How many of you bought new and now wish you bought used due to the high cost of a new truck?

I'm struggling with making this choice. So, do I spend 32,000+ on a nicely equipped truck, or do I do what I have always done and pick up something 3-4 years old with under 20,000 miles on it and save a bundle.

This time it's a lot tougher, there is a huge difference between a 2011 EcoBoost or 5.0 F150 and a 2008 5.4 when it comes to styling and drive train.

After going over everything in depth, everything looks good on paper for the new 2011, but you know how it is, you don't realize the financial reality of your purchase until a year down the road.

Right now, all of our cars are paid off and for now, we do whatever we want within reason, I'd hate to put a huge damper on that for a truck. Also, in 2-3 years my wife's Escape will be due for an upgrade.

What say you? How many of you got yourself in a pickle when you thought it was going to work out fine?

 

Best to stay with what works for you...I would be looking for a used 09 with the 6 speed with low miles and some warranty left...

 

Here is what is going through my head.

New truck
Pros
-Zero miles
-Last ~10 years
-Warranty
-Lower interest rate
-Looks sweet and makes me happy
-4 years without payments before requiring replacement

Cons
-Costs more
-Down payment
-Monthly payment

Used truck
Cons
-20k miles (I put on 10k a year)
-Last ~8 years
-No Warranty
-High interest rate
-Looks ho-hum and makes me indifferent
-2/3 years without payments before requiring replacement

Pros
-Costs less
-Down payment
-Monthly payment

 

I was considering buying a used truck. Most of the trucks I found in this area had between 80 and 100k miles on them at around 4 years of age and they wanted 25k for the truck...seemed a bit high for the mileage. I'm also the guy that drives a vehicle nearly into the ground...my current ride is 15 years old and we are replacing it with a new truck for other reasons, passenger and towing needs.

It may be difficult for a while after not having a car payment for several years, but with adjustments things always seem to work out.

By the time my truck is paid off, my wife will need a new car so we'll likely walk right into another vehicle payment at that time and it probably won't seem like a hardship.

We planned on saving the amount of our old car payment for a down payment on the new one but in reality, life got in the way. You know, medical bills, band fees, braces, et al.

 

The only one that can answer what is the best finance question for you is yourself. What works for me may not work for you.

For me, everyone told me I should buy a used truck. However, I ended up buy a new Harley truck. In the end it came down to I was going to buy what I WANTED, not what someone else thought I SHOULD buy. I figure if I buy what I actually want I will be less apt to want to trade it in in a couple of years.

 

It's never a question about what you need, but about what you want. Just make sure to stay within your means and remember...No Regrets!

 

I looked for several months hard. My problem was that people wanted almost new truck prices for a 1.5 year old trucks--individuals and lots. I ended up putting 9k down and bought a new one with no miles. I just could not bring myself to pay just 5k less than a new one but be 1-2 years old and have 20-30k miles.

Brian

 

I set out to buy a low mileage late model truck. With the high prices I was finding on used trucks that I liked, it made more sense to buy a new one with all the options I wanted.

 

If you like changing vehicles every few years, the better financial decision is to buy used. If you buy a vehicle and keep it for like 10 years or more, buying new is probably a better decision (factoring in you get a warranty and you can get your truck exactly how you want it and you know nobody abused it before you got it). If it's within your means of getting exactly what you want, then I'd lean towards buying new. I say this because you'll see threads on here periodically along the lines of "well I wanted that but settled for this" and in a year or two those people take a big financial hit to trade up for exactly what they wanted to begin with. But you need to also stay within your means so only you (and your spouse) can determine the best decision for y'all

 

On the bold, completely agree. Buy what you want the first time.