Trade in, or budget and save?

To me it is simple, i look at the costs of that truck and set limits on the repairs, once it hits a trigger, it goes. It could be something like an inframe or a bad Dyno reading that triggers it - it isn't always a money level.

Example had a truck that accumulated 300k with no problems at all and all of a sudden the truck is in the shop with 6500 worth of repairs. That wasn't a trigger but that was the limit. So a year later at 375k it went back into the shop for repairs, part to fix what was fixed before and to fix a new problem so the truck went. If it had a million miles or 125k doesn't matter, it is the costs that matters.

 

Personally I would continue to budget for payment and use it for future repairs or a down payment. Unless I really need a different vehicle like a pickup or mini van, then it would be trade in.

Eventually once I have a big down payment, then I might consider something shiny. As long as my payment is less than before. Then it "feels" like a win situation

If I was planning to buy a house later on, I would trade it in for a new car. So it will show on my credit report. Once you pay off your car, that amount you are credited will no longer show on your report, so your number drop.

 

If you have the extra money, stick it in the rain day savings. And wait a while.

When something big breaks you can possibly have quite a bit to reconsider the question.

I prefer to purchase vehicles straight cash where possible.

 

I'm assuming you mean personal vehicle.

We bought '08 new Silverado LTZ - $42k. It now blue books at $16k, with 135,000 miles. We paid it off in 3 years.

I just can't bring myself to trade it in and replace it with another for 5ok odd, and assume the note, so we'll probably run it till the wheels fall off.

It's a tough decision, but we treat the vehicle REALLY carefully, as in, the brakes have never been replaced, and it's only on it's 2nd set of tires.

I watch the way other people treat their vehicles and don't want to buy used, even 1 or 2 years old. They're depreciating assets that generally only serve peoples egos.

The other thing to consider is insurance and property tax (we pay annual tax on vehicles here, one 3rd of NADA value, which dismisses mileage), so the longer we keep it, the cheaper it gets.

 

I also assume you are talking about personal vehicles. I run them until they tick me off, then I get rid of them. Right now my 6 year old GMC has pretty much depreciated as much in value as it ever will so I may as well just keep driving it for the winter. Plan is to trade it off in the spring as it'll have around 330k ish on the odometer (unless it blows up before then lol).

 

I bought one new car in my life, a 2011 Subaru forester (for the wife). When it hits 100K miles, I'll trade it in, and add cash so I only need to finance roughly $10000, and get something else.

My daily driver for work, however, is whatever I find for $5000 or less. I pay cash and run it until the wheels fall off. My last pickup truck was a 91 Chevy K1500 that I bought with 147K miles. I paid $2500 for it in 2009. I just parted ways with it this past spring after we discovered the frame was rusted through. It had 250K on it. I sold it for 500 bucks and a case of beer. That thing never left me sit. Ever...

My 'new' truck is a 98 K1500 with 2!5K miles. $3000, only because it had a new paint job. But I fear I will have to put a transmission in it, or scrap it soon

 

All depends on how things work. I bought a new 2015 2500 Chevy pickup, but the pickup is a business buy, so it gets depreciated. But it will be held onto till it is a pile of rust. That will probably be the case as the 6.0 Vortec and 6L90 trans is one of the most bullet proof setups around. Not uncommon for them to go well beyond 300,000 miles without a repair. The pickup gets under 10,000 miles a year on it, so it will probably be last pickup buy for me.

 

I tend to fall out of love with my personal vehicle after about 4 years although they are lavished with attention that includes the best of maintenance and cleanliness.
Then i go buy another off lease vehicle for half the price of new .
My current love is a 2011 impala ltz that is loaded that came out of Vegas and looks new .
It will bring top dollar when I sell it .

 

Transmission was giving engine lights on my father's car. 2 shops stated bill to replace transmission at 2-3k. 3rd and 4th shop stated replacing tranny oil and filter. $335, problem solved.

Although the car is quite old, we are happy to see it continue working but we can't rely on it anymore so we made a 6 month plan to buy another.