I own a 2001 Tundra V8 LTD 4x4, which I own outright. I also own a 2001 Lightning, which I'm considering selling, since I'm planning on buying a house. I still owe about $21,000 on it, and I've already paid $17,000 on the note. The L is stock, has 16,000 miles on it, and has had no issues. It's had (lots of)body repair done to it, after a deer ran in front of me while I was going 70 mph, but it still looks brand new. I have a friend who wants to buy the L from me, by essentially taking over the payments. That will eliminate my only debt, and I'll easily be able to save cash for a home down payment (and for the other countless expenses in buying a house).

I love both my trucks. My dilemma is that if I sell the L, I won't get a single penny out of it, even after paying $17,000 on it so far, but it will eliminate my $21,000 debt. The L is nice looking and quick, but my practical side is saying "do I really need two trucks right now"? I don't want to sell the Tundra, since it has some mileage (60,000) on it, and it's been hit (but not repaired) on the rear quarter, so I won't get very much for it. If you were in my shoes, would you sell the L, or keep it?

 

Keep the L! You seem to forget that it can do the work of a truck too. Not only can it be fun, but practical too. Just something else to keep in mind even though you seem to have a lot on your plate already.

 

Actually, your description sounds very practical. The Tundra is paid off, high mileage, damaged, and has no buyer. The Lightning is a $21,000 debt, but even damaged has a buyer. If my priority was a HOUSE, I'd sell the deer/debt Lightning. It doesn't matter how much you got worked over by the finance company, it's only worth so much now.

 

Any more money you spend on the L will still just break even. You can't get back the money you've already spent, no matter how long you keep it. Sell the L, and reaccess your finances after you've got your home.

 

what he said after ya get the house, maybe youll be able to save up and find a good used 00/01

 

Sell. It's a debt you don't need right now and you have a potential buyer
A house is more important & an investment, Vehicles rarely are.your thinking practical, thats good. keep it up and in a while you can have both
Good luck

 

Hate to say it but sell it. Get a home, and then when all is said and done, if you think you can get the lightning again go get it. Hell, maybe you can fix the place up some, refi in the first year and get a nice check and have both. Just remember that homes are investments, you get back what you put in, vehicles are not.

 

Keep the L. For every $1000 that you give as down payment, your monthly payment will go down $10. After a year of owning your house you can get an equity loan and pay off the L. I bought my house about 15 months ago. Im paying $148,000 for it, I still owe $142,000 but the house is now worth $183,000. So its not worth it to save up for a big down payment. All you need is escrow fees.

 

Maybe in CA, but everywhere else every $1000 in down payment on your house = $6/month. And your house is worth 183K today in CA, but what about tomorrow? Their housing market fluctuates so much!

Anyway, I say if you need to get rid of your toy for an investment like a house do it. I did the same thing back in 01 with my old truck, but not for a house. Just to eliminate a high payment. Now luckily I have another L and am building a house as well. You'd be able to get another one. Houses don't depreciate like trucks do

 

IMHO........
A house is the most important investment you can make, and the most important thing for your family to have. If you sell the L, The loan company won't see that debt anymore on your credit report. I know you want to keep it, and rightly so, but there are more important things to be thinking about at this time. Get everything cleaned up, and if that includes selling the L, then so be it. Then keep your nose clean while you are going through the process of buying your house. When you get the house, and you are all settled in, you can start making plans for buying another L. If you sincerely trust your real estate agent, ask when would be the soonest that you would be able to refinance the house and take some cash out and lower your house payments. You might have to wait a couple of years (then again maybe not), and then you can go looking for another L. When you buy a house, it seems like we all have to make some sacrifices whether they are big or small, but once we have the house, then we can get down to seeing how we can get the things we want. But you never want to screw up your chances of getting approved for a house just because you have an outstanding bank note that just might keep you from getting approved.
I wish you the best in your house hunting. I've been there many times myself and it's not easy all the time.
Reloader

 

you've already paid 17,000 and you still owe 21,000??? Good God did they see you coming. whats the rate on that?

 

Goodbye L.
Hello House.
You will never regret it.
House apreciates, automobiles don't most of the time and with rising gas prices if you got a buyer? Do it.

 

Thanks for the advice! Seems most are saying to sell the L. That's the way I'm leaning right now. I like the L, but I don't really need two trucks right now. Even though I will lose the money I put into the L, I just think of it as being a really expensive lease. I know I could afford both the L and a house, but I want to have as little debt as possible going into a house, since I heard that lots of expenses come up in addition to the closing costs and down payments (such as interior, furniture, appliances, lawn equipment, etc). It also frees up some cash for other expenses and bills as well.

Since I'm still paying for the L, what's the easiest way for my friend to buy the truck from me? Should they just take a loan out, pay off my bank, and get the title sent to their bank? Cash would be great, but they don't have that kind of coin laying around.

My out-the-door cost was a little over $37,000. I know it sounds like a lot, but that includes the expensive extended warranty. The dealer only had one L at the store, and was only dealer in the whole city who was SVT certified. So they would not budge much with the price, and I essentially had to buy it at MSRP ($32,500). The only consolation was I got a 2.9% APR on the loan.

They said if the price was lowered, I would not get the low rate. At the time, I was unaware of this site, and I didn't have access to someone who had an "x-plan". Since I wanted to have a local dealer for warranty/maintenance issues, I decided to buy this truck here. I probably could've gotten a better deal in Houston or Dallas, but I was worried about the local dealer giving me grief if warranty issues ever came up.