2nd tow vehical

[agallant80]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

The math does not lie. The car vs truck is about 600 less a month per my caculations. With that said I have decided to go with the car and sense its winter save up a bit more for a more stout early 2000 RAM or Chevy 2500.

 

[gtochris]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

The math does not lie. The car vs truck is about 600 less a month per my caculations. With that said I have decided to go with the car and sense its winter save up a bit more for a more stout early 2000 RAM or Chevy 2500.

Good call, I think you would be very disappointed with an older 1500 Chevy or Tahoe, Expedition exc.. You might be able to locate a 2500 Suburban since many are going cheep due to big gas engine = low MPG. The newer 1500's are more stout but nothing replaces a 2500 or above for the type of weight you are dealing with.

 

[agallant80]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

I have a friend that works at a survey company. They always have a 2500 suburban for sale. I may bite on one of those. They have high miles but are taken to the dealer every 3 months with a change the oil and do what ever is necessary job ticket.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

I agree, I'm not towing any 9K+lbs load with a 1/2 ton truck. It's not that my truck isn't rated for it, it's that it gets to the high end of the rating which I don't like pushing.

In the OP's case, even a $25K car with nothing down will end up around $400/mo. That's roughly half of the cost of his current diesel truck payment. I'd imagine his fuel cost would be roughly half as well with better fuel mileage and gasoline prices rather than diesel. So he'd be running $700/mo instead of $1,400/mo. So, in a year of "savings" he'd have enough to buy a decent early 00's 2500 for an occasional tow vehicle.

 

[four winns 214]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Are you happy with the tow performance and features of your current truck? If so, keep it. It fits your boat. You've already eaten the depreciation. Buy a 3-5 year old Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry as your daily driver. Great gas mileage. My daily driver was my daughter's college car, 1998 Camry we bought used eight years ago. It now has 132,000 miles and runs fine. I appreciate the $30 I save every time I fill up the Camry vs. my 2011 Silverado that i bought new. The Silverado now has just over 20,000 miles. I tow my boats fairly long distances a few times a year and I'm planning to keep the Silverado for many. That way I'll know its history and upkeep and not have worry about the integrity of my tow vehicle.

 

[agallant80]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Are you happy with the tow performance and features of your current truck? If so, keep it. It fits your boat. You've already eaten the depreciation. Buy a 3-5 year old Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry as your daily driver. Great gas mileage. My daily driver was my daughter's college car, 1998 Camry we bought used eight years ago. It now has 132,000 miles and runs fine. I appreciate the $30 I save every time I fill up the Camry vs. my 2011 Silverado that i bought new. The Silverado now has just over 20,000 miles. I tow my boats fairly long distances a few times a year and I'm planning to keep the Silverado for many. That way I'll know its history and upkeep and not have worry about the integrity of my tow vehicle.

I take issue with making payments on a truck I don't use every day. I would rather make payments on a daily driver and have the toy hauler paid for if its not going to get used much.

 

[jkust]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

I do it, or come very close... I have a saving account set up that I put 'car payments' in to, which does nothing but sit there and collect interest. When I'm ready to buy a new car, I've paid for it in advance, and have the money ready to go. Meanwhile, instead of doing car payments on the new car, I continue putting into that account.

It really isn't a matter of having cash on hand, its just pre-paying for your car and keeping the interest, vs paying after the purchase and paying someone else. And you don't have to be well off to do it, you just need to keep your current car for 2x as long as your current loan term. (ie, you have a 3 year loan, at the end of 3 years just pay 3 more years into the savings account. Your next vehicle will be paid for!)

(important part bolded! If you go through cars quicker than 2x your loan payment term, you are going to cost yourself money!)

I've never bought any new vehicle in my life and have not borrowed to buy one since I was 19 yrs old.... Always cash

the nicest car I've ever owned is my 2001 BMW 330ci convertible... black red w leather interior in beautiful condition... This past spring, I paid $6500 cash for it with 110,000 miles.... I wouldn't trade it for a brand new dodge chevy or ford unless I could sell it to buy my old beemer back

My 99 f350 has 330,000 miles and I bought it with 289,000 for $8,500 cash and I traded my old s-10 for my jeep and $2000

Now you know someone who does that.

I'm with you. Only time I ever took on a car loan or any consumer debt was when I was 19 when my sister was desperate and I took over her car payments and car to help her out. That was also the first and last foreign car I've owned.
Literally everyone I know either leases or buys new with credit. To buy used you have to have cash or take out a higher interest rate loan than you can get on a new car. The thing is however, I've been extraordinarily lucky with every car I've bought at least in the last 15 or so years. No expensive or even medium sized repairs that would probably change my mind on use if I had gotten skunked with one or two of them.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Don't make payments on either is the best plan. Buy a 3 year old commuter car and pay cash for it.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

the newest I've ever owned was 11-12 yrs old... I have had some major repairs but never anything that compares to paying $200-$500 every month plus the cost of full coverage ins... I have liability only... I have saved sooooo much money this way

 

[jkust]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

the newest I've ever owned was 11-12 yrs old... I have had some major repairs but never anything that compares to paying $200-$500 every month plus the cost of full coverage ins... I have liability only... I have saved sooooo much money this way

The newest I've owned is about 3.5 years old when I bought it. That was the 49k suv I mentioned that I got for 13k with under 60k miles that was pristine. (understand 49k was MSRP and of course nobody on the planet pays MSRP.) The trick was to buy from either Michigan or Ohio where their economies supported far lower car prices than here in MN then just have it shipped. That's my daily driver and not a penny has been spent on it other than oil changes and the rear rotors and brakes I installed myself.
We started adding collision to our cars about 4 cars ago and wouldn't you know it my wife rolled her first suv a few years back. It was nice to get a check for the whole thing and only a 10% rate increase.

 

[gtochris]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

The newest I've owned is about 3.5 years old when I bought it. That was the 49k suv I mentioned that I got for 13k with under 60k miles that was pristine. (understand 49k was MSRP and of course nobody on the planet pays MSRP.) The trick was to buy from either Michigan or Ohio where their economies supported far lower car prices than here in MN then just have it shipped. That's my daily driver and not a penny has been spent on it other than oil changes and the rear rotors and brakes I installed myself.
We started adding collision to our cars about 4 cars ago and wouldn't you know it my wife rolled her first suv a few years back. It was nice to get a check for the whole thing and only a 10% rate increase.

I'm similar, have never owned anything brand new. Bought my GTO in '06 for 19K, (34K sticker) had low miles, bought my 4Runner recently with under 65K miles for $13K and it is mint. So many nice brand new things on the market but not worth the added debt when a well maintained one is available and will last (assuming it has a good service history) and you know how to look things over.

Any 2500 Suburban would do great, GM isn't currently making a 2500 and I'm wondering if they will re-introduce with the new body coming out?

 

[jkust]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Wow now that I think about it, I honestly don't think I've ever bought any big ticket item new. I get satisfaction out of finding the needle in the haystack type of deal then further satisfaction out of keeping it a long time and maintaining it better for longer than others might.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Any 2500 Suburban would do great, GM isn't currently making a 2500 and I'm wondering if they will re-introduce with the new body coming out?

Wow, I did not know this. All my Suburbans(3 of them) have been 3/4T 4WDs.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Wow now that I think about it, I honestly don't think I've ever bought any big ticket item new. I get satisfaction out of finding the needle in the haystack type of deal then further satisfaction out of keeping it a long time and maintaining it better for longer than others might.

I bought my '08 F-150 Lariat Screw new in April 2008, right after the market crashed. I bought a brand new truck with every available option you could get on it for less than $30K, while the sticker was north of $43K. There are instances when buying new is okay, but I wouldn't do it again unless I came across another deal like that.

 

[jkust]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

I bought my '08 F-150 Lariat Screw new in April 2008, right after the market crashed. I bought a brand new truck with every available option you could get on it for less than $30K, while the sticker was north of $43K. There are instances when buying new is okay, but I wouldn't do it again unless I came across another deal like that.

I think for me since I pay cash, 20k is about the largest check I'm willing to write for a vehicle. Can't get a new fully loaded, full frame suv for that so im forced to go used and American. I do recall about that time when gas started spiking way up the suv and truck deals were very good. You could get a Tahoe for a song I recall.

 

[agallant80]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Well I ended up trading the truck in last night on a Chrysler 300S. Driving to work today I made 32MPG @ $3.25 fuel vs the 18MPG @ $4 Diesel. I cam live with this. I am sure I will soon start seeing how much I was spending on just fuel alone never mind the payment which is allot less. I feel I made the right choice for me. I am gong to save the money I was spending on driving the truck every day and buy a toy hauler with it in the spring when boating season starts up again.

 

[gtochris]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Well I ended up trading the truck in last night on a Chrysler 300S. Driving to work today I made 32MPG @ $3.25 fuel vs the 18MPG @ $4 Diesel. I cam live with this. I am sure I will soon start seeing how much I was spending on just fuel alone never mind the payment which is allot less. I feel I made the right choice for me. I am gong to save the money I was spending on driving the truck every day and buy a toy hauler with it in the spring when boating season starts up again.

Congratulations, I've driven a few of them and it's a real nice car, especially with the new engine/ 8 speed.

 

[agallant80]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

I love the 8-speed. I am very impressed with this car. It is way nicer than my 2004 BMW 530 was. The Americans have taken things up a notch.

 

[dingbat]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

agreed.. the car is a good plan but the tahoe with it's short wheelbase is marginal at best..

Having towed a #5.5K boat many a mile with a 1/2 ton Silverado, a Tahoe and a Burb,I would have to disagree. The pickup may have a 3" longer wheel base but the Tahoe's extra #1,100 of curb weight more than makes up the difference. The pickup had absolutely nothing on the Tahoe and in fact, the pickup's lack of weight on the rear axle was detrimental in my case.

Being a coastal boater, our ramps are steep and sand covered. I needed 4WD 50% of the time with the pickup. Using 4WD in the Tahoe has never even crossed my mind. The Burb is a completely different beast. My favorite tow vehicle..my least favorite to fill up.

FWIW: The Tahoe was the family vehicle when gas was cheaper and the kids where younger. It's now relegated to beach buggy, vacation and towing duty only. It has the factory "heavy" tow package w/ a 3:73 rear so it sucks gas. Around town @14 mpg, highway @18 mpg, pulling the boat @10 mpg, pulling the horses @9 mpg

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2nd tow vehical

Having towed a #5.5K boat many a mile with a 1/2 ton Silverado, a Tahoe and a Burb,I would have to disagree. The pickup may have a 3" longer wheel base

Not sure where you get your numbers but a 99 Tahoe has a 117" wheelbase and an extra cab Silverado with a short bed from a couple years later is 143" wheelbase.