Buy what you want or buy what you need?

[dlundblad]

Commuting that much in a truck wouldn't be fun or economical.

I’m doing it now. I’m at about $120 a week in gas, but I have zero payments and pay collision insurance.

 

[Bud]

I buy what I want.

 

[Astro14]

Gonna go out on a limb and guess that gorgeous V-12 roadster fit in the budget when you bought it. I, however, lacked your wisdom and learned the hard way. I hate it when that happens! Doh!

Guy across the street has one; the sound is pure heaven! His wife drives a Model Y....

Close enough.

When we had written the last check for college (six kids, there were lots of checks) I decided my lovely bride should have the “fun car” she had always talked about getting.

I wrote a check for it. She loves her car. She’s not the only one.

We took it to Disney last year.

At the Hilton, the valets noted the “V-12” on the fender. They asked if it was really a V-12 and she proudly said, “it’s a V-12 with twin turbos!”

I replied that I thought it would look good parked in front of the hotel. A folded $50 in hand, they agreed.

And every morning, her car was the first thing we saw walking out of the hotel.

Back on topic - pure want.

But done when I had the cash sitting in the bank and not before.

 

[4WD]

If you test drive the Tacoma, pay attention to low-cushion seat ergonomics. Does your bum fall asleep? Can you handle the legs stretched out straight and the tunnel against the outside of your foot? Can you do that 100 miles per day?

at 100 miles per day, will you be ok with the truck’s ride? They don’t ride as well as cars or SUVs, nothing with a solid axle can, though some are better than others.

toyota trucks in general seem to lag in the mpg department. Tacoma’s are under criticism by some for de-torquing the engine’s low end, forcing it to shift higher like a car. They aren’t the only ones doing it, but the yota crowd noticed.

I would strongly consider a nice SUV and a utility trailer. I’ll throw the xc60 in for good mention in mpg/performance and excellent ergo. Nobody beats Volvos in the seat department. I’d gladly consider one myself.

2020 was the 1st year ever that I did not own a 1500 or 2500 LT.
But I dumped a heavy trailer for an expanded metal model I can grab and move to my hitch … Gone in minutes …
Its rated 1600 lbs, low to ground, and has a ramp …
Don’t miss my trucks really …

 

[meep]

@4WD, what vehicle did you move to?

 

[snarl]

“It isn’t needed for me, so why should you need it.”

*You’re from North Carolina. It makes sense now.

?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Close enough.

When we had written the last check for college (six kids, there were lots of checks) I decided my lovely bride should have the “fun car” she had always talked about getting.

I wrote a check for it. She loves her car. She’s not the only one.

We took it to Disney last year.

At the Hilton, the valets noted the “V-12” on the fender. They asked if it was really a V-12 and she proudly said, “it’s a V-12 with twin turbos!”

I replied that I thought it would look good parked in front of the hotel. A folded $50 in hand, they agreed.

And every morning, her car was the first thing we saw walking out of the hotel.

Back on topic - pure want.

But done when I had the cash sitting in the bank and not before.

Well done. Always make her happy.

 

[4WD]

@4WD, what vehicle did you move to?

2020 Rubicon in signature - but we had the 2017 Tahoe already and now the 2022 … All have tow packages but we no longer have an RV, boats, etc … Like to make longer day trips in the Tahoe but I do spend up to six hours a day in the Jeep if I can’t make a swap with “the boss lady” (if she is also going out of town) …

 

[svtrit]

I bought on need and price a year ago. What I wanted was too expensive and I was thinking I’d like to save gas on my 25 mile round trip commute, instead of getting poor Jeep mileage.

But my toy, which is an older version of what I want, needs more work than I am willing to do, and is now for sale. I may trade the need in on the want, but will patiently wait for some savings and a hope that the finance rates go down. I bought the need at a stupid low rate compared to now.

Buy what you want within your budget.

 

[dlundblad]

?

I thought the same thing when you wanted me to explain to you why I needed AWD.

 

[Pew]

A balance of both but leaning to want over need, as long as the price tag fits. Buying what I want usually leads to unnecessary waste (gas, maintenance, etc) so even though I may enjoy driving the want-car over a need-car, I find myself pondering how much money I could save if I prioritize what I needed over what I wanted. I just went through this with my last car purchase; I wanted a cx5 but I needed a prius so I got a cx5.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I’m doing it now. I’m at about $120 a week in gas, but I have zero payments and pay collision insurance.

$120 a week for a 60-100 mile a day commute? That doesn't add up. I drive my truck to work about 5 miles each way and just spent $110 to fill up my truck after a week and a half of work and random weekend stuff.

 

[Torrid]

$120 a week for a 60-100 mile a day commute? That doesn't add up. I drive my truck to work about 5 miles each way and just spent $110 to fill up my truck after a week and a half of work and random weekend stuff.

100 miles a day assuming gas is $3.80 a gallon is about 16mpg. Sounds about right to me. I'm guessing he makes up the difference compared to your costs with highway driving.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

100 miles a day assuming gas is $3.80 a gallon is about 16mpg. Sounds about right to me. I'm guessing he makes up the difference compared to your costs with highway driving.

Oh yeah, I paid $6 something a gallon. Forgot that other parts of the country are more reasonable....

 

[dlundblad]

$120 a week for a 60-100 mile a day commute? That doesn't add up. I drive my truck to work about 5 miles each way and just spent $110 to fill up my truck after a week and a half of work and random weekend stuff.

My math is spot on. I work construction so my mileage varies about 60-100 miles daily. Right now I’m driving just under 100 a day. I will be for likely a year.

You’re only driving 50 miles a week for work (assuming Monday - Friday) and need to fill up every 1.5 weeks at $110? That combined with whatever you do on the weekend seems high.

Pricier gas makes sense. We are at about $3.5 here. My truck gets around 19 mpg with the route I take. Very few stops.

 

[dlundblad]

A balance of both but leaning to want over need, as long as the price tag fits. Buying what I want usually leads to unnecessary waste (gas, maintenance, etc) so even though I may enjoy driving the want-car over a need-car, I find myself pondering how much money I could save if I prioritize what I needed over what I wanted. I just went through this with my last car purchase; I wanted a cx5 but I needed a prius so I got a cx5.

Good point. The forester is more comparable to what I’m driving now. I can’t complain and the forester is leaps and bounds better than what I have too. On the other hand, the truck would be nice too.

There’s so many vehicles I really want since I’m a “car guy”, but that’s not really feasible either.

 

[Oliveoil2]

The fewer wants we have the richer we are. And I’m not just talking about money.

 

[snarl]

Why do you need AWD? Wouldn't 4wd work also?

 

[snarl]

@dlundblad What does me being from NC have to do with it?

 

[dlundblad]

Why do you need AWD? Wouldn't 4wd work also?

You suggested a minivan to me. Now you’re asking why I am set on AWD over 4WD. Lol.

I assumed you being from NC meant you didn’t know what snow was.