I have a confession to make. You know all that talk a couple months ago about being tempted to buy a new truck? Well, it happened. I bought a 2006 Toyota Tacoma with pretty much every option you could get on it. It’s amazing and I have to say, I’m not having any post buying regret. I wrote a check for the entire purchase. It ate up a decent chunk of cash, but overall, I’m happy with the decision. I still need to sell my old truck, which should bring me about $10K to pay myself back.
So, as you can imagine, right now I’m thinking less about blogging and a little more about burning up some gas. Feel free to send a few arrows my way. It wasn’t the best financial decision I could have made, but it is me “living a little”. Since cars have always been an obsession for me, it’s the one area I tend to be a little more lax on. Of course, they are pretty much the worst item in the world to “love” since they are expensive and lose so much of their value over time.
By the way, I also received about a 5% raise this week. Overall, I’m quite happy with that outcome too.
Congratulations! I say that because I was at the Houston Auto Show recently and I saw a very, very nice Tacoma! Also saw a Harley-Davidson Package Ford F-250 that I’m sure was whispering my name! But in all seriousness, the congratulations is mostly on cutting a check for the entire purchase and for the 5% raise! I’ve heard that a new, paid off car definitely drives a little different…a little smoother, so you’ll have to let us know!
I’ll forgive you if you give me an offroad joyride ;)
*Gasp of horror* And I was so proud of you for resisting! *Sly grin*
On a more serious note, I’m unspeakably impressed that you paid cash for the whole thing. I’m trying to convince Mr. MoneyDummy that it’s possible and reasonable to pay cash for a vehicle, and that we should make that our goal the next time we have to purchase a car. *Knock on wood.* I would show him this post, but unfortunately he believes that everyone who pays cash for a car makes mucho bucks, and that it’s out of our income league. Of course, on reflection I realize that I have no idea how much most personal finance bloggers make, so I suppose he could be right.
Enough rambling; high five and congratulations! Enjoy burning up the roads!
Thanks for the comments MoneyDummy. Just so you know, I make a modest salary (Not a ton, but I have a 4 year degree and have been at it for awhile). We are a one income family since my wife stays home with our daughter. Most two income families make far more than we do. We literally just don’t have any debt other than the mortgage. By keeping our debt so low, it really gives us a ton of cash flow.
Congrats on the truck. I also bought brand new in December. I bought a new Acura TSX. I love it. I put $10k down and have been grappling with paying the loan off early.
You paid cash for it, so that suggests you’re living within your means.
There is also a lot of value in living a little while you still can. My arrows are put away here. You see, my grandfather bought his only new car after he retired. Soon after that, he couldn’t drive anymore. He put maybe 1500 miles on it, and it was the last car he bought.
So, enjoy your new truck!
yikes. . . you are braver than I am. Kudos for enjoying life a bit (and for not forgetting that not all of the money we make has to go toward finacially prudents ends). . . Just recently, we lost the family pet suddenly/unexpectedly. . . and, all in all, it’s a great reminder to enjoy life and to not view “growing old” as something that is inevitable. Of course, saving nothing for retirement is crazy. . . but, I think people can be too extreme in putting off pleasures today (in hopes of enjoying later. . . something which isn’t guaranteed, of course). In such a line of thought (i.e., “carpe diem”), the truck purchase is alright. . . as long as you didn’t have to pay for rust-coating or anything like that. ~_^
Hmmm…
Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in…
Cold shower didn’t work? I can’t say that I agree with your decision, but I hope you enjoy the truck. I think it’s cool that you paid cash. But a NEW truck… wow.
Somehow I can’t help feeling that the goodguys lost this one…
(I still say, however, that you blog title is one of the top 5 coolest of all time, hands down!)
See ya on down the road… I’ll be in the slow lane in my “beater”.
Congrats on the recent purchase! I’m glad that you made a cash purchase but a 2006? I hope they cut you a good deal. I’m sure the kids are loving the new ride though! Keep on truckin’.
I got the truck for just over invoice. I told them that I wouldn’t negotiate and if they tried to counter on my offer I would just have to leave. I did my research and calculated out what invoice was and how much over invoice I would go (not much) and also factored in that they would most likely get a dealer holdback incentive of at least a few hundred dollars for selling the truck.
I really didn’t want to buy new, but decided in the end that I would. My calculation was that I would keep this over a minimum 9 year period and so I have a good idea of what it’s costing me in depreciation each year. Insurance isn’t really much different. Obviously the “opportunity cost” (what I could have done with the money) is haunting me a bit. It was nice to see that EmigrantDirect raised their interest rate as soon as I took the money out. Oh well, no sense crying over spilled milk.
Well, if you were going to buy new, it sounds like you did it right. Amy Daczyn (whose name I can never spell– “The Frugal Zealot” is much easier) does precisely the same thing that you did. Buy new; offer a few hundred over invoice; don’t negotiate.
*Chuckle* Most people only fantasize about paying cash for a brand new vehicle and driving off the lot owing nothing. It’s cool to picture you actually DOING it.
Paying for the truck with cash is incredibly impressive. Did they even know how to handle the transaction? ;)