$540 for seven years for a pickup...

[ShooterAZ]

Things aren't going to get better anytime soon either, because of the computer chip shortage. This is now driving the cost of even used vehicles way up, the dealerships are way behind in getting inventory of new cars and trucks. Now is not really a good time to buy any vehicle period, because they're getting top dollar for both new and used. Keep your 4Runner and hang tight until the computer chip problem corrects itself is what I'd recommend.

[marlin39a]

I traded my 2013 FJ Cruiser, for a new 2019 Tundra, in January 2019. Did it through the Toyota dealer in Flagstaff. They wanted my FJ, and made me great deal. I use it to tow my 2019 Winnebago. Just do what you need to do to be happy. Life is too short.

[jgstrug]

The one I have been driving for the past 15 years is for sale 2k.I don't think it has one computer chip!

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[chambers]

Was looking to upgrade my Chevy vehicle that had too many trips to the dealer, looked at Christmas time and very few new vehicles, waited about 2 months and found used GM executive Suburban vehicle(s) with all between 12,000 to 15,000 miles and purchased one and traded in my 2008'. Best decision I ever made, let the first person take the large depreciation. Have factory warranty on vehicle.
Now I still have my hunting original suburban from 2001' that I purchased new and runs like a champ, but the body is now showing it's age. I am going to run this until it dies and has also been a great vehicle with little maintenance. If you find a vehicle that runs good and doesn't nickle and dime you that is the one to keep for the long haul.

[Idaho45guy]

The one I have been driving for the past 15 years is for sale 2k.I don't think it has one computer chip!

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That's a rare gem! It is probably worth a bit more than that.

[jgstrug]

That's a rare gem! It is probably worth a bit more than that.

Yeah, it's hard to think about getting rid of it, it is ultra reliable and cheap to maintain. Not very comfortable by today's standards though. Just bought a new set of good Toyo tires for it for 300$!

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[B R Shooter]

I have an '05 Dodge Cummins, 125K miles, bought new. I just had it painted, and will continue to replace things preventatively, cause I aint sinking money into a new, or slightly used truck for what they cost. And I can drive down the road without the seatbelt on and no bells and whistles going off!

[waksupi]

A good used truck is hard to beat. I have never bought a vehicle with under 60,000 miles on it. It takes that long for all the manufacturing bugs to get shook out. I like government fleet vehicles, and have had good luck with them. The pickup I had before my current one, had few repairs, and after driving it for eight years, got $200 more than I had paid for it when I sold.

[Lloyd Smale]

I traded my 2013 FJ Cruiser, for a new 2019 Tundra, in January 2019. Did it through the Toyota dealer in Flagstaff. They wanted my FJ, and made me great deal. I use it to tow my 2019 Winnebago. Just do what you need to do to be happy. Life is too short.

thats my theory. I love my vehicles like my guns. Life to short to settle for less then you have to. Funny to me some that will bash a guy for buying a new truck but dont bat an eyelash at buying a boat if they fish or a snomobile or motorcyle if thats what there into. You only have so many days till you arrive at judgement day. Cant take it with you. My dad is the polar opposite of me. He could buy 5 new trucks cash but drives 95 dakota. Hes 89. Why it gives him so much enjoyment to look at a bank account or how good his stocks are doing is beyond me. The day he dies it wont matter what he has.

[HATCH]

I guess it depends on your options.
I just looked at the local dealership
The cheapest MSRP unit was $39361
Keep in mind its a 2wd model and that is MSRP. That doesn't include rebated or anything else.
You might need to shop around a little while longer.

[Finster101]

I'm with Lloyd on this one. If you want a new one , buy it! I like my creature comforts in what some refer to as a city truck, but it tows my trailer with whatever I need in it and anything that can fit in the bed goes in there even if it makes a mess. I have a hose and soap for that. I would rather drive my truck than the wife's Cadillac and I paid for it to be that way. I won't ride around in a piece of junk. I've worked too hard to not have to.

[megasupermagnum]

I sure hope I didn't come across as bashing anyone who wanted to buy a new vehicle. That is not the case at all. I just think it extremely odd that someone who wants a new car or truck so they can have all these bells and whistles, is also complaining that they have to pay for all these bells and whistles. You know the saying "wish in one hand".

There is a lot wrong with this country right now, but the cost of cars is not one. You wanted brand new cars with every feature a rich man can ask for... well you got it. They make what sold.

[Finster101]

I just retired from a Chey, Buick, GMC dealership. We could not keep trucks in stock. Most were sold before coming off the transport truck and then we would have to get the PDI done ASAP for delivery. We sold a lot of 55K to 85K trucks. Somebody is buying them.

[Lloyd Smale]

i agree totally. I worked hard to be in a position that I can afford one. Beat my body up for 8 years in the service broke my back and shattered my hip and ankle there and did therapy for 2 years. Could have gone home on disabilty then no questions asked. But i didnt want to scrap by so i got back in shape and worked 29 years as an electrical lineman busting my body up. I also had to leave the town mommy and daddy lived in to get the job i had. Guess i could have worked at some crap 20 dollar an hour job and stayed next door to ma and my buddies. But i wanted more. Im retired now and is the time to enjoy life. Yup ive got a truck payment but in 3 years it will be paid for and most likely before then ill get another new one. Probably going to trade my boat in in the next couple years too on another new one. A much worse investment then a truck.

If im smart about it the day i die i will have 5 bucks in the bank. My wife gets my pension her 401k my social security and my VA pension. She will have a home thats paid for and all my truck loans have life insurance so she will have that paid for too. She will want for nothing. Bottom line is if i drove past the lot tomarow and saw a truck i liked i wouldnt feel guilty trading my 2 year old truck in. What i wont do is take off cross country in a car or truck that has 200k on it and is a ticking time bomb. Ive got a car a jeep and a truck i could fill up and head to the west coast and not be concerned about getting left on the side of the road. If you want to look at numbers in a book or if you didnt make wise decisions and cant afford what someone else can then its you that made the mistake not me buying a truck. For the most part the guys that say its stupid are guys that cant afford to do it. bottom line is 90 percent here could have done the same thing. Many here did and made even more then i do.

[Lloyd Smale]

I just retired from a Chey, Buick, GMC dealership. We could not keep trucks in stock. Most were sold before coming off the transport truck and then we would have to get the PDI done ASAP for delivery. We sold a lot of 55K to 85K trucks. Somebody is buying them.

yup right now your lucky if you can find one. At least one that is what you actually wanted.

[snowwolfe]

Was going over the remaining financial obligation for my 2019 Toyota 4Runner. I love it, and it will be a great vehicle for at least another ten years if I keep it. But, I would like a 1/2-ton pickup to tow a 22' RV camper, or a half cord of firewood, or whatever you need a 1/2-ton pickup for. So, naturally I looked at Toyota Tundras. The cheapest I could find within 100 miles was $48,000. For a pretty basic 1/2-ton pickup. The "fancy" ones were $52,000 and up.

So, since i have $6,000 worth of equity in my current vehicle, I would need to finance $42,000 in order to buy a new pickup. To keep the payments to where I could afford them, I would have to get an 84 month loan at 2.5% interest, even with my excellent credit score.

That's seven years of payments at $536 a month to buy a modest 1/2-ton pickup truck! That is insane! My house payment on a 3-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood is $575 a month.

I called my dad to discuss the dilemma, and he pointed out that in a couple of years, when my 4Runner is paid off, that interest rates may be up around 8-10% on new vehicles. And prices for new pickups may be nearly twice what they are today due to inflation.

He lived through the 70's and Jimmy Carter and idiotic economic policies. He thinks Joe Biden is leading us directly into historically high interest rates and crippling inflation.

He advised me to keep my 4Runner and pay it off and put extra money aside. He said he thinks economic end times are about to hit and a $400 car payment and a $575 house payment are extremely valuable and to not jeopardize either. He thinks the days of Americans moving slowly up the ladder of economic prosperity are over. That the dream of having a nicer vehicle and bigger home with just a bit more hard work and a promotion is gone. We are about to enter a winter of inflation and devaluation of the dollar.

Seems like now is the time to lock in a $48,000 pickup at 2% finance rate if in a couple of years, the same pickup will cost me $60,000 at 5% interest, right?

Whatever happens, I just can't believe that a pickup costs a year's wages or more these days.

My grandpa made $32,000 a year in 1979 as a union carpenter. He bought a brand new 1979 F150 XLT pickup regular cab 2wd for $5,500.

That brand new pickup cost him 1/5 of his year's wages. Today, a new F150 like my Grandpa's would cost $35,000.

In 2021, union carpenter wages are about twice what my grandpa made, or $28 an hour. That equals about $56,000 a year.

So today, a new F150 costs more than half of a year's wages in today's wages. Used to cost a fifth of a year's wages.

This is why the middle class is disappearing and why people are struggling. Nobody wants to talk about it or acknowledge it. But the facts are the facts.

Your forgetting some very important facts. There is a lot more R&D in a vehicle now compared to a basic 1979 model. Fuel economy, power, tons of safety features, back up camera, etc etc etc

Buy what you want and can afford. You can't take money with you when you die. Enjoy life while you can. If I want a new vehicle I'll buy it. At my age (68) I dont care if it makes good financial sense or not. I paid $54,500 for my 2019 Superduty in 2019. 2.5 years later I got $56K for trade on a new GMC Denali PU with all the bells and whistles. So much for being the fool and suffering all the depreciation. And the dealer discounted the GMC $7,000.

Even with the 6.2 V8 the truck is averaging 20.5 mpg for the first 500 miles. Think a 1979 truck would get over 20 mpg with a 420 hp V8 with 460 torque?

We all have different budgets. Just make sure you can afford to take care of your family.

[Huntsman52]

Have you looked at Nissan Titans or the Titan XD? 100k warrenty bumper to bumper. I have the 2018 xd gas, lots of power and price was about 10k than competitors new. Used value for those drops alot as well.

[Idaho45guy]

Have you looked at Nissan Titans or the Titan XD? 100k warrenty bumper to bumper. I have the 2018 xd gas, lots of power and price was about 10k than competitors new. Used value for those drops alot as well.

Good friend of mine bought one a few months ago when his Chevy blew a motor down in Wyoming. He got a nice diesel-powered 4x4 crew cab Titan, brand new, for $29k.

Been in the shop twice so far and has several small issues they can't figure out. He now hates it. Good looking truck, but the reliability ratings on it are pretty bad.

[Lloyd Smale]

i always found it odd that jap cars and trucks like hondas and toyotas had such a good rep for reliablity and nissan is usually listed as the least reliable even when compared to the domestic cars and trucks.

[1006]

When I looked at trucks a few years ago, it seemed that leasing a new one was the best option for me. I would drive it approximately 15 thousand miles a year. Dodge made the only full sized truck that I felt like I could justify paying for, but I grew up not trusting Dodge products. I think I am done with real trucks, unless something changes. I will continue to use my 1985 ElCamino, and may buy the new Honda Truck for my next car.