Would it be wise for me to buy a new (or almost new) truck now ?

First of all I don't wanna hear about the morality of buying something you may not be able to pay for. I WANT to pay for it. I intend to set aside the money for at least 3 months payments.

I'm talking about a medium-priced truck that I can easily afford at my current job, and would already have bought if I hadn't been distracted by Y2K.

My old beater truck is functional for now, but it's starting to need various repairs and I'm not confident in it. Also the suspension and steering is worn out. It handles poorly and I am not looking forward to driving it in snow. Unlike the old one, the new truck would be a 4x4 with a stick and should be fine in the snow.

My plan is to work here in the city until early December and then head for the hills, literally, to my friend's farm about 1000 miles from here. I am scared I might break down on the way. I'm a fair mechanic and I have tools, but if, say, the transmission gives out on me in the middle of nowhere I'm stuck. Out in the cold and maybe snow. And if I have to leave the truck, I might come back (with a rented truck or my friend's truck) only to find all my preps stolen.

I don't know if this fear is really justified or not but it worrys me. The old truck is the weak link in my plans.

Anyway, once I get there I will feel a lot better. We do have a considerable amount of gas stored, and the new truck will surely get better mileage than the old. Or, if I get a diesel (IF a dealer has one available) we have some diesel and some heating oil.

At some point if its a BITR I will come back to my job here. If not I will stay there and look for work in that area. But its at least 25 miles to the nearest city so I'll need a reliable truck. If I can't find work and we can't make the payments, well, they can't take it away if they can't find it. And it does get repossessed so be it. I'll find another junker, or if I give up on finding work then I don't really need a vehicle.

And if I come back here to work and THEN get laid off, I'll once more be glad to have a good vehicle to get me back to the farm.

What'da ya think? Should I go for it?

-- biker (y2kbiker@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999

Answers

Hell yes I'd go for it right now! I live on a small farm 20 miles from the nearest tiny city,with 2 old trucks ,always working on one of them. I would hate to try to drive one of them a 1000 miles.good luck. Daryll

-- Daryll (twincrk@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999.

Biker, As long as you plan to leave BEFORE 12/31/99 then I say go for it. I agree that 1,000 miles is a long way to go with worry about an old vehicle. If the banks tank then maybe you won't have to pay the rest of the money you didn't put down. Or as you say the worst that would happen is it gets repossed. I wouldn't sell your old clunker. If newer vehicles don't work you might be able to use your old one (provided you can get to it again). Enjoy life while you can and enjoy your new car if that is your heart's desire. Anyway, make sure after you buy it you wring out the kinks before you go. (New cars can have kinks you know). Make sure it is a model that can easily be gotten parts for on the way during your trip just in case (although I'm sure you'll breeze those parkways just fine). Have fun and good luck with whatever you decide. Glad you have a bugout plan! : )

-- Debi (LongTimeLurker@shy.com), October 27, 1999.

Actually I thought of towing my old truck with the new one, if renting a dolly isn't too expensive/too much hassle. Its an auto trans but if I remove the driveshaft (real easy to do) I would only need the small dolly that lifts the front wheels, right?

That would let me take more stuff and would be insurance against either truck breaking down or against the new one being repossesed. Also a friend of my friend has the same truck, so it would be nice to give him mine for parts if I don't need it.

I just checked an atlas, its actually less than 700 miles. Still a long way.

-- biker (y2kbiker@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999.

I'd probably go with a good used truck...the lower monthly payments, the more likely you'll be able to make them in a 7-9 scenario. We're holding off until after the first, but we don't have to move.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 28, 1999.