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How do you justify a new truck every 2-3 years?


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Thought this could be a fun thread.

 

So I’m at a crossroads with my 2016 Sierra. Frankly I’m just not happy with the truck anymore. It has just over 25k miles and I have had it for about 2.5 years. It was just in for service and the tires are at 6/32 and will probably need replacement if I keep it for another 6 months. Same for the front brake pads. Lots of city driving. 

 

So right now I’m looking at just trading it in before it needs any major things and while it’s still under warranty and theoretically worth more. I can get an ‘19 LTZ CC 6.2 for about 7% off sticker. I know that waiting longer will bring better deals but I’d also lose more on my current truck. It’s completely paid off and worth about 25k average trade-in at the moment. 

 

I think it makes perfect sense to make the move now, and I could theoretically pay cash for the new truck...but I still have the “penny pincher” in the back of my mind from when I used to be poor saying it’s a waste to only get 2 or 3 years out of a brand new truck.

 

Wondering how some fellow “new toy lovers” deal with the internal struggle, and justify the deal to friends (and spouses) who may raise an eyebrow at getting something new so often, even though your income can support it.

 

 

 

 

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A new vehicle will depreciate faster than a used one. It's more financially sound to keep your truck for 10+ yrs and buy used ones that are 2-3yrs old. 

 

Then again, no one lives forever, so if you want to spend money that you otherwise could invest or use for other purposes, it's your choice. At the end of the day, it's only money and we can't take it with us. 

 

If you're happily married, get your spouse's pulse on it and trust their council.

 

The decision really isn't one that could be considered logical either way, it's an emotional one.

 

If you do make the move, I wouldn't recommend making a habit of it unless you're Jay Leno or have a paid off house and a few hundred k in the bank.

 

I'm also not saying don't do it. But if you do, make sure it's with good intentions.

 

Interested in other's opinions as well.

Edited by UGADawgs
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IMHO, people that put on a lot of miles, (50k per year and up) should upgrade every 2-3 yrs. The rest of us don't need to. 

 

If you want to, that's fine. It's your money. Why aren't you happy with your current '16?  I have a '17 like yours with more than 2x the miles on and still love it. Best vehicle I've ever owned.

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I have a mental thing about going past 100K-150K Miles for my work vehicle as well as my personal trip vehicle. That’s been working out to 2-3 years for the last 30 years. I always buy the best deals to keep the cost reasonable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I can't, as a matter of fact I struggled with the purchase of my 19 HC. I ended up trading in my 2003 Silverado SS that I purchased new. Oh, and it only had 71k on it!

Edited by RAYS B4U
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Definitely look into selling your truck private party instead of trading into dealer. You almost always get more $$$ private party even if you save some on tax with trade in.

 

I swore I would never buy a new vehicle and have always kept my trucks for ever? Still have my 208K mile 1997 k1500. 

 

I am also debating on trading my 2018 in when T1XX has mid cycle refresh. My 2018 has been OK. Nervous about possible engine lifter damage, vacuum pump, AC, 8-speed trans. But we mostly hear negative issues on the net vs the thousands that have not had any problems.

 

I finally bought new because a few year old truck with 30 - 50k miles was not that much cheaper than a new truck with the 20 - 25% off MSRP Laura Buick GMC was offering. Now my state sucks with tax and I had to pay 10% tax even though I bought out of state. Also vehicle registration in my state bends you over for the first 5 years. Based on MSRP depreciated value, my 1 year registration was $1200.

 

After all that maybe this will be my first and last new truck lol.

 

It seems these hold their value pretty well as far as deprecation goes...

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Unless you are miling it out then it's simply a want.  I used to dump a truck annually and honestly I just can't do it anymore.  It's not that I can't afford it but more the justification.  I don't care if my vehicle is newer than my buddies..... or has the latest tech... or gets better mileage.  I own 10 vehicles in varying ages and states but I always want more. 

 

I get bored of stuff but I find if I like something I really like I keep it forever.  I still will daily my 05 Sierra..... it's currently being pieced back together after I smashed it and bent the frame.  It's rusty, has over 200000 miles on it, looks like a piece of junk really.... but I will still pick it over my 2017 every day.  I will be probably $4000 in repairs in the 05 but I don't care.. the money is irrelevant.  And that's the reason I kept flipping, because i felt I should want the new one and replace the old one.  Nope... to heck with it.  I do actually like the 17 now though too so I can stop buying new.  Now more old heaps, parts wagons or copious amounts of LS engines is a totally other thing.

 

At the end of the day it's your cash and not someone else's on this forum so do with it what makes you happy!

Edited by SierraHD17
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I drive/use my truck a lot.  My 2016 had 84K miles in 3 years.  It made sense to trade while the 2016 still had some value.  Even at that, each Dealer I went too took a $4K penalty on the trade due to excess miles.  So far I have 10K miles on the 2019 in 4 months.

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My view is you're going to pay one way or the other.  For those who run their truck into the ground and keep forever and don't have a payment, blah, blah, blah...How do you possibly justify a note on a new truck for $60K when the time eventually comes and you have little to no equity to trade or sell privately? 

 

If you time it right, you can have a manageable annual expense and always be in something under warranty.  I also had a 2016 Silverado LT and had great luck with it.  I just traded it with 23K miles on it (and got high end of "very good" on KBB) and upgraded to a leftover 2018 LTZ at over 25% of MSRP.  I did the same thing a few years ago on the 2016.  I'm paying about $2,500 or so cash per year for this, which I think is reasonable and manageable.  I'll look to do the same in 2-3 years once the T1's have the kinks worked out and probably look at a leftover 2021. 

 

To someone's point about buying used every few years, that makes logical sense due to depreciation.  The only difference in this day and age (and maybe things will change) is that the discounts on leftover "new" trucks has rivaled the price of used trucks, so why wouldn't you go new?

Edited by outrag1
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 I can't justify it and I don't try to justify it. If I want it I buy it, end of story. If anyone gives me guff about it I tell them to piss off. I don't know about you guys but my experience is most of my "friends" are more "concerned" than I am about what I do.

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3 hours ago, Nanotech Environmental said:

IMHO, people that put on a lot of miles, (50k per year and up) should upgrade every 2-3 yrs. The rest of us don't need to. 

 

If you want to, that's fine. It's your money. Why aren't you happy with your current '16?  I have a '17 like yours with more than 2x the miles on and still love it. Best vehicle I've ever owned.

I shouldn’t say I’m not happy with it, as it has been a great truck and the nicest vehicle I’ve ever owned. Mainly it’s just that the double cab is not working out for me anymore. I wish I would have sprung for a crew cab, and a few more options at the time, and I probably wouldn’t be in this spot. Mine’s about as basic as an SLE comes, no remote start, no heated seats, doesn’t even have fog lamps. I was happy to compromise a bit and save some money at the time since I paid mostly cash for it (and had basically nothing to trade in). But having owned it for over 2 years now, I’m starting to want for more space, more features and more power.

 

Having had a ‘19 as a loaner last weekend was not a good thing for me either as it had most of the stuff I’ve been missing and it drove much nicer too. Pretty sure they set me up in this trap. 

 

I suppose the lesson is to buy what you want the first time.

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If you are taking the time to ask/post the question, do the research on price of a new truck, I would say you are ready regardless of the time frame. Be happy with what YOU own, life is very short, so make the most of it.

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