Need an opinion on trading

[utley]

$1,200 a month seems off though... I'm 41 and I only pay $1,700/month total for all 3 of my vehicles (2018 Ram, 2021 Armada Platinum, and 2013 Acura TL) plus full coverage insurance (and one is a 16 year old male). My Ram and the Acura only had a 3 year note. We are about $5k ea from paying them both off. The Armada has a 5 year note, with about 4 years remaining.

I have 2 vehicles; one beat up '07 300 2.7L and the truck. Ive only had one ticket since 2017 and that was just a stop sign. My credit is getting better, yet it just keeps getting more and more expensive here in St Louis to insure people (from what they tell me) so they have to jack the price up every 6 months. Had to make the payment in full if I wanted to save 200 bucks but fk if it isnt still insane to pay close to 400 a month for insurance. My car alone costs me $150 a month for insurance and thats liability only. I can only imagine how much it would cost me if I lived in Michigan again......firmly believe that insurance companies exist just to nickel and dime you to death.

 

[utley]

You can;

Paint it blue for a couple thousand.

Replace radio through Crutchfield for a few hundred bucks.

Have the pads and rotors replaced for a few hundred bucks.

And end up with a much newer truck for those future years.

Buying a used truck is a crapshoot. You can have a mechanic go through it thoroughly and still end up with a problem. So it is kind of the devil you know versus the one you might buy.

Financial issues have been well laid out. Just a losing proposition so you need to forget that and decide whether you have to have that other truck. If it is what will make you happy for years to come then the money is well spent.

Its already blue, theres not many -if any- aftermarket choices for replacing Uconnect, and if there were its well over 3k alone to do. Thats just replacing the Uconnect system as a whole, not including speakers and what not. Another reason why Im not loving these new vehicles: auto makers making it damned near impossible to work on your own vehicles. Even my garbage '07 300 I have to have the transmission oil level checked at the dealership, god forbid I check it and top it off myself at home.

 

[utley]

Lemme see: 45 years old, and want to retire at 46, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, I will not get ignorant and state the obvious in a disparaging way. Unless health issue, U definitely should work longer, put money in long term investments, get yer house and Vehicle paid off before U retire, especially since U R talking going from 100K to 40K. Because unless U are living with Toto in Kansas, believe me, retirement does not get any easier. But OP, yer life, yer thoughts etc, do as U see fit. Good Luck on all that. All IMHO.

No house for me, I have to live the apartment life. Ive lived the last 6 years in 7 different states and honestly, Ive had more than enough. Ive had to pick up everything I own and move it all from Georgia to Alaska, to Michigan afterwards, then West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri...my doc says I need to retire, and building aircraft isnt really easy on the body.

 

[jejb]

If you aren't willing (or able) to work another 2-3 years to pay off the 2022 (make it a priority to dump all you can into it) then as others have suggested... sell it outright and walk away. Then take cash and go purchase something way cheaper and retire.

Yep. $40K a year is barely going to get your normal bills (rent, utilities, cable, food) paid. Car payments and high insurance rates are probably out of the question. Take the money, buy something with the cash and just put liability on it.

 

[Wire4money]

What are your long term retirement goals? Living on 40k a year for the next 40 years doesn’t sound sustainable.

 

[turkeybird56]

No house for me, I have to live the apartment life. Ive lived the last 6 years in 7 different states and honestly, Ive had more than enough. Ive had to pick up everything I own and move it all from Georgia to Alaska, to Michigan afterwards, then West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri...my doc says I need to retire, and building aircraft isnt really easy on the body.

ARGH, well OP, U gotta do what works for You. Maybe you can find another opportunity in your skill set and not have to bust out all the time, But alas, OP, wateva works. BTBH, 100 to 40K, gonna hurt. Be safe and hopefully make informed choices, and do not BASE YOUR CHOICE on internet guessnosis.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Is the $40k you're only household income (as in do you have a working spouse)? Is that SSI from disability, pension, or what? What's your savings look like? Any passive income?

Frankly, I think you're asking the wrong question. Unless you have additional income, I don't see how you think to maintain a reasonable standard of living with either truck burdening you down unless you plan to live in it down by the river. The better question may be how do you get the training or education needed to get a new job that you can do with whatever medical limitations you have and not be stuck at $40k/yr until you die.

 

[Gussers]

You asked for an opinion, so here goes...

You bought a new truck, and it sounds like it has a few issues. Let the dealer take care of them under warranty. No cost to you and hopefully very little inconvenience if they have a loaner for you while yours is in the shop.

For whatever you paid for it, YOU OWN the current truck. Figure at least 20% drop in value the second you drive it off the lot. The bottom line here is you made your decision, for better or worse, so stick with it. Selling this car at a loss, and buying an older car with higher miles and likely some problems with no warranty, is not a financially sound decision. You'll be out the money you lost on the first truck and in to an older truck that will be costing you a little less on payments, but more in maintenance. If something goes wrong on that older truck, it's totally on you.

Frankly, you may feel you have made a mistake buying a $53k truck, but please don't make it worse by doubling down and making another one.

A dealer is going to offer you peanuts on your truck. Carvana and those types of places are just as bad. That dealer is going to stick you and then turn around and list the truck near it's original price, saying it's virtually new - making profit off of you and the next person.

For the love of all that is holy, please stop looking at trucks for sale. There will always be a better deal, no matter what the product is - cars, trucks, computers, airplanes... You have to do your research before you make your purchase and then be happy that you got the best deal you could at the time. Then you're done. No more shopping - it will only create this doubt you're feeling right now. You'll tear yourself up thinking about "could've, would've, should've".

You have a nice truck. Sure, it has a couple bugs, but those are covered by the warranty. Get them fixed, move on, and enjoy your new truck and your retirement.

 

[tron67j]

Its already blue, theres not many -if any- aftermarket choices for replacing Uconnect, and if there were its well over 3k alone to do. Thats just replacing the Uconnect system as a whole, not including speakers and what not. Another reason why Im not loving these new vehicles: auto makers making it damned near impossible to work on your own vehicles. Even my garbage '07 300 I have to have the transmission oil level checked at the dealership, god forbid I check it and top it off myself at home.

I misunderstood the color.

You could connect with a company like Crutchfield or a local stereo shop and have them walk through options. I don't know exactly what you want to do with the system but I know there were options when I upgraded.

 

[rneal55555]

Assuming the $11000 you mentioned is above pay off sell the truck put the $11K in the bank as an emergency fund and live with the 07 300. Do what you have to do for your health but you are young enough to find another way to make a living. You said you build airplanes you don't say what parts of an airplane but I gotta believe your skills could translate to something else that your body could handle. You might not be making 100K right away or ever but 60 or 70 id s lot better than 40. But there has go to be something. Once you figure that out start saving and go buy the truck you want. I'm 64 and "Retired" a little over a year ago after a pretty intense couple years sucking up all the OT I could to pay everything off house, cars, motorcycles, all of it. I also banged away at retirement accounts for the last 12 years or so. Even with that I took my skills and am still working 24 hrs a week in a very flexible arrangement. I'm not buying yachts and airplanes but have what we need and can do want we want.

 

[Bandit1859]

I have to admit, I dont really care for these new rams; this Uconnect software that controls everything relevant to your vehicle - mirrors, hazards, air conditioning, radio...all it takes is just one thing to go bad and you lose everything. I dont like being forced to buy Mopar and have Mopar fix it when I know aftermarket stuff always comes out in better quality for the price. If I could lose Uconnect and replace it with something else, Id probably be ok with this truck 100%.

I have owned 4 of these over the years. Absolutely on uconect issues. I know some have. But all of mine including a Jeep trouble free

 

[nlambert182]

I've had 5 vehicles with UConnect and outside of my 2018 have the screen delamination issue they have all been trouble free. It's miles better than Ford's Sync system and Nissan/Infiniti's systems. I really like the 8.4 UConnect system in comparison to the others I've had. *knock on wood*

 

[utley]

Little update: took the truck to the dealership I bought it from a year ago. Just out of curiosity, asked how much they would offer to buy it from me. Their offer: you'd still owe us 2700 bucks. Best we can do is take it on trade, give you a discount or rebate towards the new vehicle and "see" about getting a better interest rate. So...after all was said and done, my truck lost almost half of its value in the year Ive had it. Im done with dealerships.

If I do anything, its either sell it 1st party cheaper than a dealership would or get the cash offer from Vroom. I knew I was going to get taken for a ride when I bought the truck, but had no idea it was THAT bad.

 

[utley]

What are your long term retirement goals? Living on 40k a year for the next 40 years doesn’t sound sustainable.

Its sustainable for me since its just me and the dogs. VA disability helps a lot, they cover all of my medical expenses, dental, stuff like that. You live like I do currently, all you have to pay is rent, utilities and food. The truck is basically the only bill I have thats excess for me.

 

[nlambert182]

Little update: took the truck to the dealership I bought it from a year ago. Just out of curiosity, asked how much they would offer to buy it from me. Their offer: you'd still owe us 2700 bucks. Best we can do is take it on trade, give you a discount or rebate towards the new vehicle and "see" about getting a better interest rate. So...after all was said and done, my truck lost almost half of its value in the year Ive had it. Im done with dealerships.

If I do anything, its either sell it 1st party cheaper than a dealership would or get the cash offer from Vroom. I knew I was going to get taken for a ride when I bought the truck, but had no idea it was THAT bad.

Of course it did.... that's always how it works with buying brand new vehicles and why I personally don't do it.

Your only hope is likely to sell it yourself but then you're back to square one. If you're planning to buy new from a dealership you should be planning to keep the vehicle past 5 years when the depreciation drops off. Most of that happens after the 5 year mark.

It's your decision so do as you wish, but if you're still wanting advice here I stand by everything I've said previously. Taking a cash offer, trading it, etc.. would be a worse financial decision than keeping it.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Its sustainable for me since its just me and the dogs. VA disability helps a lot, they cover all of my medical expenses, dental, stuff like that. You live like I do currently, all you have to pay is rent, utilities and food. The truck is basically the only bill I have thats excess for me.

Let me draw your thoughts to something I learned after retirement. Right now you spend 5 days a week making money. Probably a day on chores, maintenance, shopping, etc. The average person really only has one free day a week.

Today I have 6 days a week free, more or less. But they’re NOT free. Many “leisure” activities are expensive. Golf? Fishing? Road trips? Going out with friends for dinner or a show?

Just what are your plans to use that time? Retirement is GREAT when you can do things that you enjoy. If you don’t have the budget to enjoy things you like, it’s no way to live sitting in front of the TV watching cable news.

 

[HM_SanDiego]

Ive already spent 30k of my own money with down payments, taxes and upgrades towards the vehicle. Bought it for 55k'ish before the taxes.

Not intending to be a jerk, but you probably have some harsh life changes coming to your life, in your near and long term future - most significantly with money management/spending habits.

The only thing(s) you can count on is Death and Taxes……

In actuality, on a $60k truck purchase, you spent $16k in downpayment, $4800 in taxes = completely unavoidable when buying a vehicle, especially from a Dealership.

So the remaining $10k you spent on upgrades = money you probably should “not” have spent, and certainly you can simply no longer afford to spend, given the life story you provided - chalk that up to a $10k life lesson.

With that in mind, and given your impending probable medical retirement income of $40k/year, you are very likely going to “need” to move again, to a more affordable location for rent & living expenses. Suffice it to say that the cost of living has gone up everywhere….

Your ”I want(s)“ will become “what are my actual needs” in the very near future, unless of course you find a path to a new profession earning at or near your current earning potential, until “normal“ retirement age of 62, 65, 67……barring some golden parachute type early retirement offer.

Retiring at 45-46, you are literally and VERY significantly cutting off your statistically highest earning years, and the top 20+ years at that…..

RE: Given your desire to significantly reduce your vehicle financial obligations - In my humble opinion, the best choice you could make regarding your current vehicle(s) would be to: A) Take the Vroom cash-out offer on your 2022, and walk away, and drive your old Chrysler 300 until the doors fall off….or B) Sell your 2022 outright (private party) and hopefully take home a bit more cash than the Vroom offer…

Selling the 2022 truck to buy the 2018 truck is simply a bad choice/option at this point, as a previous contributor offered with great money evaluation and comparison.

If you absolutely “need” a truck, and here is where you MUST be honest about “need” versus “want”….. the only choice that would make sense “to me” would be for you to take the cash from the sale of the 2022 truck (to Vroom or otherwise), and buy a replacement truck with that cash, with no further or additional financial loan obligation - and yes, that would mean getting a truck you “need”, not what you “want”…..

$1200/month for a single truck payment and insurance is crazy to me, but in this day & age with vehicle prices as they are, this seems almost normal…..

The truck payment is what it is, unless your credit is so bad that you are getting clobbered with a ridiculously high interest rate…

If you have good credit and you initially took on a higher rate to buy the truck, or maybe you can simply lower the loan interest rate elsewhere - apply for refinancing at a lower rate (local Credit Union, whatever institution is offering the lowest industry auto loan rate(s) - check USAA, Navy Fed CU, etc….)

It sure sounds like you are paying WAY too much in vehicle insurance - SHOP AROUND for auto insurance! Do NOT be afraid to take your insurance business elsewhere….Over the years I have had vehicle insurance with = AAA, State Farm, Geico, Nationwide, & USAA, and every move saved me significant money. You mentioned VA benefits - Call USAA for a vehicle insurance quote!

*Take your 2022 truck in and get ALL of the issues fixed under warranty at a Dealership - get a loaner from the Dealer or get a rental car…..do what you gotta do.

Best of luck to you

 

[utley]

In actuality, on a $60k truck purchase, you spent $16k in downpayment, $4800 in taxes = completely unavoidable when buying a vehicle, especially from a Dealership.

So the remaining $10k you spent on upgrades = money you probably should “not” have spent, and certainly you can simply no longer afford to spend, given the life story you provided - chalk that up to a $10k life lesson.

Most places Ive shopped at put the taxes in the final price of the vehicle and put tags on the truck before I run out the door. That wasnt the case here and I thought it very well was when I went to go get tags the first time. Never had to pay that kind of money towards tags ever in my life up until now. I had already factored it in the cost of the truck when I bought it...nope, it wasnt. Was about a month or so later when I found THAT out.

So the 10k I put down on upgrades can yeah be written off on money not very well spent, but there was a budget for it. Whoever says leather seats increases the value of the truck is lying through their teeth. I can easily pay the truck off in the next year if I so desired, but if I do Ill be wasting quite possibly the last good year Ill ever have in life. Maybe its time to start looking for a new job; Im there physically, but mentally I checked out months ago. I just dont like the idea of searching for another job in another state and moving yet again (which is mostly why I bought the truck). The last mile is always the hardest, isnt it.....?

 

[nlambert182]

I think it simply boils down to this.... given what you just said above.

A lot of people hit a stage in their life when we mentally check out of work but we just push through it. Probably most of us here if we're all being honest. If that's the motivation to retire, it's not a good one. If it's medical then that's a little more understandable.

For the $10k in upgrades, if you're going to struggle to make ends meet financially when you retire the budget probably wasn't really there to begin with. That money might have been better spent on paying down the truck sooner. But as the other poster said, it's a $10k life lesson. Nothing that can be done about it now.

If you have the ability to pay off the truck in a year with one good year of work left in you then it would be a foolish decision not to. Buckle down and pay it off. In a year you'd have a new truck that's paid off and you would be out of the payment. Then it might make a little more sense to retire if you absolutely had to.

Otherwise whose to say you don't end up taking a loss on this truck, finding a used replacement with problems you're not aware of, moving, and then choosing another job that has more headaches than the one you have now? There are a lot of risks and unknowns that you might be signing up for. If you think getting surprised with taxes was the worst that could happen... trust me it's not. Right now you know what you have. A bird in the hand....

As an aside and slightly off topic.. but if you "can" still work past a year and choose not to what will you do when other surprises pop up down the road and you have no active income? Just a thought, but it always happens.

 

[BadHemi2014]

$11K cash offer is a rude joke, KBB value on your current truck is $35K give or take.
You're kind of screwed no matter which way you go, but that's how it is with vehicles and loans.
Me personally, I would sell the truck privately for at least what I owed on it, or as close as possible.
Then drive the beater and save up cash to get another small car if needed.

For anyone looking to make extra cash, this might sound nuts, but consider delivering pizza. You do need a economical car of course, but you can make a nice bit of money. I netted an average of $20/ hour which got me through school, twice, just working weekends.

To the OP, good luck, I hope it all works out for you regardless of your final decisions. And thank you for your service!