Talk me out of a truck purchase

[HPstache]

Seriously, I'm not sure if some of the posts in this thread are joking or serious. (No offense, previous poster, but do you seriously think 20mpg is a good mpg rating, even for a truck?!)

20 mpg is what my '96 2.3L manual transmission Ranger is rated for, and I chose it because it gets literally the best fuel economy of any 4x4 truck costing less than $20K (with the exception of an early-1980s Isuzu compact diesel, which are impossible to find).

I agree that its fuel economy is pretty terrible, and my wife and I try to drive it as little as possible.

A 2.3L 4X4 Ranger is really rare... hang on to that!

[Metric Mouse]

I know many of you scuff at the purchase of a truck but they hold their value well.  My last truck I had for 7 years and I sold it for about 80% of what I paid for it.  Only maintenance done was oil and air filters.  Very little depreciation.  I'll keep looking around and make a decision that works for me.

Hell, I'd call that an investment! :D

[Crusader]

I know many of you scuff at the purchase of a truck but they hold their value well.  My last truck I had for 7 years and I sold it for about 80% of what I paid for it.  Only maintenance done was oil and air filters.  Very little depreciation.  I'll keep looking around and make a decision that works for me.

I have noticed how much trucks keep their value. It is actually pretty amazing. From what I seen, when buying a reasonable truck, notably a Toyota Tacoma new or old, they will struggle to depreciate. Aside from insurance, gas, and very minimal maintenance, depreciation really does not hit them. They are basically indestructible and you are able to sell it for a lot of what you paid for even 3-5+ years out. Problem is still the high buy in to get into it and the amount of money it ties up. But they will easily last a good mustachian a couple decades.

[JLee]

I know many of you scuff at the purchase of a truck but they hold their value well.  My last truck I had for 7 years and I sold it for about 80% of what I paid for it.  Only maintenance done was oil and air filters.  Very little depreciation.  I'll keep looking around and make a decision that works for me.

I have noticed how much trucks keep their value. It is actually pretty amazing. From what I seen, when buying a reasonable truck, notably a Toyota Tacoma new or old, they will struggle to depreciate. Aside from insurance, gas, and very minimal maintenance, depreciation really does not hit them. They are basically indestructible and you are able to sell it for a lot of what you paid for even 3-5+ years out. Problem is still the high buy in to get into it and the amount of money it ties up. But they will easily last a good mustachian a couple decades.

Yep, Toyotas in particular.  My last Tacoma was purchased for $4500 and sold for $5500 a couple of years later.

[Syonyk]

A new truck will depreciate fairly quickly (not as quickly as a car, but still at a good clip).  An older truck, in good shape, can hold it's value for long periods of time, especially if it's driven less than average and stays low mileage.

I paid $15k for my truck a few years ago, and while I do intend to keep it the rest of my life, I could easily turn around and sell it for nearly what I paid, if not more (there are a few grand of upgrades I've put in as I repair things).  It's a low mileage (just rolled over 100k miles) '97 F350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke, and it's in very good shape, cosmetically and mechanically.  I don't put that many miles on it, as it's not my daily driver (working from home helps a lot there).  It'll rack up 2000-3000 miles/yr, mostly in longer trips, and I keep it well maintained.  At 3000 miles/yr (which is probably about right, even if we're doing some cross country trips), another 200k miles will be 66 years, which should pretty much cover me for life. :)  And I'm in a dry climate, so rust isn't a problem.