Should I trade in?

i use the hell out of credit cards, but i pay the balance at the end of the month...i like the points lol. i think financing things means you cant afford it and shouldn't buy it. but i'm also a hypocrite because i have a mortgage.

 

That was the next thing I was going to ask haha. It's kind of the way the world works, I'd bet most 3rd gen Tacoma owners are financing them. I pay all my credit card debt off at the end of the month too, and I felt pretty good about being able to put half down on my truck.

 

at the end of the day, it's about what makes you happy and what ur comfortable with. my advice as a stranger to a stranger is to not trade in. but really i think most people already have their minds made up when they ask for advice...they are just looking for someone to confirm the decision they already made.

tl;dr - do what makes you happy

 

If you believe that logic, I guess you bought your house and college education 100% cash up front? No mortgage, no loans? There are many reasons to finance, especially if you get a good APR. He may have a million dollars in the bank but would rather invest it and see more of a return than the rate he paid to finance.

 

thx

 

Thanks. I've gotten a dose of reality, and if I trade in it will be because I made a deal I can live with, and that makes me happy

 

N

Nice cement OR btw man!

 

Id make sure you keep the 4x4, OP. Never know when you need it or change your mind down the road. Also, I think the 4 banger 4x4s are awesome!

 

OP, you could do better selling it yourself and then pay off the current loan.

Then take your time and find the next truck you want for the right price. Going this route there is no dealer envolvement with a trade in.

Sure it may be more convienent to do it all at one place, but I guarantee the results moneywise will not be in your favor. Dealers are in the business to make money, not buddies.

 

A vehicle is a vehicle. Transportation. It is something that gets you from A to B. Yet everyone wants the bling and the wow. Then they trick it out or in TW speak they mod it.

My truck needs to take my ass to work. I need it to pull my trailers. I need it to haul whatever I need to in the bed. It had to be able to hook up a brake controller and have 7 pin harness. I wanted built in navigation and Bluetooth hands free calling (requirement to use a phone while driving where I live). I wanted 4wd. Everything else was a bell or a whistle.

I knew my numbers and what I was comfortable paying. Then I did my research. 12 months which ramped up in intensity as I got closer. I drove to dealers 2.5 hours away to look at colours. I drove to a dealer 4+ hours away to test drive a stick. I knew every single typo or misprint in the Toyota Tacoma brochure. Only once I was fully ready to accept the depreciation of the ink drying did I pick up a pen and make a deal.

I am not the average buyer. I don’t rush into a deal that is many years in paying off. I don’t regret my decisions because I did all of the legwork first. I also don’t see me needing an upgrade for frivolous desires. My suggestion to the OP is pump the brakes on any decisions for now. You are already making payments at a level you are happy with. What’s one or two more payments when you potentially are going to take a few grand hit. Make sure you know your numbers. Make sure you know the ins and outs of every single item and desire in this next decision. Don’t rush in to another decision you may regret.

My wife and I are currently helping a friend out who may have made the worst car deal in history. We are still waiting on the rest of the financials but she took advice from an aunt who apparently has claimed bankruptcy twice. We all hope the numbers are not as bad as it seems. Our only advice is let’s sort the mess you are currently in and then move forward. Making a second mistake as bad as the first means you have learned nothing.

 

Cars/trucks are an expense that you will always loose on. It depends on your income to debt ratio. Personally I would drive the SR into the ground and invest in your retirement account, or buy a house which you will (most likely) not loose money on, as an investment. I drove old, used cars & Jeeps for 25 years. Now my house is paid-off, my son is done with college that I paid for with cash, I paid cash for my new Taco, and I have a ton of money saved in my 401K. It sucked driving junkers, but has paid off in the long run. I could retire at 55.

 

I fully agree with your approach to big ticket items, especially a vehicle.

I let my meager monthly truck savings grow for over 10 years, spent 5 of those final years looking forward to my second Tacoma. Crunched numbers, test trove all of the Gen 3 Tacoma platforms, checked out all the features available and in what trim combos had what packages or options they came with. I dialed in on what options/features meant more to me than the other, and finally decided on EXACTLY what my new truck was going to be, and what color.

I put 2/3rds down on the exact price I was shooting for and financed the rest for 3 years @ 2% interest. This price was partially achieved by not having a trade in to muddy up the deal, and I did ALL of the dealing from home over email and phone between 3 local dealers, and a dealer 4 hours away that actually had the exact VIN that my local dealers were all fighting to sell me. In the end, I got exactly what I wanted, and expected, at my price with zero regrets.

 

Go drive a TRD Sport equipped the way you like, Sleep on it overnight, and go where your heart takes you..........
this is the best advice even from the Devil

 

I leased my Tacoma even though I could have easily paid cash for it. I don't like having $40k tied up in a depreciating asset. Instead the $40k goes to work making returns (hopefully) elsewhere while I pay small monthly payments on a lease.

 

When I was 15 or 16 I read an article written by Max Burns in Cycle Canada. He was shopping for a house. His article basically compared how we spend months and months and possibly years researching a new motorcycle. We know every detail of the machine before we even test drive or god forbid put money down. But when buying a house the statistic at that time was 8 minutes from the time you walked in the door until you decided you wanted to put an offer in. Max wrote he pulled back the baseboard trim to check for water damage that was painted over. He checked the furnace for mechanical issues instead of looking at new vs old. What I take away from this is we can stress over “small” decisions financially but rush into large decisions without much thought.

When I make any larger decision I use the Max Burns testing methods. If I can’t eat the loss to get out of a deal I had better be beyond 100% that I am in for the duration. I used to have girlfriends get upset at me because I asked their views on birth control and abortion BEFORE we had sex. It doesn’t do you any good to find out you have differing views after she is pregnant. So you had better know your financial situation and ability to eat the loss BEFORE you commit to a multi-year financial commitment. Hell I plan for the day I lose my job every time I make any deal even though demand in my trade I won’t be unemployed for more than week.

 

Wrong!

 

Don’t tell them how much you owe... tell them your just looking for a price for the trade in. Sell it privately... you will get more money that way anyways then get into what taco you want.

 

Seems like a dumb question, but is it realistic to privately sell my truck before I have a vehicle lined up to purchase? It seems like I'll end up needing a rental for some period of time to get to work until I find a truck to buy. It seems unlikely that I'll simultaneously find a buyer for my truck and find the right truck I'm looking for

 

Yes. If you need a bunch of random peoples opinion on the internet, then you need validation that your choice is right. You already know you want to, so do it

 

Haha, yeah I mean if I really want to do it I am going to whether or not TW likes it, I just figured why not ask, if y'all are anything like me you're just lurking through threads looking for stuff to weigh in on anyway. I am also considering a certified preowned, there are deals to be had there