What is your monthly payment? Please read.

Buying a depreciating asset with borrowed money is to be avoided.

If I could go back in time I would beat that into my former self.

If you must have new then the best you can hope for is a zero percent APR dealio the domestic brands are more likely to offer (keep in mind that you'll likely give up cash discount to get the nill rate). But used is smarter. If you are handy you can get away with buying cars near their intrinsic value and just keep them running for a few years at a time. Post it over on Jalopnik.com - they go for that kind of thing. Just make sure its a brown volvo manual wagon, extra points for diesel.

 

OP, props to you for doing the smart thing and asking others on making a big decision and being willing to take advice. I like that, it shows maturity and thoughtfulness on your part. Look at all your expenses, NOT considering gf paying anything, as she may up and leave anytime and you stuck with a lot of stuff to pay for. Do you have a lot in savings, building up a retirement, when do you want to be able to buy a home, have kids? Yes, having a new truck is always appealing, but is it wise in your current situation?
A relative of mine had a good job making lots of money ,moved out on his own, bought an expensive vehicle, then got hurt on the job. He lost everything, his job, car repo'd, ruined credit, all before he was 25years old. He had to move back in with parents, and bum rides off them for a while.
As long as your current truck is running good, take good care of it and make it last as long as possible, and save like crazy. You won't regret being careful and saving money, but you will regret getting too far in over your head, and being stretched too thin, and especially if you lose everything.
Be careful, choose wisely. Don't let the shiny new stuff overrule what is best for you.

 

I'm 26 and bought new. Didn't think I'd buy a new truck but I figured I'd try a Tacoma after hearing all the good about them and buying used in the Tacoma market just didn't make sense price wise.

I don't remember the exact numbers but I put roughly 20k down, and my payment is ~250 per month or so for 5 years? I could have bought it outright but figured I'd further build credit with the loan. I also don't plan to replace the tacoma for at least 10 years or longer if it lasts.

I also made sure the payments wouldn't drastically affect my ability to save for retirement. I suggest you look at that too and also I see you say you rent with your girlfriend. Shit happens, it happened to me, same situation (couple years before the truck), then we broke up and I was stuck with much higher rent. So make sure you can at least make the payments in your "worst case" financial scenario.

 

purchase loan/lease coverage or "Gap" after you buy the truck through your insurance company. NEVER purchase GAP from the dealer.

 

On the other hand... If someone is able to pay cash, maybe it's worth a little bit of interest to keep that money invested. If one does lose their job, that money *should* still be there and can certainly cover a few months car payments.
(and anyone who doesn't have enough financial reserve to cover several months really needs to re-evaluate their budget/spending and get some savings going on...)

 

I am of the opinion that debt equals slavery, so I would pay cash for an older Tacoma that you can own free and clear. Buy a 15-20 year old Tacoma, dump maybe $500-1000 into some maintenance and minor improvements and then go have fun with it.

The best part of owning a truck that only cost $7000-8000, as compared to $35000-40000 is that you won't be so afraid to scratch it up and wheel it hard. Which is what we all SHOULD be doing with our Tacomas! And depreciation isn't a huge factor for an older truck either, so you can sell it for close to what you paid for it, compared to buying new.

 

There's another aspect to it all. Once you have something nice, you're not going to be willing to settle for less.

I told myself my last vehicle would be my last payment. I was on track for that, but it got totaled years before I planned on replacing it. At that point, I already had a new-ish vehicle with utility, no issues, etc. I wasn't willing to go backward. So the truck is now my last payment. That said, I put a decent amount down on the truck and pay extra so it's worth significantly more than I owe, so it's not all bad.

I know people who always seem to owe more than what their vehicles are worth, then they trade on another one and roll the difference into that loan and the cycle seems to repeat ad infinitum. Suddenly they owe $32k on a vehicle that is worth $25k on its best day.

 

Perfect answer

And I would like to add the following video lol

 

So nice to see this thread being different than the usual "can I buy a truck?" threads.

Every other one is full of guys saying "yeah man fucking do it, tacoma for life," and sending the kid into bankruptcy like it's a sport.

Yay, everybody.

Good for you, too, OP - for listening!

 

That's a good point too.

I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a few years recently. He always buys old Cherokees, modifies them and wheels them but also uses them as a daily driver. He asked me what I was driving so I told him. He says "I'd LOVE a Tacoma, the amount of stuff you can get for them is unbelievable. But on second thought if I had a Tacoma I'd probably think it was too nice to wheel with."

 

Look for an 05-06 tundra. They are thousands less than a taco and twice the truck.

 

You're 22. No one here is going to be able to convince you of anything.

I think we all forget that making mistakes is part of learning.

I say get the truck! YOLO or something like that.

 

Lots of good advice so far OP. I concur with those who recommend considering the "worst case" scenario and making sure that you can make the payment if the worst should happen.

If you haven't done it already, making a monthly budget and watching where your money goes is invaluable in the long run. You don't have to stick precisely to budget, but it helps to know when you're exceeding your expected spending.

The monthly budget was an eye-opener for me in graduate school. I moved to a cheaper apartment and made some other adjustments because of it. It made all the difference... and I did eventually make enough space in the budget for a modest car loan.

 

You want a cookie?

 

This thread has become a high-level life coach. How do we sticky this to the front page of google for all 18-25 year olds?

 

All I'll add to this since there is great advice hear is the "buy with cash comments".

Yeah, the possibility is there, the probability is not there.

Bring cash to the table, typically 10% is a good start to offset depreciation. And for a young guy like him (and others) the car payment SUCKS but does a great thing for your credit.

Most show up to the dealership with nothing to put down and get shafted. In this day an age their aren't many 22 year olds with 30k+ to go buy a vehicle with. And frankly that's a poor use of such money. 10k cash for a beater I'll get behind you, but you can do a LOT more with 30k and a Tacoma isn't it.

I've paid off two trucks in eight years, including my current Tacoma. I worked extra hours and strategized my money to have no truck payments. There is NO way I could have shown up with 22k when I bought the truck, but over three years I did.

(Also, never ask or talk about the monthly payment at a dealership. Ask the total financed if you can't afford the monthly payment walk on. Dealerships will get you a $300 payment for like 72 months and 3.2% interest., do the math, you'll see you get effed on the back end.)

Remember, what you want and what you need are always two very different things.

 

Don't know if it's been said in this thread, but if you do decide to buy the truck, DO NOT go to the dealership and tell them you want something for $XXX.XX a month. You will end up with 6 years+ of payments at an unfavorable interest rate and pay a ton of money in the long run for the truck.

Sounds like you are doing your research. If you find you can afford it, get pre-approved for a loan and negotiate only the sale price of the truck with the dealer until a price is agreed upon. Dealers love when a buyer comes in and say "I want a vehicle with a $500 a month payment".

 

Gotta love the "what are you comfortable paying a month?" question. Well since you asked "0".

 

my previous car was a brand new $20k civic ex on a pizza delivery income and i paid it off a in 3 1/2 years (edit: actually the last year I changed jobs but was making less than $20/hr, but lots of overtime.) i dunno how much chem engineers make, im sure senior ones can make more but i meant just a mid level one and i was shooting in the dark hah. $80k a year is well above the median income tho.

I'm not saying paying cash is a bad thing, its great if you can, but it's not the worst thing in the world to just save up a decent down payment and make monthly payments for a few years. There was one article I read that sounded pretty reasonable that said if you do get a car loan, ideally your monthly car expenses including insurance, gas, maintenance, should not be over 10% your gross monthly income. i was just joking and giving you a hard time because I think someone making $80k should be able to handle buying more than a $20k car, unless you meant a 20k loan on top of making a down payment.

edit: although on second thought, in regards to OP, a 22 year old with his first "real" job it makes sense I suppose because its safe to assume he is not financially stable and does not own a home or anything etc.

 

Pointless humble brag without disclosing the location and cost of said house.

A house can be had for $30k in Detroit.
A cardboard box can be had for $400k in Vancouver/Toronto/London/Manhattan.