I have given up looking for a new, to me truck, for now

Morgan3820

Morgan3820

En-Route
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Messages
4,753
Location
New Bern, NC
Display Name
Display name:
El Conquistador
Tired of the games.
$3.5K in add ons in one case. $2000 safety inspection?? On an 'As is' vehicle. I walked out. Amazingly, they called back wondering if I still wanted the truck, still with the add ons??
Getting ghosted on meets for private purchases after driving 2 hours.
Three times, I call for an out the door price on a purchase, the truck becomes, 'Sorry, that truck just sold' We have other trucks at a higher price. Would you like one of those trucks?"
Prices are insane.

I have deleted my search apps, and might return to look someday in the future but for now, I'll keep my old truck, which runs fine.
 
Yea me too. I don't need a new truck, actually I'm down to not needing a heavy truck any more at all. I would be interested in something new, or newer, but no interest for those prices. Mine has some quirks that annoy me. I just need to find the time and energy to take care of them. Mine is a 99 GMC "new body style" Sierra 2500. About 110K on the clock. It's in nice shape, but at this age even with low miles some stuff happens. And @ 69 yrs of age I no longer want to deal with the quirks. But again i can find much better places to spend the money a new truck costs.
 
Pickup trucks have grown so massively these days that full size models rival semis. Today's Tacoma is the size of your Silverado twenty years ago.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Pickup trucks have grown so massively these days that full size models rival semis. Today's Tacoma is the size of your Silverado twenty years ago.
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They're also a lot more capable than they were 20 years ago. Payload capacity, towing, safety, ride quality, etc. all took pretty big forward leaps since the 90's.
 
SoonerAviator said:
They're also a lot more capable than they were 20 years ago. Payload capacity, towing, safety, ride quality, etc. all took pretty big forward leaps since the 90's.
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I wish there were more choices in mid-sized trucks. I don't need or want one of those full sized beasts. I have a 2015 GMC Canyon with a 6ft bed which is all I need, although I wish the back seat area of my extended cab had just a little more leg room. But I wish there were a few more models to choose from.
 
If you're willing to consider new, the best deal I found a year ago was by special ordering a factory new Ram from an out-of-state dealer. Got below invoice pricing for waiting 6 months and got exactly what I wanted. I could have flipped it for at least $10k more than I paid without trying (some people ordered 10s of vehicles and did this). Checkout one of the dealers on the 5th gen Ram forum for details. Note, I didn't purchase from this dealer but many people on these Ram forums do. The dealer I purchased from switched back to MSRP pricing.
 
The only way to buy a used car is to only talk to the dealership in terms of an out the door price. I tell them up front that we are going to come to an agreement on the price on the car and I don't care how it is distributed on the paperwork between fees and add ons but the price we agree to before the paperwork is the price I'm writing the check for and not a penny more. They can move numbers around all they want but there is only one number going on the check. I have also had better luck with finding cars on facebook marketplace. I don't tend to get ghosted nearly as much compared to craigslist because facebook requires that you have a profile with your name and some identifying information. I can look to see if you appear to be a legitimate person selling a car or if your profile was just created last week and you are trying to scam me.
 
JOhnH said:
I wish there were more choices in mid-sized trucks. I don't need or want one of those full sized beasts. I have a 2015 GMC Canyon with a 6ft bed which is all I need, although I wish the back seat area of my extended cab had just a little more leg room. But I wish there were a few more models to choose from.
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I think the bigger problem is that, from a cost standpoint, getting an F-150 is about the same price as getting a Ranger. Same goes for a Sierra 1500 vs Canyon. Not needing the bigger capacity/size often comes secondary to purchase price and ease of resale. I wouldn't mind having a smaller pickup to tool around in, but when I need a truck I generally need it to do truck things (heavier towing or hauling). Besides, with kids and all their junk, the crew cab space comes in handy, lol.
 
kmacht said:
The only way to buy a used car is to only talk to the dealership in terms of an out the door price. I tell them up front that we are going to come to an agreement on the price on the car and I don't care how it is distributed on the paperwork between fees and add ons but the price we agree to before the paperwork is the price I'm writing the check for and not a penny more. They can move numbers around all they want but there is only one number going on the check. I have also had better luck with finding cars on facebook marketplace. I don't tend to get ghosted nearly as much compared to craigslist because facebook requires that you have a profile with your name and some identifying information. I can look to see if you appear to be a legitimate person selling a car or if your profile was just created last week and you are trying to scam me.
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I would prefer buying privately off at marketplace but frequently, the asking prices significantly higher than the kbb book value. Then it just sits, unless a greater fool comes along. Kind of like planes and boats.
 
I'm in the same boat for a new car, and I assume the dealers will cling to this "new normal" way longer than the current excuse for it exists (supply chain? covid? ukraine? microchips? whatever)

Honestly I'm waiting for that Costco auto program to get relevant again and find me some sub-MSRP deal and cut the BS. It's been a real joke for the last 3 years.
 
SoonerAviator said:
They're also a lot more capable than they were 20 years ago. Payload capacity, towing, safety, ride quality, etc. all took pretty big forward leaps since the 90's.
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Right, but the average person that needs a truck doesn't need to pull a 40,000 lb house on wheels.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Right, but the average person that needs a truck doesn't need to pull a 40,000 lb house on wheels.
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The average person doesn’t need a truck, period. That doesn’t seem to impact their desireto own a truck, though.

Alas, Subaru tried to resurrect the Brat, Hyundai has something similar, and the HiLux rules the world OCONUS, but that’s just for their value as solid platform to mount crew-served weapons on.
 
JOhnH said:
I wish there were more choices in mid-sized trucks. I don't need or want one of those full sized beasts. I have a 2015 GMC Canyon with a 6ft bed which is all I need, although I wish the back seat area of my extended cab had just a little more leg room. But I wish there were a few more models to choose from.
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the canyon/colorado are getting interesting updates for '23, might want to check those out....
 
TCABM said:
The average person doesn’t need a truck, period. That doesn’t seem to impact their desireto own a truck, though.

Alas, Subaru tried to resurrect the Brat, Hyundai has something similar, and the HiLux rules the world OCONUS, but that’s just for their value as solid platform to mount crew-served weapons on.
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If you NEED a truck, you need a full sized truck. The functionality of baby trucks can be met much better by other options.
 
Salty said:
If you NEED a truck, you need a full sized truck. The functionality of baby trucks can be met much better by other options.
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That's kind of my thought for SUV's too. There are too many FWD SUV's pretending to be useful. If you need an SUV, get an SUV.
 
2-Bit Speed said:
That's kind of my thought for SUV's too. There are too many FWD SUV's pretending to be useful. If you need an SUV, get an SUV.
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well, my wife doesn't need an SUV, but she definitely drives better sitting a bit higher than a sedan. Her accident rate has plummeted since she started driving mini vans and Rav4 type vehicles.
 
2-Bit Speed said:
That's kind of my thought for SUV's too. There are too many FWD SUV's pretending to be useful. If you need an SUV, get an SUV.
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Well, the crossover SUV (read mid-size SUVs and below) generally have more utility than a sedan by having more interior and cargo volume. They go off-road at about the same % of the time as the RWD/4x4 SUVs (which is to say almost never). A Ford Edge is more useful to me than a Ford Fusion or Taurus despite them all being build on the same platform. About the only things you give up over a sedan is a bit of handling and fuel mileage.
 
Salty said:
If you NEED a truck, you need a full sized truck. The functionality of baby trucks can be met much better by other options.
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Sorry, but that is not the case for me. I need a truck, but I don't need big truck. That might not have been the case at a previous point in my life, but it is a fact now.

Two yards of mulch or a half ton of gravel is the biggest load I carry. I often move things like BBQ grills, so-called portable generators, bicycles and motor scooters, landscaping tools and plants, wheel barrows etc.
Not all at the same times, but probably at least once a week. My smallish bed with 3.0 liter 6 cylinder engine has served my purpose well for eight years now.
And it FITS IN MY GARAGE, with room to walk around it to get to the shelves and work bench, and it is easier to park (My wife likes that part).

I have absolutely no need for a full size truck, but I use the heck out of my mid-size truck.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Well, the crossover SUV (read mid-size SUVs and below) generally have more utility than a sedan by having more interior and cargo volume. They go off-road at about the same % of the time as the RWD/4x4 SUVs (which is to say almost never). A Ford Edge is more useful to me than a Ford Fusion or Taurus despite them all being build on the same platform. About the only things you give up over a sedan is a bit of handling and fuel mileage.
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I have never understood why people in this country choose sedans over hatchbacks. The latter has so much more utility but I still see 10x more sedans than equivalently sized hatchbacks and have always wondered why.
 
JOhnH said:
Sorry, but that is not the case for me. I need a truck, but I don't need big truck. That might not have been the case at a previous point in my life, but it is a fact now.

Two yards of mulch or a half ton of gravel is the biggest load I carry. I often move things like BBQ grills, so-called portable generators, bicycles and motor scooters, landscaping tools and plants, wheel barrows etc.
Not all at the same times, but probably at least once a week. My smallish bed with 3.0 liter 6 cylinder engine has served my purpose well for eight years now.
And it FITS IN MY GARAGE, with room to walk around it to get to the shelves and work bench, and it is easier to park (My wife likes that part).

I have absolutely no need for a full size truck, but I use the heck out of my mid-size truck.
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A trailer would work just fine for that for less cost. You don't need a truck.

Now, I admit it depends on where you draw the line between want and need, but the definition I'm using is: you can meet your needs without a truck, so you don't NEED it.
 
kmacht said:
The only way to buy a used car is to only talk to the dealership in terms of an out the door price. I tell them up front that we are going to come to an agreement on the price on the car and I don't care how it is distributed on the paperwork between fees and add ons but the price we agree to before the paperwork is the price I'm writing the check for and not a penny more. They can move numbers around all they want but there is only one number going on the check. I have also had better luck with finding cars on facebook marketplace. I don't tend to get ghosted nearly as much compared to craigslist because facebook requires that you have a profile with your name and some identifying information. I can look to see if you appear to be a legitimate person selling a car or if your profile was just created last week and you are trying to scam me.
Click to expand...

This is how I bought my last new truck. When you introduce this thought to the dealership they try to fight it the whole way. They kept coming back trying to get me to buy more stuff and extended warranties, etc.. They acted deaf to the fact I was only going to pay $XXXXX amount, total. Finally had to leave and walk away and they chased me down as I left the building. The manager then asked me, "Will you buy it today for the price you stated?" What have i been saying for the last 1/2 hour??? They sometimes play stupid/deaf, but if you stick to your number your chance of success is great. Also, be reasonable in the price that you offer to pay them. They do after all have to make a small profit.
 
Baked Potato said:
I have never understood why people in this country choose sedans over hatchbacks. The latter has so much more utility but I still see 10x more sedans than equivalently sized hatchbacks and have always wondered why.
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Sometimes you want to not advertise the crap you’ve got in the back of your car.
My wife considers anything she can see to be “clutter”.
2-Bit Speed said:
That's kind of my thought for SUV's too. There are too many FWD SUV's pretending to be useful. If you need an SUV, get an SUV.
Click to expand...
I find my Ford Escape to be extremely useful. The stuff I carry wouldn’t fit in the trunk of a sedan, and a pickup wouldn’t work as well for protecting said stuff from the elements. I’ll probably end up with a pickup next because my needs are going to change soon, but for the last several years it’s worked great.
 
Salty said:
A trailer would work just fine for that for less cost. You don't need a truck.

Now, I admit it depends on where you draw the line between want and need, but the definition I'm using is: you can meet your needs without a truck, so you don't NEED it.
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Depends on whether you have a place for the trailer. Our cars get to live outside because, among other things, I have a trailer.
 
Salty said:
If you NEED a truck, you need a full sized truck. The functionality of baby trucks can be met much better by other options.
Click to expand...

What do you consider a full size truck? There is a Tacoma in the garage, and these days trucks don't get much babier than that except the Honda Ridgeline (which, I think isn't very useful.) A truck bigger than the Taco simply isn't needed personally.
 
eman1200 said:
I could think of at least one reason:

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TCABM said:
The average person doesn’t need a truck, period. That doesn’t seem to impact their desire to own a truck, though.
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I own a truck because I need it to do truck things, but I don't drive it every day. Most of the time I'm driving my work car, which I also use to do truck things, which is how it turned into a beater car. So while I'd agree that the typical urban dweller probably doesn't need a truck, some people do need something more useful than a car and if you only want to own one vehicle to do many things I can see why so many people favor trucks. Unfortunately, Americans favoring trucks has also turned them into glorified cars rather than the real trucks they once were.

TCABM said:
and the HiLux rules the world OCONUS, but that’s just for their value as solid platform to mount crew-served weapons on.
Click to expand...

It doesn't help that they're unkillable either.

 
TCABM said:
The average person doesn’t need a truck, period. That doesn’t seem to impact their desireto own a truck, though.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I think more often people get off to the idea of owning a truck, when the reality is their needs don’t warrant the use of one. I was close to pulling the trigger on a new Ranger, but then I asked myself if I was getting it for the sake of having a truck, or because I actually needed the utility of it. I admitted to myself that it was the former. I’m a practical person and I just couldn’t justify the cost to use ratio of it and opted for something more fuel efficient.
 
mondtster said:
I own a truck because I need it to do truck things, but I don't drive it every day...
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Yep. Except for a brief stint with a diesel K5 Blazer and 3 years in Italy, my daily driver has been a truck of some sort for that exact reason. Most of it has to do with DIY or towing stuff. When I’ve had two vehicles, the second has always been a motorcycle and there’s been one of those near continuously since 1988.

My wife has gone thru a Contour, an Escape, a Versa 5-door, and an Infiniti EX over the last 25 or so years.
 
mondtster said:
Unfortunately, Americans favoring trucks has also turned them into glorified cars rather than the real trucks they once were.
Click to expand...
I rented a car a while back while mine was in the shop, and they upgraded me to an F-150. My then-16-year-old daughter got in it, looked around, and said, “this is a girl truck.”
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Ford Ranger
Toyota Tacoma
Nissan Frontier
GMC Canyon/Chevy Colorado
Honda Ridgeline
Rivian R1T
Jeep Gladiator
Click to expand...

How many more options would you like?
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One that I like.
Rangers are too small.
The old Tacomas were too small. The new ones are too big.
Frontier, AFAIK, has not been updated in a while, similar to Ridgeline, which I don't like anyway.
I'd love a Rivian, but it costs too much and I worry about it's future.
I don't like the looks of the Jeep Gladiator.
 
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Salty said:
A trailer would work just fine for that for less cost. You don't need a truck.

Now, I admit it depends on where you draw the line between want and need, but the definition I'm using is: you can meet your needs without a truck, so you don't NEED it.
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I can't believe you are splitting hairs about "need".

I don't NEED a Bonanza. I don't my house to be on an acre of land on the side of the Intra Coastal waterway. I don't NEED to eat steak when beans and rice provide sufficient protein.

My neighbor and I used the same house keeper. She came every two weeks. My wife decided she would like her to come every week since we both worked full time. The neighbor said to us: "Do you really need a housekeeper every week?". I responded to her, "Do you really NEED that 35 ft sailboat you just bought?"

I NEED transportation. A midsized truck fits my needs more than a sedan or a big truck, and especially more than a car and a trailer. That is an absurd idea for me.

I can't believe you actually think you know what other people NEED.
 
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