world government now so far in debt there is no way out and the current state of the world economy (everything we buy is made by someone who makes less than a dollar an hour) there isn't much hope right now for the future. The rich pocket money from the stock market and products made for cents on the dollar all on the backs of middle america, which keeps shrinking because it can't handle the load. It's fun times ahead.

The NDP (very left wing socialists) were just elected in my province of Canada. I asked a girl I know at the bar last night why she was so passionate about the NDP winning. Her immediate response was that she and all of her friends couldn't afford rent or anything nice for themselves while they watch people running the show pack away millions of dollars a year. It was hard to argue against that.

 

Cash only goes so far. You still have to know how to deal. A smart sales person can get someone with cash to pay more than someone using a lone with good credit.
First you need to know what the dealer is paying for the vehicle. Second you need to pick a dealer with the lowest overhead. Third you need to be sure you are not too anxious. Be ready to walk, politely, but walk if your deal is not met. Here is some information.
https://www.carbuyingtips.com/car4.htm

 

When I was your age, the prevailing school of thought then as now is/was: SS won't be around when it's time to retire. My financial objectives considered that I might not get a SS check. Well SS is still around and I now get the "old folks check". Fortunately I achieved my financial objectives and the SS check is nice monthly bonus that I thought I would never receive - kind of like found dough. If you plan as though it won't be there and it is, it will be a nice bonus for you also.

 

It is. No credit sucks. They even run credit reports for comcast services, utilities, cell phone services. Without credit (good credit) you have to pay higher prices for said services or put down deposits. Even if you pay for everything cash it is good to always have revolving credit.
Shoot I will sign up for credit cards just to get the 50,000 bonus points and have used those countless times for free flights and cruises even though I have no credit balance. I am killing two birds with one stone. Building credit, paying for things I will be buying anyway and getting free trips.

 

You've definitely done things right!

I'm hoping to be there soon. That and building up my savings more are my two short term financial goals.

 

As long as China extends your governments loans then you'll keep getting your "bonus" cheque

Back to the OP, I think we are on the same page. He's young. He should spend that money wisely, buy a car that fits his needs rather than something new and shiney, and invest that money in getting his life started with education, a place to live, and/or some financial security.

 

Thanks for the conversation and all the advice given out so far, I'm playing sponge right now soaking it all up and weeding through it all. Really good info.

The main reason I'm focusing on the USAA Career loan over financing is because as a 21 year old with no credit and student loans (about $15k for what my ROTC and academic scholarships don't cover), if I'm lucky to get any financing at all it wouldn't be near what the USAA loan would be. That being said, I've considered the "financing, then pay off at first payment" route before and if I get a good deal, I'd be very willing to do that for various reasons (better deal on truck, etc.).

As of now I do not have a vehicle of my own, so purchasing one before I commission is pretty imperative. I want a new vehicle for the warranty/peace of mind/etc. That and new vs. used prices aren't that much. All I need is a base model anyways (I hate that standard touch screen stereo now that I know drives the price up a couple $100 compared to if it wasn't around).

 

I know this is Tacomaworld, but have you considered driving something cheaper until your build up your credit? That might work out better for you in the long run.

 

I agree, I didn't buy my first new vehicle after I graduated college until I was about 28. I had other financial priorities and a "new" car was not on the list at that time. Hindsight being 20/20, turned out to be one of my better financial decisions.

 

Leverage baby, that is also another reason not to drop all your load on a truck
Just be smart about how much leverage you have. I know i can invest $20,000 and make a better return on my money than the 2.6% interest rate I pay on my truck. Having the capital earning me money imo is smarter than buying outright. But honestly everyone will have their own opinion about that just like everyone has their own opinion on what to invest in for retirement (ie stocks, bonds, real estate etc)

 

I also agree buying something a bit cheaper is smarter in the long run until you get stable out of school

 

I'm on the redneck retirement plan. Playing the power ball.