So we bought a new truck. Well, new to us. A 2001 Nissan Frontier CrewCab V6 4×4 5Spd with 42k miles.
Being as unable to make a descision as I am, it wasn't an easy choice to make. At first I was really set on fixing the 4Runner. Once I got that out of my head, I was really set on buying something brand new. But $500/mo ($25,000 vehicle) is tough to consider when you've been paying $0 for the past two years. After a while, I talked myself into it. Jess wasn't so sure, though. She wanted me to buy something preowned. I looked for a "really good deal" and found nothing since I'm really picky about what I want in a truck and, apparantly, either no one else wants what I do or they like them so much they don't want to get rid of them.
Buying a "new" car that is 4 years old with 42k on it certainly didn't seem like a good idea at first. After talking to my dad and finding out what purchasing a warranty would run, it started looking better and better.
Jess got to experience her first real taste of the trickery of car salemen. I think they hated me because I kept pointing out what they were doing to her. The asking price on the vehicle was almost $9,000 less than the new vehicle. After considering our trade in ($2000) and a small down payment, they decided that we could have it for $550/mo over 60 months. The look on Jess' face was *priceless*. After I told them that that was absolutely ridiculous, they came back with something still absurd but could at least pass as decent. The best part was when they said, $325/mo and we said "no" and the whole time had been mentioning that we were going to add a warranty on this as well. So, he talks to the sales manager and comes back with a really good offer: $375/mo and that's WITH the BEST warranty they offer. I asked how much the best warranty was and he said $2000 and I said, "so without the warranty you're offering me $325 the same thing he did a few minutes ago?" Believe it or not even after pointing this out to him, their next offer he made was the exact same thing again just worded differenty again. And, what makes it even worse is that, at that point, though they wanted to concentrate on monthly payment, we were basically paying sticker or more for the truck *AND* getting an interest rate much MUCH higher than I knew I could get on my own. It almost seemed hopeless. It seemed like they didn't even want to sell us the car for sticker. Jess was getting very frustrated. Had it not been the *only* used car in the metroplex that met my specifications, I would have left. Eventually, thankfully, they realized that we weren't going to budge from what I had decided on paying before I even walked in the place. I wasn't asking for some amazing deal, I just wanted it to be fair. Eventually, they agreed.
The warranty we got worked out well. I drive 25k/yr. The biggest warranty we could get was 4yr/50k. So, this means I'm covered for the next two years which really helps give me peace of mind when driving a vehcile that I'm making payments on. On top of that, so far, the truck is great, so far.
There is one small cosmetic repair that needs to be made on the passenger's side seat (nothing big). Additionally, despite the saleman telling me that the tires looked great after looking at them, they need to be replaced, like, within the next 30 days. So that's like $570. I also need a 2″ receiver hitch, which would have come with the new vehicle. That'll run about $200 or so.
Of course, I'm insane, and I obsess over everything. So I did the math to find out, considering the repairs that have to be made and features that have to be added, how much we were saving per month by buying used. It works out to about $117/mo or about $7000 over the course of the loan. No surprises there. As I told Jess at the sales office. For me, personally, the niceness and dependability and security afforded by a NEW vehicle is hard to put a price on but, for me, $117/mo is well worth it to spend on getting a NEW vehicle. But Jess seems very happy with the purchase and if saving $117/mo makes her feel better about adding such a large new expense to our monthly plethora of bills, then it doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I'm used to driving the 4Runner, so almost anything less than 5 years old would be a step up for me.
While we were sitting in the finance office, Taylor, Justin's brother, offered to buy the 4Runner. I'd much rather see it go to good hands (since I know what it's worth and what new parts have been put in it) then go to the dealer to be auctioned. So, that made me feel better. Since we ended up with three cars in Lewisville because of this arrangement, our friend Sean helped us out by driving one home for us. Seeing the 4Runner on the road behind me made me miss it already. It really is a good car.
Pictures are forthcoming. Right now I've got to get my stuff out of the 4Runner, find a place that will install tires and a hitch on a Sunday and then bring the 4Runner to Taylor.
