Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Used truck prices

What is up with used truck prices? I need a newer truck, but I can't find a decent low mileage used one that is significantly lower priced than new, and it doesn't have the warranty of the new. Are the dealers deliberately sitting on these used trucks so they can sell new? Is the asking prices just ridiculously inflated and they will actually sell for thousands less?
Buggers are driving me crazy!

Fred

What r ya lookin for?

I just put an 07 crew cab F150 lariat (leather) with 6.5' bed, 4x4, 5.4 V8 with 80k out there for $22500

I dunno if that's fair or not, I just shopped for my truck online, found comperables and priced mine below what I found.

Dave
And just saying offhand, it looks like you ARE below whats out there- But when I pencil it out, considering warrantee and the useful, trouble free miles left on a truck with 80,000 on it, it seems to be more economical to buy new.

yeah I dunno what these guys are all GETTING compared to what they are asking.

To buy new in current version of this truck I'd be at 40 thou or better.

I just don't see a day in my future where that will be possible

Trucks have always held their value well. In my experience a new truck is usually a better value than one 3-4 years old when you consider the better financing usually offered on new cars.

In fact when I bought the car my wife is driving I would have lost more on interest by pulling money out of the bank than the total cost of the interest to finance.

I used their money, and left mine in the bank.

I haven't been in the market lately, but I came to the conclusion that used trucks were over priced, so I bought a new on at the end of '06, and they wanted to move the '06 stock off the lot, so I got $8k off the sticker.

Unless I find something that is cherry with almost no miles, I can't see buying used unless it is 1/2 of the cost of a new vehicle. But trucks seem to fall into either a few years old for like new prices, or 10 y/o and beat to sheet.

458 Lott
That is exactly what I have been seeing.
The other shift recently has been in the price of repairs. A fuel pump for a chevy is upwards of $500 plus labor to install. Also, what I have run into, is that after I hjave a repair done, I get the vehicle back and it doesn't run right because no one can figure out how the labyrinth of sensors work. I just got my Blazer back from a $700 bill for replacing the fuel pump and now it stalls sometimes, and they don't know why.
I have tried running second hand trucks for the last few years, but the cost of repairs plus the payments has pushed the cost above that of a new vehicle.

Fred

When I went shopping for a 3/4 ton diesel, it was hard to find anything used, much less reasonably priced. Ended up paying about $7,500 more for new than the used I was looking at and getting about four years and 50k to 70k in miles for that price difference. Seemed worth it to start from scratch and have the warranty.

That's my thought on it also. Every time I look at 2-3 year old trucks under 50K miles they're priced near what a smart shopper would pay for a new one. It seems like people think you should pay them to drive it for a few years. I know people expect you to haggle them down, but I'm not even going to start negotiating with someone who's got a truck priced $15K too high, there's too much distance between the asking price and what I'd consider a reasonable price.

So whats happening to these overpriced used trucks? Are people buying them?

The cash for clunkers caused most of the pricing of used vehicles.

On the other hand, there can be some deals on used cars. I just got another car for my wife. 2001, 60k miles and in really cherry condition, 1/4 of what it would cost new.

To me it's not just the cost of repairs of an unreliable vehicle, it's the time it ties up and grief of dealing with a dealer, not to mention what they charge.

Try negotiating.

Last week my buddy bought an 06 F-250 Crew Cab Diesel with 45,000 miles on it for $21,000.00. They were asking $29,000.00. It also has a tool box, spare tank plumbed in and air bags.

4 years ago I bought a used '99 F150(80k miles) for $10k.

Put 65k miles on it and just traded it in, got $6k for it on the trade. Cost me a whopping $1k per year in depreciation. It was a great truck, just getting alot of miles on it.

In 2008 I bought a 2006 Toyota Tundra for $19K. I traded it yesterday on a 2011 F-150 and got $15k for the Tundra. Less than 1K per year depreciation...not too shabby.

When buying a used vehicle it's all about being patient and persistent! You've got to know what you really want and what your willing to pay. Then, watch postings each and every day, multiple times per day. Something will come up. I just did it again with my new-to-me Dodge 2500 Cummins. I negotiated a fantastic deal on a fantastic truck the morning it hit the ads. I picked it up for thousands lower than anything else I had seen on similar rigs over the last couple of months.

Ebay is a great way to buy too! I've done that four times and have had great luck. Buy from a seller with a high rating, have the truck inspected, make the deal, then have it shipped. Easy stuff and great prices.

Somebody is paying the prices asked.

Looking at 2 Toyotas right now. One is an 08 FJ and the other is an 09 Tacoma TRD Both $25,994! First why not just add 6 damn dollars and make it an even 26.

Second, last year I had a dealer give me an out the door price on a Tacoma TRD ordered with what I wanted for $27,000.

There's a dealer in WV that sells Chevy Z71 ext cabs for something $25,000 everyday. Seems like a pretty good price

I'm going to make an offer or 2 on the Toyotas and see what happens.

The prices are why I bought a new one. To move up from an 06 to an 08, I'd still be paying 24-26K for the used truck. With the discounts from Ford, I got a new F-150 for 27K, nicely loaded.

Money is still tight. The cash buyer can do quite well.

Lots of folks want a vehicle. Lots of folks don't have money.

You'll do better than you think, if you're not in a hurry.