Should I or should I not. Need advice

Find a well maintained 1st gen Tacoma; the 4-cyl will go forever and are easy to work on if something does break. You can likely get one for between $3,000 to $8,000 depending on what's been done to them and if you limit your search to the 1995.5 to 1999 years.

I bought my new 1996 Tacoma exactly 20 years ago today ! Price was ~$22,000, minus the $4,500 they gave me for my POS 1989 Chevy S-10 blazer; so around $17,500. I was 30 at the time and had the money to buy new, liked the look of the new Toyota truck model named "Tacoma", and wanted to get away from Chevys; so I went with the new. I have not regretted it at all. It's been an awesome truck for all of it's 184,000+ miles. I may cry a little when I do sell it .

 

I'm in nh! Not really sure how to go about the union. Can I even if I am an apprentice? Not sure how it works.

 

Awesome truck! I have a 91 Toyota pickup with the 22re and its giving me a hassle.. I put alot of time and money into it. Now the rear end makes noise.. And nobody likes a noisy rear end

 

Thanks man I'm listening to all post and my best bet is to wait. Thank you for the post I really do appreciate it

 

I'm not saying you should or should not go union just wondering.

You'll figure it out once you get there & I'm sure you'll be informed either way by your employer / co-workers.

I know a few guys that have recently been in or went through an apprentice program in the same career field. It's a good gig man. You've got a good opportunity if it's similar to what the cats I know went through. They happened to have been union while in the apprenticeship.

You'll end up with a journeyman's electricians card right?

 

My piggy bank

 

Awesome!!
And yes eventually I will. I need class room hours and on job hours. Couple thousand in each. Within 3 years I hope to be a journeyman. In high school I did a 2 year electrical program and that shaves off a year of class room time. But that was in high school so I may just start fresh so I don't set myself up for failure

 

Awesome! Once you get the card, even if you don't stay in career, you'll always have a back up.

 

Definitely!
Hey thanks for the advice and positive replies. I appreciate it alot.

 

Id get a older 2 gen if you want something nice. and id mod the living hell out if it. personally i like not having a truck payment, i spending money on my truck with mods so i bought a first gen. i wouldnt waste your money on something brand new either. congrats on the new job too man! Thats awesome.

 

Just because you can afford the payments don't mean you should get one. Construction is an up and down business. If work gets slow you may not be working for a while. So that truck payment you could afford working full time may be harder when you are sitting home.

 

My advise is as long as your current car is reliable keep it. Never start a new job with an unreliable car. Once you move up through your apprenticeship and make more money, then buy a new truck once you have saved for that rainy day.

 

Thank you! I may just fix my 91.. Lol

 

A new truck is tempting for a young guy, but there are better uses for that money. Hell, I'm 58 and the Tacoma I just bought is the first new car/truck I've ever had. (For myself anyway, the wives have had a couple. ) I'm in pretty good financial shape these days, and never having had a car payment is one of the reasons.

I'll echo whoever it was that said start a retirement fund. Hard to do, or even think about, when you're 21 (I wan't that bright) but it's absolutely the smartest thing you can do. Open an IRA (I would use one of the low cost Vanguard funds) and put $50 a week in it. Every time you get a raise, bump that up $10.

 

I think my beat bet is to wait on focus on my career. Thank you for the posting. I am actually going to open up a Roth IRA pretty soon.
It's tempting to buy a new truck but not realistic right now. Thank you again

 

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. Good luck.

 

Thank you sir!

 

Smart idea to wait a little bit IMO. I was in similar shoes a couple of years ago. I splurged and bought a new car and kind of regretted it. I just fixed that in November by buying a 16 Tacoma, but could have saved myself a pile of money buying a used 1st gen.

One of the biggest things I can say that no one else mentioned yet is look at your living situation. If you are living with family or renting, it may be better for you to start saving up money for a down payment on a house (if you want to own). It can take years to save up the necessary down payment and legal fees for a home purchase.

In the end, it all comes down to what's right for you. Sounds like you're considering all options. Well done

 

This! I traded in my 15 OR for a 16 Sport because I needed the longer bed. Nothing wrong with the 15 at all, just need more room in the bed.

 

Thank you for the post! I think I will have to wait instead of an impulse buy that I would prob regret 3 months into it. 400 plus for a monthly doesn't sound hoffible right now because I want the truck, butni know that payment will hurt me and will be a long 60 months on edge.. I will just save the money I can and focus on edjumacation and a career path to better myself to get the wages I'm thriving for. Thanks again!