How Do You Justify a $40-50-60K Truck?

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
I would "like" to have a newer truck and am looking at 2500 Duramax's. For anything that I can get a good interest rate on that's in good shape and has reasonable mileage, they are crazy priced!
I don't see how people justify spending that much on anything but a house.
What kind of deals and payments have you all made for late model trucks? (For those who care to share that kind of info)
Thanks
 
x2. i would also like to upgrade to a newer model truck but cant justify a truck payment that is about as much as my mortgage payments
 
shawn said:
The only justification I can come up with is that 10-15yo trucks are $20-30k. So $40-50k for a new one "seems" like a good deal.
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I think about it exactly backwards from that. The new trucks cost so much that the used prices have plumped because the demand for something cheaper is so high.

The fact is that trucks are bigger, more powerful, have more electronics, more convenience features, more standard features (like HID headlights) etc., that keep driving the cost up.

Can you really put a price on the ability to update Facebook while towing? :D

If a 10-15 year old truck were put back into production today, it would be cheaper than the current models (adjusted for cost of materials and inflation obviously).

Honestly, this was what I faced when looking for a smaller truck in 2015. Frontiers and Tacomas had been in production for about 10 years with the same generation, and held their value really well. It wasn't much more expensive to buy a new one than a good condition used one, and I wasn't about to buy a dated, 10 year-old design as a new vehicle. So I bought a new Colorado.
 
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Fabrik8 said:
I think about it exactly backwards from that. The new trucks cost so much that the used prices have plumped because the demand for something cheaper is so high.

The fact is that trucks are bigger, more powerful, have more electronics, more convenience features, more standard features (like HID headlights) etc., that keep driving the cost up.

Can you really put a price on the ability to update Facebook while towing? :D

If a 10-15 year old truck were put back into production today, it would be cheaper than the current models (adjusted for cost of materials and inflation obviously).
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Base model fleet trucks are still 20+ single cab manual locks and windows. And the most basic radio. (Am/fm/CD/aux plug)

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shawn said:
The only justification I can come up with is that 10-15yo trucks are $20-30k. So $40-50k for a new one "seems" like a good deal.
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This^^^

And I always go back to folks yearning for yesteryear prices. Yeah, of course the price was lower 40 years ago. I have dozens of window stickers and invoices from 70's Ford trucks and Broncos. Some of those bad boys were $9-11k new in 1979. Accounting for inflation, $9900 is the equivalent of $35k today...and today's trucks walk circles around anything from the 70's. That technology costs something. I suppose this has been a question asked since the beginning of automobiles. How can people justify a $399 truck...a couple decades go by, how can people justify a $4,000 truck...a couple more decades go by, how can people justify a $25k truck...and that brings us to present day where trucks are rolling living rooms and we're asking ourselves how people can justify a $50-70k truck. That said, I know you can still buy a bare bones brand new F150 for $26k-ish, which in comparison to even 10-15 years ago is pretty trick. I think we've all fallen victim to making it necessary that a truck has all the bells and whistles. Hell, I was going through some of my 50-70's brochures/advertising...and cars were actually recommended as haulers and advertised as such. These days, if you're gonna pull an 8x10 lawn trailer you need a one ton with 800ft/lbs of tq to tackle a job like that.
 
LOL I justified mine by saying I didn't want to work on my 03 f250 that had 300000 miles and was starting to nickle and dime me to death, since I'm a mechanic and have to work on everybody else's junk all day. I didn't want to have to spend my off time working on my DD. I'd rather spend it working on my toys, or actually using the toys.

So new and warranty is my justification. Also precision Ford in Lillington gave me free oil changes for life. I don't even change my own oil on it[emoji23]

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UTfball68 said:
These days, if you're gonna pull an 8x10 lawn trailer you need a one ton with 800ft/lbs of tq to tackle a job like that.
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That's the story around here. Lifted diesels with chrome wheels and a 12" drop hitch to hook up the little landscape trailer. Tow mirrors out. I've always assumed its so the $$$ truck could be written off as a business expense.
 
I don't.I wait till the right deal comes along from somebody needin to unload one for whatever reason and have cash ready.Youve gotta look for em,be patient and have the cash ready when it shows up.
 
Its a high demand market, so the manufacturers can basically charge whatever they want. Also, if you pay MSRP, you are paying at least 15-20% too much. Somehow you can get a bare bones truck for under 30k, and you can get a fully luxurified Toyota Corolla for $25k, but somehow adding leather/nav/cameras/sensors adds $40k to the price of a truck.

Back to the original question, I can't justify it. I keep trying. I want a truck with ventilated seats and ramboxes. My truck is paid for. Cheapest Ram 2500 I can find that meets my requirements is about $35k. My current truck is worth about $15k. Is it worth $20k to have ventilated seats and ramboxes? No. Could I add something similar to my truck for less than $20k? Of course, but I don't want to spend the money. So why would I spend 4 times that on a newer truck. But I want one, so it will probably happen in the next year or so. :D
 
I doubt I could ever justify it. I'll drive my wife's hand me down Yaris til the wheels fall off cause it's paid for. Hopefully I can my 62 C20 put back together soon for when I actually need truck capabilities.
 
When I bought my 2015 Ram 2500 4x4 new 2 years ago, a similar used (2012-2014) was in the $35-$40k range. My Tradesman package, 4x4, 6 speed manual,Cummins powered truck stickered at $52k (IIRC) and was "on sale" for $42,500. There was no way I was going to spend just a couple thousand LESS for a used truck that I didn't KNOW the history of.

Payment-wise, I put $10k down in cash (from the sell of my 99 SD) and traded in my Focus that nearly paid for. I financed the balance at 3.1% for 4 years and will make the last payment next month. My payments were $405 a month but I have made double and triple payments whenever possible.

I justified a new truck purchase knowing I will keep it a long time and it would reliably transport myself and my wife doing our hobby all over the SE US.
 
I have an 01 Ram 2500, Quadcab, Cummins, 5spd with 230k miles. I bought it used in 2006. I thought I was going to upgrade to a newer truck when it was bout 10 yrs old (2011), then I looked at pre-DPF (2004-2006) truck prices and figured I would wait another couple of years. I kept putting it off another year, then another year as I continued to be shocked at used truck prices. I am now in the situation that I don't need a tow rig. I took my Samurai apart in the summer of 2016, and it won't be back together anytime soon unless I ship it off to Marsfab, LOL. I use my truck for landscaping stuff around the house mostly now anyway. My truck is not my DD.
 
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My current truck is an '06 Chevy 2500HD, 6.0, crew cab, short box with leather, and some bells and whistles. I bought it about 3 years ago with 43K on it and spent $18K for it. It's nice enough but generic and does not ride well. Seats are not the power 6 way seats so we are stuck with basic adjustments and no lumbar support. Travel is okay with it but better seats and a long bed would be great. I can even live with and like the gas motor. I had it tuned and it pulls great. And I own a landscape company so I could totally write off a new(er) one but I still have to make the payments
But a new one would be nice...:D
 
jeepinmatt said:
Its a high demand market, so the manufacturers can basically charge whatever they want.
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Another reason I miss $4+ fuel prices...1) mitigates the number of dumbasses and the corresponding shit boxes on the road and 2) Trucks were basically being given away
 
R Q said:
It's nice enough but generic and does not ride well.
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I will swap trucks with you for a week. Your Chevy will feel like a Cadillac when you get it back. Problem solved, LOL.
 
UTfball68 said:
Another reason I miss $4+ fuel prices...1) mitigates the number of dumbasses and the corresponding shit boxes on the road and 2) Trucks were basically being given away
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That's when I bought my 7.3 for 6000 now has another 80,000 miles and ive been offered 13,000 but can't justify selling it to turn around and buy another truck

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But wait till aug/sept so it'll be good and warm in the uninsulated cab

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drkelly said:
I will swap trucks with you for a week. Your Chevy will feel like a Cadillac when you get it back. Problem solved, LOL.
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shawn said:
Does anybody have a 86 K30 that RQ can borrow for a week? It needs to have some skinny old-school E tires on it.

:flipoff2:
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Oh I know what y'all are saying but for the year model of this truck, it is a rough ride. I've always had 2500 and 3500's and this one is rough! Even though it's a crew cab, with the short box i guess is why. It doesn't look like it has extra leafs added but the PO did pull a gooseneck travel trailer with it. He didn't say he had done anything to them.
 
Loganwayne said:
That's when I bought my 7.3 for 6000 now has another 80,000 miles and ive been offered 13,000 but can't justify selling it to turn around and buy another truck

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Thats the problem with buy low, sell high for things that you can't live without. If everything is selling high, you can only buy high. Key is to sell the day before the market drops, and buy the week after. Too bad I can't tell you when that will be. I would be a brazillionaire.
 
Blaze said:
That's the reason I only drive OBS Chevy/GMC trucks now. I can buy them cheap and actually afford to fix them. [emoji38]
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But which obs?? Chevy has 3-4 obs by now.

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