Wife and I made the decision to have kids in 4yrs+, we already talked about me owning a 4 door truck. My truck will be paid off, and my mom told me she'll give me $7k for the truck. I already found a truck I want, it's a 2002 F150 with 30k miles on it. Question is, should I just keep my truck, and then when the time comes and my wife and I have a kid, then should I buy a 4 door truck?

I think it's more logical to have the truck I want now, that way it'll be paid off by the time I have kids. That way no vehicle payments.

Some people think its more logical to just save up and when the time comes, just buy a new truck then.

What would you do? Buy the family vehicle now, or wait and save up until needed?

 

I'm in the same situation.

I need a truck with more towing capability because in 4+ years I'm going to astronaut school and I heard you got to tow a space capsule home on weekends to practice.

My wife says that's ridiculous.
She says I can just beef up the suspension on the truck I got now.

 

I'd be more inclined to save money now and buy what I could afford when the bambino comes along. It's easy to say you would have the crew-cab paid off in four years, but you may also have another four years of wear-and-tear on the vehicle that could make it a candidate for replacement anyways. Plus, your economic situation might be completely different four years out, or your idea of what would be an ideal family vehicle may change in that period of time. In short, I wouldn't use "what might happen four years from now" as the justification for buying a new truck.....

 

Good points.
They could reject my application or Obama could cut the whole Space Program.

 

Well, I'm not a parent, but it sounds like you could get a great deal on the truck that you want. A 2002 supercrew with 30k books for around 11k, so you could probably get it for less than that, which is a great deal for a truck with only 30k as long as it is in good condition. With your mom giving you 7k to put on a new truck, that doesn't leave you a whole lot to pay off and by the time you have kids in 4+ years, you will still have a relatively low mileage truck (probably under 100k miles) that will be reliable with your kids.

 

While everything sounds great, I would personally wait four years. Besides, in 2012, we will all be dead anyways

(not a parent, just FYI)

 

I was going to buy a junker car along with the truck, use the truck when needed and save gas with the junker car.

 

i say go ahead and get the truck... have it paid off by the time the kid comes and be done with it... Before our son we were always financing vehicles etc.. Now i dont like to make payments on anything, if i cant pay cash for it then i dont want it... Having a kid gets a little bit expensive at times so its nice to have everything you can have paid off.

 

** Post has nothing to do with kids or parents, strictly a money view point **

Considering the value of your truck is more than likely going to drop quicker than you can save, closing the deal down is better cash flow wise.

If the $ 11K book number is correct, that is ~ $4K on term, which can be reasonably paid off in 2 years ( and still allow 2 years to start saving for kid related items ).

Cash flow wise, completing the transaction now makes better sense.

The buying a car to use instead of the truck, you need to run up a lot of miles to make this type transaction work.
Cash flow wise, buying a car to let a truck sit is not a money saver. If you would put that few of miles on the truck to make the numbers work, you can sell the truck buy a car, and rent a truck when you need it and be money ahead.

 

I can't seem to live without a truck. Depending on where I live at in TX will depend if I buy a beater car to save on gas, if I live close to base, no need for the car. But I understand your thinking process.

 

why not just use the wifes car to haul the baby around?

 

Why buy an old truck? It's going to be 16 years old when you have kids. It's one thing if you already owned it, but its safety is outdated already and who knows how much in another 4. I don't think its a smart buy

 

Good question. I don't know, guess I'm looking for a reason to buy a 4 door truck.

 

Just tell your wife you want to go to astronaut school, worked for me.

 

Having a truck and a car is the trick. If needed, we all fit in my truck but we prefer to use the car when were all going out. We have been on many road/camping trips in my supercab F150 with no issues at all, me the wife and both kids.