Tradesman Rams run ~$40k from Dave Smith motors for 4X4 crew cab with the Cummins. Sure the upgrade packages are nice, but not $10-20k nice. And I can assure you a $60k truck is never going to ride like a $60k Mercedes.
I want to know how a new truck pencils out? You have to be able to write it off and make a living with it to afford a new truck. Had a buddy drop over $60K on a 2017 Powerstroke, I can't get creative enough to pencil that one out. Hell even after a substancial down payment he pays more a month on that pickup than my mortgage is.
I don't buy vehicles often, and haven't had vehicle a payment since 2003. I figure any decent diesel truck should last 300K miles if properly maintained, my 1990 Chevy 1500 gasser went 318K before the odometer quit and my Dad drove it for six years after I gave it to him when I bought my Powerstroke. So buying a pickup with 100K on the odometer these days is a lot different than buying a high mileage pickup back 30-40 years ago.
Tradesman Rams run ~$40k from Dave Smith motors for 4X4 crew cab with the Cummins. Sure the upgrade packages are nice, but not $10-20k nice. And I can assure you a $60k truck is never going to ride like a $60k Mercedes.
The way a new truck pencils out is you buy a base model for $40k, drive it for five years with no need for repairs, and you sell it for $30k and repeat. Unless you have the mad skills to always find a clean used truck, drive it for a couple of years and sell it for what you have in it and replace with a similar vehicle, there is no way a used truck is going to pencil out as a better deal than a new truck depreciating $2k/yr for the first five years. There is also the time value of money trying to find the perfect used truck, and lost time dealing with repairs. I have never owned a vehicle that didn't need a several thousand dollar influx of cash somewhere between 100-200k on the odo.
I'd love to have a mortgage less than a car payment.
