I know this is an unprecedented market and nobody knows what the future holds. I’m not looking for answers…just interested in hearing people’s opinions and any advice you can offer.
We are currently leasing two cars, which we got great deals on thanks to this forum. Both leases expire late summer of next year.
Circumstances have changed and we have found ourselves in need of a truck for hauling trailers, etc. The entire market is crazy, but it seems like the truck market might be the most insane. I’m not sure what the best course of action is here, and it’s keeping me up at night.
To me, I have the following options:
Try to find a lease deal - my research shows there aren’t any deals and even if there is…there’s no inventory.
Try to find a used truck - used market is equally insane…Have to spend at least 40k to get something decent and dealers aren’t negotiating
Swap-a-lease - I’ve been browsing trucks and the monthly payments some people pay should be illegal…
Try to hold out as long as possible and hope the market over-corrects - problem with this is you have no idea how long I’ll be waiting
Any advice here? Are there actually deals to be had, and I just need to put in the work? I’ve looked and we could get close to $10k over our lease buyout on either of our vehicles so that would definitely help. Ideally we would keep both and have the truck as our third.
I think it really comes down to what you need it for. I see trailering but are you going to trailer 5k, 10k, 20k, 30k pounds? Do you need 4x4? If it’s over 15k lbs then you should definitely buy since all of the heavy duty trucks lease terribly in normal/ideal markets. If it’s a 1500 that you need, then again, are you mostly city driving or highway? Diesels make excellent tow vehicles but if you aren’t putting on a ton of miles, then the ‘upgrade’ cost won’t offset the gas mileage nor will the vehicle go through a regen cycle (or whatever they call it).
@jeisensc@zepp21 - Sorry for leaving out that detail. We need to be able to pull a two horse bumper pull trailer.
Google search shows they weigh 2,500-3,000 lbs empty. Horse is little over 1,000 lbs. There will mostly be only one horse but let’s say 5,000 lbs just to be safe.
You’ve given me more to think about with 4x4 and diesel. Some of the shows we go to have dirt roads so I think 4x4 would be nice to have.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to tow a 5k lbs trailer with a vehicle with a 5k lbs max capacity. No margin for extra weight, cargo in the vehicle, etc.
With that said, one still isn’t limited to just pick ups for their towing needs. Pricing on grand cherokee Ls right now isn’t that bad on the lower trims, which will get you 6200lbs of towing capacity. A nice extra little margin.
Actually he stated one horse on average. 3,750lbs become 4,750 if he adds an additional horse. 250lbs isn’t enough for me to be comfortable in personally but to each their own. He’ll also need to figure out the payload, which is probably the more important factor here since the weight of items in the vehicle will also need to be added to the payload of the trailer.
I have been looking at trucks for awhile both pre-pandemic and currently.
Crazy terrible lease rates on domestic trucks (Ford F150, GMC AT4, Chevy Trailboss, RAM 1500 Eco).
OTOH Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan are leasing a bit better but the dealers are not dealing to lower net cap cost - they are over pricing above MSRP!
Now I have stopped the frustration and settled down to getting an EV truck - looked at Rivian, Tesla and Ford.
Chose Ford F150 Lightning EV truck at MSRP which will tow class 3 weights (7700 lbs) easily.
Waiting for my Lightning reservation paid slot to come up for delivery in spring 2022…
@max_g - I appreciate the suggestion! It’s my fault for not being very clear on towing needs. My wife is the one with the answers, so I’ve been trying to guess instead of asking her. She just told me that some of the trailers she’s been looking at are 4,000 lbs.
So even the 6,200 lbs capacity of the Jeep would be a little too close if we factor in the weight of equipment and everything else.
It’s looking like buying is my best option, but not looking forward to that process. Has anyone had experience with buying something off an auction?
Agreed with this. I think a easy solution would be to contact one of the brokers in your region and see if they can do anything for a purchase. Discounts may be few and far between so I would target a specific make/model/trim that you like, add in the options and then see if you can build. I know several dealers in my area that are offering at 1-2% below invoice depending on the make/model but these are for orders only. If you need something off the lot, MSRP or above.
