Buy what you want or buy what you need?

[dlundblad]

Say youre new vehicle shopping and you drive anywhere from 60-100 miles a day. Would you buy what you wanted or buy what you needed strictly for appliance purposes.

Anyways, I really want a Tacoma or Frontier. I also feel I’ve needed a truck more and more with our home remodeling. Base 4WD models are 33-37k although I’d prefer something a little more loaded.

On the other hand, our local Subaru dealer has (I assume base) Foresters for around 32k. AWD, plenty of room for my work stuff, and according to google a 3k towing capacity. (The most I would tow would be a little trailer with firewood… 1500 lbs or so.)

Also, any other similar models to the Forster I should consider? Thanks.

 

[Nuclear_42]

A Subaru Outback would be a better choice. Greater space than a Foresters. I love my Outback. The pax comfort/ space and the huge trunk space with folding seats is amazing. Keep in mind any 2019+ 2.5L engine is DI. They all require 3-3.5k mile oil changes due to the fuel dilution. Being that you drive long routes you may be able to push it to the 6k mile oem suggested interval.

 

[JeffKeryk]

IMO, a balance between what you need and what you want is important. Within reason, that is. Each of us is different.
Personally I love pickup trucks and wouldn't be without one.

 

[Zee09]

When you buy what you want it hardly ever serves your needs.

 

[I<3oil]

Need

 

[kschachn]

Lately it's been more "buy what they have".

 

[Nick1994]

Part of me is reasonable and thinks I should drive something reliable, economical, and long lasting. The other part of me wants something fun, comfortable, and quick.

But here we are almost 2 weeks later while my Genesis is still at the dealer awaiting repairs .

But I'm not a truck guy. I have a trailer that I pull with my Jeep when needed for Home Depot and dump runs.

 

[jeepman3071]

IMO, a balance between what you need and what you want is important. Within reason, that is. Each of us is different.
Personally I love pickup trucks and wouldn't be without one.

+1

I've commuted 100+ miles a day before, 2+ hours in the car per day. You definitely notice the difference between an appliance and something you enjoy driving a bit more. I don't miss my commute, but I do miss hitting redline merging onto an empty highway in the BMW at 6am.

 

[cptbarkey]

Lately I have been having a great time with a utility trailer, hauling tractor implements, 5 yards of garden soil, riding mowers, etc.

I watched an old couple loading furniture into the back of a pickup truck with what looked like 40 degree ramps. They had a really hard time.

Trucks these days have beds that are 900 feet high, and its been a joy to load things into a utility trailer.

Hence, the truck use case has diminished GREATLY for myself with that line of thought.

Good luck.

 

[Dave Hess]

I would choose Tacoma for reliability and quality.

Thats an easy 20 year vehicle with few problems.

 

[IndyIan]

Fuel costs adds up a bit, an Outback might use only a little more than half what the Tacoma. If you are going to off road more difficult terrain than logging roads, then a Tacoma would be better.
The Outback has the 2700/3000lb tow rating(all have a trans cooler), but a Forester will pull a small utility trailer with no problems. I don't know about current Tacoma but the Outback is a pretty nice hwy cruiser too.
We chose the Outback over a pickup, but our fuel costs are higher, and we like saving money! You might look at a small engine full size pickup, they get better mileage than a Tacoma and ride nicer and cost less often too.

 

[totegoat]

Buy what you want.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

I’m cheap I’d buy strictly what I need. However if we weren’t in a crazy auto market I would go with an economical vehicle for the work commute and an older pickup for knocking back and forth with the home remodeling projects.

 

[Astro14]

True requirement, what you refer to as need, is a difficult standard for anyone to maintain.

Now, to be very honest, after 40+ years of working, I’m able to buy whatever I want.

That said, I don’t buy impulsively, and we buy something that suits our needs. I’ve only ever bought two new cars in my life. We haven’t bought a car for “needs” in several years. My wife still drives her 2002 V70XC.

So, my advice? Get some thing that both meets requirements, and has a little bit of desirability.

If you don’t want it, just a little bit, you’ll regret the purchase, you won’t take care of it, and you’ll be looking for any pretense under which to unload it

 

[JavierH19]

Nowadays it's more of a "am i buying from a dealer or a stealer" since almost everything is marked up. Even Mitsubishi mirage's are selling for above msrp in Houston. Ridiculous.

 

[Allaned]

SUV and a trailer make sense for you

 

[andrew_j]

60-100 miles per day means a lot of driving time with a bed of air. A base model truck MSRP will get you a mid tier Conpact SUV that can tow a 1500 lb trailer with superior MPG in majority of drivetime.

Economically with those miles Conpact SUV/trailer makes far more sense.

 

[vwmaniaman]

I have an old smaller Ranger pickup and a newer large 4 dr pickup for towing my 5th wheel or whatever. The Ranger gets. all the small trips and hauling since the bed on the big truck is so high off the ground. Sounds to me like you need 2 vehicles.

 

[Torrid]

For the most part I just buy what I want, within reason. Fuel economy is probably a smaller concern, but luckily my tastes are usually somewhat fuel efficient. I no longer drive a full size truck not because of fuel economy, though that was a huge bonus for switching.

I usually look for what's the most entertaining and then from there I'll look into how it'll be to use daily. Life's too short to only buy the bare minimum of what we need unless that's what you're into.

 

[02SE]

When I/we were struggling financially, it was all about need. Now, retired for many years, with a hobby that compensates very well, it's mostly about wants.

You have to decide what is the best course of action for you.