Author Topic: Getting rid of my Truck  (Read 5755 times)

cshaw

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Idaho
Getting rid of my Truck
« on: January 16, 2015, 11:37:42 AM »
I stumbled upon the MM blog earlier this month.  Long story short I知 45 and have since moved my retirement target date up from 65 to 55-57.  I知 looking to pull it back even more.  Currently under consideration is my beloved 2005 F150 Lariat 4x4.  I値l be honest, love my truck and this is going to be hard, but I like the idea of moving my retirement date up even more.  I am pretty handy and do use it quite a bit for runs back and forth to Home Depot during the warmer months.  I also hunt.
I drive it too and from the bus stop I catch for work: 18 miles round trip, 4 on/4 off schedule. Here is what I知 considering:  sell my baby. Buy a utility trailer and buy something that gets twice the 13 MPG I get with my truck.  I知 currently looking at a 2009 Toyota Yaris for sale on craigslist locally.  My wife痴 vehicle is a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek (paid for), which already has the trailer hitch.  This would satisfy my HD run needs.  I am also considering getting a used 4x4 ATV to handle the back country hunting.  I知 thinking I can unload my truck, purchase a used car, trailer, and ATV and still be money ahead.
I壇 appreciate any thoughts/comments on my line of thinking.
Thanks in advance.
Cliff

Retired To Win

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1493
  • Age: 76
  • Location: Virginia
  • making the most of my time and my money
    • Retired To Win
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2015, 04:33:58 PM »
When you start looking for your replacement vehicles, think OLDER than you are thinking now.  And pay cash for the vehicle(s).

I drive a 1996 Dodge Dakota with over 140,000 miles on it.  My wife drives a 1998 Subaru Forester with over 240,000 miles on it.  Both vehicles run fine, are very reliable and have never, ever left us stranded on the side of the road.  Keeping them well-maintained does the trick.

Owning older vehicles is a KEY strategy to accelerate your drive to earlier retirement.  By my calculations, eliminating -- permanently -- having a monthly car payment on a newer vehicle, and adding the extra savings that result from lower insurance rates and other expenditures, lowered the size of the nest egg we needed to retire by around $300K.

And that, my friend, was HUGE.

cshaw

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Idaho
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2015, 01:17:00 PM »
Thanks for the advice.  I will certainly pay cash and will look at older vehicles that get MPG I am looking for.

JeffC

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 56
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2015, 03:03:01 PM »
I had a 1999 Infiniti G20 and although it is not on the MMM list of cars for smart people, I will say that it is one for consideration.  It got 30ish in the city and 37 on the highway, and could go for 7 hours without gassing up on a road trip.  I personally put 120k of its 240k miles on it and it was a remarkably reliable car.  I think old japanese luxury brands like lexus, acura and infiniti are a wise choice because they are built out of better stuff than their lower brand counterparts (the G20 was basically a Nissan Maxima dressed up). I also once had a Honda CRX with 350k miles on it by the time I sold it and by that point the interior was almost totally gone. Like gaping holes in the dashboard, the door interiors fell off, the dome light hanging from a cord, wrecked.  The Infiniti felt like a new car on the inside when I sold it at 240k. Just a thought if you go for an old car.  The Yaris, by the time it has 250k miles on it, will be wrecked on the inside for sure. 


TheThirstyStag

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 303
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2015, 06:24:41 PM »
Having your truck isn't as bad as you think it is.  It's still a 10 year old truck, and you actually do use it for truck-warranted activities (albeit you could duplicate that with your wife's vehicle). 

Simply owning a truck need not be antimustachian.  Financing a new one every 3 years when you never haul anything heavier than a few bags of groceries in suburbia is another thing. .

Retired To Win

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1493
  • Age: 76
  • Location: Virginia
  • making the most of my time and my money
    • Retired To Win
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2015, 06:29:16 AM »
  ...Simply owning a truck need not be antimustachian.  Financing a new one every 3 years when you never haul anything heavier than a few bags of groceries in suburbia is another thing.

Absolutely!  My 1996 Dodge Dakota pick-up truck has been a great vehicle for me while keeping my vehicle-owning costs to a minimum.  AND it keeps coming in superhandy time and time again to haul large-sized DIY materials, bulky loads of gardening supplies, etc.

I LOVE my oldie-goldie, thrifty-nifty pick-up truck.

roadtofreedom

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 43
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2015, 07:02:02 AM »
I stumbled upon the MM blog earlier this month.  Long story short I知 45 and have since moved my retirement target date up from 65 to 55-57.  I知 looking to pull it back even more.  Currently under consideration is my beloved 2005 F150 Lariat 4x4.  I値l be honest, love my truck and this is going to be hard, but I like the idea of moving my retirement date up even more.  I am pretty handy and do use it quite a bit for runs back and forth to Home Depot during the warmer months.  I also hunt.
I drive it too and from the bus stop I catch for work: 18 miles round trip, 4 on/4 off schedule. Here is what I知 considering:  sell my baby. Buy a utility trailer and buy something that gets twice the 13 MPG I get with my truck.  I知 currently looking at a 2009 Toyota Yaris for sale on craigslist locally.  My wife痴 vehicle is a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek (paid for), which already has the trailer hitch.  This would satisfy my HD run needs.  I am also considering getting a used 4x4 ATV to handle the back country hunting.  I知 thinking I can unload my truck, purchase a used car, trailer, and ATV and still be money ahead.
I壇 appreciate any thoughts/comments on my line of thinking.
Thanks in advance.
Cliff

Hi cshaw,

great decision to take.

IMO that truck is stunning but it's like a thirsty beast.

It's quite far from a mustachian way of living.

Toyota Yaris is an excellent choice, very mustachian consumption.

Good luck.

Paul der Krake

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5854
  • Age: 16
  • Location: UTC-10:00
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2015, 07:47:56 AM »
Well, now is the great time to offload your gas guzzling beast as fuel prices are the lowest in years. You should be getting more monies for it than if gas was still at $4/gallon.

Besides, if you never take passengers in your new yaris, you might as well remove the back seats like this guy and voila, huge cargo space:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306

RWD

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6499
  • Location: Arizona
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2015, 09:47:56 AM »
(the G20 was basically a Nissan Maxima dressed up)

The 1999 Maxima is a foot longer than the 1999 G20 and has a V6 instead of a I4 engine. The G20 was more in between the Altima and the Sentra in terms of size and engine. It was essentially a rebadged Nissan Primera (which was not sold in the United States). Great car through, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

TheThirstyStag

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 303
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2015, 11:27:16 AM »
(the G20 was basically a Nissan Maxima dressed up)

The 1999 Maxima is a foot longer than the 1999 G20 and has a V6 instead of a I4 engine. The G20 was more in between the Altima and the Sentra in terms of size and engine. It was essentially a rebadged Nissan Primera (which was not sold in the United States). Great car through, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

I agree.  A friend of mine has a 94 G20 that's surprisingly economical and luxurious.  With 240k miles on the odometer and counting.  And it's stick :)

cshaw

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Idaho
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2015, 05:11:38 AM »
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.  Plenty of food for thought here.

Cliff

BTTG

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Getting rid of my Truck
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2015, 05:33:45 AM »
I recently sold my 2008 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 pickup I had owned since new (36K miles in 7 years of ownership) and bought a 2006 Honda Civic with 110K miles on it. I figure with my driving habits the Honda will dissolve to dust before i put enough miles on it to kill the drivetrain. Got 10,000 extra soldiers sitting in my bank account ready to be redeployed into my wifes and my Trad IRA's for 2015 as a result of the downgrade... in addition reduced fuel costs, reduced insurance costs, more comfort when the whole family piles in, etc... This became an easy choice after reading stuff here over the course of a few months. Next spring I can get all my mulch delivered at once for a $20 transport fee from the local garden center... instead of making 4 trips in the truck and donating irreplaceable hours of my life... what was i thinking??? 2 months after the change and I'm still smiling.