Doing the MPG math on a new(er) truck
Greetings, Recently I was getting the 'itch' for getting a newer truck. My old Ford 1997 F250HD has served us well. We bought it in 2001 for $12K with ~92K miles on it and now it has ~124K miles. ...
Forum Discussion
Hi,
Can you ever "Justify" a motorhome or camper? Not really. Most of the time they do not 'save' money. In fact a friend pointed out that I was going to buy a motorhome with $700 a month payments for the next 15 years. He said that the $8,400 a year I was paying to purchase the RV would also pay for a nice trip to Hawaii or someplace else - if I did not buy the RV.
I love camping in my motorhome, and even though it is expensive, I do it.
You probably can not justify the new truck purchase on fuel savings. Perhaps if the transmission is going out, and you do not want to spend $2,000 to have it rebuilt, a newer truck might save some money. But once the transmission goes out, you either have to spend the money to repair and sell it, or sell it to the local junkyard, someone who can repair it at a deep discount, or something else.
Many times I have to tell customers that they can repair their old A/C unit again, or spend a little more to get a replacement. The new unit comes with a longer warranty, usually will consume at least 30% less power, and will last another 15 years. At some point, the new item is justified by repair savings.
However it is easy to justify not spending $1,000 to replace a A/C compressor and then buy a energy efficient unit that will save $150 per year, than to just say 'replace this working system for $4,500 and save $150 per year.' The extra $3,500 will save power and extend the warranty a long time.
Fred.
Can you ever "Justify" a motorhome or camper? Not really. Most of the time they do not 'save' money. In fact a friend pointed out that I was going to buy a motorhome with $700 a month payments for the next 15 years. He said that the $8,400 a year I was paying to purchase the RV would also pay for a nice trip to Hawaii or someplace else - if I did not buy the RV.
I love camping in my motorhome, and even though it is expensive, I do it.
You probably can not justify the new truck purchase on fuel savings. Perhaps if the transmission is going out, and you do not want to spend $2,000 to have it rebuilt, a newer truck might save some money. But once the transmission goes out, you either have to spend the money to repair and sell it, or sell it to the local junkyard, someone who can repair it at a deep discount, or something else.
Many times I have to tell customers that they can repair their old A/C unit again, or spend a little more to get a replacement. The new unit comes with a longer warranty, usually will consume at least 30% less power, and will last another 15 years. At some point, the new item is justified by repair savings.
However it is easy to justify not spending $1,000 to replace a A/C compressor and then buy a energy efficient unit that will save $150 per year, than to just say 'replace this working system for $4,500 and save $150 per year.' The extra $3,500 will save power and extend the warranty a long time.
Fred.
