Alternative to Unaffordable New SUV?

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Originally Posted by Fitz98
Originally Posted by atikovi


If you're going to own 20 year old 200,000 mile vehicles, you really need to learn how to DIY.


I am pretty sure you have seen my posts in this forum, you have helped me many times. I am pretty good a DIY, especially with help on the forum.


But I know you didn't DIY if you dumped $1000 in a fuel pump or few hundred into a brake job.
 
Why new? Why not used?

Also, as much as you've dumped in the Suburban, you are probably close to having it sorted for a while.

I think before I'd contemplate dropping $50k on a new SUV, why not spend $100 to have a trusted mechanic go over the Suburban and see if there are any glaring reasons not to keep it or things coming up.

If you spent $5k on getting the Suburban like new, you haven't even spent what you would spend on a years worth of car payments at $600/month.

It's worth spending on an hour of a mechanic's time to see if you should really fish or cut bait at this point.

Then, look at used and you can see the same mechanic to check it out. I suspect you could get a 5 to no more than 10 year old example for less than half of what a new one runs.
 
Make a spreadsheet with how much have you spent during the last 12 months on the vehicle you want to divest. Include the maintenance costs, fuel costs, insurance, registration. Then determine whether next 12 months will be the same or similar.

Do the same thing for the vehicle you want to purchase. Make some quality estimates in both cases.

Compare the two and the answer will be clearer.
 
Originally Posted by Fitz98
I have 3 vehicles. 04 Suburban, 98 Expedition and an 04 Sentra as a backup. About 150k on the Suburban, well over 200 k on the other 2.
My wife likes the Expedition. It is high, big and we use it to tow our boat and she likes the short wheel base plus the short wheel base fits in our driveway with the other 2 and the boat. She feels safe in it and my son likes the extra room. The Suburban is my work truck.
Last month, I dumped a 1000.00 into the Suburban for a fuel pump and another 200 for an alternator, now the AC is acting up.
Recently I put a few hundred into a brake job and while servicing the rear brakes, I see the rear axle seal needs replacing, about 250. I put about 1000.00 a few months ago on a cooling system failure and inserts in the sparkplugs and new plugs and boots. Non of this includes all the hours I put into it. A few years back, I had a 90k mile engine dropped in, I have kept all the fluids and filters maintained since I have had it and replaced transfer case bearings and forks. New Michelin tires, new calipers, shocks, rear suspension components 10 years ago, front suspension drivers side, interior is clean and leather is in great shape still.
The Nissan doesn't eat much, just needs brakes.
All vehicles need new paint on horizontal surfaces.
I foolishly thought I might be able to get a new full size SUV for 600.00/month to replace the Expedition so I could stop dealing with the breakdowns. That is not even close to enough.
My outlook has always been the same...cheaper to keep fixing what I have but every time I think I have it fixed, something else pops up...but I do own it and fix it as it breaks.
I really don't have much more than 500.00 - 600.00/month to work with and need a high SUV for towing and launching my boat.
I am nervous about getting into payments, since I went through a repo once on a vehicle I bought when things were good, but before paying it off, I fell on some hard times and missed payments.
Any ideas or advice? Concerned about getting into another used vehicle, thinking it will always be in need of something, in which case, why not just keep what I have?


Maybe try to find a Lemon Law buy-back vehicle that's for sale. In some states, maybe all I don't know, they have to be assigned a salvage title. They sell for anywhere from 40 - 60% of market value of a comparable normal vehicle. It all depends on what it was bought back for. Sometimes it's major stuff that you might want to avoid. Sometimes it's minor things that couldn't be repaired properly after three attempts and the vehicle's owner has had enough and lemon laws it.

I'm not sure how to search for buy-back vehicles that are being re-sold. I would think there has to be some way to search it.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Fitz98
Originally Posted by atikovi


If you're going to own 20 year old 200,000 mile vehicles, you really need to learn how to DIY.


I am pretty sure you have seen my posts in this forum, you have helped me many times. I am pretty good a DIY, especially with help on the forum.


But I know you didn't DIY if you dumped $1000 in a fuel pump or few hundred into a brake job.

Good point. I did do the brakes,. Hawk Pads and Raybestos specialty rotors, new brake hose, brake fluid, but I needed the fuel pump done in short time, I had to go out of state for work within 2 days of having the work done. Fuel pump was 500.00. Some things I have to give away. AC will be the same.
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Fact of life . You are going to pay , one way or another . Either car payments or repairs.


^^This
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by RhondaHonda
How big is this boat? How much does it weigh?

$45,000 for 84 months at 2.9% interest is $593 a month. The cheapest Yukon XL at the big local dealer here is $56,369. You are in the ballpark with a reasonable down payment and trading in the Sentra and Suburban. I am not sure what your credit looks like with the repo so the rates may vary. They are doing 0% for 60 months which probably doesn't work with your payment amount.

https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/Vehic...Edition-Collinsville-IL/3502774583#close




84 months to pay on a vehicle is obscene. That's the nicest way I can put it.


Agree 100%. I pay cash for all my vehicles but he clearly doesn't have that option and only has $500-600/month for a car payment.
 
Originally Posted by javacontour
Why new? Why not used?

Also, as much as you've dumped in the Suburban, you are probably close to having it sorted for a while.

I think before I'd contemplate dropping $50k on a new SUV, why not spend $100 to have a trusted mechanic go over the Suburban and see if there are any glaring reasons not to keep it or things coming up.

If you spent $5k on getting the Suburban like new, you haven't even spent what you would spend on a years worth of car payments at $600/month.

It's worth spending on an hour of a mechanic's time to see if you should really fish or cut bait at this point.

Then, look at used and you can see the same mechanic to check it out. I suspect you could get a 5 to no more than 10 year old example for less than half of what a new one runs.


This is what I have been doing over the years and part off me still believes that is the way to go. Don't get me wrong, the vehicles are in decent shape and nothing major wrong with them. A 2-300 hundred a month average will likely keep them all in top shape, unless a motor a or tranny goes.. I will probably paint myself. 750.00 - 1k in primers, base coat and clear.
 
Originally Posted by Alfred_B
Make a spreadsheet with how much have you spent during the last 12 months on the vehicle you want to divest. Include the maintenance costs, fuel costs, insurance, registration. Then determine whether next 12 months will be the same or similar.

Do the same thing for the vehicle you want to purchase. Make some quality estimates in both cases.

Compare the two and the answer will be clearer.

This is good advice
 
Originally Posted by FT92
to me there isn't a truck or suv that is worth the money they ask for....i'd rather put some money into a vehicle every so often then be stuck with payments



Yep-the automotive excellence on BITOG is buying a cheap beater and driving it to 300,000 miles.

You are not alone.
 
Fixing your old vehicle is a lot cheaper than buying a new one. $600/mo payment =$7200/yr, plus the additional cost of insurance for an old car. Don't buy a new SUV. Let someone else take the depreciation hit. Consider buying a 3-5yr old SUV or pickup for towing, and get a 3yr old Toyota, Mazda, Honda or Subaru for a daily driver. There should be lots of low mileage estate cars in Florida, find some local probate attorneys to refer you and buy them from the dead retiree's family.
 
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We were in a similar situation when we were looking to replace an older Suburban. We found our 2007 Yukon XL, at the time it was 9 years old and had 60k miles on it. We purchased it for 1/3rd the cost of a new Yukon. We lucked out because it was a clean, one-owner with a complete maintenance history and paperwork. It was cared for, and showed by how it drove and looked. It was hard to find such a vehicle on the used market, but it's possible to find them if you keep looking an stay patient. It was probably the best vehicle purchase our family has made - it's now paid for and is serving the family well with only regular maintenance. I fully expect it to serve our family for years to come. It might be worth considering a slightly used vehicle with a solid maintenance history.
 
Fitz98, you don't seem to have much flexibility on vehicles, you and wife like what you have and have reasons for not owning other things. She likes the full size SUV and you'd rather drive a Burb than a van. Reliability is the thing, you're getting tired of constantly fixing your fleet.

Could you get your work gear in a smallish enclosed trailer and pull it with a full size 1/2 ton crew cab truck? The truck would be free to haul the boat and people. Trucks are always cheaper than same year/miles SUVs. All I got.
 
Originally Posted by RonRonnster
We were in a similar situation when we were looking to replace an older Suburban. We found our 2007 Yukon XL, at the time it was 9 years old and had 60k miles on it. We purchased it for 1/3rd the cost of a new Yukon. We lucked out because it was a clean, one-owner with a complete maintenance history and paperwork. It was cared for, and showed by how it drove and looked. It was hard to find such a vehicle on the used market, but it's possible to find them if you keep looking an stay patient. It was probably the best vehicle purchase our family has made - it's now paid for and is serving the family well with only regular maintenance. I fully expect it to serve our family for years to come. It might be worth considering a slightly used vehicle with a solid maintenance history.

This is a good idea too. I bought my Suburban for 7k with 66k miles on it. I really have only put 2-3 grand into it in the last few years.
I think that the deals are out there when you look for them and have time and patience.
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Fitz98, you don't seem to have much flexibility on vehicles, you and wife like what you have and have reasons for not owning other things. She likes the full size SUV and you'd rather drive a Burb than a van. Reliability is the thing, you're getting tired of constantly fixing your fleet.

Could you get your work gear in a smallish enclosed trailer and pull it with a full size 1/2 ton crew cab truck? The truck would be free to haul the boat and people. Trucks are always cheaper than same year/miles SUVs. All I got.

I considered that too. My work is mostly in banks and several of them only have low headroom parking garages, so trailering is not always an option. I have one that I use on big jobs.
The more I consider it, maybe I just need to accept the maintenance/repairs expense is still better than a fixed car payment for 5 years.
 
Have you considered a new base work truck F150? Brand new for something like $25,000. It should be able to tow your boat and last a long time without spending your time repairing it - more time to enjoy the boat!
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by RhondaHonda
How big is this boat? How much does it weigh?

$45,000 for 84 months at 2.9% interest is $593 a month. The cheapest Yukon XL at the big local dealer here is $56,369. You are in the ballpark with a reasonable down payment and trading in the Sentra and Suburban. I am not sure what your credit looks like with the repo so the rates may vary. They are doing 0% for 60 months which probably doesn't work with your payment amount.

https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/Vehic...Edition-Collinsville-IL/3502774583#close




84 months to pay on a vehicle is obscene. That's the nicest way I can put it.
But then it allows us to live beyond our means.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Consider an ex-rental from Hertz or Avis. For $31k you can get a 2019 Jeep GC with 17k miles from Avis and they offer financing options.

https://www.aviscarsales.com/all-in...yStyle=SUV&sortBy=internetPrice+desc

Or this Durango for under $500/mo:

https://www.aviscarsales.com/ultima...ngo-4c6c00e60a0e0ae878bdca4f9145234e.htm


Only problem with Durango and Grand Cherokee is the 3,500lbs towing capacity without the factory tow package. Otherwise the v6 models are pretty solid. Oh, and the racetrack light on the rear hatch is known to get water into it and kill it. You can pull it off and seal it to prevent though.
 
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