How do people afford pick up trucks?

[Bark'n]

Damn it SIXTO! Why did you have to show me that page!!!!

I've been drooling over it for the last hour!

You did notice the $25,000 tax deduction, didn't you?

Kind of makes them look more affordable. Kind of gets me to thinking.... Hmmmm.

Yeah, Grand Wagoneers are that good.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[F350]

Another option is go to the dealer of your preferred make and have them check into "program" vehicles, these are vehicles driven by company personnel or leased to corp entities and maintained as part of the contract. I got a 2003 F350 extended cab, 4X4 diesel dully in 2005, it was 1 step under the King Ranch, sticker still in the glove box $55,000, got it for $21,000 and it only had 20,000 miles on it.

I use it now for hauling a large slide in camper & fishing boat, that truck has hauled the camper up and down Wyoming mountains on several hunting trips but I also had a tree farm when I bought it and it hauled many a 2-3 ton load.

1 trick I used was to combine the truck and camper (separate sleeping. cooking and bathroom facilities) onto a single loan, it then qualified as a second home and interest paid was tax deductible.

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[paullie]

For years I have been thinking of buying a truck. Ford f150 to be exact. The only problem is that they are sooooo expensive. I know some people write their trucks off through their business but their are so many other people with trucks that are $37-55k.

So how are these people affording them. Are they all upper middle class or rich? Do they live in little cheap houses but drive expensive cars?

Maybe trucks go for $10-15k less than the MSRP?



I am not looking for top of the line truck. I just want 4x4 and 4 door/supercrew.

the simple answer is for most people, they can't, just because you got one doesn't mean you can afford it.

[Bark'n]

Another option is go to the dealer of your preferred make and have them check into "program" vehicles, these are vehicles driven by company personnel or leased to corp entities and maintained as part of the contract. I got a 2003 F350 extended cab, 4X4 diesel dully in 2005, it was 1 step under the King Ranch, sticker still in the glove box $55,000, got it for $21,000 and it only had 20,000 miles on it.

I use it now for hauling a large slide in camper & fishing boat, that truck has hauled the camper up and down Wyoming mountains on several hunting trips but I also had a tree farm when I bought it and it hauled many a 2-3 ton load.

1 trick I used was to combine the truck and camper (separate sleeping. cooking and bathroom facilities) onto a single loan, it then qualified as a second home and interest paid was tax deductible.

Top of the World sm.jpg

That's the way I got my last two vehicles. a 2002 Dodge Intrepid I bought in 2003 for 1/2 price with 21,000 miles on it. And my 2008 Toyota 4Runner I got in 2009 with 19,500 miles on it. Not quite 1/2 price for the SUV but I saved a chunk of money off the sticker price.

[SIXTO]

You did notice the $25,000 tax deduction, didn't you?

Huh, Where!?

[Bark'n]

Huh, Where!?

It's on the far left column of Wagonmaster's website in a pale green box.

YES, STILL IN EFFECT!!
July 1, 2011

RECENT TAX LAW
CHANGES!

The 2003 Internal Revenue tax code has increased the section 179 maximum deduction for commercial vehicles with a loaded gross vehicle weight greater than 6,000 lbs.(and that includes my Jeep Grand Wagoneers!) in the year of purchase.

That means a qualified taxpayer/buyer may be able to deduct (expense) the entire purchase price (Not to exceed $25,000) from their taxable income in the first year!

The savings can be significant!! This may not last long, so take advantage of it while you can! Consult your tax adviser to determine your eligibility.

I'm thinking of buying a propane griddle and starting a part time concession business to make Philly Cheese Steaks and sell at local festivals, fairs and do fund raisers for my American Legion post. Also thinking of selling BBQ as well.

I could use my Jeep Grand Wagoneer to pull my trailer of stuff for my concession business. Easy Peasy! If I can make a $25,000 deduction for my commercial vehicle, then I can probably afford one of those $35,000 restored, vintage Grand Wagoneers.

I'm sure you can think of some small business to start SIXTO. You're a creative kind of guy. Plus, you'd be helping the economy by being a small business owner.

I'm telling ya, you should have never posted that website! My wife really misses our old '83 Wagoneer.

[SIXTO]

Wow, I never paid any attention to that before. Now the gears are turning...

[adric22]

I would personally like to see GM or Ford come out with a small diesel pickup. Something like an old Ranger, but with a small turbodiesel and manual gearbox. A lot of people who actually need pickups really only need something the size of a Ranger. It would be far easier on gas, so easier on the wallet, plus easier to park, maneuver, insure, etc. Problem is, the bottom end F150s and Silverados offer so much value that it would be difficult to make a good profit on something small unless they were only charging something like $15k for a well equipped model.

Well, I've heard many rumors that they may be coming out with a redesigned "El Camino" next year. That would be ideal for the current state of fuel prices. After all, you get pickup capability with fuel economy of a car. But I'll believe it when I see it.

[SIXTO]

A remake of El Camino... that would be interesting. Suburu had one recently that didn't do so well. Granted, it was not El Camino, and Suburu attracts a different element of car buyer. Kinda related, for the last 7 years or so, I have not had a truck. I always did have one in the past and became used to the utility of one. Because I've always got home projects going on, I bought a utility trailer. When I need a '"truck" I just hook it up to my Jeep and away I go. The rest of the time, I have the comfort and room of an SUV. The guys at Lowes were shocked when I bought 70 sheets of drywall, declined delivery, and did not have a commercial truck waiting outside. ( or maybe it was when they asked me if I had a truck to be loaded, and I replied, no, I have a Jeep.)

[Chevy-SS]

Last Fall, I bought a brand new 2011 Chevy Avalanche, a great compromise between a pickup truck and an SUV. I consider myself a pretty good shopper, and I took advantage of lots of various incentives before pulling the trigger to buy this truck.

List price ~$44k
Incentive #1) Chevy 'Truck Month' - $5k off
Incentive #2) Dealer 'sale' - $4k off
Incentive #3) Applied for financing (but did not use) - $1k off

So, right off the bat, I've got $10k off the sticker price. My net purchase price stood at $34k. But it gets MUCH better. Because I am self-employed (and the truck met Federal tax GVW guidelines), I was able to write off the ENTIRE $34k purchase price from my 2010 taxes, which effectively saved me about 1/3 (or ~$11k).

Anyway, after all is said and done, I've got a brand new truck that listed for $44k and my actual out-of-pocket cost was ~$23k. Almost half price! And that's how you afford a pickup truck in my book, LOL.

[OD*]

Unfortunately, the El Camino & Ford Ranchero were neither fish nor fowl. The El Camino was built on the on the Chevelle platform and the Ford on their a station wagon platform. I had a '77 Ranchero, the most miserable vehicle in the snow ever made (IMO )

[SIXTO]

Last Fall, I bought a brand new 2011 Chevy Avalanche, a great compromise between a pickup truck and an SUV.

One of my good buddy's has one of these. Its a great truck, I got to admit I'm jealous of that truck. He had an earlier year like an 02 or 03, with 200k on it when he sold it. Other than regular maintenance, he just had to recharge the A/C once.

[gixxerboy1k]

about a year ago i was shopping around for a truck had to be a four door as i was expecting a baby and didn't want to deal with the headache of an extended cab with car seats and things like that. i found an 06 Chevy 1500 with about 50k miles, talked and talked and talked some more took a few hours but got them down to 19k and they were gonna pay off the loan on the car i had then. In the talks the dealership to get the payments i wanted actually paid down the interest rate from the bank which saved some on the payments. haven't had any major problems but the extended warranty that i bought with it has almost paid for itself just it small things and getting little rattles and noises taken care of. it ends up only getting driven by me in the winter during snow storms and when i cant take the wife's car so it doesnt get many miles put on it and i plan on keeping it until it costs more to fix then what its worth, and once this gets paid off i will probably trade the current car off and get a different one so i only have one payment

[Guest1]

Thank's to Obama,all other members on here are paying for my 2500 HD,Thanks Guy's.

[DefConGun]

Another option is go to the dealer of your preferred make and have them check into "program" vehicles, these are vehicles driven by company personnel or leased to corp entities and maintained as part of the contract. I got a 2003 F350 extended cab, 4X4 diesel dully in 2005, it was 1 step under the King Ranch, sticker still in the glove box $55,000, got it for $21,000 and it only had 20,000 miles on it.

I use it now for hauling a large slide in camper & fishing boat, that truck has hauled the camper up and down Wyoming mountains on several hunting trips but I also had a tree farm when I bought it and it hauled many a 2-3 ton load.

1 trick I used was to combine the truck and camper (separate sleeping. cooking and bathroom facilities) onto a single loan, it then qualified as a second home and interest paid was tax deductible.

Top of the World sm.jpg

I knew you could do that with boats but I didn't know you could do that with a truck and camper. Cool tip. ;-)