College student thinking about buying a 2013 Tacoma, leery on dishing out the cash

Whichever truck you decide to buy, the best financial decision you can make is to get off this site. Biggest group of enablers you're ever gonna find.

 

The OP is going to put a down payment of 11k and spend the rest on the sickest long travel trophy truck suspension setup ever!!!

 

That reminds me. I need to order an N-Fab front bumper. Thanks for the reminder.

 

You can buy mine.

 

In for the "Broke College Kids sas & more build" thread.

Point proven. You're welcome and merry xmass.

 

Got my Tacoma and I've never regretted it. Best truck on the road in my own humble opinion

 

So I will second the guys saying that looking for financial advice on a truck forum is likely not the best idea. However here’s my .02 cents. My understanding of how credit scores work is that the biggest factors are age of credit history and utilization of rotating credit(credit cards). In your situation I’d put down half on the truck and keep the other half as an “o shit” fund. Look for the best rate you can get at a credit union. From there I’d get a credit card if you don’t already have one and start putting my daily expenses on it and paying the balance every month. You’d be surprised what that will do for your credit score over a couple years. If you want to be super financially responsible don’t buy the truck and never log on to Tacoma world again. This place has cost me a small fortune...

 

Don’t do it man. Don’t fall into the trap that 99% of people do. That’s why lots of people are prisoners of their jobs and are always working for The Man.

That’s why society is all messed up. Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you should buy it in your situation. To me, the fact that you still live at home tells me you can’t afford this truck

I mean a few questions you should ask yourself ( I always plan worst case scenario): what if you absolutely hate your job or boss, what if a huge emergency comes up that costs you an arm and a leg, what if the truck ( it’s used afterall) is a lemon that costs you a ton of money to fix up after you buy it.

Don’t paint yourself into a corner, and as someone already posted, get off this site as everyone on here will encourage you to buying that truck.

 

First off...Let me say it's great to hear someone your age with such a level headed outlook on life in general. You're way ahead of the game. Making a wise buy with the first major purchase is paramount. Get up and running, building equity, establishing good credit, AND, getting a quality vehicle will set you up for the near future. Tacoma's are about as good of an investment as cars/trucks get. They hold a strong resale value, not to mention a relatively low cost to own and operate (for a 4wd truck)

I'd tend to agree with the "pay a big chunk down, and finance enough to establish credit" camp. You can always pay it off sooner rather than later.

I also agree with the fact that you aren't going to get too many negative opinions here. After all, the reason why we're here is because we all bought (at least one) Tacoma. (On my 4th, plus a Tundra) The negatives you do see....well...Some people would complain if you hung 'em with a NEW rope... Just can't make 'em happy. You'll be the only person to judge your circumstances. Life can be risky. But without risk there is no reward.

Nice looking truck...Low miles....And the price isn't bad for a car lot.

 

This thread is the same as asking a bunch of hookers if you should spend $25k on a kilo of coke. As mentioned by a few people above, wrong place to ask for life changing financial advice. You've worked hard to save $25k and now you want to spend it all on a truck? I bought my 1st house when I was 19. I told people, "This sucks. My house payments are more than what I could rent a comparable house for and when something breaks, I gotta fix it". People told me, "Just wait. It'll turn around". Guess what. It did.

I am curious about 1 thing though. How does a person make $25k without owning a car?

 

With 25k down you could get a much newer access cab for that price. may have to settle for a sr5 instead though...

 

Hard to say if the first gen is good condition you’ll have a paid off truck an plenty for a house an furnishings. There is a lot of 1st time home buyer programs out there a house is a long-term investment where as a Tacoma is just a truck at the end of the day and granted holds re-sale value tremendously still depreciates. I’ve known to many people bought/rented shit hole homes but drive a 30k plus vechicle an if they drove something more moderate their quality of life for their family would be immensely better. You don’t have to keep up with the Joneses get established in you career, life, etc then reasses your life at that time if you can swing a newer truck. Whew my thumbs hurt but good luck.

 

Guys.. he said pay in cash. So payments and interest rates don't matter.

However, I so agree to put 12k down and have a small payment, or even 15k. Perfect.

I'd buy it.. if you buy a Chevy, you'll have issues and lose the value. My 2011 Tacoma has a decent 8-10k in equity. I'll come out on top if I sell. But I don't plan on that until the wheels fall off. Lol

 

Buy the 1st gen, keep emergency fund, pay off any high interest debt, employer match 401k, max out Roth Ira, invest left over.

Goodluck.

 

I'd buy it as well. You only live once and if worst comes to worst you can always sell it. I mean, it is a Tacoma after all. That or keep saving until the current housing bubble bursts in a year or two. Prices are going to plummet.

Civilization as we know it will end before you reach retirement age anyways.

 

I bought an '09 last year at 22. 5% is way too high, I have a 1.75% payment on my truck via my local credit union. There are some people here saying not to buy this vehicle and I somewhat agree with them. I paid 18k for my access cab with 75,000 miles and I wish I bought a beater first gen or shopped around a little bit more for a manual dcsb. Since you've already got a job and seem to be smart with your money, it's ultimately your call as to what you do. I love my taco but I'm starting to look into getting rid of it for that manual dcsb.

My advice, spend 10-18k on a tacoma, build your credit, pay off the truck and drive it for a few years and then upgrade when you're making the mech E $$$$.

 

These are them!

 

I'm no expert and I certainly don't make "engineering" money, but I would go with a first gen. I hate debt and try to avoid it at all costs. I still have students loans to repay (not too much) and the thought of a car payment on top of that is unfathomable to me. Plus, like many others have stated, saving for a down payment on a house (and building an emergency fund) is a smart, long-term play. It is true that there are many government programs that can help you get a mortgage loan without a significant down payment (my dad is a mortgage broker), but you will still end up paying that amount anyways; and those programs will add years to your mortgage. You still have to pay up in the end either way.

The white first gen (first pic) that you linked to seems like a good deal. If it checks out, I would grab that. Then you could spend a thousand or two on some mods/upgrades. Once you start making that "engineering" money and pay off any other debts, consider upgrading to a lower mileage second gen.

I may also be a little biased towards first gens. Ultimately, it is your choice. Make whatever decision you feel most comfortable with.

Edit: You do not need installment loans (like car payments) to build credit. Just get a credit card and pay it off in full every month.

 

^^^ wisdom.

 

I bought my Tacoma when I was younger than that. If you don't have any debts or potential debts then I'd say go for it.

Finance some and build your credit, as others have said.

Also I'd be cautious about rust with those first gens. Especially in Ohio.