A used low mileage truck ins't necessarily a better deal than a new truck, given what the used market is going for.
The idea that a Used truck is significantly less is a notion that ties back to the 70's and hasn't been the case in decades.
Depends on your definition of used. Historically, a new vehicle loses 40% of it's value in the first 4 years, regardless of mileage. Get one 10+ years old and prices are pretty stable year-to-year
You can have a car payment or a repair bill.
Which one is cheaper to you every month? I'll give you a hint. If you turn your own wrenches, you won't need the hint.
If you're on this site, you probably can handle 90% of common repairs.
if you buy a fleet of vehicles in the 5-10yr window, i'd assume they are probably going to cost you $8k on average at a minimum. so either you fork out $24k for your fleet of 3 vehicles or you put down $24k and immediately have "equity" in your new truck. if you get into trouble sell the truck and have money in your pocket.
The $24k in equity will disappear quickly due to depreciation...
I want to know where you guys are finding $1500 beaters that can be easily put on the road. I've been looking for a decent car for my niece and 4k is about rock bottom for anything that doesn't need at least 2k worth of work before its reliable.
She finally found a family member selling one for 3k which was about a grand under blue book retail.
Not sure where you're located, (edit, Texas, just looked) but it depends on where you're at and what you need to do with it. Cars, minivans, that's easy. Trucks and SUV's, well, it depends on what you're looking for. If you are ultra brand loyal, and the segment vehicle you're interested in is high value, good luck (think Wrangler, Tacoma, Mustang, Corvette, Tahoe/Yukon)
The average car payment in America, according to the last figures I heard, it $585/81months. That's $47k and change over almost 7 years or $6700 per year. If you had to have a transmission and an engine installed over that time on a typical 1/2 ton truck, you'd have about $25k left over. Now, it depends on if you can get a vehicle used enough (10+ years old) that's good enough (I typically look for vehicles south of I-70 from where I live to get out of the rust belt) to justify putting the effort into it. Even if you can only do brakes and oil changes yourself,
which you have to do to a new vehicle too, you will be in the habit of taking care of your vehicle and noticing problems before they become major.
My DD is a 1995 Isuzu 4x4 pickup. I purchased it from the original owner 6 year ago for $400 dollars. The OO bought it new, and never did anything to it but going to quickie oil change places
occasionally and a set of tires once. It had 108,000 miles on it and the brakes were shot and they thought the motor was going to blow. I drug it home as I was going to swap in a diesel from one of my old Chevy LUVs. I found out the plugs had never been changed. Changed them, and it ran like brand new. Had to overhaul the brake system as 2 pads were MISSING due to never having been done since new. Plugs and an oil change for the engine, pads, calipers, and discs all the way around, and for about $700 plus the initial purchase price I have had a reliable vehicle for the last 6 years. Yes, I've had to repair other things, rebuilt the steering 2 years ago, did a timing belt at 130k (70k past manufacturer recommendations
), basic maintenance you have to do to every vehicle like brakes, tires, and fluids. I have 200k on it now and it shows no signs of quitting. Not counting recurring maintenance items, I probably have $2000 in parts and initial purchase price. I'll swap that diesel into it when the gas motor blows, but it gets 20mpg with the hubs locked in and it may rust completely out before I get to it. If I'd have had a shop do the work, I'd still probably only be $4500 into it. 4500/6 = $750/year. I don't think I could buy a standard cab Colorado/Tacoma/Ranger/Frontier for that. Insurance and tags are way cheaper too.
I know it's not for everyone, but the depreciation of new cars costs people more money than anything else I can think of, excluding toilet paper of course.
That being said, someone has to buy the new vehicles so I will have something to drive in 20 years!
