Keep or Trade? – One year later…

If you don’t have a smile on your face when you exit the vehicle… get rid of it

 

Absolutely just keep buying shit and good luck with retirement

 

Folks need to get to a point in their lives where it's as simple as needs and wants.
Do you "need " a new truck , or ''want'' a new truck. If you're in a good place ,as far as debt to income ratio, get the truck. If it's gonna hurt to make monthly payments, then there's your answer.

 

what about when you have to dump $6,000 into a $12-14k truck? At that point I rather upgrade.

 

Thanks for the validation, now - where is my nearest Rimac dealer???

 

If you worked on the truck yourself the answer is pretty easy, keep it and fix what needs to be fixed. If the rear shocks are bad because of rust how is the rest of the underside? If it is getting pretty rusty I would say to sell it now and get either a new or nice used one and don't look back. You have a great engine and if you have changed oil 5k or less regularily it will last a very long time. Look at the overall picture. How much are the repairs for the R & P, tranny and shocks going to cost you? How is the frame and rest of the underside rust doing and how long do you think it will last? Will it be a financial burden at all? Do you have a savings account built up in case life hands you a difficult situation? Do the math and see if it adds up.

 

Buy ya a new one cause that smell.

 

both very good points!
Some say keep it, and for them; that's what works. Others don't have the space, tools, time. and/or knowledge to work on vehicles themselves. If you are paying full price for parts and labor, repairs can easily average a new payment,,, and guess what? repairs become more frequent,,, not less.

 

Ya can't buy a new truck when you're 6 feet under. Live for today and do what makes sense to you.

 

Lots of good comments. The theme of most comments are pragmatic and from an economic perspective. Growing up, my dad always replaced his vehicle as it approached 100K miles. I did similar as I became an adult: '79 Pinto>'84 Camero->'87 MR2->'93 Camry->'09 Tacoma. So replacing my truck by now is something programmed in my head. I guess there are two main differences now. #1 My '09 Tacoma is much higher quality than most of my previous vehicles (especially the Pinto and Camero). #2. In 2009, our kids were not in college yet. Now, in 2023, we are still paying off two college loans, our mortgage, and a home equity LOC. Our joint income is good and we have ample retirement savings (at least until last year's stock market, haha), but I am 61 (62 in May) and I would like to retire this year. So, yeah, the practical thing to do is to fix my rack and pinion, ignore the mileage and paint, quit whining, and just and stand down.

 

Let that sucker loak oil hold off till spring or early summer where you may reap thr bennies.
Im seeing inventory at every dealer here inN Ohio.
Wait it out a tad

 

I want that Pinto

 

LOL! No you don't

 

Well, from strictly financial point of view - keep your truck and drive it for several more years. My dad had an '02 Tundra that has like 315,000 miles, and is only now planning on buying a new truck (a Maverick for like ~$24K). You'll be able to pick up a lightly used '23 tacoma in like 4 years, and assuming you save the ~$350-$500/mo you save on a hypothetical truck payment you'll have ~$20K cash money to buy a new vehicle, guilt free. Your current truck will of course be worth a bit less, but assuming you likely replace the transmission ~$4-5K w/parts + labor and the ring & pinions front & rear ~$2400 + labor, you'll still sell it for like $5-6k at 243k miles so repairs are a wash. That '23 TRD OR in 4 years will be in the ~$25-$27k range with ~60,000 miles, and you'll have plenty of cash to cover that, especially if you buy say 6mo US treasuries (currently yielding 4.77%) with your not truck payment.

Now if you want the new truck and you find that you tend to just spend the ~$350-500 in disposable income rather than save it, then go for it. If you own the new one for the next 14 years it will cost you roughly $175/mo, it's more fuel efficient so it'll save you like $50/mo in gas. Bottom line, vehicles cost money to own and operate. So your decision should really be based on if you can swing the monthly payment for the next few years, and if it's worth it to you to not have any (or few) vehicle issues for that same period of time.

The early pandemic is the only situation where it would have made a lot more sense to go for the new one over the old, since your truck was worth more and with diligence you could have found a deal at MSRP or just under, and more importantly a 0.9% interest rate. 2020/2021 would have been the time to buy, in my opinion.

EDIT: also, if you're retiring then consult your financial advisor, but I'd lean toward buying new, cause at that age you have spent your lifetime working toward this moment, so enjoy the fruits of your labor.

 

Yeah, I started looking in 2020, and could get a great deal well under MSRP. However, at that time, I was just playing the field and not serious about buying (I didn't know if I should buy or keep and I was (and am) still am high on my current truck). Then the chip shortage hit later in 2021 and prices ballooned over MSRP (aka dealer market adjustment) and finance rates went up with inflation. Bad timing! Well, now the Toyota rate is up to 3.49% (not great) but at least a local dealer is selling $1500 below MSRP (better than before). I love my truck but I always see the new ones on the road and get tempted all over again.

 

That is creepy, I don't believe what it looks like I am seeing

 

If you retire this year and can acquire a payment and live comfortably get the new truck. You won’t put a lot of miles on it, you’ll have what you want, and it literally may last the rest of your life. You deserve it and you obviously want one.

 

Said no one ever!

 

After reading all of these other posts I realize my initial suggestion may not have been logically and/or financially sound so I'll amend it.

Spend 10k on new mods/lifting your old truck and don't even fix the current problems or worry about how it runs; looks > *.

And instead of also buying a new truck you should buy two new trucks because three trucks are better than two. (Or you could buy a new truck and boat and have a sweet truck boat truck setup.)

 

Right. I can't see how my wife would have any problem with that.