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They're just giant Tonka toys. If it was legal to drive a bulldozer down the street, we'd see a bunch of guys driving bulldozers. Some of today's front ends and grills look more heavy equipment like than practical.
I'd love to have a new truck but a bottom of the line XL equipped to haul a trailer with pretty basic equipment is over $40k, I think that is crazy, I priced last years truck and the same truck this year and the price went up almost $3K.
You can't go by the window sticker or MSRP. Trucks sell for a LOT LESS once incentives and haggling are worked out. Now if were talking Raptor then that's an entirely different beast in every sense.
My truck sticker was $36,670. I paid $29,900 out the door TTL included and a full tank of gas.
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Man these guys on here all have good jobs or retirements and money to burn. lol
or few hobbies. I have a good job, but I have so many hobbies that don't involve my truck. I am happy with my truck and so I spend money elsewhere. I just upgraded my Harley and bought an ATV to run around my farm and check my cows. I like to buy guns and bows and PC upgrades. And just recently decided to try learning to play guitar....So, my truck will be paid off soon and that money will be sitting in my account (or more accurately, going to my 401k)
Every year or so someone posts a complaint about not being able to get a simple, plain, basic truck today.
So I have to break out some facts, again. As the former owner of a 1978 Chevy pickup in the early '80s, I remember vividly that the headrest on that truck was the rear window. Yup, many pictures in papers of the whiplash dome in the rear windows after a rear end accident.
So I priced out a basic 2019 today. Here is what you get for $29 k today, the.price before deals and incentives.
Please excuse the 5 pics, the list was so long I could not compress it. Please note the safety items, brakes, traction control, etc.
I mean, Automatic Emergency Braking, Air Bags everywhere, Tilt-telescope steering wheel, Post-Crash Alert, TPMS, Rear View Camera and etc, etc., etc.
Good old days, my a**!! Deathtrap old days is more like it.
I also do not want a truck that connects to the internet. Bluetooth as a standard feature is good enough since it increases safety. I consider myself progressive but there is something about me not wanting my truck phoning home to the mothership with data about the truck. However I have no issue with there being data collection stored in the vehicle about driving style in the event of an accident. This aids telling a story to the police.
Today there are endless options available on a pickup truck that would qualify it as a luxury vehicle. Unfortunately the pricing has quickly risen towards luxury levels as well. In the current market it is difficult to locate a truck that is equipped similar to what was near the top of the line pickup around the late 1990s early 2000s. Power windows / locks, CD with 8 speaker sound system / steering mounted controls, cruise control, remote start and a few others were enough to consider a truck well equipped. Yes,... things like the CD player are quickly fading and change is inevitable but when did we as a society come to think we need a truck that costs upwards of 20% - 30% the price of an American home with all the fancy bells and whistles? As Americans we are all about freedom but from my point of view when I stand back I see average pickup truck payments nearing $700 per month (Edmunds) that somewhat steals away an individuals short and long term options in life. In ways the American society has adopted an unhealthy version of consumerism (keeping up with the Joneses) that has robbed us of what we originally fought for but on a different front. So I have to ask could we be better off saving and buying the more basic pickups but be more satisfied with additional fiscal stability that gives us more freedom? This is just a thought...
(I base this on most truck buyers of today take out 60 - 84 month loans on trucks with payments that are sky high but yet are working longer hours for less money. I am guilty by not being in complete need of a truck... we all have wants)
Talk about first world problems. Too many choices? Too much spending power?
My first two cars cost less than $700 each. I worked on them myself and carried enough tools in the trunk to get home. When I started making more money, I bought nicer used cars and trucks because I wanted something nicer and I had less time to keep them running.
Three years ago, I started looking for a new pickup. I had some towing and carrying requirements and a budget but no punch list of features. I looked at a lot of trucks -- new and used (a little bit) and ended up spending $34k on a new XLT truck. That's a little more than I planned to spend and a lot more than I spent on my first new Ranger, but $34k gets you a lot of truck. Not everything, but a lot more than I expected. I am very happy with my purchase. I like heated seats and electric windows, seating five and four wheel drive, 110 outlets and air conditioning. I really like that 36 gallon gas tank.
I paid cash, btw. I suppose the money could have been put in an IRA or a mutual fund, but I am 56, have mostly paid for my home, put one kid through college with a second halfway through. I have saved enough, I think, and I want to enjoy myself. I enjoy that freedom that troubles you. And I funded it by saving and buying the more basic things. We buy generic when there is no benefit to brand and reward ourselves as a consequence.
Take a year to carefully track your income and outgo. Consider each item and decide if there are less expensive options that will save you money without diminishing your happiness. Use the savings to purchase things that will make you and your family happier (including saving for the future).
One of the luxuries I trimmed was cable television. It's been a decade and we have saved $15,000. Plenty more, but that was the big, easy win.
Use your American freedom to make choices that will make you and your loved ones happiest. Good luck!
02-08-2019, 05:17 PM
