How dumb am I being right now?

Dangerous question to ask the Internet, I know.

Please bear with me as I lay out all the facts; maybe it's too much detail but I'm putting all this "on paper" as much for me as for anyone else.

First the facts:

• I have a 2020 Tacoma TSS with < 14,000 miles on it. 2WD, 4 cylinder. 24-month lease. Buyout on it is $27,974. Lease was an amazing deal @ $999 down and $178 a month. That's ending in early September no matter what. I'm actually going to have to pay for a truck now.
• I have 4 kids (family of 6). We can't all fit in the Taco but that is just an annoyance—we also have a family van.
• No real off-roading. I live in the mid-south and we do get snow and ice, but not tons of it. I average twice a year where I really *must* get out in it.
• About once a year I'll find myself on muddy roads and wish I had 4WD.
• I use the bed of my truck for hauling supplies that would be hard to haul or impossible to haul in the family van about once every two months. My dad lives 10 minutes away, however, and has a full-size truck & trailer. I could make do. I just like being able to go to Lowe's or haul stuff to the dump without advance notice.
• The 4 cylinder annoys me, but I would only tow once a year - tops - if I had a V6 and a tow hitch. The 2WD is more annoying because there are a few times when it would be nice.
• I work from home and put very few miles on my truck. It spends a lot of time at the airport parking garage, too. This is good and bad in that it feels like a waste, but it doesn't depreciate as much.

In other words, when it comes to (a) owning a truck; and (b) having a 4x4, it's a nice to have for me. Not a must. I could drive a Camry and my life would be just fine (though I'd get annoyed often).

I walked into the dealership a few weeks ago to refinance my current truck or order a new one (knowing about the delays). They talked me into a new 2022 Tacoma SR w/ TSS package. And yes, I know the TSS package is kind of a rip-off, though I do admit I like the looks. It has a V6 and 4WD. MSRP ($38k).

Then I got the call yesterday that it's been delayed — for some reason, which even the dealer doesn't understand — until June 30th. It made me second guess the whole transaction, and all the options are bouncing around in my head.

I could:

• Go ahead with the deal as-is and just wait to get my new SR in June.
• Buy a used full-sized truck (probably F-150) for the same price. It wouldn't fit in my garage, but I could fit the whole family in it in a pinch (assuming a front bench seat). Probably wouldn't fit in my garage.
• Look at vehicles other than trucks that could fit the whole family.
• Lose my $500 deposit and just refinance the current Tacoma.
• Ask the dealer to instead find me an SR5 or TRD OR for the same or a similar price and not get ripped off with TSS.

So to get back to my original question, which seems to be false advertising at this point, am I crazy for buying this new Tacoma? Am I crazy for buying a truck at all, given my circumstances? I know that we're all different and have different things that we value, but what would you do in my situation?

Pic of my current Tacoma:

 

Doesn't seem like there is a REAL need. You have the van. Id buy out the current truck lease. Gas prices going through the roof, cost of a new vehicle is also going way up. Buy out your lease, put some different tires on it, a good all terrain in stock size for that occasional offroad adventure.

All your points , point to you not needing anything. Minor wants, but really not super important.

Thats my opinion.

The next 100 people that reply will tell you what i said is stupid and you should spend 80k on a electric car.

 

I agree. You don't need the V6 or 4whl drive. Buy out your current lease.

 

+1 for buying the lease

 

Seems like buying out the lease is the best move

 

Buying new is always nice but your losing as soon as you drive out of the dealer, (I know everyone knows it that). Your truck looks in great shape. I would argue that the $500 deposit was for an agreed upon delivery. They are missing the date .. not you. Gotta love a truck. I didn’t need another truck but hey it’s a happy time driving my Tacoma. I purchased it certified. It is a 2.7 but that was what they had at the time and enjoy the truck. It’s up to you but a truck is nice to have and how often do you need transport the entire family. Either way you shouldn’t lose the $500. Refi and enjoy. You know what you have

 

Sounds like you wanted a 4x4 and already took steps to do so.... If you can leverage the dealer to help get you what you want at lease turn-in I dont see why not try that.

The buyout sounds pretty close to what they are going for still so meh on that.

 

I bought the truck i wanted because i keep vehicles for a very long time. Life changes and the needs for 4x4 or a V6 might come in handy. If are the type of person that trades every few years and gets tired of things quickly then settle for the leased truck. (the majority on this board)

 

Is 10k worth having everything you want but don't need, maybe. I would just weigh that. People will spend that on suspension alone. If you're not planning on carrying the fam in the truck, maybe there is another cheaper option for a used truck that will fit your needs.

 

You’ve paid $5271 so far on your lease. With the $27974 buyout you are looking at $33245 for your truck.

could you buy it out and sell for a profit, roll that into a different truck?

 

Good point. That's effectively what I'm doing at the moment, though the dealership is only giving me $29,000 for the truck. So I would either pay about $37,000 for the new truck or $28,000 for the older one (but keep equity). I have wondered if buying it outright and walking would get me more trade-in elsewhere. Though that's a lot of back-and-forth for an extra thousand or so.

 

Thats kinda what I was thinking. Buy out the lease then if its still not working then you have nice trade in vehicle cost offset. as he mentioned above you're looking at 33,245 vs 43,271 (new truck plus what you've already paid).

Edit: I think my math is wrong.

 

BTW, I had a 2nd Gen access cab for almost 20 years, also 4 kids, so I feel your pain lol. (Also a minivan here…)

 

If you're going to buy it out and then trade, there probably isn't enough upside to cover the hassle to do it. If you buy it out and then can sell it to a private party you may have some decent upside (depends on your market and willingness to sell a vehicle personally). The dealer has incentive to 'buy' your equity, and they want you to trade it in for that reason.

 

Hah - yes. Cars are built for people with 2 and MAYBE 3 kids. Even minivans are pretty tough to squeeze 4 kids and their gear into. If money were no object, I'd buy a giant Suburban/Yukon XL/whatever Ford's offering is.

 

Why don't you keep driving the lease until the other truck comes in and make a decision then? If you're not in a sales tax state it may make more sense to buy it and resell if you decide to go new vs trading, but if you're in a tax state don't forget about the tax credit on a trade. The buyout isn't going to change much at all between now and September based on your payment, why not give it a few more months and hash it over in your head?

 

Maybe I’m out of touch with the new realities, but $38k for an SR would be a hard pass for me.

 

Buy out the lease. All that money you saved will take care of family needs and ALOT of gasoline.

 

+++ on buy the lease. $38k is too much to me SR TSS isn’t worth that imho. Perhaps better deals later on Tacomas when supply picks back up and there’s more competition from other manufacturers new trucks coming out.

 

buy what you want, life is too short to play the what if game. Have the dealer find the right truck for you. The Sr with TSS is way too high for what it is. Just to put it into perspective in September 15 2020 I purchased my TRD off-road (tech pack, led headlights) for 36.8k before ttl and fees. During this shortage an SR5 V6 4x4 should fall on that price range and and offloads /sports in the low 40s.