re: Buying a New Truck.

People are lecturing you b/c you seem like a young inexperienced guy. 1. you are listening to your dads advice on how much to put down. 2. There seems to be too big of a difference for you in 48 and 60 months that you are even concerned in payment difference.

Most likely you can't afford this truck long term the way you think you can. And even if you get out the door 45k with 0%, in 4 years you've only got about a 22k truck max, but if you trade it in then, about a 17k truck that's if nothing too bad happens to it in 4 years. If you are absolutely certain you will want to keep this truck about 7plus years, then I would say go for it. But to me, the "sweet spot" of buying new, is actually buying virtually the same truck that's 4 years old. That's when the majority of it's depreciation has already taken place.

Here's the deal though; most likely you will not want to keep this truck the duration of the term. Once it starts hiccuping or getting a few bumps and scrapes, you'll want something else. Even if you don't, it's pretty normal for a person to start being miserable with a new vehicle after 2 or 3 years b/c the new is far worn off. There's tons of better investments you can make with $12k and that monthly payment then a brand new truck.