New Cars/Trucks

[RCW]

I've retired after 37 years, and the Mrs. retires in a few weeks after 40. We both have good defined-benefit retirement plans.

One item we may not have planned for well was the age of our vehicles.

We usually bought new, kept them for 4-6 years, then trade for new again. We did finance a portion (<50%) of each purchase. Caught some great rebates on my trucks. Were never "upside-down" on our cars.

With COVID, Supply Chain, then Interest Rate issues, we've kept our vehicles for 8 years. They've been paid off for many years.

That's a long time (for us) in Upstate New York with road salt, etc. We've incurred some hefty repair expenses lately.

As we get older, reliability is a major concern.

She has a 2018 Chevy Equinox AWD 1LT with 90k miles. I've got a 2017 Chevy Silverado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab 1LT with 70k miles.

Somewhat surprised at MSRP of replacements. Not as large an increase as I expected.

Saw MSRP 2025 Equinox AWD at ~$34k ($31k in 2017), and even a 2025 Chevy 2500 Custom Double Cab 4x4 at ~$55k (my Silverado Crew 1500 was $51k in 2017 less a $9k rebate.) I've kind of wanted to go to a 3/4 ton versus the 1/2 ton for a while. I've had both "Extended/Double" and Crew cabs over the years. Either is okay for me.

The rebates I took advantage of before for Silverado's seem long-gone. GMC has some for their trucks, but the GMC prices are pretty steep versus Chevy.

Somewhat inclined to try to make a deal for trading/buying both at one dealership. Not sure what room they have for "dickering" anymore.

Also, the interest rates I'm seeing are surprisingly high...... We have great credit scores, but 6-7% is HUGE when borrowing $$$ in this climate. (Our first mortgage was 7.5%)

 

[old and tired]

By the time I'm done with a vehicle, the junk yard is about the only place that will take it!!! My 2009 Toyota Tacoma, 185k and still planning to be the last vehicle that I bought.... never a problem (I'm sure it will die this week!!)

Before that, was a 17 year old ('92 ?) Mercury Villager with 300k (that was a great ride, could fit 5 mountain bikes and people and gear, no problem!!)

My wife had 3 cars, Nissan Versa 2009, a homemade all Electric Volkswagen Cabriolet, before that was a 1984, "K" car that she bought out of college - both convertibles. Gave it away to some charity for a tax write-off... didn't have a title!

Only paid cash... when we had enough...

 

[RCW]

By the time I'm done with a vehicle, the junk yard is about the only place that will take it!!! My 2009 Toyota Tacoma, 185k and still planning to be the last vehicle that I bought.... never a problem (yet... I'm sure it will die this week!!)

Before that was an 18 year old Mercury Villager with 300k (that was a great ride, could fit 5 mountain bikes and people and gear, no problem!!)

My wife had 3 cars, Nissan Versa 2009, a homemade all Electric Volkswagen Cabriolet, before that was a 1984, "K" car that she bought out of college - both convertibles.

I get that - - - some folks would never buy a vehicle new, nor replace one until the other was "done."

I was in the same camp when I could work on them. Honestly there were times couldn't afford an alternative.

The A/C on my truck isn't working right now. I got thinking that I never had A/C until I was 40. I can survive without it.....

The conditions here are not conducive to long-term relationships with cars. The shop I deal with often has vehicles they can't even put on the lift due to frame degradation.

Figured I'd get spanked for "buying new," but it's what's worked for us.

 

[RCW]

Only paid cash... when we had enough...

Yep, same philosophy here for most stuff.

Our debt liability is $0.

We could pay for both of those vehicles in cash of we chose to do so.

We considered vehicle debt as a cost of going to work/kid transport/enjoyment.
Reliability was/is very important.

I don't want the Mrs. to be travelling long distances without a reliable vehicle.

She travels a lot, including this weekend to visit our daughter in Delaware.

I want her to get home safely.

What works for you, works for you.

 

[chim]

Retired in September 2021 and bought the company Trailblazer cheap. It was to be a temporary vehicle till I found a Tahoe. The Tahoe money has been in the bank since before retirement. Wifey wants something that gets great gas mileage. I can't get interested in anything smaller than the Trailblazer that now has 285,000 miles on it. Also hate the start/stop at traffic light crap and GM's cylinder deactivation baloney. Standoff. It's just a matter of time till the Trailblazer expires.

Her car is a 2002 Alero with something like 50-60K miles on it. It's a garage queen that's been wet more from me washing it than from being in the rain. Rarely ever in the snow. PITA because one of the front seats must be uncomfortably forward to accommodate Sweet Pea's seat in the rear. Makes a good backup car, but not good for primary use.

 

[RCW]

What got me was the interest rates. Saw 4-13%.

Our Credit Rating is excellent, but interest rates are critical to any borrowing.

When I bought my Harley Davidson in 2005, I asked the salesman about interest rates. He said they could be anywhere from 3-25%, depending on history.

I think I ended up on the 3% end and paid it off very quickly.

 

[NCL4701]

If you want/need to finance part of the cost and have a good bit of equity in your house, maybe look into a home equity line of credit. You can often get a better interest rate on a $150K line of credit on a $500K house than you can get on a vehicle (particularly if you’ve paid off or mostly paid off the primary mortgage). Pay “cash” for the net due on vehicle(s) after trade on the old vehicles by writing checks off the equity line.

Some banks charge for setting up home equity credit lines. Some don’t. Many credit unions don’t charge.

 

[jyoutz]

Yep, same philosophy here for most stuff.

Our debt liability is $0.

We could pay for both of those vehicles in cash of we chose to do so.

We considered vehicle debt as a cost of going to work/kid transport/enjoyment.
Reliability was/is very important.

I don't want the Mrs. to be travelling long distances without a reliable vehicle.

She travels a lot, including this weekend to visit our daughter in Delaware.

I want her to get home safely.

What works for you, works for you.

Don't impose it on me....

I could never see paying cash for vehicles. I can still get a better investment rate of return than the loan interest rates I can get at my credit union. As long as I can afford the payments, my cash stays invested.

 

[RCW]

Have a Home Equity LOC with $0 balance. Have used it for home improvement and some college expenses.

Good thought and many do that.

Don’t like the idea of putting my house as collateral on a vehicle.

 

[cthomas]

I've retired after 37 years, and the Mrs. retires in a few weeks after 40. We both have good defined-benefit retirement plans.

One item we may not have planned for well was the age of our vehicles.

We usually bought new, kept them for 4-6 years, then trade for new again. We did finance a portion (<50%) of each purchase. Caught some great rebates on my trucks. Were never "upside-down" on our cars.

With COVID, Supply Chain, then Interest Rate issues, we've kept our vehicles for 8 years. They've been paid off for many years.

That's a long time (for us) in Upstate New York with road salt, etc. We've incurred some hefty repair expenses lately.

As we get older, reliability is a major concern.

She has a 2018 Chevy Equinox AWD 1LT with 90k miles. I've got a 2017 Chevy Silverado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab 1LT with 70k miles.

Somewhat surprised at MSRP of replacements. Not as large an increase as I expected.

Saw MSRP 2025 Equinox AWD at ~$34k ($31k in 2017), and even a 2025 Chevy 2500 Custom Double Cab 4x4 at ~$55k (my Silverado Crew 1500 was $51k in 2017 less a $9k rebate.) I've kind of wanted to go to a 3/4 ton versus the 1/2 ton for a while. I've had both "Extended/Double" and Crew cabs over the years. Either is okay for me.

The rebates I took advantage of before for Silverado's seem long-gone. GMC has some for their trucks, but the GMC prices are pretty steep versus Chevy.

Somewhat inclined to try to make a deal for trading/buying both at one dealership. Not sure what room they have for "dickering" anymore.

Also, the interest rates I'm seeing are surprisingly high...... We have great credit scores, but 6-7% is HUGE when borrowing $$$ in this climate. (Our first mortgage was 7.5%)

Keep the Equinox as it is really reliable. Had to replace an engine in a 2019 due to customer NEVER changing the oil in 44,000 miles found multiple low mileage engines in the $400-$500 range. Servicing a few that are approaching 200k on the newish body style(2018-2024). Out of curiosity found transmissions are cheap too. As for the Silverado well they kept me busy as a GM tech.

 

[BBFarmer]

I've retired after 37 years, and the Mrs. retires in a few weeks after 40. We both have good defined-benefit retirement plans.

One item we may not have planned for well was the age of our vehicles.

We usually bought new, kept them for 4-6 years, then trade for new again. We did finance a portion (<50%) of each purchase. Caught some great rebates on my trucks. Were never "upside-down" on our cars.

With COVID, Supply Chain, then Interest Rate issues, we've kept our vehicles for 8 years. They've been paid off for many years.

That's a long time (for us) in Upstate New York with road salt, etc. We've incurred some hefty repair expenses lately.

As we get older, reliability is a major concern.

She has a 2018 Chevy Equinox AWD 1LT with 90k miles. I've got a 2017 Chevy Silverado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab 1LT with 70k miles.

Somewhat surprised at MSRP of replacements. Not as large an increase as I expected.

Saw MSRP 2025 Equinox AWD at ~$34k ($31k in 2017), and even a 2025 Chevy 2500 Custom Double Cab 4x4 at ~$55k (my Silverado Crew 1500 was $51k in 2017 less a $9k rebate.) I've kind of wanted to go to a 3/4 ton versus the 1/2 ton for a while. I've had both "Extended/Double" and Crew cabs over the years. Either is okay for me.

The rebates I took advantage of before for Silverado's seem long-gone. GMC has some for their trucks, but the GMC prices are pretty steep versus Chevy.

Somewhat inclined to try to make a deal for trading/buying both at one dealership. Not sure what room they have for "dickering" anymore.

Also, the interest rates I'm seeing are surprisingly high...... We have great credit scores, but 6-7% is HUGE when borrowing $$$ in this climate. (Our first mortgage was 7.5%)

I know what you mean. If you got the LT awd equinox then I reckon you got one of the ecotec turbo engines? 1.5 or 2.0 i believe maybe? They're better then the predecessor 2.4 that I do endless timing chain jobs on. That is if customers catch them before they digest all of their oil. But still prone to oil consumption and leakage early in life.

These are vehicles that usually do fine when put through day to day conditions and get traded in the 100k range. But like most things these days, it can get interesting from the 100k - 200k mark.

Your silverado on the other hand, although being an LT style engine versus it older brother LS, still inherited the unfortunate lifter failure issue relating to the DOD, AFM, cylinder deactivation, whatever one whats to refer to it as. That accompanied with often transmission shudders as early as the 65k mark.

Short of those common issues, they're still great trucks just as they've always been. We install jasper remans with DOD deletes to correct the lifter issues, and same company provides corrected transmissions with great warranties.

By the way, you mentioned your a/c being out. If she happens to be out of freon, look through your grill on the driverside and see if shes leaking between the condenser and dryer/accumulator.

If so, I could walk you through that repair in my sleep. Most rad shops sell them for $100 or so. Would take you less than 30 minutes and either go get her charged up somewhere, or charger her yourself.

Hell, short of you having to deal with the rear broken exhaust manifold bolts that are most definitely broken flush with the head, I could walk you through the steps and tooling for lifter replacement as well LOL.

 

[Speed25]

Shop around more for interest rates, or potentially another bank. My credit union is around 4% for an auto loan in the 3-5 year range which is much lower than HELOC rates I'm seeing.

Going forward, does it make sense to apply some Fluid Film or Woolwax under your vehicles to prolong their life-expectancy?

I also wouldn't hesitate to buy a few-year-old, low-mileage used vehicle from non-rust country and then have it shipped to you. This assumes you can find a good deal, but with interest rates being higher on used vehicles, it might not make any sense.

 

[jimh406]

Consider buying used, low mileage, well maintained vehicles in a model/brand that has a great reputation for reliability.

Not all cars rust out after a few years. It depends on the area of the country. I used to trade every few years, too. That meant I was losing extra money every few years because there was nothing wrong with the vehicles. It was fun to drive new vehicles fairly often of the latest flavor, but man it cost a lot.

Also, if you can wait, I'd wait to see how much the interest rates come down later in the year.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

EDIT:Congratulations on retirement!


I/we are fast approaching a similar situation.

We have about 3-4 years left "working for the man".

I am more concerned with my wifes minivan at this point. She just turned over 220K on her 2018 minivan.

Her, 1 hour each way trip to work, really piles the miles on, so I don't want to get rid of it, because then she would be piling the miles on the new one.

Since I can still "turn a wrench" when I have to, I would rather keep it and get another one soon, so that we can pay it off before we call it quits.

So whats stopping me? I like not having a car payment.......





My truck just rolled over 280K, but I don't plan on ever selling it.

Last weekend I replaced all 4 ball joints, and the weekend before that I replaced the entire rear braking system from the lines to the rotors, and the weekend before that I did the drivers side 4wd u-joint....

I did find that both rear axle seals are "weeping" so I might just rebuild the axle and be done with it.

I might be in "reality denial", but I guess we will cross that bridge when I get there.

Rust is always a factor too, but I guess I will just "keep on, keeping on", until I am forced to make a decision.

 

[BBFarmer]

Here's a good one for you from the other week. And just shows they way we have come to severely over complicate things.

I got an ole civic that sits in the yard that i often just take every couple weeks to the adult beverage store. You know, keep her moving, wasps out, battery up.

Check engine light came on the way back with an infamous (to most techs) p0128 which in most vehicles cases means they're actually running too cool.

Swung by the local napa in town a grabbed a $9 thermostat. All good to go.

End of last week I get a subaru in same issue, needs a thermostat "assembly" which was almost $300.

Then, first thing this week a '22 "babymax" 58k miles, same issue, needs a "coolant control valve housing assembly" to the tune of what I thought was a list price i saw of about $760 or so. Plus a fair amount of labor with it

Lives around this sector here.......see y'all in a few hours LOL

 

[lynnmor]

Going forward, does it make sense to apply some Fluid Film or Woolwax under your vehicles to prolong their life-expectancy?

This is key, buy new and make sure it was never driven in salt, yes the dealer might do that. Once it was salted there is no hope. There are many places in New York that will do a rust prevention treatment, find one and have it done as well as followups in the future. Once retired you might be able to plan trips between salt baths, of course all appointments will wreck that plan.

I do Fluid Film at home but in the future I may use a company that now does it for not much more than a do it yourself.

 

[Moose7060]

All our vehicles get undercoating before leaving the dealers lot. Helps prevent rust and also does some road noise dampening. Relatively inexpensive and very much worth it.

 

[RCW]

I know what you mean. If you got the LT awd equinox then I reckon you got one of the ecotec turbo engines? 1.5 or 2.0 i believe maybe? They're better then the predecessor 2.4 that I do endless timing chain jobs on. That is if customers catch them before they digest all of their oil. But still prone to oil consumption and leakage early in life.

These are vehicles that usually do fine when put through day to day conditions and get traded in the 100k range. But like most things these days, it can get interesting from the 100k - 200k mark.

Your silverado on the other hand, although being an LT style engine versus it older brother LS, still inherited the unfortunate lifter failure issue relating to the DOD, AFM, cylinder deactivation, whatever one whats to refer to it as. That accompanied with often transmission shudders as early as the 65k mark.

Short of those common issues, they're still great trucks just as they've always been. We install jasper remans with DOD deletes to correct the lifter issues, and same company provides corrected transmissions with great warranties.

By the way, you mentioned your a/c being out. If she happens to be out of freon, look through your grill on the driverside and see if shes leaking between the condenser and dryer/accumulator.

If so, I could walk you through that repair in my sleep. Most rad shops sell them for $100 or so. Would take you less than 30 minutes and either go get her charged up somewhere, or charger her yourself.

Hell, short of you having to deal with the rear broken exhaust manifold bolts that are most definitely broken flush with the head, I could walk you through the steps and tooling for lifter replacement as well LOL.

Yes, Equinox is the 1.5l turbo and AWD.

The truck with the 5.3l and AFM (or whatever they call it); bet that doesn’t have 500 miles in “D.” I drive 2- lane rural roads and always drive in 5th gear…takes the whole cylinder deactivation thing out of the equation….

I might take you up on some advice for the A/C…..those are notorious for the leak in that spot.

Appreciate the offer…

 

[Daren Todd]

I'm not sure about the trucks, but other vehicles they have had really low or 0% interest on depending on the time of year.

We took advantage of Hyundai's 0% interest rate last year for Beths SanteFe. But it was also the end of the year so they were trying to move last "years" models.

Chevy might do something similar if sales are dismal towards the end of the year

Coworker just bought a brand new toyata Tacoma. He put $8k down and took a flogging on interest at 12%.

His payment on that little truck runs about $700 a month

 

[RCW]

I haven’t shopped any interest rates at all yet, but have seen some of the low or 0% APR for some programs.

Just saw a television ad today that there’s an $8,000 rebate on some Jeep Wrangler models that expires today…..

Not interested in a Wrangler but some manufacturers will want to move prior-year models in the summer before new models come out in the fall.