Do you REALLY need a new vehicle?

[buickanddeere]

For those of you claiming we should drive and old vehicle and repair it indefinitely . Come up to the north East where the roads are white with salt from November to April.
You will change your tune in a hurry after looking at 10yr old vehicles on the street.

 

[grsthegreat]

and just cause its new doesnt mean it wont have problems. My brother purchased a new f150 for his son ...he wanted a safe truck while he went to college. The alternator failed and left him stranded.

so much for new. But at least it had free towing...

man, id be pissed

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm thinking about a new vehicle. Something that get's better mileage than all my 3/4 Suburban and 7.3 truck(s). A '98 Volvo xc. It'll be my first car, well except for my old 74 Caddy eldorado convertable, but that has REAL big motor in it! I must be getting old, these new vehicles seem more like video games than what I know as an automobile.

 

[El Wood]

I lease my vehicles and get a brand new truck every three years. My wife does the same. Can't beat that new truck smell!

I don't care much for vehicle maintenance. All I ever pay for is gas and oil.

 

[RollingsFarms]

For me, buying new makes more sense then buying used these days. Used to be if you looked around long enough you could find a nice used truck for thousands less then a new one. That's rarely the case anymore. Now the one's that have 2 or 3 years of average miles on them aren't that far off in price of a brand new one. I'm talking about used trucks, as I've never owned a car, suv, etc. Maybe you can still get a deal on a used one of those but truck values have skyrocketed the past few years. Huge demand for them. Why should I take a huge risk in buying your truck with 50,000 miles for $4-5,000 less when I can go buy me a brand new one, have a full warranty, free maintenance for a couple years, better financing, etc? Not to mention if the new one turns out to be a piece of crap there are lemon laws that protect me, not the case when I buy your used truck that you swear "is in great shape and never been off road or abused!". Not only that but the car dealers around here are famous for putting the biggest piles on used junk on the lot you've ever seen and slapping a premium price on them. Either that or the lots are full of retired rental vehicles. I remember trading in my 2011 GMC SLT with the 6.2, it was clean with only 15,000 miles on it. It never sat a day on the lot I traded it in at, nope it got hauled off to some auction and who knows where it ended up. You just can't find good local trade-ins around here anymore. They're all imported from places up north or who knows where (I run the VIN's to check out the history).

I'll keep a truck as long as it's running fine with regular maintenance. I had to get rid of two trucks that were running fine but I'd hit 3 deer with one and didn't want to claim it on my insurance again and the a cop at a license check told me to get my front grill and headlights fixed of be ticketed. I would have had to pay thousands out of pocket on a truck that had 128,000 miles and was 7 years old. Another truck was a 2000 Silverado with 250,000 on it that a deer totaled and the insurance company gave me $1,000 MORE then what KBB said it was worth.

I don't trade just to trade usually. Recently got rid of my Tacoma because I made a mistake and had gone with too small of a truck. I'd owned 1/2 tons before but thought I could get by with less truck. Lesson learned. I don't need to have the latest and greatest, but I am not one that will keep a truck just because. If I need more truck then I need more truck, or I don't need to be shelling out thousands on a 7 year old truck just to get it repaired to avoid being ticketed.

 

[jel1988]

I buy a new one about every four years, my accountant said you can drive a new truck or give the money to the government it's your choice!

 

[RollingsFarms]

I buy a new one about every four years, my accountant said you can drive a new truck or give the money to the government it's your choice!

Yep. They usually depreciate them out after 5 years. The funny thing is the property taxes don't depreciate that much from a new one to a 5 year old one. At least not around here anyways. I think mine went down $4 from last year to this year.

 

[grsthegreat]

I buy a new one about every four years, my accountant said you can drive a new truck or give the money to the government it's your choice!

i fell for that line for years ...then i figured out that if i didnt have a $600-800/month truck bill to pay, i wouldnt have to work as hard.

Once i stopped buying new rigs, i slowed up working. Now days i only work 2-3 days a week, ans sometimes take 30 days off at a time.

I dont have truck (or house or credit card) bills. life is good in my older trucks

 

[like2wheel]

I lease my vehicles and get a brand new truck every three years. My wife does the same. Can't beat that new truck smell!

I don't care much for vehicle maintenance. All I ever pay for is gas and oil.

"and someone else's vehicles."

 

[D7E]

I drive a 2010 F150 supercrew with 237'000 on it and the wife has a 2008 trail blazer with 187'000 the truck will have to do another 5 years and the trailblazer will be given to my son in 2 years time and for the wife i will buy another 3/4 year old suv from an auction . I find maintenance cost to be a lot less than people claim and i've never had a "new" vehicle thats been that much more reliable than old ones tractors included .

 

[RollingsFarms]

I drive a 2010 F150 supercrew with 237'000 on it and the wife has a 2008 trail blazer with 187'000 the truck will have to do another 5 years and the trailblazer will be given to my son in 2 years time and for the wife i will buy another 3/4 year old suv from an auction . I find maintenance cost to be a lot less than people claim and i've never had a "new" vehicle thats been that much more reliable than old ones tractors included .

I'd buy from an auction too but the auto auctions around here require you to pay $100 whether you buy a vehicle or not. Plus it's full of salesman who will gladly outbid you for a decent vehicle. Just not worth the hassle to me. It does work for a lot of people though.

 

[Alan L.]

Pay down your mortgage. Then you can pay cash for something newer.

Chris

If you are going to have debt better it be on your mortgage since that interest is deductible if you itemize whereas the interest on a personal car or tractor not used for business is not. Interest rates seem to be similar in fact the mortgage might be a little more.

 

[JDgreen227]

I drive a 2010 F150 supercrew with 237'000 on it and the wife has a 2008 trail blazer with 187'000 the truck will have to do another 5 years and the trailblazer will be given to my son in 2 years time and for the wife i will buy another 3/4 year old suv from an auction . I find maintenance cost to be a lot less than people claim and i've never had a "new" vehicle thats been that much more reliable than old ones tractors included .

Agree 100%...I started this thread to make an example that you can pay for a LOT or repairs and maintenance items for what payments on a new vehicle would be. My Y2K GMC has super low mileage, BUT: Most of the maintenance and all of the repairs/replacements have been required because of age and not mileage.

1 set of tires
2 batteries
3 drive belt replacements
3 air filter replacements
2 DRL light bulbs
1 dash panel transfer case switch replacement
2 new valve cover gaskets

Aside from normal maintenance like oil and filter changes and wiper blades, etc. it has not required anything else. The truck has the OEM brakes and hoses which I will replace this year. Meaning prior to now, I have less than $1000 total repairs into it over a ten year period after the warranty expired.

 

[Katahdin]

I have a 1993 Yukon, 2 Door full size, 5.7 liter 350, 310K miles on it. It still runs but its too far gone rust wise to be street legal and not really worth the time, money, and effort to restore it. It'll probably go to the salvage yard this summer after I take the parts I want from it.

That truck I bought used and was a pain to keep street legal due to rust. One of the more recent repairs was replacing a rotted frame cross member that holds up the fuel tank....and the fuel tank. It was my winter beater and I did try to keep up with paint, body, etc but for me it was a lesson learned that if you buy a new vehicle its easier to keep it maintained and the rust off of it then buying used. I'm envious of you guys in the South who don't have these rust-belt issues, or annual vehicle inspections for that matter!

 

[Looking4new]

I've got a 2001 Jeep TJ (Wrangler) sport that has almost 156,000 miles on it. Other than expendables (tires, wiper blades and a starter) it has been good to me. 2 years ago I replaced the front fenders and stone guarded underneath them. Last fall I blew out a brake line, so this spring I replaced them all. I don't off road it, much. It is all mine and as far as I am concerned at 67 years old, I will never buy another vehicle. This one will last me the rest of my lifetime.

 

[Egon]

So...you guys advise me what I should do:

Option 1: Replace my Y2K GMC XL that has a perfect body and near perfect interior that needs only about $500 worth of repairs this year, something I drive less than 2,000 miles yearly.

OR

Option 2: Replace my 2002 JD 4210 E-hydro that is nearing 1200 operating hours and accumulates about 110 more per year. Needs a new hood, a hydraulic system fluid and filter change but nothing else.

OR:

Option 3: Instead of making payments on a new Option 1 or 2..use my spare cash to pay down my current mortgage.

I am long past the age where I need to impress anybody with a new toy. An easy choice, isn't it?

Buy some different new toys, eg. Sailboat!

 

[JJZ 109]

Do I need a new truck every 2 or 3 years? Nope. But if I want one then I'm going to have one. I'm 51 and life is becoming too short. And with time spent running a business I'm not going to spend time under the hood or laying on the garage floor with something that's out of warranty. Or have an older/high mileage truck down at a shop for who knows how long if something goes south. I'm having what I want while I'm here. It's like the JG Wentworth ads. It's my money, I'll use it when I need it!
My home is paid for, so I can swing a truck payment. Everyone's situation and wants are different so there is no "one size fits all" for vehicle replacement schedule. With that said, most of the local dealers in this area seem to have 1 or 2 year old used trucks on the lot with few miles on them for a pretty good savings over brand new. I bought a truck or two like that back in the late 90's. I may explore that avenue again when the fancy for another truck strikes me.

 

[Egon]

I drive a 2010 F150 supercrew with 237'000 on it and the wife has a 2008 trail blazer with 187'000 the truck will have to do another 5 years and the trailblazer will be given to my son in 2 years time and for the wife i will buy another 3/4 year old suv from an auction . I find maintenance cost to be a lot less than people claim and i've never had a "new" vehicle thats been that much more reliable than old ones tractors included .

I got an 18 year old truck and a 10 year old SUV. No, it don't weigh over 5000 lbs. The vehicles have around 240,000 k on them. No rust on the SUV. Some rust on the truck but none on frame members. They gotta last for quite a few more years. Till about the time my DL gets taken away.

Unfortunately most repairs are beyond me these days but it still seems cost effective to keep them.

 

[smstonypoint]

Just curious.

Would your answers change if the question was "Do you REALLY need a new tractor"?

Steve

 

[dave1949]

Just curious.

Would your answers change if the question was "Do you REALLY need a new tractor"?

Steve

Absolutely. I've been telling Sharon I need a new tractor a lot more than she needs a new car--it even happens to be true. :laughing:

I'm going detail her car this spring, put new seat covers on, new floor mats, get a spray can of "eau de new car", and call it good.