Buying a new car/truck ever 3 years advice.

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Am i overlooking anything here?

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Do you want to have a perpetual car note?

Why not just lease? It'd likely be cheaper if your goal is to rotate vehicle every 36 months.

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If you are only driving 10k miles a year buy a Tundra and pay it off. It will last you a minimum of 10 yrs at that rate without ever doing anything except changing tires and oil.

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100k miles with no major maintenance is something just about every new vehicle sold today can achieve.

I once bought a ram 1500 for $27k, $14,000 off msrp. Had it for a year, wreck it and did $22k worth of damages. 2 months after being repaired I traded it in for $26k.

Now that's just good luck lol

It is completely doable. I had 5 vehicles in 5 years, and did not go upside down once.

There’s only a few vehicles this can be done with because they need high end of the year rebates and good resale value (which is usually an oxymoron). GM/Ford/Dodge trucks or Camrys/Accords.

For instance

At the end of 2015, let’s say you buy a 2015 LT 2wd crew cab 1500 with a 37.5k MSRP for 29k sale price, and finance 32.5k.

JD POWER for 2015 MSRPs

Now at the end of 2017, it’s been two years and your 15 Silverado is worth 25k on the LOW end (Probably worth 27k right now real money)




For a 60 month note, you are paying 600/mo and the truck is depreciating at 340$/mo. Even when factoring interest in, you would be GAINING equity by trading in every two years.

So no, don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done because they are idiots. You need to be willing to brutaliize a dealership in negotiations though.

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be GAINING equity by trading in every two years. 

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Doesn't necessarily mean it's a financially prudent idea. Keeping a vehicle longer term would still get the most out of the vehicle. I mean, you could immediately have equity if you put down enough or just paid cash.

Someone built a lease vs own spreadsheetthat I replicated when shopping for our last vehicle. If you are toying with the idea of limiting yourself to 3 years and drive 10k miles or less, leasing can be a financially better solution a lot of the time. But only when compared to traditionally owning for the same 3 year period and trading in. But we just drive significantly more than 10k miles.

OP is a prime candidate for leasing, provided he’s okay getting “stuck” in the leasing cycle. It can be financially advantageous but it’s also difficult to break from.

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Someone built a lease vs own spreadsheetthat I replicated when shopping for our last vehicle. If you are toying with the idea of limiting yourself to 3 years and drive 10k miles or less, leasing can be a financially better solution a lot of the time. But only when compared to traditionally owning for the same 3 year period and trading in. But we just drive significantly more than 10k miles.

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I built a lease vs own spreadsheet I’ve shared a couple times here. Leasing is not for everyone, and it’s definitely not the most financially prudent option. However, if you fit the criteria like OP (low mileage, new car every 3-4 years) it can make a lot of sense over buying and selling/trading.

One note of caution though OP. Some vehicles just lease SIGNIFICANTLY better than others. I’ve never looked at lease rates/incentives on trucks. I know they offer large discounts/rebates on them, and I’m not sure if those apply to leasing as well. Remember when leasing you’re simply financing the vehicle differently, negotiating sales prices and rebates/etc are all the same (sometimes there are different incentives leasing vs buying).

There's a guy at work that does this ever year or two years. He discussed his idea with a certain dealer and they agreed on terms for an annual or bi-annual trade. Mileage is the kicker since he's on the road a lot, so as long as he meets the terms they agreed to with the trade in, he goes in and gets a new truck with all the fixins he wants on it. He gets a new truck, the dealer gets a guaranteed sale, everyone is happy.

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Current truck - bought for $28k, had 5 years now worth $16k. =$200 month depreciation.

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I know this doesn’t account to TT&L, but

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To say it another way "I know I'm ignoring at least 10% of my cost, but I really want a new truck so I'm gonna fudge the math."

PS: Your $28,000 buy-in is really $30,800 minimum, leaving you - using your term - $246.67/month depreciation.

I hope you own your own business and make full use of the IRS Section 179.

First world problems, I dont know if I have the fortitude to drive a 3 year old vehicle.

Wa wa wa