Most folks do not like to talk about it but our first determination was how much money do we have to spend or how big of a loan can we handle.The financial aspect will cut down the brands you will look at. If one can not afford a Excel, etc there is not point in looking at them unless you want to go used then the how much can we spend still applies. remember the cost of a tow vehicle has to be considered in the purchase of a 5t wheel.
In our case the financial aspect was the determining factor in what we purchased now or used.