How do people afford this stuff??

not bashing directly at you but i hate the whole "vehicles are terrible investments" most people don't buy vehicles expecting them to bring money for them in the future, unless its for business use. Every time I talk about wanting a new vehicle or something along those lines and somebody says "cars are the worst thing you can invest in" I cant help it and mentally roll my eyes lol.

 

LOL. I went this route. Man I have had some doozies land in my lap. I had to weld a frame to recover a stolen dirt bike out of a 80 ft vertical mine shaft once. Had a guy with a 1993 4 cylinder yota want me to biuld him a western hauler style flatbed with 4 skirt tool boxes. I told him it's gonna be too heavy. He said just do it. Now he can't use 5th gear and he wants me to re gear his truck lol. I got contracted to fly around to different remote wildlife water tanks in southern Arizona and weld up bullet holes in the tanks. Weird stuff happens when you put on Craigslist....have welder, will travel...

 

Set your alerts for the 3rd Gen classifieds forum —> HERE <—

Like @mesojdm said, watch the group buys, deals, and other for sale threads too.

The Bros are constantly changing their shit up. You can take advantage and buy their low mileage takeoffs for 50% of retail while they try to keep up with the Kardashians.

I’m on a “family build plan” myself and try to DIY whenever time allows. Also, it helps to not have OCD or Getitnowitis.

Here are some of the sweet deals I’ve snagged from other great members on TW.....
Lightly used 265/75/16r BFG KO2s $500 (They’re sitting in my garage while I drive off some more tread of the perfectly capable Goodyear Adventurers)
Relentless Sliders $400
ARE MX topper with all the options $1200 ($125 to color matchish vinyl wrap myself)
Meso Ultimate turns B grade $55
Headunit jumper harness $20

Anyways...deals can be had. Patience is the key.

Anyone who flames you for saving money is a fool and not worth your acknowledgement.

 

But the stories and adventures make up for it!

 

Dinks. Dual Income No Kids. But that's not me. and I live in Cali - where everything is supermegaultraoverinflated. It takes careful planning, sacrifice, smart investment, smart lifestyle choices, luck, patience, and there's no better motivator for innovation than scarcity.

nah, just kidding. f all that reasonable stuff. Lotto FTW.

 

It helps that the West Coast has a huge tacoma following so parts come up for sale often. Out here in the midwest I check CL daily and its the same parts that have been listed for the last century...

 

Like some said , slow and steady, lol... Grille last year, sliders/skid this year, wheels and tires soon!! Next year, roof rack/bumper of some sort, maybe lift in two years small mods here and there. Slowly it comes together. But looking at some of these trucks, your always saying, "man, I wish I could get that"

 

shoots bro. too much traffic though.

 

***
Do they provide vaseline or is it on you?

 

Save, save, save, and save.

What I do myself:

Have your monthly budget - What you spend on necessities, such as food, rent/mortgage, utilities, fuel, insurance, entertainment, etc. Let's call that "A."

Take your net paycheck, and deduct the yearly average for necessities. All of that goes to savings "B."

Now. Take whatever you feel comfortable with from "B" for truck parts. Say 20%. Put that 20% into savings account "C." If you don't want two savings account, keep "C" on paper in a log.

Make a build list of shit you want/need/whatever. Rank it from priority 1 to whatever. Whenever savings "C" equates to the first item on your list, buy it. So on, and so forth.

 

I saved and bought my Taco with cash. Mods will need to be spread out some, but I'm a thrifty shopper.

 

Once again, if you have to ask, you can't handle it.

 

***
Gay?

 

It might be easier and definitely cheaper to just quit checking TacomaWorld

 

No wife or girlfriend, no kids.

Upside: any extra money, if any, I can do what I want.

Downside: No one to come home to and always alone.

 

***
DUDE!!!! THAT is the upside. Ask any married man.

 

I put everything on 0% cards and pay them off. Get to earn cash back through the year to use as a free mod. Then just open another 0% card and close the old one. Credit is good enough to get the lowest rates soi don’t care about the 5-10 point hit a year that builds back up in a month.
If they want to pay me to use their money, I’m fine with it.

 

I can't speak for others but. I make really good money, i work in the auto industry and I put everything on my CC. Im in my 40's and don't have kids. My truck gets used for marketing purposes.

...But I also pay it off monthly. points are good. i like points.

 

What do you consider a decent wage first off? And yeah everything is expensive. I would not have been able to do any of the stuff that I do if I wasn't 35 years old and married to a very supportive wife. I can't imagine doing any of this in my 20s.

In regards to credit cards I also use credit cards all the time. I put all my bills on that and pay it off every month just to reap the rewards. 1% on everything, 2% on gas and 3% on food.

I also make a "decent" wage as well and she makes around the same. Then again I'm never in a rush to buy anything and wait for a sale. I get a lot of items from Amazon and use camelcamelcamel to watch prices for sales.