Thinking of selling the TD -Opinions please
 

The time has come for me to buy a new work truck. As some of you know it couldn't come at a worse time. The only vehicle I own thats worth anything [enough for a downpayment] is the TD.

I do not want to sell it at all. Totally against it myself. Nothing wrong with the car at all and you all know how hard it is to find one in such good shape.

For those of you that haven't seen it, its got 159K, clean as a pin, gets 28-30 mpg, runs great with nothing other than the cruise control to pick at. Its an '85 too.

I am at a loss as to how else I can raise enough money to get a new truck. And don't tell me to buy used. They're as much as new practically.

What do you guys think. I know I'll get a million offers but I'm not joking around. I hate to have to sell this car.:(

Cheers,

Bill

You'll think about the wagon for many years to come if you sell it- but do what you gotta do... it's a thing. Happiness is a state of mind, not a collection of things.

Just keep in mind the wagon values are going up! If its in desirable shape id try and figure out a way to hold onto it... it could be an investment depending on your location... people here in CA will pay top dollar for a fine w123.

I do have an option....smaller downpayment and make the big payments at the end of the month. My pay is so herky jerky though. Big payments scare me. I have never in my life had to make car payments so I'm not accustomed to it.

Here in the east they pay good money for a good example. Hard to find one here without a bit of rust.

Cheers,

Bill

I'm not convinced that you can't find a decent used truck at a "reasonable price". It might take some looking, and you might need to go out of state and have an independent inspection done, but, I'm quite sure that you can save $10K over the price of a new vehicle.


The $10K saved will more than offset the sale of the TD.;)

Just in my opinion you need a stratagy to shrink the difference between what you are thinking of paying for the truck and what may be really possible. Perhaps nothing is possible but among your aquaintences and friends may be a proffesional buyer. He may not be labelled as such but if you know an individual that consistantly seems to buy up things at well below market value he may be it. I would not hesitate to approach a couple of guys I know if I felt squeezed in a situation for example like you describe.. Generally I buy things at favorable prices and these guys can beat me hands down in their sleep. Things can happen. Your age and circumstance plus life experience do play a very large component I agree in what you can tollerate. Personally I hate owing money but would dive in if it makes common sense. Also try to find out how local reposessions are handled in your area. Sometimes a bank will have a list of seized assets available and preffer to sell to average people as they usually recieve far less from proffessionals for example. Bottom line here is banks and other financial institutions want clear of repossesed merchandise as soon as possible and do not neccesarily look at it as a total cash cow. Never hesitate to make a low ball offer as if a vendor really wants to move something he will tend to drop down to his bottom line that may be much lower than one would think as he might be under pressure as well. By attempting the above you may even land up being able to keep the car or if you decide not to your general debt load will be still less. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Worth a try? Also you did not specify the size of truck and that also has a bearing. I certainly might try to examine buying up someones end of lease salvage value or at least examining it if enough dollars can be saved and truck is a very low milage, good condition example. There are so many components and variables to factor in that only apply to you of course. It might help your thought process to visulise the difference between what you owe and actual resell value of the truck you purchase is your true debt load at any time not the total amount paid for the truck less the ongoing payment equity portion. Any perspective one can add to a situation may help. Best of luck.:) I am not talking down to you either just trying to reinforce the ideals that there are many prices for the same general object out there plus we should always examine our own attitudes towards things in depth when possible. Buying cheap is an art form usually cultivated when one has little money. It seems hard to change even when you really have no actual need of continuing the practice perhaps other than your ego.

Brian has been making a habit lately of making sense. Go figure.....:D

What he says I think is dead on, and you should consider it carefully. The difference in payment might be $50 bucks a month at the most probably, and a clean TD is obviously worth more than that. I just wouldn't pay the new car price. Let somebody else pay the larger part of the depreciation.
I know the feeling, though. My wagon just dumped all its freon in less than 2 weeks, so I have quite the leak somewhere.:mad: :( Sigh.......

What kind of work truck are you speaking of?

I would argue that you are divesting yourself of an asset to acquire a liability if you are seriosuly considering selling the 123 wagon to buy a *new* work truck.

If you are speaking of a 1/2 ton or so domestic pickup, out here in AZ they are practically giving the things away. The local Chev dealer (there are 10+ in Phx, AZ but this is the one within three miles of my house) is running a sale on Silverados... from $11,900- that is the loss leader, but still, I don't know what your criteria is.

The last W123d rolled off the line in Germany 21 or so years ago... new trucks pour off the lines daily, and what with the GM troubles they would be quite happy to sell you one.

Of course, I'm the sort of freak who, if given the opportunity to trade my 300SD even up for a new M-B E class, I'd have to actually think it over. CDI would sway my decision some, but they truly don't make cars like a good 123/126 anymore. At any price.

Save the Wagon
 

You know your finances better than anyone here, but...
Keep the wagon if you can. Good examples are hard to come by;
you know what you have done to it, and what it like.

I agree with the rest. A good diesel wagon is an appreciating asset
while most trucks are depreciating assets.

My two cents...

Tom Valdriz

If you do end up selling it, try to sell it to a friend. It is much less heartbreaking if you know that someone else appreciates it, will take care of it, and will enjoy it as much as you have or maybe even more.

You might have some concerns about the future well being of the car that you need to get in touch with...perhaps therapeutically. :cool:

What sort of work truck are you looking for?

There's plenty of old Ford/Dodge/GMs out there that will run quite a while...

I too know the regret of selling a trusted friend and hope that you can avoid it in this case. Maybe the solution lies in finding a truck that will meet your needs in such a way that will allow you to keep the TD. Can I ask, how much driving do you need to do, what do you need to carry? How new looking does it have to be?

Find a local 4x4 forum, and hang out there. Those guys usually have a lifted rig for 4x4ing, and another that is non-lifted but a daily driver. Plenty of good used cheap vehicles on those forums, and they usually don't screw around anyone there, as they all are somewhat knowledgeable about the vehicles - unlike Ebay Mercedes customers....

our 98 ford expedition (ford f150) has had 147k trouble free miles. I am sure you could find one in the 100k mile range for 7-8k. Keep your car.

First thing you need to do is find out how much the dealer is giving you for your wagon, and I don't mean what they TOLD you you were going to get, because that's never the case. What you need to do is get a hold of a black NADA book, that's a good place to start. Or go to Edmunds and find out the trade in value. But lately, dealers are going to auction books to find out how much a car of the same model and year, with close to the same mileage would sell at a dealer auction, because more than likely if it's a new or newer car dealer they won't keep your 20 year old car on the lot, it will go straight to auction. What the dealer does, is then take what you think your trade is worth, and subtract from that amount what the car would sell for at auction, then add the difference to the cost of the vehicle you are buying. Trust me, my father owns a car dealership, so I know what I am talking about! You are almost always better off going in telling them you want to pay cash, or that you don't have a trade, and get the best price you can, then sell the car you were going to trade in privately. Unless the car has some kind of hidden defect that only you know about, then your better off to not trade it. Personally though, I'd keep it as a second vehicle, because these days you never know when you'll lose your job, and need to get rid of your fancy truck.

In my opinion...
 

...you will regret selling your diesel wagon. In my lifetime I've bought and sold many cars. I've always regretted selling the Benzes. It was like selling a family pet. :eek:

On the other hand, the last non-Benz car I sold was a 1999 Seville with very little mileage. I couldn't walk away from it fast enough.

Brian's suggestion, to look for a used truck makes perfectly good sense. One thing the big 3 are good at is making trucks. We've owned three Suburbans - Yukons over the past ten 15 years or so. The engines on those trucks are indestructible.

You are sure to find a good bargain on a used truck. Heck, you may even be able to pay for it cash and thus completely avoid a car note. With gas price going up, a lot of urban jockeys who bought trucks for looks, and not for utility, are looking to unload their ride. The new, and used, truck market is REALLY soft. You can hook up a great bargain, especially on a working truck w/o a lot of unnecessary doodads.

Whatever you do, try to hold on to your diesel wagon. They are very hard to find. I told Brian that my son loves diesel engines, he wants to design diesel powered planes. I am now in the process of looking for a good, used diesel wagon for when he starts driving (in a couple of years). Everything that I see is either an overpriced garage queen or an overpriced rust bucket. :rolleyes: Either way, diesels are getting more expensive as gas prices rise.

Hold on to yours if you can at all.

I make my living buying low so I am a pro at that. Around these parts used pick ups are $16k with new ones around $20k or less. This is pick up country. Every farmer has one and needs one so they are very desireable. Both pose their own individual problems.

Used....the majority of the used one I've looked at are 4WD. I need a plain old light 1/2 ton with no 4WD. Plus it seems I'm looking for a rather rare model. I need an extended cab with an 8' bed. Most or all I've seen with extended cabs are both 4Wd and 6' bed, both of which are worthless for my use. Another problem I've had with used is finding one with low miles. I've already got a pickup with 151k and am not going to trade for one that has 100k. 50K or less would work but with the options I have mentioned I just can't find one. Plus, like I said, good,low mileage trucks in this area are high priced because of the desireability factor.

New....will most likely require me to place an order. I'd like to find one on the lot with the above mentioned options but, like I said, hard to find it seems. Then we have the problem with making the payments. With a good used one I'd have payments too but not as much as a new one.

TRADING my car is not an option at all. The dealer will pay you virtually nothing for it. I make my living selling and I can sure sell my TD myself for 5 times what the dealer would pay.

Last night the wife and I had a long talk about this. She understands [boy, thats a rarity!] my standpoint on getting rid of the wagon. Honest to the good Lord it would just break my heart to let that car go. Thats the best car I've ever owned hands down. I';ve owned it for only 2 years but I have followed the MBZ market for a number of years and do realize how hard to find such a good example is and I also know how the value increases and has gone up since I bought mine. 2 years ago a good wagon was bringing $7500 with an occasional one bringing the $10K. Now it seems even ones with over 200k on the clock will get you $8500-$9500 whereas 2 years ago one with that kind of mileage would realize $5000 and most times as low as $3500.

I am still leaning towards a new truck. I don't care about depreciation because, being for work, I can write it off. Either way I am going to have to make payments and the larger the downpayment the less I have to come up with at the end of the month. I'm still trying to figure out how I can keep the TD and come up with a sizeable downpayment.

By the way....I'm getting rid of my current truck because of rust. Not the body so much as undercarriage. I had a brake line rust through and my spare tire drop off all in the same week because of rust. I pull a trailer a lot and am getting a little leary of the truck. Whats next? Gas tank fall off because the straps rusted? Uh oh....I just jinxed myself......

Thanks for all the input guys. Much appreciated.;)

Cheers,

Bill

Pete...I don't really do a lot of driving. Maybe 10K/year or a little more.

I haul antique furniture which, although bulky, isn't really all that heavy. My 6 banger F-150 has been pulling loads around for 13 years with no problems.

New looking isn't necessarily what I'm after. Looks are unimportant to me when it comes to a work vehicle. My main concern here in the rust belt is of course rust. Thats whats getting my F150. And another important feature is the extended cab with the 8' bed.

My wife says make payments or make repairs. I need dependability thats why I'm leaning towards new. Plus with a new truck I'll have a lot of trouble free miles. My current truck I bought new in '93 and never put much in it until a couple years ago. Trouble free miles are very important to me. I don't have the time to be messing with repairs myself so anything that does break will have to go to the shop plus when I turn the key its time to go to work and not time to go get something fixed.

FYI.....I am self employed so I don't have to worry about losing my job!

Cheers,

Bill

Have you considered going south to look for the truck you want? In CT, 2WD work trucks aren't that common but down south they are. Maybe some folks on this forum can help you out who live down there. If they check something out for you as your eyes, it might pay to get a 1-way plane ticket to go get it. I totally understand the 1/2 ton, full size (fleetside) bed issue. When I moved our family of 6 three years ago, it paid for itself several times over.

That sounds like a good idea but I am still a little wary of buying used unless I can find a low mileage used truck for cheap. Sometimes even low mileage trucks aren't so great. I know a guy who trades his truck in every year for a new one and never even changes the oil in it!:eek:

Once again my main need is 8' bed with extended cab. I would like to find a stick too. AT never impressed me much when it comes to a work truck.

I have looked on ebay but that kinda scares me. I got stuck more than once buying a used vehicle off ebay. If I should find one on ebay maybe someone here could go look at for me.

Cheers,

Bill

If you can afford the shipping.
 

If you are looking for a 2wd check out the mountain states( Montana, Wyoming, Colorado) I used to watch 2wd trucks with 10-40,000miles run through the auctions in Billings for $3-6000 back of wholesale. Third party inspection and freight to PA will run you around $1,000. The nice thing is they don't sell for S&!T out in this area. At last memory we bought a 2002 F-150 for around $8,000 with 45k on it in 2004. My dealership could always use those as we were a secondary finance (poor credit) store and the only thing the bank cares about is sell price in relevance to book. And the customer was happy to have a reliable vehicle.

Wife is harping on new. She says every time I try to get a deal on a used anything I get burned. Not really totally true but the majority of the time I do get burned.

But hey, I'm a risk taker. I'd be game for that. But if I do get burned I'll never hear the end of it.:D

Your philosphy sounds very reasonable to me. Nobody out in the mountains would want a 2WD. I'd be real happy to pay $8K for one with low miles! Once again though I think the problem will be finding one with the extended cab and the 8' bed.

Thanks for the input. Maybe all hope is not lost regarding the TD.

Cheers,

Bill

Good luck! Im in the furniture business too (mid century modern).. thats what the Volvo is for, partner has the truck for bigger things.

If you buy the truck from 1000 miles away, sight unseen, with only the photos and the proclamations of the seller, you have a better than even chance of getting burned.

Invest $150.00 on a pre-purchase inspection via a local dealer or one of the services that come to the vehicle.

Then, it's impossible to get burned. You get a full report on the condition, without regard to what the seller claims.

And, naturally, make sure you get a Carfax to help to verify the mileage. Not perfect, but much better than nothing.

Thats exactly what I said to the wife after my last post. Just how to go about doing it is another story. I'm sure an internet search will turn up someone who will inspect for me. And for $150 it's well worth it.

Carfax is good for mileage verification but when it comes to damage I find that its not reliable because when someone pays for damages out of pocket carfax doesn't get the data. My Surburban [yes, it was a diesel] had unforseen damage that someone had paid for out of pocket that of course didn't show up on the carfax report. I found it when the paint began to peel in one area.

Wife is still harping on new though.:(

Cheers,

Bill

I agree on the Carfax.........just useful for mileage verification.

If you could swing the payment without disposing of the TD, then, maybe you could justify it. But, to be forced to sell the TD to purchase a new vehicle is ridiculous.........IMHO.

I purchased my Dodge van at six years of age with a bit over 50K on the clock........and I'm not even sure that it's accurate.

The van is now 17 years old and still runs as good as a new vehicle........burns a quart every 2K or so.

I've never owned a new vehicle..........and somewhat proud of that fact.;)

Payments without a sizeable downpayment are going to be sky high. As you know Brian I am self employed meaning I cannot gurantee myself X amount of dollars a month but with a fairly large downpayment I can keep the payments reasonable which I can handle. And when I need a new truck to earn a living its not so ridiculous. Gotta have it, regardless if new or almost new. And either new or late model used I'm going to be making payments. My disaster last year cleaned me out! FYI....barn is back and looks like its been here 100 years.

I've only owned one new vehicle in my life and thats the truck I have now. Paid cash back in '93 so I've never had a car payment in my life and I'm just a shade past 25. Ok...a shade past 45.:D

Cheers,

Bill

I think that a three or four year old vehicle would serve your purposes admirably with a cost that is about 1/2 the cost of an equivalent new vehicle.

I used the example of my Dodge to reinforce that point.;)

The wife used to like you Brian.:D

She wants to know if you'll come and fix a used truck when it breaks....

Hard to argue with women....

Cheers,

Bill

Oh, so true..........guess that's why I don't own one.........:D

Uh oh...you did it now.

She says men don't own women. Its vice versa. Better look out there Brian. First thing you know one will own you and you'll be selling that MBZ for a new Honda.

Cheers,

Bill

..........she reads everything I write??????..............:eek: :eek:

Owned!:D


Bill I hear you, sometimes hard decisions need to be made. I don't really have anything to add to this, because well pretty much everything has been covered already.:D

But my Uncles pick up 2-3 year old trucks for work every couple of years. They love the 2wd stripped out Chevy 1500, and F150's. Basic work truck, they find them real cheap too. If you know anyone who is a car dealer and can get you into an auction, there are deals to be had...

Hmm, I think the look-out-West idea for a 2WD work truck is a good one.

Women just like new stuff. The good ones accept and understand your desire for old stuff; current GF drives a Scion, but pushed me on a possible (fell through, unfortunately) deal to pick up a '78 280E for $50 and put the engine in a Heckflosse (fintail) '64 250SE which had a bad motor. Her quote, "I can't fix all the cool old cars like you... no reason not to go for it!"

(of course, her Dad has been hauling a Triumph TR7 around for 10 yrs, not running. He drives a Scion, too... I guess it's a matter of two different schools of thought. I really think you should buy a 2003-04 truck, let someone else eat the depreciation, and keep the 300TD. By any means necessary.

No, not everything. She just happened to be standing there when i replied.

Yeah guys....I think maybe a look out west might be worth a shot.

And Hattie.....yes I do have friends that are used car dealers that could get me into an auction. Actually there is a huge auction open to the public not far from here but with all the 4WD trucks in this area I'll be hard pressed to find what I'm after. The extended cab and 8' bed is going to be my stumbling block.

Cheers,

Bill

Yeah Rob, I think the idea of finding one out west might be the ticket but I'm going to have a look around here first. I've been out of the used truck market until recently so I'm not familiar with prices but from what I've seen prices in this area are high and I can't seem to find the one I want. A ton of them seem to be 4WD as well.

I also think selling the TD is something I will never get over. Sounds weird I know but doggone thats a good car and it is the best MPG vehicle we own including the wifes late model Honda. The TD doesn't have a rattle in it!! What other station wagon can you find that is 21 years old without a rattle?

The wife and I have been looking at ads for new trucks and if I wanted a F-250 or a 2500 Chebby I could get one cheaper than the lighter trucks. That shows you where the truck market is these days. Never thought a lighter truck would be more expensive than the heavier models!

In the meantime if any of you guys out in the west should happen to come across a late model light duty pickup with extended cab and 8' bed with low [40K or less] miles and a stick would you let me know? Thanks and much appreciated guys.

Now to convince the wife that used doesn't necessarily mean buying somebodys problems!

Cheers,

Bill