To trade or to wait.

[14hemiexpress]

I'll start with basics. I just purchased a 2014 express quad cab in March so the truck is about 4 1/2 months old. The Wife and I have decided to start having kids. I believe I have messed up with buying a quad cab not a crew. We are looking into a few options. I'm trying to decide if we should trade now or when we are expecting. I know you can fit a car seat in the qc but it seems like it's going to be a big hassle I have put my nephews car seat back there and it a huge pain. Were I am at with the truck I believe I'm probably going to get about 1000 less than what I owe on it for trade. This time around I'm going to buy used. Should I sit on it for another 6 months or am I just going to get further upside down? I owe like 29500 and it has 7500 miles. My biggest fear is if I wait I'm going to get in deeper before it gets better. I know new vehicles lose there value quickly.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Go buy a new one now before you eat any more. Have had my 2014 crew cab 1 week and love the room.

 

[jcat]

Go buy a new one now before you eat any more. Have had my 2014 crew cab 1 week and love the room.

Debatable. OP likely will not get 29,500 out of the trade, so it's going to cost him more money. Going into more debt right as you're about to start having kids is a horrible plan.

OP, if you absolutely feel you need to do it, I'd look for a CPO crew cab to soften the blow vs. taking a whole other depreciation hit on a brand new truck.

 

[swanny297]

Your Quad cab is plenty big enough for rear facing/front facing car seats

 

[14hemiexpress]

Debatable. OP likely will not get 29,500 out of the trade, so it's going to cost him more money. Going into more debt right as you're about to start having kids is a horrible plan.

OP, if you absolutely feel you need to do it, I'd look for a CPO crew cab to soften the blow vs. taking a whole other depreciation hit on a brand new truck.

I'm definitely going used I can get something more like a 12 big horn 2wd for quite a bit less. That will knock down my payment and knock a year off so that's definitely a plus. I think I'll get somewhere around 28-28500 for trade. I think I'll lose that much.... The plan was to have this truck for a long time and didn't think kids needed that much room. Plus the 02-08 only had red cab and quad... Should of done more research

 

[jcat]

I think you're a little optimistic on the trade at 28500. I don't think they'll offer that high when they're selling brand new ones for only a couple thousand more

 

[14hemiexpress]

Your Quad cab is plenty big enough for rear facing/front facing car seats

They fit yes plenty of room not so sure, It's very tight fit with my nephews car seat in the back, and the truck is out go to vehicle. I want something more room. I posted a thread in the interior section and got a lot of opinions from other members and lot of upgraded to a crew from a quad for the reason of it being a tight fit z

 

[14hemiexpress]

I think you're a little optimistic on the trade at 28500. I don't think they'll offer that high when they're selling brand new ones for only a couple thousand more

Mine has a decent amount of options. I know that only helps a little but I very may well be stuck with the truck we'll see. But I mainly want the point of view how fast and I'm going to lose value I know they drop quick I'm just trying to figure now or wait few months.

 

[swanny297]

They fit yes plenty of room not so sure, It's very tight fit with my nephews car seat in the back, and the truck is out go to vehicle. I want something more room. I posted a thread in the interior section and got a lot of opinions from other members and lot of upgraded to a crew from a quad for the reason of it being a tight fit z

If I understand you are just now starting to have kids and no one is pregnant yet - you have time yet to make up some negative equity before trading it in, I had my boys rear facing in an extended cab - sure not plenty of room, but plenty of room for a rear facing car seat - which buys you about 2yrs if your wife isn't pregnant yet

 

[BoldAdventure]

Can you trade in for a used? Go see what's out there to get. If you don't want to roll it into your next loan you might need some cash to to cover the difference since you have very little equity in the vehicle.

What's the price range used you are aiming for?

 

[loveracing1988]

I will say that I wanted a quad cab when I got mine, but the rebates made the crew cab cheaper than the quad. I am glad I ended up going with the crew cab though because I didn't realize how much room these new car seats take up. I put the seat in the middle and it barely fits between the seats. I drive with my seat all the way back (I'm 6'1) and I know I would have to move my seat up 2 or 3 inches at least to get the seat to fit behind it. My wife has a wk2 grand cherokee and I can just barely drive with the car seat behind me. I especially sit in the same position seat wise as my wife is 5'2. I couldn't imagine trying stuff a car seat in the back seat of a quad cab.

 

[14hemiexpress]

I know I'm in negative equity right now on the truck. I'm going to take a bath on it. I'm either going to deal with it and keep it or wash my hands with it and move on. The price range I'm going down into the low to mid 20s this time around 23-26 depending on year mileage ect. I have 2 options dealers like to work with new vehicles when dealing with negative equity they can get more trade incentives and pull out a few extra rebates to get you there I know that much used vehicles it's hard to negotiate prices especially having neg equity so I can get a used 2011-12 crew cab or possibly and I think all of you will hate me for saying this but maybe something new like the journey. I don't need a truck I like my truck and always have liked trucks but a journey with a small 5x10 trailer would get anything and everything I needed done for a lot less. But test drives are in my future.

I definitely want the room. We had my nephew on the passenger side and my niece in the middle and my wife's knees were touching the dash board so they fit just not very we'll.

 

[BoldAdventure]

Good luck finding a Crewcab in that price range in those years. I had to drop to 2010 to nail that. Although I did buy a Laramie.

Wash your hands now, every mile and every day longer depreciation is working against you.

 

[BlownGP]

What's with ram owners wanting to trade their trucks in less than a year old?

I've been on forums since 2000 and never seen so many people willing take a huge loss on a new car. I know it happens, that's why you see used 2014s. But man it seems like everyone wants to do it on here..lol

 

[toofart]

Keep in mind, you'll be dealing with a rear-facing seat for only one year of ach child's life. It's a hassle, but nothing compared to losing a boatload of money.

I had 2 kids with a quad cab Dakota. There's plenty of room. I got a QC RAM when my kids were 7 and 3.

It's fine.

 

[DannyMK2]

no dealer wants a used 2014 on the lot right now. 2015's are going to be hitting the lots soon and they are looking to clear out all previous model years. your going to take a huge loss on it. if your fine with that, then whatever, but in all honesty, if your only planning on having kids soon, you have a few years before the lack of room in a qc is an issue. i would get a few years of use out of it. i dont see the dealer offering you $28,500 for a used express. $22,000 is more like it.

 

[14hemiexpress]

I get in going to take a bath on it of I trade it in. It's up to me how much of a bath I am willing to take. If they offer me 22 and that's it I'll walk away I'm a little bit of a fool but not completely stupid. My question is it going to be easier now or in 4-6 months... How much more will it depreciate.

 

[jcat]

I get in going to take a bath on it of I trade it in. It's up to me how much of a bath I am willing to take. If they offer me 22 and that's it I'll walk away I'm a little bit of a fool but not completely stupid. My question is it going to be easier now or in 4-6 months... How much more will it depreciate.

Your biggest depreciation hit was when you drove it off the lot.

I don't think they'll offer you 22, but they might offer you 24 or 25, realistically.

Even the cars with the best resale values (toyotas, lexuses, F150s) tend to depreciate about ~$2k per year assuming average to below average mileage.

Go on NADA and look up a 2013 with the same options as your truck with the mileage you expect to have on it after a year. KBB I think will let you do it on a 2014 as well, but an accurate comparison for you to look at today, would be a similar optioned 2013 with the mileage you expect to have on it in a year.

You said you have 7500 after 4.5mo, or roughly 1667 miles per month. That means in a year you'd have ~20k miles on the truck.

One thing to keep in mind, unless you get hit with triplets right out of the gate, you have the better part of a year to pay the balance down little by little (rather than getting slammed with a 5k negative roll-in up front) to get closer to what it SHOULD be worth when the time comes to trade.

Part of me thinks do it now, but then I also know that you will NOT win with the dealership. At best they'll get you out of your 2014 for the exact number you're buying the older truck for, maybe plus a grand or two, but you won't get anywhere close to even. That being said, you're not lowering your payment or saving a year on it. You'll either end up with a higher payment for a shorter term or a slightly lower payment for a longer term than what you have left.


I'm willing to bet you go look at a truck that's for sale for $25k, they'll offer you $25k for your truck, meaning you'll roll in 4500 plus their stupid fees and reg and applicable taxes. Theoretically you'll be in the same spot you're in now, but instead of having 56 or 68 months left, you'll have 60 or 72 left.

 

[14hemiexpress]

Your biggest depreciation hit was when you drove it off the lot.

I don't think they'll offer you 22, but they might offer you 24 or 25, realistically.

Even the cars with the best resale values (toyotas, lexuses, F150s) tend to depreciate about ~$2k per year assuming average to below average mileage.

Go on NADA and look up a 2013 with the same options as your truck with the mileage you expect to have on it after a year. KBB I think will let you do it on a 2014 as well, but an accurate comparison for you to look at today, would be a similar optioned 2013 with the mileage you expect to have on it in a year.

You said you have 7500 after 4.5mo, or roughly 1667 miles per month. That means in a year you'd have ~20k miles on the truck.

One thing to keep in mind, unless you get hit with triplets right out of the gate, you have the better part of a year to pay the balance down little by little (rather than getting slammed with a 5k negative roll-in up front) to get closer to what it SHOULD be worth when the time comes to trade.

Part of me thinks do it now, but then I also know that you will NOT win with the dealership. At best they'll get you out of your 2014 for the exact number you're buying the older truck for, maybe plus a grand or two, but you won't get anywhere close to even. That being said, you're not lowering your payment or saving a year on it. You'll either end up with a higher payment for a shorter term or a slightly lower payment for a longer term than what you have left.


I'm willing to bet you go look at a truck that's for sale for $25k, they'll offer you $25k for your truck, meaning you'll roll in 4500 plus their stupid fees and reg and applicable taxes. Theoretically you'll be in the same spot you're in now, but instead of having 56 or 68 months left, you'll have 60 or 72 left.

Thank you for your response. Kbb says. 27-28 depending condition and at a year old it shows 24500... So according to kbb I'll lose 3 grand in a year. I don't think I'll win at the dealer maybe I'll have to shoot for something lower I'm not sure yet if I can roll over 1500-2 on a new truck with some down I'll be at 27k plus some dealer fees no taxes to worry about here so we are look at 27500-28 financing witch will probably be about same payment just 8 month shorter term

 

[jcat]

Thank you for your response. Kbb says. 27-28 depending condition and at a year old it shows 24500... So according to kbb I'll lose 3 grand in a year. I don't think I'll win at the dealer maybe I'll have to shoot for something lower I'm not sure yet if I can roll over 1500-2 on a new truck with some down I'll be at 27k plus some dealer fees no taxes to worry about here so we are look at 27500-28 financing witch will probably be about same payment just 8 month shorter term

As a general rule, take 2-3k off whatever KBB tells you. It's inflated, and no dealer will ever give you exactly that number.

You will not end up with the same payment AND a shorter term, that I can almost say for 100% sure. You'll either have the same payment and start over again at 72 months, or you'll get a slightly higher payment for 60 months.

Any way you do this, it's going to cost you a significant amount of money.