afford

[Roofer]

I bought my first truck at 18 and it was a new Silverado 1500 4x4 EC. The payment was about $450 and that was 15 years ago. Didn't bother me then, but starting to bother me now. Had trucks between than and now ranging from $400 a month to $1200 a month. Every one was worth it because I need it for work.

 

If I was just a commuter I may not have a truck, and sure as heck wouldn't have a high vehicle payment. Not too many people buying fancy pickups just to drive around in anymore, except maybe some that won't let go of their youth.

[MikeNH]

Mine is a significant payment too but not having kids/being single I figure I need to spend it on something.

[cfeiring]

My truck is financed at 0.0% and I needed a truck to pull the daughters horses so I got what I needed plus a few bells and whistles as this will be my last new car / truck so I carefully looked at needs / wants and found close to wants and meets the needs. My truck has a few more extras than I wanted but met the needs and was the only one in several hundred miles.

Previously I have kept cars / trucks at least 10 years or to the point where repairs become frequent and is now cheaper to buy new / used car for the collection.

Now my girls are in college it is a bit of a struggle to make the payment but only have 2.5 yrs left and then I will not have any car payments unless the wifes car takes a dump and have to buy a new / used car.

Yes these trucks cost a large sum; but as noted wait for some sort of deal from GM and then buy, usually near the end of a model year. That is what I did

got incentive, 0.0% financing, and trade in value and payments for 6 years.

I also work 2 jobs to pay bills and tuition for my daughters in college, not easy but when truck is paid for it will be easier.

[doverarjim]

Yes large payments are a pain in the butt. But like 08 Black Max said this will be the last truck I buy at least new anyways. I usually keep my trucks for 10 to 12 years, so then if I want to go longer the best way is with a DMax, I pull around the farm, sometimes and travel some with the truck so I wanted something that I could stand for a while. But the house is paid for all the kids are off the payroll, and if I can use GM's/Ally's money for 0% then why not.

[Badbird2000]

I was wondering the same thing. I paid off my F150 almost two years ago. It is a 2002 with 152,000 miles. By end of the this year i should be debt free. We are saving for a house, so that will be there. But, ideally i would like to put together a substantial down payment for my next truck, wich will probably be used again. I figure i have gotten my $21,000 out of this Ford so my next investment i will keep as long.

 

Plus we are having our first kid in August, so i will see how everything goes after that

[Wolfmanjohn]

Nobody wants to hear this but the way to do it is to drive old vehicles, work on them yourself and have a plan to get out of debt. Once you get out of having any loans (and it may take years), things get a lot better. After that pay cash or don't buy.

 

 

+1; again Waumo strikes with simple and logical advice! Let this old fart tell you where it will lead: I have no mortgage and no car payment, and buy what I want when I want at the best price I can get, and pay cash for it. Cash is King! Wife's car is a '09; mine a '11. As we are both retired, each vehicle is driven ~2-3k miles/yr, and should serve us well for some time to come. Now we just enjoy life and put some aside for the kids' inheritance, which they will both surely need in this increasingly tough long-term economy. You can bet things sure didn't start out that way, and we thought we'd never see a day like this, but hard work, diligence, and sacrifice got us here. 'Nuff said.

[craig1971]

I agree on the used car deals I originally went looking at used Silverados and sierras and the prices were not far off from used ones. The dealer did not try to push the used ones.

[RyanbabZ71]

End of 2011 beginning of 2012 we were looking for a van. Looked used as I wanted to save some $$$. Well all I could find was 2008-2012 models with 60K+ miles for 24K+. Ended up buying new (0% financing) for like $29K. Well worth it in my opinion. Now I am trying to sell our Tahoe. I am in no hurry as it is paid off, worst case scenerio is I trade it in this summer for a camaro

[EX-F150 owner]

Nobody wants to hear this but the way to do it is to drive old vehicles, work on them yourself and have a plan to get out of debt. Once you get out of having any loans (and it may take years), things get a lot better. After that pay cash or don't buy.

 

This is good but you still need some credit in the event you want to buy a new house.

 

I have no dept other than this truck and my house. All my other toys, cars and Boat are paid for. My truck has a 1.99% interest rate so I am not in a hurry to pay it off right now. We are saving for a new house next year and I need some dept, crazy how that works but it is what it is. Gotta have dept to have a good or should I say better FICA score. I use my credit cards some but I no longer carry any balance over a billing cycle so I do not have to pay interest on it.

 

Just gotta be smart with your money or someone other than you will be taking it.

[Morgan1986]

I bought my first truck at 18 and it was a new Silverado 1500 4x4 EC. The payment was about $450 and that was 15 years ago. Didn't bother me then, but starting to bother me now. Had trucks between than and now ranging from $400 a month to $1200 a month. Every one was worth it because I need it for work.

 

If I was just a commuter I may not have a truck, and sure as heck wouldn't have a high vehicle payment. Not too many people buying fancy pickups just to drive around in anymore, except maybe some that won't let go of their youth.

 

In alberta that is all people buy is the most expensive 1500 they can get and take there boys to soccer practice . Most people dont use there trucks for work and most people drive a truck in alberta .

[ChevyMan23]

I had an 04 RCSB Silverado that I sold in July of 2011, took that money to the dealership for a down payment on my '11 ext cab Z, that I love very much. My truck 29K out the door, and my payment is just under 350/month, but I pay an even 400, b/c the type of loan I have, all the extra automatically goes directly to the principal. I work my ass off for the things my wife and I have, save for retirement, and saving to build a house a couple years.

[rexisme]

I was fortunate enough to have my first car purchased for me by my grandfather. Being an only child and grandchild allowed this to happen. With that car, I sold it a year later for more than what was paid for. From that point on, I always had a co-signer and made pretty decent money, I also picked up a bad habit of almost getting a new car every year. I was fortunate enough that I'd buy them low and either trade or sell them high. I did take very good care of my automobiles as well though. When I sold them or traded them in, most of the time they were in 10x's better shape than when I bought them and modified so they had appeal.

 

My payments have ranged from 240(miss that) to 650, at one point I had 2 new cars and paid 1300. Then got my dui (not proud) which at the time I had the 2 new cars and with insurance I was almost paying 1800 a month. Thankfully at that point in my life I had fallen into a job making a great deal of money so I was ok but, had to get rid of my dream car and my DD and go to one car. I could of made it, I just couldnt drive and couldn't see paying that much for 2 cars that just sat while I didnt have a license.

[TimmyG]

A nice downpayment!, beteewn my trade in, gm credit card $ and my downpayment. I pay 348 a month for my 11 crewcab ls

[limpalong]

I put 30,000 to 40,000/year on my Silverado. I've always believed in allowing someone else the "blessing" of taking the depreciation. Once I hit the 150,000 area, I begin looking for a low mileage Silverado. I will glean dealerships in a 200 mile radius, stopping as I go through towns. My 2008 has the sticker still in the glove box. It stickered for just under $40,000. I found it with 12,000 miles, left them a 2004 2wd with 165,000 miles... and a check for $18,000.

We are fortunate to be old enough to not have any debt and to have some cash reserves. I have written checks for the last 4 vehicles purchased. Some dealerships are staffed by folks who have their names penciled in on business cards. It is tough to make these folks understand a cash sale. I have found a couple of smaller dealers where I can visit directly with the owner. One of those is who I purchased this 2008 from.

To me, it's cost per mile. I look at the savings on personal property tax and savings on insurance. A one to two year old vehicle will have considerably lower taxes and insurance than a brand new vehicle.

[ChevyTech77]

I've worked my butt off all my life and driven junk most of it so when I had the opportunity this past spring to do so, I pulled the trigger and never looked back. Mine is 100% financed and while that $550 a month payment sucks to make, I can do so and still have my other toys and hobbies so we're all good.

 

I was always against buying new but after doing some serious number crunching, after taking delivery of my current truck, come to find out me keeping those old vehicle's on the road was costing me nearly what it does to drive new. Therefore from here on out, after 6 years, they're done and I'll buy new. I'd rather spend my time wrenching, on my toys.