Truck life?

[gatorgar]

05 Sierra. 265*** miles. Don't feel the need to replace it yet.

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[BrandonH]

I hate the idea of spending money on something that is just an expense. I just worry about breaking down out in no mans land, especially with young children. Living in West Texas its hard to break down in a convenient spot.


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I see posts weekly with people complaining about their brand new truck having issues, so a new truck doesn't guarantee no problems. Yes the odds are better, but with proper maintenance your current truck is just fine. It's also a plus that you're the original owner, so you know the truck inside & out by now.

I get attached to vehicles and do not care if I'm in the newest truck or not. I've owned my current truck since new and it is a 2003. It has somewhere around 350k miles and I'm going to break the 500,000 before even considering a new one. It's my daily driver and I wouldn't hesitate to load the kids up and drive cross country.

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[stinkbelly]

My 04 Chevy 2500HD started to fall apart at 160K, but I took it to 260K. Looking back, I should of dropped 5 or 6K into it instead of 40K into a new truck.

I broke down Colorado with my old one. That was the last straw. Luckily I was 6 miles from a Chevy dealer.

Piece of mind is a big deal with a family. A cell phone and the Uber app will help.

[Jmh05]

I’m going against the consensus here. Get a new or newer truck. You can save about $10K by getting a slightly used truck with less than 10,000miles on it.

If you can afford the truck payment, I’d do it for piece of mind. The first time you do break down out here (I live in rural parts of W TX) with your kids on the side of the road you’ll hate that truck.

Shop smart. I’ve retained about $15k of original $19k in equity in my last 4 trucks cumulatively by shopping and trading wisely.


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[SoTXAg06]

Honestly, it depends how hard of mileage you put on the truck. Highway miles are a lot different than dirt roads miles. My current Chevy is at a 136K, and I’m ready to dump it.


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[CaptainDave]

I just went through this same dilemma. Had a 2007, Z71 with 150K miles on it. It had been a very good truck. I also didn't spare much expense on maintenance/upkeep and was sinking about $1,500-2,000 per year into her to keep her going strong.

My main concern came down to the possibility of needing a major repair. Anything significant would have cost at least 1/3 (possibly more) of what the truck was worth and regardless I would have had to eat that amount; i.e. either on the repair itself or resale value. Even something like the AC going out would have been a drag. Other things like new tires would be a $1,000 investment into a $10,000 truck, etc.

Although new vehicles can have issues, it's still less issues than 10 plus year old vehicles have. Not to mention, a lot of new car issues don't leave you stranded on the side of the interstate.

Hopefully, you have saved up a little coin by not having a truck note for a few years. Also, the OP's truck would fetch a decent price on the used truck market. Heck, I ended up selling my 2007 to CarMax for $8,800 and after putting up an additional $15K, I was already halfway to paying for a new truck.

[JonBoy]

I hate the idea of spending money on something that is just an expense. I just worry about breaking down out in no mans land, especially with young children. Living in West Texas its hard to break down in a convenient spot.


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I hate to state the obvious but any money you put into a vehicle (new or used) is an expense with very little return on investment. I understand the worry about breaking down in BFE with kids in the car but in the end if you've kept good maintenance on the current vehicle it's going to be similar odds on a breakdown with a known used or unproven new vehicle. JMO

[Tx.Fisher]

I was in the same boat a few years ago. I kept the paid for ‘06 Silverado with 150,00 miles, and bought a new to me ‘11 Silverado with 40,000 miles on it. Four years later my ‘06 has 260,000 miles and still running strong and is still my daily driver. Now my 2011 truck is paid off with with only 70,000 miles . This system has worked good for me, but I like having the option of taking the new or old truck.

[BrianL]

When you factor cost per mile, including all repairs, there isn't much difference between new and used. In fact, many times the new cost less per mile is less than used ones.

I think the best time to get rid of one is 150-180K

[tex8569]

Lots of good ideas to chew on. Obviously every type of living & driving situation is different which is the biggest factor. It's a real tough call for me as Im driven (pun intended) by reliability and not giving away dollars. It would be a much easier decision without thinking of little kids or if I was still living in Houston where every town I drive through to go hunting has a Chevy dealership and cell phone service.

[sweetinlow660]

When you factor cost per mile, including all repairs, there isn't much difference between new and used. In fact, many times the new cost less per mile is less than used ones.

I think the best time to get rid of one is 150-180K

How did you come to this conclusion? Is it based on national statistics or personal experience? I know for me personally I used to spend on average $500 a month on my truck payment which equals 6k per year roughly and that is way more than my average repair/maintenance costs of about 1000 a year. These numbers are based on not have a truck payment since 2009 when a new truck was about 35k so I know that the monthly payment has greatly increased. Withstanding a catastrophic failure I can’t imagine no payment +repair costs being anywhere close to the equivalent to truck payment+repair costs. IMHO

[BrianL]

10 years in the car business and 20 years financing them.

A vehicle is just a machine and has a life span. Figuring out how many miles it will last is the trick. Even though they can be repaired or replaced forever, at some point it just isn't cost effective.

My example is comparing buying a 80-100k mile vehicle and driving it to 200k vs buying a new one and driving it to 200k miles. New is almost always cheaper.
Cost/200k

How did you come to this conclusion? Is it based on national statistics or personal experience? I know for me personally I used to spend on average $500 a month on my truck payment which equals 6k per year roughly and that is way more than my average repair/maintenance costs of about 1000 a year. These numbers are based on not have a truck payment since 2009 when a new truck was about 35k so I know that the monthly payment has greatly increased. Withstanding a catastrophic failure I can’t imagine no payment +repair costs being anywhere close to the equivalent to truck payment+repair costs. IMHO

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[BrianL]

Vs

Used cost/(200-current mileage)



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[sweetinlow660]

Vs

Used cost/(200-current mileage)



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So the car salesman says buying a car is the best choice just kidding. I see your point. But I have had better luck than average on repairs I guess. My last truck was a 2001 Chevy 2500 w/ 160k bought for 9k drove it 5 years spent 2500 on it in repairs plus maintenance total of 11500 spent. Sold it at 245k miles for 4800 and put towards a 2003 2500 dirtymax w/120k miles that I picked up for 14k. So at this point I’m into this truck for 9800$, can sell it all day long for 16k+ and have not been making 600$ a month payments for the last 5 yrs or the next 5

[panhandlehunter]

Buy a cheaper commuter car for work/getting around and use the truck when you need it. That's what I do. Got a lower mileage paid off Tundra sitting in the driveway that stays hooked up to the boat.