Have to make a decision on my '16 to keep or not

[GRN69CHV]

Title says it all. MY '16 Ram just turned 71,000. It is in great shape, only item needing repair has an exhaust tap at cold startup and I get a little belt squeal at cold startup when temps are low 20's or colder. Can't say the valvetrain is noisy, I made the switch to 5W-30 at about 60,000 miles, I definitely think it is quieter with the slightly heavier viscosity, so no complaints on the how the engine runs. Trans is due for service. Bought the truck in Jan 2018 with 9400 miles on it. Ram gave me 7 year / 100K powertrain warranty (from date of original sale) which is good to December 2023. Other than the maintenance issues mentioned and the exhaust leak, truck is in really good condition.

The scenario is, company I work for was providing a vehicle allowance, they are now going to company provided ( Brand F ) vehicles in May. Not really happy about it, not really upset either, having your own vehicle has advantages and disadvantages ( I run about 20,000 miles per year so truck definitely takes a beating just from the mileage) but hey, free is free.

I will get the exhaust manifold leak fixed under warranty. Other than the trans everything else has been serviced. Brakes and tires were new at 58-59K, had the diffs and transfer case serviced at 62k (??) , just need a warm weekend to swap out the belt and idler. Then have to make a decision to keep it or sell or trade on something else. I really won't need two full size crew cab trucks.

 

[Neil E]

With used car prices being as high as they are right now, if you could, I would sell the truck ASAP (or start selling) to attempt to get a better price for it. But of course, that would depend if you could live without the vehicle for 2 months without a vehicle.

 

[Michael]

If you don’t need it I think you should sell it. Set the money aside and don’t touch it. You could even add to it as if you were still making payments on the truck. When it’s time you want or need to get a truck again it will make it easier to get what you want with that little nest egg.

 

[rod from md]

i was actually in a similar situation a while back, except ive always had a company car. i had a 20 year old ram 1500 that was showing its age, but still reliable. Bbut looking ahead to retirement, and losing the company car, i figured i would need something newer and more reliable.
i pulled the plug on the 99 ram and hunted until i found the 14 i bought last year ..low miles, well kept etc. my rationale was to get this paid off before retirement and have a much more solid and reliable vehicle then .

none of my trucks have been used alot, so i can def keep miles low between now and then.

 

[GRN69CHV]

i was actually in a similar situation a while back, except ive always had a company car. i had a 20 year old ram 1500 that was showing its age, but still reliable. Bbut looking ahead to retirement, and losing the company car, i figured i would need something newer and more reliable.
i pulled the plug on the 99 ram and hunted until i found the 14 i bought last year ..low miles, well kept etc. my rationale was to get this paid off before retirement and have a much more solid and reliable vehicle then .

none of my trucks have been used alot, so i can def keep miles low between now and then.

That's kind of where I am. Few years out, maybe.

 

[rod from md]

That's kind of where I am. Few years out, maybe.

yea..it was a hard decision to make after not having a payment for so many years , but i really like my truck
good luck w the decision

 

[Bob Macknight]

Title says it all. MY '16 Ram just turned 71,000. It is in great shape, only item needing repair has an exhaust tap at cold startup and I get a little belt squeal at cold startup when temps are low 20's or colder. Can't say the valvetrain is noisy, I made the switch to 5W-30 at about 60,000 miles, I definitely think it is quieter with the slightly heavier viscosity, so no complaints on the how the engine runs. Trans is due for service. Bought the truck in Jan 2018 with 9400 miles on it. Ram gave me 7 year / 100K powertrain warranty (from date of original sale) which is good to December 2023. Other than the maintenance issues mentioned and the exhaust leak, truck is in really good condition.

The scenario is, company I work for was providing a vehicle allowance, they are now going to company provided ( Brand F ) vehicles in May. Not really happy about it, not really upset either, having your own vehicle has advantages and disadvantages ( I run about 20,000 miles per year so truck definitely takes a beating just from the mileage) but hey, free is free.

I will get the exhaust manifold leak fixed under warranty. Other than the trans everything else has been serviced. Brakes and tires were new at 58-59K, had the diffs and transfer case serviced at 62k (??) , just need a warm weekend to swap out the belt and idler. Then have to make a decision to keep it or sell or trade on something else. I really won't need two full size crew cab trucks.

so,this is your for sale ad?

 

[GRN69CHV]

so,this is your for sale ad?

No, absolutely not. Trying to decide what to do. Hate to part with it, just don't need two trucks. I could just park it in the garage and let stuff get piled up on it, which is a good possibility. Was curious what other guys would do.

 

[tron67j]

You have a paid for truck that is in really good shape. If you sell your truck you would then have to spend money for something else if other things in the job change and you decide a career switch is in order. You could look at it as not using the truck all that much will keep it in even better shape further down the road and maybe use it as your toy to do mods to as time progresses. Ultimately, it's your decision on how secure the job is and how comfortable you are doing with their company vehicle what you would do with your own vehicle. My personal opinion, I would keep it as I dislike the feeling of not having my own vehicle to do it as I want whenever I want and having a company vehicle that could be taken away at a moment's notice, if they so chose, would always give me a small knot in the back of my brain. Good luck

 

[GTyankee]

The company that you work for, will they let you use it on your days off.
Can you haul crap to the dump, or make Home Depot runs with it .
If the answer is No, leave their truck on their property when not in use.

 

[GRN69CHV]

You have a paid for truck that is in really good shape. If you sell your truck you would then have to spend money for something else if other things in the job change and you decide a career switch is in order. You could look at it as not using the truck all that much will keep it in even better shape further down the road and maybe use it as your toy to do mods to as time progresses. Ultimately, it's your decision on how secure the job is and how comfortable you are doing with their company vehicle what you would do with your own vehicle. My personal opinion, I would keep it as I dislike the feeling of not having my own vehicle to do it as I want whenever I want and having a company vehicle that could be taken away at a moment's notice, if they so chose, would always give me a small knot in the back of my brain. Good luck

That's the thing, it's not paid for. Truck was $34K in 2018, fully loaded Laramie, 2 model years old with 9400 miles and 7 yr/100,000 mile warranty. I owe about $20K on it. From what I can see it's in positive equity and seem to be holding value above what is owed. Very happy with this truck and assuming no engine or trans issues past the warranty time frame, I could see me keeping this.

 

[Hookedup87]

The company that you work for, will they let you use it on your days off.
Can you haul crap to the dump, or make Home Depot runs with it .
If the answer is No, leave their truck on their property when not in use.

GTYankee makes a very good point. Neighbor of ours has a company car. She works for a big landscape equipment company and they have her trailer equipment for demo to various locations. They gave her a Powerstroke Ford F-250. BUT. She is only allowed to use it for work. No personal use whatsoever. They wanted to get rid of her vehicle but, she had to keep it for everything else that she does. Not sure if the same stipulation applies in your case or not though.

 

[aces-n-eights]

If you don’t need it I think you should sell it. Set the money aside and don’t touch it. You could even add to it as if you were still making payments on the truck. When it’s time you want or need to get a truck again it will make it easier to get what you want with that little nest egg.

This exactly. If you're able to use the company truck for personal use, sell your '16 and buy Tesla stock. Add your current truck payments to a decent mutual fund and when you retire - sounds like that may be within the next 5 years - you'll have a nice pile of money to buy a truck for cash.

OK, maybe kidding about the Tesla stock, but invest in a solid fund.

 

[Michael]

This exactly. If you're able to use the company truck for personal use, sell your '16 and buy Tesla stock. Add your current truck payments to a decent mutual fund and when you retire - sounds like that may be within the next 5 years - you'll have a nice pile of money to buy a truck for cash.

OK, maybe kidding about the Tesla stock, but invest in a solid fund.

Even if he didn’t invest in a fund, but put the money he gets from it in a basic savings account, that would be good. And continue making the payments, but not to some finance company, but to himself. Put those payments into that account. That would make purchasing the next truck so much easier when the time comes. If a plan like this is implemented, by the time he needs to buy a personal truck again he would have a sizable amount to put down on the truck. Maybe even enough to pay for most, if not all of the new truck.

Playing with someone else’s money is much easier then with your own.

 

[GRN69CHV]

That's why I posted this. I rally hate to get rid of a good vehicle, but not like it not replaceable. FWIW, company will let you drive personal miles. Wife and I were discussing it this morning. We're going to weigh the options. If I put it in the garage, I know what will happen, my kids will think, hey I need to haul a bunch of crap, dad's truck is just sitting there.

 

[Michael]

That's why I posted this. I rally hate to get rid of a good vehicle, but not like it not replaceable. FWIW, company will let you drive personal miles. Wife and I were discussing it this morning. We're going to weigh the options. If I put it in the garage, I know what will happen, my kids will think, hey I need to haul a bunch of crap, dad's truck is just sitting there.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[Michael]

If you decide to keep it you’ll still have annual maintenance that will still need to be done on it.

 

[aces-n-eights]

If you decide to keep it you’ll still have annual maintenance that will still need to be done on it.

...and registration, and insurance, and storage...

 

[GTyankee]

A vehicle sitting in a garage for months at a time, is good for something

Varmints love to chew electrical wiring & Rams have so many places for them to bed & pee

I stay away from regular Banks, i only deal with Credit Unions
Much better rates

 

[Salty Ram]

I had a company vehcile (F-150) with my last position and was able to use it as I saw fit. However, I moved up and had to pass the vehicle on to my replacement. So, I never did get rid of my personal truck and am very happy that I kept it as it had very low miles when I had to turn my work truck over. It also provided me with the ability to do modifications without the need to rush to complete them. I've since traded my personal truck for a newer one, but I very much like the insurance of having my own - just in case. But, that's just my opinion.