How do you pay for your truck?

[TB80]

The recent thread on truck prices got me thinking, which is dangerous. But how do you pay for your truck? Cash? Loan? Lease? If you pay through a loan, how the heck do you afford those large monthly payments?

[BrianL]

Originally Posted by TB80

The recent thread on truck prices got me thinking, which is dangerous. But how do you pay for your truck? Cash? Loan? Lease? If you pay through a loan, how the heck do you afford those large monthly payments?

Normally the shorter term loan the better, 36-48 months. The trick for me is to trade often enough that I don't use up all the equity, and get one paid off. A paid off 3-4 year old truck will bring $10-15K difference between it and the new one, unless you go up in option packages. Then payoff the 10-15K is as short a time as possible. repeat

[justletmein]

My current truck is 1.9%, at that rate I'm happy to stretch it out.

[Brett A]

I have always had a good chunk saved up to have a decent down payment, then I usually have the proceeds from the sale of my current truck. I finance for as short of a loan as possible. Then I drive the wheels off of it for as long as possible.

[ClayW]

Originally Posted by Brett A

I have always had a good chunk saved up to have a decent down payment, then I usually have the proceeds from the sale of my current truck. I finance for as short of a loan as possible. Then I drive the wheels off of it for as long as possible.

This

[HoustonHunter94]

Traded my 2007 F150 KR with 110K on my 2013 KR in 2016. Paid it off in a year, been driving it since. 74K miles. I will never own a new truck again at the prices they are. Will always buy used and plan on driving what I have for a long time. The days of looking cool in brand new truck and impressing other people are long gone for me. It's transportation, nothing else.

[CTR0022]

I put as little down as I can and get the longest term loan I can get on the lowest interest rate I can find.

I then pay the loan off early. For example my last truck I paid it off in two years and had a 66 month loan. Every 3-4 months I make a payment of several thousand dollars, normally $3-5k till its paid for.

And I dont buy new, find a good used truck with low miles, something in the 3-4 year old range. And drive it for 10+ years.

[piercebronkite]

Heavy down payment, 0% interest, be smart with your money. Can I afford a 70-80k truck? Yes I can but chose not to and to live well under my means (which somehow society has forgotten). However, Im not keeping up with the Joneses. My truck is a utility.

My previous truck I had for 12 years and rode it to the ground.

[Edward F]

Never put a down payment down and never will. I got 0% financing so no need to pay it off as soon as possible.

[M16]

Cash, unless there is an incentive to finance. Then pay it off after the first payment comes due.

[WItoTX]

Big down payment. Pay off as fast as possible. My payments are typically at least $100 more than the required payment, and my yearly bonus always gets dumped into the vehicle. That way if I have to sell, I can sell it in a day if I need to, and not have to stress about getting enough to pay off the loan.

I hate recurring payments. I hate that technically I don't own it until the bank sends me the title too.

[DUKFVR]

Originally Posted by M16

Cash, unless there is an incentive to finance. Then pay it off after the first payment comes due.

This.

[jerp]

Early in our marriage when money was tight we adapted a policy to only have one car payment at a time. We have stuck with that for 33 years. My current truck is only 2 years old but last month it was time to get my wife a new ride so we financed hers and paid mine off. It helps that I keep my trucks for 10 years.

[Smithwr]

I let my boss do it

[Philip-TX]

Originally Posted by M16

Cash, unless there is an incentive to finance. Then pay it off after the first payment comes due.

Originally Posted by DUKFVR

This.

x3

[Mexico]

Cash Secured Loan, I have plenty of money to pay cash for a new truck, but why? I borrow against my own money and pay myself back with interest. That way my nest egg continues to grow.

[Throwin Darts]

Originally Posted by M16

Cash, unless there is an incentive to finance. Then pay it off after the first payment comes due.

This is what I do. If there is a finance incentive then I finance it and then pay it off after a month. They will usually let you swipe a credit card up to a certain amount. I do that too and get the points and immediately pay that off. If there is no incentives to borrow then I pay cash.

[gingib]

Originally Posted by TB80

The recent thread on truck prices got me thinking, which is dangerous. But how do you pay for your truck? Cash? Loan? Lease? If you pay through a loan, how the heck do you afford those large monthly payments?

Majority of America doesn't. Its the new way.

Pay on plastic.

I paid my new truck off, when I bought it 7 years ago in 3 years at 1.49%.

[Throwin Darts]

Originally Posted by Edward F

Never put a down payment down and never will. I got 0% financing so no need to pay it off as soon as possible.

0% financing in lieu of an incentive is just another way of saying prepaid interest. Marketing gimmick.

[gingib]

Originally Posted by Edward F

Never put a down payment down and never will. I got 0% financing so no need to pay it off as soon as possible.

LOL! Please tell me you honestly don't think its 0%?

Why not pay it off early and invest that monthly payment to actually make money? And not throw it away on a depreciating asset

[andre3k]

Originally Posted by gingib

LOL! Please tell me you honestly don't think its 0%?



Why not pay it off early and invest that monthly payment to actually make money? And not throw it away on a depreciating asset

I think he's saying they normally get you on the price of the vehicle when 0% financing is offered.

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[TX03RUBI]

Put a decent chunk of money down, and have a decent trade in value as well to get the loan terms favorable. I’ve got roughly $40K equity in current truck. Hoping by the time I need the next one to be able to scratch a check for the difference.

[Edward F]

I just know when buy vehicles. When COVID hit last year and no one was buying vehicles I was in the dealership.

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by Throwin Darts

This is what I do. If there is a finance incentive then I finance it and then pay it off after a month. They will usually let you swipe a credit card up to a certain amount. I do that too and get the points and immediately pay that off. If there is no incentives to borrow then I pay cash.

This is what we do, I hate carrying a vehicle note

[Traildust]

Always use someone else's money if it free.

[Jtrage]

Originally Posted by jerp

Early in our marriage when money was tight we adapted a policy to only have one car payment at a time. We have stuck with that for 33 years. My current truck is only 2 years old but last month it was time to get my wife a new ride so we financed hers and paid mine off. It helps that I keep my trucks for 10 years.

Exactly what we have done. I am only 13 years into marriage but will continue to do the same. We both started with paid off vehicles. I needed one first. Financed, pretty much 0%. We paid off mine sooner than we needed to. Saved the payments we weren't making to put a good down payment on my wife a new one when she needed. Paying extra to get that one paid off.

We are averaging 8-10 years on ours having started out before married.

[CrossTimbers]

I have a personal goal of making my truck last until at least 250K miles. When you drive a truck that long, you've paid it off long ago and don't care.

[junkmanhunter]

Fortunately my business pays for my truck, but I don't like payments. I buy used 1-2 yr old with low mileage, put 50% down and finance for 24 months and try to pay off in 12 months.

My wife keeps cars for years, she has an 07, and an 08. I tried to get her a new car last year and she said since she is retired and doesn't drive but a few hundred miles a month, she didn't want to spend the money.

Just my opinion, 0 down and 0% interest and 5 or 6 yr notes are a recipe for disaster.

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[sneaky freak]

If its financed you really cant afford it anyway

[Traildust]

Whats the incentive of pulling $50K out of savings and paying cash for a vehicle vs. monthly notes with 0% interest? Drive-out price being the same.

FTR....I stopped paying stupid tax in 2006 on new vehicles.

[AntlerCollector]

The last two trucks I bought new were Fords and I got 0% financing. I think I went 6 years on them. That’s a lot of interest free financing

[PlanoDano]

I only buy a truck every 8 or 12 years. I always have at least the cash in hand before I buy, but my practice is to make a real estate investment with the money and use the proceeds to make payments on the truck plus some left over.

[DS_1974]

Originally Posted by jerp

Early in our marriage when money was tight we adapted a policy to only have one car payment at a time. We have stuck with that for 33 years. My current truck is only 2 years old but last month it was time to get my wife a new ride so we financed hers and paid mine off. It helps that I keep my trucks for 10 years.

Smart man!

[Casey]

Originally Posted by jerp

Early in our marriage when money was tight we adapted a policy to only have one car payment at a time. We have stuck with that for 33 years. My current truck is only 2 years old but last month it was time to get my wife a new ride so we financed hers and paid mine off. It helps that I keep my trucks for 10 years.

We've done exactly the same. However, we are currently 3 years without a payment and have no desire to add one. Her car has 200k on it and is 15 years old, my truck is 8 years old with 170k. We're just going to make "occasional" payments in the form of needed repairs and keep going.

Our approach to buying has been to try to buy used and finance 20k. So, we usually sell (never trade in) a vehicle, add cash to that for a down payment and get near 20k in a note. We don't finance for a longer term than 4 years either.

[STGS]

Originally Posted by DUKFVR

This.

x3

[MBV77]

Originally Posted by Smithwr

I let my boss do it

Best way to do it. Let him cover the insurance and fuel too.


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[DS_1974]

Originally Posted by AntlerCollector

The last two trucks I bought new were Fords and I got 0% financing. I think I went 6 years on them. That’s a lot of interest free financing

But would the no interest have made up for the difference you paid on the sales price? Most dealers are happy to negotiate. Except when its 0% for x months.

[AntlerCollector]

Originally Posted by DS_1974

But would the no interest have made up for the difference you paid on the sales price? Most dealers are happy to negotiate. Except when its 0% for x months.

I negotiated the sell price before you ever discussed how to pay. I got good deals on both vehicles. You don’t have to sacrifice anything to get a good rate.

[Bro. Bill]

I got 0% on the new tundra
And 2.9 on wife’s Escalde
I pay 250.00 over each month
On both...
How by hard work and clean living

[MetalMan2004]

I usually use a credit card to pay for a bottle of antifreeze occasionally (truck is 20 years old).

[savin yours]

We are blessed in that my wife and I make good money. That allows us to pay of early...very early. The last three new trucks we bought, we had them paid off before the first oil change(big down payment+trade). But we drive them +-10 years before new ones. I see both sides to financing. My biggest thing is stress. With that title in my hand, I don’t have to worry about next months payment, if something unexpectedly happens. We take this approach through our entire marriage, and we have NEVER argued about money....not once in 16yrs.


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[Hoggslayer]

I"ll just keep putting the wheels back under my 7.3L every time they fall off. I can't see myself buying another new one.

[wellingtontx]

Originally Posted by AntlerCollector

I negotiated the sell price before you ever discussed how to pay. I got good deals on both vehicles. You don’t have to sacrifice anything to get a good rate.

Up until mid to late Spring 2020, you could buy a 2019 new truck for around $15K off and get zero percent. For a new prior year model you got every incentive offered, dealer discount and also could take the zero percent. It was certainly a buyers market. Not the case now.

Work the purchase price then do the finance route. Dont tell them what you want your payment to be etc. If financing get pre-approved at your bank or credit union. When the dealer starts down that road, tell him unless they can beat your pre-approved APR, you will finance on your own - generally they will beat your APR.

[Fordnandez]

Here is what I do. I always get a loan and I extend it out as long as I possibly can so I can afford the truck that I really want. I keep my trucks for a relatively long time, my current one is a 2008. If you get the truck you really want then you will keep it a long time so I foresee myself spendinga bunch of money on a stupid expensive truck in the next two years that I really want. Lastly if you think they have gotten expensive in the last ten years think how expensive they are going to be in ten years from now.

[Traildust]

Originally Posted by AntlerCollector

I negotiated the sell price before you ever discussed how to pay. I got good deals on both vehicles. You don’t have to sacrifice anything to get a good rate.

Ya....not sure how thats not part of the negotiations. I guess some folks really think the dealership is trying to help them out!

[gfulton]

Cash on the barrel head.

[jer_james]

Why would you toss a chunk of change at a vehicle if you could save your cash on hand and finance at .9%?

You could save that chunk, and throw it into something that actually makes you money.

Now if you can’t get those insane rates, by all means.

[jer_james]

Originally Posted by AntlerCollector

I negotiated the sell price before you ever discussed how to pay. I got good deals on both vehicles. You don’t have to sacrifice anything to get a good rate.

This is the absolute truth ...

[Anteloper]

Cash if you can. Its nice not having a payment.

You will also notice that you dont want stupid options like sunroofs...would you rather pay an extra $1000 for the one with the sunroof or buy another gun/bow?

[Farmdog]

Sell land, sign turbine contracts