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Thoughts (financially) on this plan to revise my vehicle situation

Posted on 6/13/14 at 9:05 am
Posted by poochie
Houma, la
Member since Apr 2007
6350 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 9:05 am


Current situation:

Own wife’s car outright, value $3,000-$5,000
No mechanical issues, ok condition, small for our growing family.
Owe $4,000 on my truck, value $24,000-26,000.
No mechanical issues, good/great condition, currently use it 95%+ of the time instead of the car as family vehicle because it’s more roomy.

Me: 66 mile commute currently (round trip), will change to 20 mile (RT) early 2015.
Wife: 20 mile commute currently (round trip)

Future plans:
Plan A:
Sell my truck or trade in for a full size SUV (Tahoe/Yukon/Expy). Should be able to get into what we want for less than $5,000 difference (looking at a used SUV in the $28k range). Putting us at ~$9,000 (after truck payoff) total vehicle debt.
I use car, she uses SUV.

Once I move offices in early ’15, sell car and buy used old (mid-90s) pickup for $7,000-$10,000 total.
SUV debt should be down to $5,000 by that time and would add debt of about $5,500 between car and old truck deal putting us at a total of ~$10,500 vehicle debt. The plan would be to keep these vehicles for at least 6+ years.

Plan B:
Sell/trade in car for same SUV putting us at $31,000 vehicle debt going forward. No other changes

Conclusion:

The wife’s hesitation is that my truck will be paid for shortly and we’ll be done with it. While this is the case, I’d rather convert the equity (?) in the truck to an SUV. I don’t need a “fancy truck” if it’s not going to be our family vehicle that we’re driving all over.

Thoughts?
Posted by ThatsAFactJack
East Coast
Member since Sep 2012
1548 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 9:23 am to
I would go with Plan A. I am in the same situation. Bought my wife a brand new vehicle (GMC Acadia) and I drive a 2003 Chevy HD Crew Cab. I sleep better at night knowing the wife has a reliable vehicle getting the kids all around. Happy wife happy life.
Posted by kennypowers816
New Orleans
Member since Jan 2010
2446 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 9:29 am to
Just curious... what are the make/model/yr of the 2 current vehicles?

I'd personally lean towards just riding it out with the two that you already have. If they are relatively reliable vehicles, I would run them as long as possible.

What's the difference between a truck and a full size SUV at this point? I'm assuming similar cab room and fuel efficiency. Why pay more to get a relatively equivalent vehicle?

I also am not a big fan of the old pickup idea. I'm not familiar with prices, but 7k-10k for a 20yr old car?? Sounds like trouble to me.
Posted by That's BS
Smoothie King Center
Member since Jan 2012
1783 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 10:46 am to
I'm in a similar situation. Wife has an '08 Altima paid off. I have '10 4Runner Limited with only ~35000 miles on it that I owe about $4k on. Starting a family soon so want to get her something bigger/more reliable. We agree there's no need in us having 2 SUV's. Would make sense for us to also have a truck for when a truck is needed. Neither commute very far.

So... she has already said she'll just take my 4Runner (which she really likes) and I can get a new (to me) truck! Gotta love a wife that's practical when it comes to money!

Probably will wait another year or so before making a purchase, but I am already excited to go truck shopping.
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
65880 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 2:31 pm to
If you don't have to sell either vehicle, don't sell either vehicle. Save the money.

Cars are necessary evils; as long as the present vehicles are safe and reliable every day that you put off investing more into transportation costs* is a win for your overall financial situation.

*The only exception is repairs/maintenance on your present transportation. These costs must be appropriately judged (e.g. you wouldn't spend $10k to repower a '02 Lexus LS 430).
Posted by That's BS
Smoothie King Center
Member since Jan 2012
1783 posts
Posted on 6/13/14 at 3:03 pm to
So wife is getting a nice SUV regardless. That sounds like your primary objective.

I think a matter of 7-8 months or so timeline of when you ultimately determine your ride for the next 6+ years is semi-irrelevant too.

So it boils down to would you rather the truck you have now or the older model truck you were mentioning? Sounds like you aren't pleased with your F150. If you're the type to drive a vehicle til the wheels fall off, why stick with a truck you're not happy with for "6+ years" longer?

If you'd prefer the older truck anyway, go option A.
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