Trade In Advice

[RZChevy]

I have a dilemma...

 

I own a 2016 Silverado Crew Cab LT. I love the truck and it’s approaching 100k miles. I bought the extended warranty that covers everything thru 150k miles. It’s paid off, and I had to have the transmission rebuilt at 80k (thank god for the warranty!)

 

My wife leased a 2018 Traverse, and it’s been a great SUV for her. Her lease is up next month and she only put 24k miles on it over 39 months.. We have an option to buy it for $20k. She’s had zero problems with it.

 

We are downgrading to one vehicle for various reasons, and I’m trying to determine which is the better move:

A. Bring back her lease and keep my truck

B. Trade in my truck to purchase her SUV (we should be able to get enough to cover the SUV payoff)

I know what my heart says (keep the truck), but I’ve already had the transmission rebuilt and it’s at 98k miles. My fear is that it will go again, but hopefully before the warranty runs out. I know these trucks are supposed to go 200k+ miles. I’m leaning toward sticking with the truck, but don’t want to be kicking myself in two years if something else major goes and the warranty is up. 
The practical person inside me says to keep the SUV that’s given us no problems especially since it only has 24k miles.

 

Any advice/thoughts on which is the better route?

 

FYI - my wife is good with either one, so that’s not a factor.

 

 

[Ryker Tapson]

Clearly keep the one with 24k miles. Save up, get another truck. 

[KARNUT]

You may want to factor in fuel mileage. This could be a rough few years for that. I always have a truck around. Not as my main ride. 20K is not bad for a nice used vehicle, especially knowing it history. In your shoes I’d keep both, keeping the mileage driven on the truck at a minimum.


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[x219c]

This is all going to be stuff you already know... I’ll just play out how I’d think about it.

If you don’t have a really compelling reason to keep the truck like towing a boat or something, it’s mostly a numbers game. Same goes for the other vehicle. If you are working towards a goal, see what gets you there faster. If you can come out with no payments on your car, that’s always nice. What is that car worth after paying it off? How about your truck? Are you losing a ton trading? I assume a lease has no real value locked into it besides you knowing the history on the vehicle. Your truck may have enough to purchase the leased vehicle. But after the deal is done, where are you left? Is owning the truck a better store of money than the car? I’d be looking that up. If the truck is worth 25k outright and the car is 20k.. you might be over paying for the car. On the other hand, if they’re pretty equal, maybe it makes more sense.

If you’re trying to hit financial goals... Write down the numbers and look at it like a business decision. Sure, the other car may get better gas mileage. But if it’s only 5mpg, will it pay for itself very quickly? If it’s significantly cheaper to keep the truck, keep some of the money set aside for repairs. That can pay off too. If it’s cheaper to buy the leased car, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.

You might even be able to sell the truck on the private market for a bit more. I haven’t been shopping lately, but I have heard there’s not a lot out there.

I don’t know about the reliability of the transmission. If it was done right, I’d imagine it’s just as, if not more reliable than another one since it should have newer parts and fluid. But that’s a luck thing too. You could keep the other car and at 61k the tranny go on that too. Or the truck could go again. Or they both last to over 300k. You never really know.

The third option is to get rid of both and find something even cheaper. I don’t know what kind of situation you’re in, but don’t let a vehicle control your finances. It’s all business. Who cares what you drive as long as it meets your needs? Make the cuts where you need to and get what you want again later. Good luck!


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