To Truck or Not To Truck

"Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?" (autophile412)
08/26/2015 at 09:41 • Filed to: None

I am torn. More torn about what to do with my auto situation than I have ever been.

With my job and my small business I am frequently picking up tools and small pumps for repair. Many of you know that I drive a 525 wagon (proudly manual transmission). I often get harassed by my customers and coworkers as I am loading equipment into the back of a BMW.

Recently I almost took out my rear lift gate with a fork lift.

While I would love to keep my wagon I am really trying to reduce the amount of debts and liabilities that our family has financially and I would have to rid myself of my beloved wagon in order to get a truck.

Ford is currently offering 0% financing up to 72 months on F-150 trucks and I can get into a 2015 Supercrew for around $37000. With my down payment and possible trade I would be making a payment that is very reasonable at either $405/mo 72 mos or $437/mo for 60 mos respectfully.

I just made my last payment on the BMW and I can drive it free of a monthly hindrance. My plan was to keep it for at least another year and save some more for a large lump sum down payment on a new truck next year. At that point I will be able to talk the wife into letting me keep the wagon as a toy because it will be free and clear for longer period of time than two weeks and it won’t be seen as a money suck.

I don’t have the cash on hand to buy a beater truck and I can’t really show up to customer sites in a beater anyway. It is against company and my personal policy. Plus I drive 3000 miles per month so I can’t really just buy a beater truck and hope it’ll hold up to the use.

Why does this have to be such a tough decision? What makes it more difficult is that I have never owned a new car. I can finally afford a brand new car and I kind of want to get one. I want to experience that new car smell and the warranty and recalls that others get to indulge in but I know better. I am the kind of person that will buy this truck and either have it for ten years or I will get rid of it in 6 months.

Sorry for the rant and thanks for listening. Go ahead and make my life harder in the comments below.

DISCUSSION (26)

pjhusa > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:45

I was about to ask “how about a wagon?” Then I read the post.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:46

chop the wagon into a ute / pick up?

ChooChooMotherFudger > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:46

My two cents is don’t buy a Ford. At the very least look around at other brands.

450X_FTW > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:50

Is the work vehicle going to be a personal vehicle as well? If not, then how about a Ford Transit or Ram Promaster?

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > 450X_FTW
08/26/2015 at 09:50

It would be a personal vehicle as well. I have grown increasingly frugal in the last few years.

Gary Yogurt > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:52

Get a truck, but don’t rush into it. Save up with the money you’re not spending on the BMW anymore and get the best one you can afford. Be a truck person. You only live once, trucks are awesome. I drive a beater Miata— which I’ll miss —but I’m going to van/truck status when our financial situation stabilizes post grad-school.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 09:52

I have looked at other brands like Toyota and Nissan. I don’t particularly like the look of the new Titan and the Tundra is too friggin expensive. I will not buy a Chevy or a Dodge and I need at least a half ton pickup so no Tacoma for me.

I lost a lot of money on my GM stock when they restructured and I don’t particularly like the way Dodge went about their business after taking government money.

Nonster > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 09:54

I understand how you feel with the desire to buy a new vehicle. I’ve been in my post-college big boy job for 3 years now, paid off my student loans, and now my old beater of a daily driver that I’ve had all through college is on its last leg so I’m tempted to just go for a new car even though I know it’s a bad idea

Anyways, back to your question. If you’ve had little trouble hauling things with the wagon, an F150 is probably overkill. If I were you, I’d go for a used midsize truck. Either a few year old Tacoma or one of the last Ranger’s before they quit building them. You get a relatively new, clean and reliable truck, decent gas mileage, and much lest expensive than the new F150

TheRealBicycleBuck > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 09:57

I’m not a Ford fanboy, but I did drive a Mazda B-3000 (rebadged Ford Ranger) for nearly 20 years. It has 268,000 miles on it, but still runs fine. I’d still be driving it if I had not purchased something a bit faster.

Patrick Nichols > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 10:01

Wait I’m confused how you can use your wagon but need a half ton pickup?

Also you could always go low mile CPO ~2012 F-150 to save some cash.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 10:02

If this is for a small business, you should look into leasing. Talk to a tax accountant. If the primary use if for business purposes, you may be able to deduct most of the lease payments from your taxes.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/c…

ChooChooMotherFudger > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 10:06

Ok, fair enough.

But why do you need a half ton if you are able to use your wagon for what you are doing? Just wondering.

64Mali > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 10:11

Keep the wagon. Debt free > Extra space. You will also find that it sucks when it rains, you have to shovel the bed when it snows. And parking something that large anywhere in a city sucks. I loved the F250 I had for a while, just parking it was horrible (so was gas). I daylied a Suburban (sames size as the F150 you are looking at). And while its comphy parking garages are a bit tricky esp in downtown Boston. Its now only for part running duty (That and the AC broke) My personal favorite vehicles have always been SUVs, hatch backs, and wagons since you can lock the back.

Note if I could afford a new F150 I would buy it but at the same time hate myself anytime my work takes me into the city.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Gary Yogurt
08/26/2015 at 10:30

why not both? im in college and have an 03 miata and 99 f350 diesel

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 10:30

my two cents is they are the best selling for a reason :)

ChooChooMotherFudger > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
08/26/2015 at 10:36

Just like how the Camry is the best selling car? So we should all buy those instead of Miatas?

We all know “best selling” is a bunch of BS. Just like “fastest growing”.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 10:51

Why not take out a smaller loan on a used Tacoma or something else?

Financing $15-18k would be a lot easier to swallow the payments on than a brand new F-150.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 10:52

well i own a miata and its way better than a camry. and haven driven all brands trucks and knowing people who own all brands of trucks Ford is by far the best made and most reliable in my 15 years of experience

ChooChooMotherFudger > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
08/26/2015 at 10:54

Well there is always anecdotal evidence up the wazoo.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 10:56

IMO Ford makes the best trucks and my experience has made that clear to me. Not saying i would never own a non ford truck (Convinced my dad to get a chevy plow truck) but if im looking for one ford is my first choice

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 11:07

Hear me out on this one. How big is the equipment that you need to transport? How heavy is this stuff? Trucks are expensive and get subpar gas mileage for the most part. Have you ever considered one of the tall wagons? If you unbolt the second row seats in a Nissan cube, Scion xB, or Kia Soul you have a surprising amount of room. Most of these would be much friendlier on the wallet too.

nermal > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 11:23

Driving a new, lightly equipped truck is deemed profession in most customer situations. It shows that you are doing well enough to afford a decent vehicle, but not wasting $$ on something too extravagant.

Compare the different offers available if you like the Ford the best. Sometimes you can choose 0% financing OR a rebate, but not both. Do your diligence.

But still, get the truck. If your beemer is paid off and you like it, then hang on to it as well if you can.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > nermal
08/26/2015 at 11:59

I like your reasoning and I believe the same thing. I often have customers laud me for driving a “beemer” even though it is 15 years old. These same customers often are owners of brand new trucks that cost 4x as much as I paid for my BMW.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/26/2015 at 12:04

I need the room for family as well. Also I can get bigger repairs quicker if I have my own truck. Right now I am throwing the “smaller” repairs in the wagon and sending my company driver to pick up the larger stuff.

Autophile412 - what's the world got in store? > Patrick Nichols
08/26/2015 at 12:08

I can get more larger work with a half ton and increase my earnings. I am just at that point right now where I need to make the decision if the earnings will be worth the expense of a truck. With my current customer base I theoretically could get more because I will be able to take more right away rather than having to send someone to pick up or deliver the repairs.

ChooChooMotherFudger > Autophile412 - what's the world got in store?
08/26/2015 at 12:33

Ahhh ok. Good luck