Buying a new truck or used one?

Summit15101 · June 12, 2020

Well I am looking for some opinions and some input on my current situation.

I have a 2012 pickup that Is approaching 200000km. I wanting to get into a newer truck. I could probably get 20-25K for the truck selling it privately. Dealer quoted me 15-20K for trade in. I also have a company truck that I drive mostly so I only drive my personal truck about 10000-15000km in a year. With most dealers offering 0% financing it is tempting to get a brand new one but I have not had a truck payment for a few years which is nice. So here are some options I am exploring.

Option 1. Sell the truck private. Put the 20k down on a new truck and finance the remaining. Payments would be a lot lower

Option 2. Finance the whole amount of the new truck at 0% interest rate and put that 20K into a low risk investment account and let it build slowly and if I ever need the reserve money for something it is still there or possibly used it as a down payment on a rental house

Option 3. Buy a slightly used truck for 30-35K with cash money by adding some more on top of the 20K from the old vehicle.

I have only bought and sold a few trucks over the years and have never bought a new one so I am wondering what the best route to go is with only driving that amount of KM a year

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Brian715 · June 13, 2020

I have a really hard time justifying the depreciation that occurs on a brand new vehicle. I'd say if the used option is acceptable to you, it's probably a more fiscally responsible option. Not that I have anything against people buying new. I may have a slightly skewed opinion as I do all my own work on my vehicles and keep them going past 300,000mi. If I was not mechanically inclined, a factory warranty would probably be much more appealing.

Grumpy Bear · June 13, 2020

I bought my 2015 used with only 1,300 miles (2,092 km) on the clock in pristine condition for under $19 K US from a dealer.

I have a little over 118,000 miles, 190,000 km, on it now and it's been a dream of a truck. Yea, I could have bought it new for $30 K but why, I still had a full factory warranty and it's still pristine. I'll be surprised silly if it doesn't go 500,000 km and still look mint.

If the object of the game is to trade for miles then make THAT trade. Take your time and find a private sale or a dealer you can beat up like I did Lower trim levels like mine are much easier to deal on. Literally picked mine off a semi headed to auction and I paid the auction price. His gravy was the shipping, insurance and auction fees. Thing even came with about $1,000 in add on equipment I would do anyway.

Find something one to three years old with 20K miles or less on the clock that passes the test drive muster and I mean test drive it. Not around the block. Get the records. if it drives good and has clean records and solid maintenance it will be fine.

I'm 66 years old and have only bought 2 new cars in my life but always drive cars that look new because they are.....almost.