Financial Frippery

First gen = best gen

 

Thats my plan for tundy.
250k or 20 years whatever comes first.
Miles i have been putting every year =12k

 

Yeah, gotta keep em a long time now. I paid $15K for my '05 Tundra with 128,000kms and The Woman paid $14,000 for her "new" 2013 Corolla S with 43,000kms. For two low mileage vehicles, one practically new, we're under $30K all in. Mine's paid off. Sure, there's worn out stuff on my Tundra but them's the breaks with a 13 year old truck. With no regular payment to make, the little things I have to do now and then aren't a big deal.

The Corolla will be our in town runabout and fair weather road trip vehicle. The Tundra is my DD to and from work (30km round trip) and the fishing/camping vehicle. I'm expecting many more years out of both of them.

 

Nah. You asked. I answered. OP is about financial frippery. Politics is frippery. Businesses adapt and just pass the cost on down the line hence the ridiculous cost of a new truck. I’ve adapted too and will no longer be buying new vehicles. Its always been ridiculous to buy new and get the automatic 30% depreciation as soon as driving off the lot. Its even more ridiculous now.

More power to you guys that buy new though. Your free choice!

 

2016 SR double cab. Told dealer I wasn't paying over 26k for it. Drive out just under 30k. Dealer told me they lost money on my deal so they refused to tint my windows.

 

Not that it's a sufficient sample size, but most here appear have a healthy financial perspective on the issue. I never considered post millennial purchasers, lack of children.. and lack of desire for that matter, among other issues.

Seems buying a reputable vehicle and keeping that vehicle, and praying it was well engineered with quality parts is the whole puzzle in a box so to speak.

Guess alot of us that choose to keep our simple machines have some popcorn to eat and some observations to make.. Lol

 

I don’t think that ANY PICKUP TRUCK on this planet is worth $60k plus!!! I believe that we as consumers have gotten carried away with the whole purpose and intent of what a pickup truck is and is supposed to be. As a result, auto manufacturers are using our vulnerabilities to exploit us.

With that said, I absolutely love pickup trucks. I love to see how much they can perform and the various add ons available for them. However, I don’t want a crossover pickup truck. My pickup truck is and should only be a pickup truck. I don’t want a pickup truck that is a part time car, SUV, NASCAR, and RV. I want a big, badass, heavy duty monster that can run over almost anything on and off-road. That truck should be able to haul dirt, wood, cement, and anything else that I need to haul with it. I should never be afraid of getting mud on my pickup truck. Nor, should I be afraid of using my pickup truck to do whatever a pickup truck is supposed to do.

As long as, we continue to buy these over priced pickup trucks/car/SUV, NASCAR things that are being made, the manufacturers will keep jacking up the prices. That’s just my 2 cents.

 

Honestly I don't think most Americans today even know what a car title looks like. I asked my buddy who is a salesman how many people bring in a clear title when they trade... He said one out of 12 if you're lucky. The reason we can't haggle a good deal on a truck is because there are too many morons that sign papers and go off the payment price. If everyone had to pay cash there would be no cars sold.

 

often people only see the monthly cost not the full price. salesmen always say " how much can you afford monthly, we'll make it work". then you end up with 7 years loan on cars...so yeah the monthly is less but you are on the hook for 7 years.

 

The prices of an avg crew cab is getting ridiculous.

 

There are also people that buy a fairly expensive vehicle pay it off, and then use their trade in ‘equity’ to buy progressively more expensive vehicles. I’m not a financial expert, but I don’t like putting a lot down a vehicle with 0-3% loan to get my payments down when that cash can get me more than the 3% I’m saving. (Full disclosure: I have a crap ton of house remodel, student loan, and vehicle debt so don’t listen to me).

 

@GNTundra finished all the popcorns in this forum.

 

The last house I had built in CO was 435,000 five years ago. It appraised for almost 600,000 five months ago. I’ve made almost 170,000 in five years. It’s more house than my family needs but I chose to have a higher payment and actually make money. I could have bought a house for 3-350,000 and bought a 70,000 dollar truck but that is pissing money right down the toilet. I’m debt free (other than mortgage)and at age 46 that feels great.
My guess is a lot of people driving those rigs can’t say the same.

 

It’s a debt culture. People feel entitled to new things. And people feel the need to keep up with the neighbors. I’d be willing to bet 3/4 of people buying these rigs really are living pay check to pay check, don’t have a security blanket, and probably don’t have much equity in their house. But, again, if banks will loan it, trucks will sell.

 

No, the price is ludicrous

 

The price is ridiculous. But if people need to spread out said price of truck over 8 years, they cannot afford it, and should stick with a “cheap” $39k truck.

 

new Tacomas selling for $40K too...crazy

 

You are only partially correct BT. You have made $0 on your home. That money can only be had if you sell the house. Sadly the next house you replace the current one with has also increased in value. 2008-9 taught everyone a lesson about housing values. I am actually looking forward to a "market correction", "housing slump", $5/gallon gas, high inflation, and all the opportunity that comes with it. For the financially responsible with critically needed jobs, this will be a literal "fire sale".... The best time to buy is when there is blood in the streets, even if that blood is your own.

 

I remember my first brand new car, a 1997 Honda Civic DX. Got it because I was going back to Panama and it had a hatchback and a drop gate. Small, peppy and reliable. Excellent for diving gear and fishing gear.
I was a Corparal about to be Sargent in the Army. My payments were $208.88 a month for 4 years. I remember being scared shitless!

EDIT Sergeant not Sargent.

 

Not really. I could sell and put 170,000 in my pocket. Obviously it can only be taken with a refi/cash out or straight up sale but I could put it on the market tomorrow and put the cash in my pocket so I respectfully disagree with your assessment of “making 0” on my house.
Colorado is unique. It is growing like crazy with an extremely diverse economy. Similar to California growth unfortunately. If there is a “correction” and I’m sure there will be it will not be nearly as impactful here as it will be in many other areas of the country.
The point was real estate is a much smarter investment than a 70,000 dollar King Ranch.

 

The house market could also, as unlikely as it is, wipe out your entire gain overnight.

If you were a corporation, your "balance sheet" asset value has increased, while your "cash flow/income" is still zero. This is called an unrealized gain.

 

That’s a fact. It’s like being with a fat chic ninja, you have to ride the waves.

 

That kind of sums up part of the ‘problem’ in a sense, it’s not like there are a lot of $20k trucks out there. They obviously exist, but have a lot of miles, may have subpar safety ratings, and worse than Tundra MPG.

This post is slightly off topic since the OP was taking about the abursdly priced ‘premium’ trim levels, but similar concept. If you want leather seats, moonroof, and a few other options (obviously not needs), it ‘only’ costs $4k more. All of a sudden you at $60k.

 

I worked in the trades for years before getting my engineering degree. In 2003, $20/hour was a great wage and was $40k/year. You could buy a NICE truck for less than one year's salary, about $25-30k. Today it is hard to get $25/hr and a truck costs $50k. We aren't keeping up. A work truck in 2003 was $20k brand new. Inflation always leads the wages. Who's buying these trucks? Baby Boomers who are retiring, wealthy people who want trucks, and idiots who can't afford them. Here's what blows my mind. Lets take two used trucks. One base model, steel wheels, low miles 60k and solid maintenance... $20k. Then take a loaded, leather, high miles 150k and it's $21k. Why do people buy the high mileage truck on a five year loan knowing damn good and well that it ain't going to out run the payments???

 

That right there is a fact. Wages are definitely NOT keeping up with the cost of living.

 

I mostly agree, but I have been keeping my eye on a ‘base’ 2014 crewmax (has sr5 upgrade package, but that’s about it). It has 60k miles and listed for $31k. I got quoted a price for exact same truck new for about $37k. $6k isn’t worth 60k miles and higher interest rate

 

The internet and social media encourage hyper-consumerism by making everyone think everyone else is buying the same (expensive) cars, phones, TVs, etc. creating "keeping up with the Jones" on a national/global scale.

Paired with monetary policy encouraging "stimulating American industry", you get $65k pickups, $1200 phones,disposable TVs and perpetual debt. Hell, I just bought a new 1794 and dumped a few grand in mods. Even though it's within my means, it's definitely way more than I need.

 

Our dishwasher is 10 years old and is acting up. It will cost me at least $300 to fix. We were at Home Depot today, we can buy a new one for $450, delivered. Appliances are throw aways now. Tvs and lawnmowers are throwaways for the average consumer. The point is why aren’t vehicles following the same trend?