New Diesel Truck-- Buy Now, or Wait?

[BlueKnife]

Skipped high school????

Plenty of homeschooled kids finish high school early and plenty of others start college before they're done with high school. My 9 year old is reading and doing math at a 5th-6th grade level and spends less time doing school work than many of the public school kids in the area spend on the bus. No idea if any of that applies to @CloverKnollFarms kids, just pointing out some of the possibilities.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

In many places you can start college courses in 8th or 9th grade if your capable

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Skipped high school????

He is homeschooled. He will have an associates at 16. He began college courses when he was 13. Had to get the deans approval for his courses this spring, but he has gotten straight A"s in his first four courses, so his professors wrote letters for him.

His peers took a couple years off during Covid... Homeschool has been a huge blessing in our lives. Public school was never really for him, he did really poorly. He has excelled since we pulled him out.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Plenty of homeschooled kids finish high school early and plenty of others start college before they're done with high school. My 9 year old is reading and doing math at a 5th-6th grade level and spends less time doing school work than many of the public school kids in the area spend on the bus. No idea if any of that applies to @CloverKnollFarms kids, just pointing out some of the possibilities.

Same experience. Public schools are such abject failures at providing quality education in the time allotted. They are basically tax payer funded daycares where kids are taught progressive ideas. Sometimes they might touch on math or reading

 

[tradosaurus]

We homeschooled all 9 of our kids until 9th grade. The younger two went in at 5th grade.

Our kids excelled academically in public school. Also got them use to schedules and timelines, which most of us have to endure until we retire.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Public schools have changed a lot in the past 10 years.

 

[tradosaurus]

Public schools have changed a lot in the past 10 years.

We also live in a rural community so K-12 is a total of 350 students.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

We also live in a rural community so K-12 is a total of 350 students.

We lived where the highschool had 2500 students, then moved to one where there were 300. After two years here back in the country, we pulled both kids out. Mainly because of my son’s struggles with school. He is high functioning autistic, very high… he performs better in college courses than he ever did in public school.

Back to trucks though. If I were to buy, I wouldn’t wait… people did that with tractors, and they never came down in price. Lightly used trucks seem to be coming way down in price. I’d gladly buy a lightly used one for $20-$30k less than new. That alone would buy another vehicle completely

 

[Bearsixty7]

Got this in an email today. Just FYI for anyone shopping.

 

[Hay Dude]

Got this in an email today. Just FYI for anyone shopping.
View attachment 857953

Thats got to be a Tradesman or a 2WD.

We had a Tradesman 3500 4x4 SRW tradesman snow plow prep for $68,000 about 2 months ago.

 

[Bearsixty7]

https://www.bobhowardcjd.com/new-vehicles/new-vehicle-specials/?idx=low_to_high&_dFR%5Bapi_id%5D%5B0%5D=GROUPONE55&_dFR%5Bmake%5D%5B0%5D=Ram&_dFR%5Bmodel%5D%5B0%5D=3500&_dFR%5Bspecial_over_250_days%5D%5B0%5D=Special&_dFR%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D=New

New 2024 RAM 3500 Tradesman 4x4 Crew Cab 8 Box With Navigation​

Stock: RG220142
VIN: 3C63RRGL1RG220142
Details
MSRP*$78,555
Retail Consumer Cash$1,000
Bonus Cash$1,000
Discounts$5,000
Sale Price$71,555
Military Program$500
Conditional Final Price$71,055

New 2024RAM 3500 Big Horn 4x4 Crew Cab 8 Box With Navigation
Stock: RG258025
VIN: 3C63RRHL2RG258025
Details
MSRP*$77,235
Retail Consumer Cash$1,000
Bonus Cash$1,000
Discounts$7,000
Sale Price$68,235
Military Program$500
Conditional Final Price$67,735

 

[ultrarunner]

CA's current laws will stop sales of new internal combustion cars and light trucks (what CA calls a pickup) in 2035. Medium and heavy trucks in 2026. There's no mention of taking existing IC cars and light trucks off the road in the current law. Things can change but once they make laws like that they don't move the timeline up. Sometimes they move it back if manufacturers are not ready.

For a while manufacturers were making two versions of many vehicles- a CA compliant one and a 49 state one. That's stopped in motorcycles and cars, and likely diesel pickups. They're all CA compliant. CA regs are no longer as different, there are a number of other states that have adopted CA regs, and manufacturers hate supporting two versions of a product. The emissions sticker under the hood will say if it meets CA emissions.

There may be good tax reasons for buying out of state rather than CA. Someone who lives both in CA and out of state will already be familiar with the tax issues. If you can keep it registered out of state without getting hassled by anyone it's probably cheaper.

New truck prices are really high now and the manufacturers are trying to hang on to those prices as long as they can. If you try to wait them out you may be waiting a while. I've been looking for a new or new to me truck for a while. The good thing is that the value of my current truck is hardly lower than what I bought it for six years ago.

They are blocking registration on some now... rancher was only able to renew his old diesel flatbed for farm use and it was not automatic but he can operate it legal where he needs to be

Non compliant big rigs already sent out if state and no longer allowed at the container terminals.

Husband and wife closed their excuvator business because it was not worth repowering...

The regs are real and all freeways and some secondary roads into California already have AG inspection stations... how much of a stretch would it be to limit vehicle entry?

 

[ultrarunner]

That's a good question for him. Here is another.
How did he manage to pay in "100’s of thousands" to social security?

This year, the the Social Security wage base limit is $168,600. And at 6.2% comes to $10,453.

My guess is self employed paying in for decades...

My retired contractor friend opened his business at 19... always self employed with a good business and retired at age 70...

He said the dollars paid in at the max for many of his 50 years are staggering...

 

[ultrarunner]

There is a reason pensions went away.

However I'm curious how a pension that stopped funding at 51 can keep up with inflation in '24? I'm an actuary, so I like to hear real life feedback on the old system to see if it keeps up with the times, or does a market based approach win out. Certainly the numbers from the stock market (401K) over the past 20 years far outpace bond returns (pensions).

Oakland Police grandfather pension plan is based on what the rank you retired at is currently paid including typical OT.

There are OPD officers retired in their 50's receiving OPD pensions of 250% or more than they ever earned on the job

A good friend retired 13 years ago OPD and starting pension 15k per month plus lifetime medical.

He got bored and is building another LEO pension in a different plan...

Strange but there are public safety retired in the SF Bay Area with 250k pensions and then they move to Idaho and buy 100k trucks without batting an eye.

 

[34Willys]

My Dad retired Motorcycle Policeman. Traffic beat first on the Harleys, then Kawasakis, then got into SWAT and Undercover Drug busting. Loved his job and our community!
Most of his Fireman and Policeman buddies took their pensions and moved to Idaho. This was in the 70's - 80's. Salaries and pensions weren't that great back then.
Take the money and run.
It's not a new trend.
Patrick

 

[ultrarunner]

Just about every retired officer I know has a top of the line pickup…

Back in the 60’s and 70’s you couldn’t even think of starting a family until you made rank… my how things have changed.

I’ve done some long distance towing over the mountains and by far the diesel trucks were the best.

Crossing the Siskiyous on 5 to Oregon on a 800 mile one way run or Nevada over Donner and never touching the brakes or downshifting pulling the grade with a 5k trailer in tow.

 

[Hay Dude]

https://www.bobhowardcjd.com/new-vehicles/new-vehicle-specials/?idx=low_to_high&_dFR%5Bapi_id%5D%5B0%5D=GROUPONE55&_dFR%5Bmake%5D%5B0%5D=Ram&_dFR%5Bmodel%5D%5B0%5D=3500&_dFR%5Bspecial_over_250_days%5D%5B0%5D=Special&_dFR%5Btype%5D%5B0%5D=New

New 2024 RAM 3500 Tradesman 4x4 Crew Cab 8 Box With Navigation​

Stock: RG220142
VIN: 3C63RRGL1RG220142
Details
MSRP*$78,555
Retail Consumer Cash$1,000
Bonus Cash$1,000
Discounts$5,000
Sale Price$71,555
Military Program$500
Conditional Final Price$71,055

New 2024RAM 3500 Big Horn 4x4 Crew Cab 8 Box With Navigation
Stock: RG258025
VIN: 3C63RRHL2RG258025
Details
MSRP*$77,235
Retail Consumer Cash$1,000
Bonus Cash$1,000
Discounts$7,000
Sale Price$68,235
Military Program$500
Conditional Final Price$67,735

And the thing that is surprising is the amount of extras the buyer gets with the Tradesman.

 

[Hay Dude]

Its amazing that the California Communist Party is doing this to its’ citizens, then just over the border in a neighboring state you own/drive what you want, and there’s no emissions inspections.

Look at the picture in my avatar. It couldn’t be more applicable to today’s state of government oppression.

 

[ultrarunner]

Several of my old car guys now live in either Nevada or Oregon...

California no longer allowed the sale of lacquer and enamel paints so they moved to where it was not an issue.

 

[Hay Dude]

# Nanny State Insanity