Has anyone figured the best time to buy and sell a truck?

[Elite]

I am curious if anyone has figured out the best time to sell and buy vehicles and not loose a pile of money?

I currently own a 2018 f150 and it just hit 160,000km. It is paid for and seems like I can get a decent price for it still. So is it worth selling it and then buying something used again to get the money out of it? Or should I just keep it until higher mileage…

I have a secondary small suv I commute to work with and use for daily errands. So the truck sees only 15,000 km a year.


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[Jimbee]

When you don't have to.

 

[AlleghenyMountain]

Around here (Shenandoah Valley of Virginia) the best time to sell is now, assuming we're talking 4x4s. People are looking for older vehicles for hunting season and winter time (humorous considering the last couple of "winters" we've had). I've got a 2005 F250 regular cab I bought 11 years ago. I drive it less than 4,000 miles a year, I drive our old minivan to work most of the time. I'd say hold onto what you've got unless your current truck is giving you problems or your finances are better than mine. Trucks here are sky high price wise and are mostly just fashion statements that never haul anything but groceries and never leave a paved road.

 

[Axlrod]

It's a zero sum gain. If you are getting a "good" price, you will be paying a "good" price to the seller.
I buy a new Duramax every 3 years for work. The last one was when you couldn't get them. They gave me a really good price for mine, but I paid sticker price for theirs.

 

[IAm_Not_Lost]

There is never a good time to sell a vehicle that is paid off that drives and runs well. Simplest answer.

 

[jimh406]

I'd wait until at least the first of the year and hope interest rates go down more. I don't find it a good idea to get rid of perfectly good vehicles to get something similar. If you want something different (just because), that's fine, but it won't be a good money decision, ever.

 

[Jimss]

It certainly seems like used trucks, especially with low mileage are a hot commodity right now. New trucks are a premium price.

One of the few advantages I see with a buying a new truck if the one you have still runs ok is that the hybrids likely get a lot better gas mileage and new trucks have a longer list of posh accessories.

 

[*zap*]

Never a good time to buy a new truck, for me anyway.

 

[waspocrew]

Hard for me to justify selling a truck paid in full just to upgrade. You'll definitely pay for the upgrade, but you'll have to decide if it's worth it.

 

[Elite]

Hard for me to justify selling a truck paid in full just to upgrade. You'll definitely pay for the upgrade, but you'll have to decide if it's worth it.

I don’t think I am looking to upgrade, More take the equity I have in this truck before it drops dramatically, then buy a older truck as I don’t drive the truck much at all


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[TaperPin]

Looking at total cost per mile, you should drive it until it’s time for the crusher.

 

[pacoalcracker]

Your truck is 6 years old and about to be 7.....it's going to drop in value by a lot pretty soon plus harder to sell so I would sell it while you can still get good money for it and then buy an even older truck in real nice condition and pocket some money, and that older truck will likely give you less trouble and it already depreciated about as much as it is going to so you won't be losing money on a continual basis.

 

[Silveroddo]

You’re probably in the sweet spot of those trucks, if it’s a good truck and you like it you may want to do some homework. It should be an aluminum body so you won’t have to fight body rust, you’ve owned it and you know what it is. Used stuff is a total crap shoot, doesn’t matter what it is. You might cash out of this one and buy something older and pocket 10k, but odds are you will feed it back into what ever you buy a grand or 2 at a time. I run old used stuff and do my own work on them, but I’m looking at probably picking up something like what you have while a guy can still find them with decent miles because I’m not excited about the stuff that’s been built after that time period.

 

[180ls1]

I don’t think I am looking to upgrade, More take the equity I have in this truck before it drops dramatically, then buy a older truck as I don’t drive the truck much at all


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You have already taken the bulk of the depreciation (First 5 years and 100K miles)

 

[Amos Keeto]

If it's running, dependable and paid for, DO NOT SELL!
I'm driving an '01 Cummins and a '02 Dodge 2500 w/360cid.
The Cummins is still getting 17-20 mpg. The 360 will average around 15 mpg with the distance/town driving we do!

Not making $600/$700 vehicle payments will put ALOT of fuel in the two of them.
Last repair to the '02 was a bit over $600. That's still cheaper than payments!

 

[Elite]

You have already taken the bulk of the depreciation (First 5 years and 100K miles)

I bought it used 4 years ago. I have lost probably 15,000$ on it


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[Elite]

You’re probably in the sweet spot of those trucks, if it’s a good truck and you like it you may want to do some homework. It should be an aluminum body so you won’t have to fight body rust, you’ve owned it and you know what it is. Used stuff is a total crap shoot, doesn’t matter what it is. You might cash out of this one and buy something older and pocket 10k, but odds are you will feed it back into what ever you buy a grand or 2 at a time. I run old used stuff and do my own work on them, but I’m looking at probably picking up something like what you have while a guy can still find them with decent miles because I’m not excited about the stuff that’s been built after that time period.

I do agree with buying used stuff is always a gamble. It is a 3.5L Ecoboost so I am skeptical with how many miles it will run for with out needing major work


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[def90]

I bought my Jeep Wrangler new in 2002 and 22 years later I still have it with 305,000 miles on it. I think I bought it at the right time, trying to figure out when the best time to sell it is.

 

[Beendare]

I own mine for about 7 years. Paid off after 4, no payment for 3 and minimal cost of ownership….at least thats my strategy.

 

[eoperator]

I just traded in a 21 duramax with 75k for new. The truck before that was an 11 duramax that was bought new and had 240k. All things considered the cost of ownership was surprisingly close between them. Having a truck under warranty is nice.