Need Some Advice

jro909 · January 24, 2011

So within the new few months i'll have the money to pay my truck off in full, but i'm on the fence..the truck has 120k on the ticker with no major work done(knock on wood) and i'm afraid if i throw all my eggs into one basket and something big goes out i will not have the finacial backing to fix it...any advice?

focijoe · January 24, 2011

I would not pay the truck off if it will totally drain your savings. You never know what will happen and if you're broke you're screwed.

KMGZ400 · January 24, 2011

i personally would NOT pay if off. from what i have seen, the 4L60's usually only last about 120k to 150k. one of my 4L60s was completley grenaded at about 120k..and it was a babied tranny too.

not saying yours is gonna go, but you never know.

my 0.02

defeated · January 25, 2011

i personally would NOT pay if off. from what i have seen, the 4L60's usually only last about 120k to 150k. one of my 4L60s was completley grenaded at about 120k..and it was a babied tranny too.

If every thing else on the truck is good and it works perfectly for you, isn't it cheaper to rebuild/replace (or have it done) than to buy a new(er) truck? Even if coming up with the cash quick is an issue (it would be for me) I would have thought you could get a quick loan for the amount with the title as collateral, if you had to. I've always thought that's what I'd do if I ever actually end up keeping a car or truck from cradle to grave, like I swear I'm going to everytime I buy another one, but never seem to end up doing. I would be inclined in this case to go ahead and pay it off, and sock the payment away for a while, in case something happened.

General Lee 01 · January 25, 2011

If it were me I'd play it safe than sorry..... Cause you just know that damn Murphy guy with his stupid law is just waiting in the wings for the best opportunity to f-you over.

KMGZ400 · January 25, 2011

i personally would NOT pay if off. from what i have seen, the 4L60's usually only last about 120k to 150k. one of my 4L60s was completley grenaded at about 120k..and it was a babied tranny too.

If every thing else on the truck is good and it works perfectly for you, isn't it cheaper to rebuild/replace (or have it done) than to buy a new(er) truck? Even if coming up with the cash quick is an issue (it would be for me) I would have thought you could get a quick loan for the amount with the title as collateral, if you had to. I've always thought that's what I'd do if I ever actually end up keeping a car or truck from cradle to grave, like I swear I'm going to everytime I buy another one, but never seem to end up doing. I would be inclined in this case to go ahead and pay it off, and sock the payment away for a while, in case something happened.

hell yeah. my suburban was and still is in pristine condition, everything works and it was definatley worth it to buy a brand new 4L60. the sub is like new with the tranny

defeated · January 25, 2011

lol, good...I was starting to worry a little bit. I spent all weekend reading through the archives randomly searching different topics and it seemed like tranny issues had people particularly spooked here and there, then I read this and was wondering if there was something worse lurking than just tired parts. I think I can personally handle paying for a transmission replacement if I had to, if it's hardy enough to last me until it's paid off and at least a 100k, especially if it's done any amount of work besides grocery getting.

jro909 · January 25, 2011

yeah its a tough choice, in a perfect world id like to just pay her off and sock the payments away..but i don't have a crystal ball to predict what will need work in the future

marine_devildog801 · January 25, 2011

I would not pay the truck off if it will totally drain your savings. You never know what will happen and if you're broke you're screwed.

+1

If you drain your savings then what do you do when you need quick cash? Get a small loan with (more than likely) a higher interest rate than you have with your truck payment?? That sounds wonderful doesn't it? Save your money and don't gamble with everything going perfectly...cause 8 out of 10 times it won't.

gregrocks89 · January 25, 2011

wow crapping out at a 120k and being worried about it, lol thats not good at all.

General Lee 01 · January 25, 2011

Now that I've told you what I think the smart option would be, I've got something else I want to throw in for you to think about jro.

It's extremely easy for all of us to tell YOU what to do with YOUR money. All we know is you've got a 2004 RCLB 1500 Z85. We don't know you're current living situation, if you're married or single, got kids or not, or so on. (I'm not saying this trying to get you to tell all that stuff, cause that's really none of our damn business ) .....But you get what I'm saying?

While the General concensus does seem to point to the "right" answer here. It's your decision. So the only "Right" answer for you, is to go with your gut.

I've followed my gut brother, and I'm still here.

Nytemare · January 25, 2011

I asked my financial adviser the same question yesterday. She said keep making payments. Its a auto loan, and you will have more of them eventually. My truck has a 6 year loan on it...and over the life of the loan I will pay an extra 10K in interest. if I pay it off in 3 years I will save 5K...thats double payments.

She advised me to toss the extra in RRSP's than I have the extra cash and I get taxes back too...than use the refund to pay it down. I may end up saving a year on payments over the next 5 years....and 2-3K in interest, But I will still have the money I was going to pay on the truck...and it will be making me money....and hopefully much more than 10K over the next 25 years before I start using the cash.

jro909 · January 26, 2011

Now that I've told you what I think the smart option would be, I've got something else I want to throw in for you to think about jro.

It's extremely easy for all of us to tell YOU what to do with YOUR money. All we know is you've got a 2004 RCLB 1500 Z85. We don't know you're current living situation, if you're married or single, got kids or not, or so on. (I'm not saying this trying to get you to tell all that stuff, cause that's really none of our damn business ) .....But you get what I'm saying?

While the General concensus does seem to point to the "right" answer here. It's your decision. So the only "Right" answer for you, is to go with your gut.

I've followed my gut brother, and I'm still here.