Taco or....

Graduation is coming up soon. After 6 years of school, I'm about to start a job making very decent money.

I miss my old Silverado (lost it in an accident), and got a new Jeep wrangler in the meantime.

The Jeep has been good and bad... It's fun in the summer, it's easy to park and drive in the city, and it's nice to drive alone. But, it has given me a good share of headaches (Leaking top, broken bits n' pieces, clutch issues), it's loud on the highway (wind noise from soft top), and many of my friends don't feel the same Jeep vibe I do. Plus there's no cargo space (miss my bed!).

I have a ton in student loans, and I am getting married soon (Have to pay for wedding things). I'd LOVE to get a tundra, and while I could swing the payments, I don't think it's wise to be spending so much on a vehicle right now.

So I thought the Taco would be a nice intermediate. Get it before I get my dream tundra. But, the Taco isn't pennies a month either. I could get my Tundra for just a hundred bucks more a month than the Tacoma. But, the tacoma has no luxuries (ie: you get more out of the tundra for the money you pay: Leather, power seating, bigger bed, etc etc.).

Basically, I want to know what you would do if you were 24, graduating college with 200k in loans, getting married, and starting a job at 100k a year:

1:Keep my decent jeep and deal with it for a few years until you pay off the loans. It's a fun car at times, but it has no practicality. The warranty will be up in 8 months, so repairs will be out of pocket soon, but it'll also be paid off, so it'll be cheaper no matter what.

2: Buy the more practical and comfortable Tacoma. It'll be a great intermediate truck until you pay off your loans and maybe get a house.

3: Pay the extra $100-$200 a month and get your dream limited Tundra. Sure it's more money, but it's what you really want. Leather, navigation, climate control, larger bed, bigger engine, and not too bad on fuel either....

 

Option 2

 

I say stick it out with the jeep and get those student loans paid off

 

DUDE! get the tundra, you won't be happy if you settle!

your just gona want the tundra, and have to spend more money buying and selling and buying again.

 

Get the Tundra. You'll regret not doing so and will actually spend more money than you want simply because you won't be satisfied getting a vehicle you have to settle for. I've done that and have had to go through 3 vehicles in a year and a half to get what I actually wanted and wasted a lot of money to do it.

 

Get the Tundra. You'll want it anyways, no point losing money on an interim vehicle. That's what I did with my Taco. Sure I could get a Ranger or a Canyon cheaper, but I'll just want a Taco anyways.

 

For about $200 you can buy a utility trailer to pull with the Jeep when you need 'bed space'.

That's the smart avenue, IMHO.

 

If you dont need extra cabin room, you can get a 4x4 reg cab. Same ground clearance as a Wrangler Rubicon with same size tires. About same wheel base and turning radius. has a bed. gets 23-24mpg. Reliable 2.7l. $20k price tag. 09-10 coma with auto LSD which is basically LSD front and rear. Its extremely capable. I love mine!!!

Almost bought a wrangler... since i bout my truck i out wheeled 2 wranglers. one was open-open the other only had lsd in the rear

 

Balance your debt obligation by buying one used OAC or just save up a few months and buy a tacoma outright. Just make sure you give yourself enough miles on the factory warranty to get all the TSB's done!

 

WhSeWnen I was looking last month I could get a brand new simila equipped trd tundra as Tacoma fir only $1400 more. 4.6 L though...

Get the tundra.

 

x2....you will feel better in the end goibg this route.

 

Keep the Jeep and pay off the debt, build a small fund of emergency cash and put at least enough in your retirement account to get the company match if it is available.

New trucks are nice, but so is financial security in tough times. And just ask those who are out of work now who were doing fine 18 months ago, you never know when things will change!

 

Another for keep the jeep and pay down the loans and what not a bit. You already pretty extended with that much school debt...Get that or some of the other debt gone and then go straight to the Tundra you always wanted.

 

omg.sooooooooo true.x2 this for sure.

 

Look up Dave Ramsey. I wish I was introduced to him when I graduated college a few years back. Instead I bought a F250 Diesel and started off on the wrong foot financially speaking. The worst thing you can do is go buy a expensive truck right out of school, trust me it sucks. If the jeep runs good, keep it until you have your loans paid off and save up money for a "vehicle" and buy something that is HALF OF YOUR GROSS ANNUAL INCOME. IE, you make $50k, you should be buying a $25k vehicle.

http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/


We're on step 3 b/c that stupid truck move I did when I graduated took years to fix. Only now am I doing decent and driving a Honda. And trust me.... Plan to lose your job and be jobless for about 6 months. This economy stinks right now and I know personally, I'm working in construction management. Please look into Dave ramsey, it's just your grandparents advice, packaged nicely for today's day and age.

 

Keep the jeep, suck it up for a little while, then make everything you want to happen, happen then

 

X2

 

You can probably get a better deal on the tundra then the tacoma! Tacoma has no rebates and they really don't want to budge on the prices. They will on the tundra, hope you have stock in an oil co. though.

 

Tundra is a black hole for money (Fuel). Bad investment IMO. Unless you "NEED" a big truck forget about it.

 

Thanks guys for the replies. I'm surprised so many of you are pushing me towards the Tundra! But I do see what you guys are saying about getting what I want...

I don't see a massive difference in the fuel economy between the two. On paper, the 5.7 gets 3mpg less than the Tacoma's 4.0. It seems real world numbers on the tundra are pretty good too, so I'm not sure there's any REAL advantage there... I mean, it may save a couple hundred bucks a year, but it's nothing life changing...

And when you consider the Tacoma is recommended to be run on Premium, while the Tundra only calls for regular, the savings really aren't that significant (given the 30 cent price difference where I am)