New Car Strategy?

[BenSD]

I love my 2004 T4R Sport edition. It's all the vehicle I really need. I've had zero issues with reliability, and my T4R is in almost showroom condition. No accidents, no digs, no scratches, and it's washed weekly. When I dropped it off at the dealer on Monday for the 55k service, the service writer asked if it was a new one.

Anyways, while my trade-in value is still pretty decent, I'm wondering if it makes sense to jump ship to a newer vehicle. I have my eye on a '08 FJ. The good news is that I can swap my BFG AT KO's onto the new truck, which should give the T4R a higher resale value.

I'm aware of many of the issues on the FJ, but it seems that most of that was isolated to the earlier versions.

Am I crazy to even consider it this early in the game?

 

[jharris2]

Personally, I've never figured out how to come out ahead by trading quickly. The depreciation curve in the first few years is just too steep. So we plan to keep vehicles for at least 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. Our Camry is coming up on 11 years old, and we plan to drive it until the wheels fall off.

 

[toto]

jharris2 is certainly right in that you take the biggest depreciation hit in the first year or two. I will admit, though, that I also tend to think like BenSD is suggesting in that I'll trade while the trade-in will still cover a good percentage of the cost of the new car.

I guess it depends how you look at it. If you're looking at maximizing the value of the dollars you put into the purchase of the car, you'll want to keep it until you're putting more money into it (in repairs) than it's worth. If you're always looking ahead to the next car, then all you see is the value of your car dropping relative to the price of the new one, which means that the longer you keep the car, the more expensive it will be to trade for a new one. In reality, the latter viewpoint is probably foolish from a financial perspective, but it's fun to keep getting the new car! Fortunately, the Toyota trucks don't seem to depreciate as quickly as some other models, making the trading game less painful.

 

[sbbamafan]

I always get hammered because I hit 100,000 miles in 4-5 years. My '06 has almost 50,000 on it now. I have started to wonder if I would come out ahead selling / trading in 2 years instead of 5. My last cars were a 96 Chevy Full size, extended cab, then a 2001 Dodge Dakota QC. I really liked the Dodge but it had severe durability issues. I chose T4R when I looked at value of 5 year old dodge compared with 5 year old T4R's. Up front cost was more with Toyota but trade at end differed by more than the up front cost and there is no comparison in reliability. Even the tires last longer!