The price of new trucks is beyond comprehension!

[BobsYourUncle]

It was 42 years ago today, seems so long ago, yet still a strong memory in my head, a milestone I reached in my humble beginnings into the home renovation industry building solariums and such.

Yes, it was on this day, October ten, nineteen seventy eight when I had been only 4 years into my lifetime career when I worked my way to being able to purchase my first brand new truck!

Yup, 10-10-78 I drove off the lot of Phillips Chev - Olds in Penticton BC driving my nice shiny new 78 Chev 3/4 Ton Camper Special.

As I pulled out of the lot and turned left on to Westminster Ave and headed east towards home, I though I had lost my marbles, that I am a total idiot.

Who in their right mind would pay $7714. For a new truck. All taxes, fees, dealer prep and all the rest of the junk in came to $8,109.70 out the door...... Bob, you are out of your mind! I kept saying to myself. Financed it on the never never plan I did. How will I ever pay for it? I was barely 24 years old.

It was a great truck, I had it for 26 years and about 527,000K on the odometer when I retired it, still in decent shape.

Hmmmmm......

42 years later, my 2007 truck in sig is getting worn out. 408,800K on the clock and I am eyeing the shiny new trucks on the lot.

92 grand $$$$$$$ for something similar with a few more bells and whistles.

No, just no! That's what, about a dozen times the price I paid back then?
Gosh how can they justify that?

Wow! Just wow. Amazing how expensive pickups have become. All these fancy gizzmobops they have, someone has to pay for all that I guess..

Guess I'll just keep fixing what I have. It was $1423.77 yesterday for a water pump and a U-joint. Expensive!

Oh well, that's life! 🙂

My story of the day.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Groover wrote:

A1ARealtorRick wrote:

You've got plenty of good reasons to stay, however, but the mass exodus from the state that we have all been reading about says something about the overall desirability of it. I know you can buy homes there pretty cheap, right?? :W

This coming from a realtor on the coast? I guess that it is all relative but I just saw an add down the beach from you a bit in Mexico Beach for a 0.1720 acre lot on the canal. $64,900! No structures! That is $377,325 per acre! I would sell 20 whole acres for that price where I live. That is why I don't live on a coast.

Yup, people can ASK whatever they want to, but what will it really SELL for, if at all? The stories I could tell you!!

Around here, much like about anywhere, acreage that's not on the coast is very reasonably priced.

[blt2ski]

Groover wrote:

A1ARealtorRick wrote:

You've got plenty of good reasons to stay, however, but the mass exodus from the state that we have all been reading about says something about the overall desirability of it. I know you can buy homes there pretty cheap, right?? :W

This coming from a realtor on the coast? I guess that it is all relative but I just saw an add down the beach from you a bit in Mexico Beach for a 0.1720 acre lot on the canal. $64,900! No structures! That is $377,325 per acre! I would sell 20 whole acres for that price where I live. That is why I don't live on a coast.

All relative.....Family home sold for 2.2 mil a few years back. ITS a blinken tear down! Wife is listing a home in Hunts Pointe near us, again, 1.8 mil, could be remodeled, but reality, it too is a tear down! Both homes on a 1/4 to 1/3 acre....... not sure what that price is per acre, but a BUNCH!

Marty

[rhagfo]

Groover wrote:

BenK wrote:
Home is home and we all have our preferences and I do not diss anyone's choices...like vehicles, clothes, food, drink, GF's n wives, etc

Just be happy with your choices and if not so...then change it...

I'll not purchase new again at 72 and find better uses for the premium of new

Then the potential of all these used with too many bells and whistles (for me) are all potential failure points

Some of these bells and whistles can be lifesavers and definitely make a trip more pleasant. A backup alarm in my wife's car would have paid for itself several times over. Automatic headlights with auto high/low beam, auto wipers, auto braking to avoid accidents are all pretty reliable and can yield benefits way beyond their cost, at least to me. Of course, this depends a lot on personal values.

Some you get too use to! My weak point is the auto wipers, when I drive DD. 2004 need to remember to turn them on, but also OFF!

[Grit_dog]

BenK wrote:
Home is home and we all have our preferences and I do not diss anyone's choices...like vehicles, clothes, food, drink, GF's n wives, etc

Just be happy with your choices and if not so...then change it...

I'll not purchase new again at 72 and find better uses for the premium of new

Then the potential of all these used with too many bells and whistles (for me) are all potential failure points

Unless you don’t have the means, you’re saving the $ for your kids’ inheritance or you’re just a curmedgeon, there is no “harm” in them “new fangled” features.
I like a good running GMT 400 truck like yours and would drive one all day long....
I’m not a gotta have the latest and greatest, although 2 of the 6 rigs in the driveway are under 5 years old. But to act like many of the new features are not useful or comfortable or are some huge liability, is wrong, and someone with your keen automotive knowledge knows that.
So if the real reason is you’re just not “into” new vehicles it’s fine. But just say that.

[ppine]

American consumers are an odd lot. Ford still makes the mustang and few if any other cars. They sell trucks, ..... to everyone.

Think about that for a minute. A truck has a rigid heavy frame, beefed up drivetrain, big differentials, often 4wd, expensive tires, strong suspension, etc. All that costs money.

Then truck dealers figured out the profit in trucks is in selling packages of equipment with high mark ups. Trucks continue to become more car like, fancy electronics, GPS, high end stereo, backup camera, leather. The kind of stuff only fancy luxury cars used to have.

No wonder they cost a lot. They have to be tough and long lasting, and now consumers demand that they be outfitted like a car.

Trucks until the 1970s had vinyl flooring and upholstery, crank windows, and an AM radio. They were simple and cheap. Now they are complicated and expensive. But they last a long time.

I can understand the high cost of new trucks. What I have trouble with is the cost of a decent used truck. I recently saw a 2002 Ford 7.3 going for $35k. Not everyone can afford a new truck so the used market is in some hyper mode and out of control. Some day a truck manufacturer is going to figure this out and start offering some basic trucks for $30,000 and they will sell like hot cakes.

[Groover]

A1ARealtorRick wrote:

You've got plenty of good reasons to stay, however, but the mass exodus from the state that we have all been reading about says something about the overall desirability of it. I know you can buy homes there pretty cheap, right?? :W

This coming from a realtor on the coast? I guess that it is all relative but I just saw an add down the beach from you a bit in Mexico Beach for a 0.1720 acre lot on the canal. $64,900! No structures! That is $377,325 per acre! I would sell 20 whole acres for that price where I live. That is why I don't live on a coast.

[Groover]

BenK wrote:
Home is home and we all have our preferences and I do not diss anyone's choices...like vehicles, clothes, food, drink, GF's n wives, etc

Just be happy with your choices and if not so...then change it...

I'll not purchase new again at 72 and find better uses for the premium of new

Then the potential of all these used with too many bells and whistles (for me) are all potential failure points

Some of these bells and whistles can be lifesavers and definitely make a trip more pleasant. A backup alarm in my wife's car would have paid for itself several times over. Automatic headlights with auto high/low beam, auto wipers, auto braking to avoid accidents are all pretty reliable and can yield benefits way beyond their cost, at least to me. Of course, this depends a lot on personal values.

[BenK]

Home is home and we all have our preferences and I do not diss anyone's choices...like vehicles, clothes, food, drink, GF's n wives, etc

Just be happy with your choices and if not so...then change it...

I'll not purchase new again at 72 and find better uses for the premium of new

Then the potential of all these used with too many bells and whistles (for me) are all potential failure points

[RetiredRealtorR]

Holy smokes! This alone: "...not considering forest fires and earthquakes..." would send me packing.

Those 'forest fires' don't seem to be the garden variety by any means, and earthquakes? Unlike hurricanes, you don't see those guys coming!

You've got plenty of good reasons to stay, however, but the mass exodus from the state that we have all been reading about says something about the overall desirability of it. I know you can buy homes there pretty cheap, right?? :W

[free_radical]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
It was 42 years ago today, seems so long ago, yet still a strong memory in my head, a milestone I reached in my humble beginnings into the home renovation industry building solariums and such.

Yes, it was on this day, October ten, nineteen seventy eight when I had been only 4 years into my lifetime career when I worked my way to being able to purchase my first brand new truck!

Yup, 10-10-78 I drove off the lot of Phillips Chev - Olds in Penticton BC driving my nice shiny new 78 Chev 3/4 Ton Camper Special.

As I pulled out of the lot and turned left on to Westminster Ave and headed east towards home, I though I had lost my marbles, that I am a total idiot.

Who in their right mind would pay $7714. For a new truck. All taxes, fees, dealer prep and all the rest of the junk in came to $8,109.70 out the door...... Bob, you are out of your mind! I kept saying to myself. Financed it on the never never plan I did. How will I ever pay for it? I was barely 24 years old.

It was a great truck, I had it for 26 years and about 527,000K on the odometer when I retired it, still in decent shape.

Hmmmmm......

42 years later, my 2007 truck in sig is getting worn out. 408,800K on the clock and I am eyeing the shiny new trucks on the lot.

92 grand $$$$$$$ for something similar with a few more bells and whistles.

No, just no! That's what, about a dozen times the price I paid back then?
Gosh how can they justify that?

Wow! Just wow. Amazing how expensive pickups have become. All these fancy gizzmobops they have, someone has to pay for all that I guess..

Guess I'll just keep fixing what I have. It was $1423.77 yesterday for a water pump and a U-joint. Expensive!

Oh well, that's life! 🙂

My story of the day.

I blame unions,
they are the reason for increasing prices and inflation.
And low paid workers can never afford to keep up,
Will this ever change

Heres an interesting idea from former finance minister o Greece
Yanis Varoufakis

What comes after capitalism
https://youtu.be/oMRowgD0ZZs

Universal Basic Income
https://youtu.be/O8B4U7o9kvg


You will love this one
Chinese imperialism Lol
https://youtu.be/03l3Ra4bL_A

[MFL]

^^^^^
Seems like a win/win to me!

[Reisender]

pnichols wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

pnichols wrote:


Of course The State of California keeps sending me enticing mailers offering to buy it off me for around $1000 so as to "get it off the road"

You live in a state that forcibly removes money from taxpayers and then hands it over to others causing more demand and higher prices on new trucks? How is this theft legal? Why do people live there?

Well, we kindof keep on living here because - not considering forest fires and earthquakes - we have:

1. A home worth into 7 figures, but with a mortgage left on it of only 2-3 new Ford 1-ton dually pickups.

2. Property taxes based on our home's value 41 years ago that are allowed by law to increase only around 1%-2% a year.

3. Several beautiful 100+ year old redwood trees surrounding our well and spring water sources.

4. Several decades-old fruit trees we eat off of.

5. Temperatures so nice that we never have to winterize our RV.

6. An old spring water filled swimming pool that we exercise in -> kept toasty warm by solar panels.

7. A wonderful blue sky forest filled rolling hills view I'm looking out at as I type this (until the trees maybe burn down).

8. An orchard area often occupied by coyotes, turkeys, deer, and wild boar ... in addition to various wild hawks in the sky above.

9. A country store two miles away where they know us by name and that is stocked with every food item we need if we don't care to drive into town to save a buck.

10. A state government that watches after the little guy instead of the big guy - so long as the little guy will eventually be content to sign their life away to make the payments on a battery powered Ford 1-ton dually pickup.

11. A polling place one mile away located in the recreation room of a decades-old still operating white country church with a bell tower that still chimes.

12. Our kids living close by - one in our back yard and one only a few miles away.

13. World class medical care minutes away.

14. A home insurance company that - at no additional premium charge - will dispatch a private fire fighting company to protect our home should those forest filled rolling hills ever start coming towards us in flames.

All that being said, for some strange reason we still love leaving our home to go on RV trips! :h 😉

Sounds nice. Sooooo, got a little chunk of that open for the winter where the wife and I can park our pusher for the winter? I can keep your grass cut, clean up under the fruit trees, I can sing a little, wife tells good jokes. Just sayin. :).

[pnichols]

Lynnmor wrote:

pnichols wrote:


Of course The State of California keeps sending me enticing mailers offering to buy it off me for around $1000 so as to "get it off the road"

You live in a state that forcibly removes money from taxpayers and then hands it over to others causing more demand and higher prices on new trucks? How is this theft legal? Why do people live there?

Well, we kindof keep on living here because - not considering forest fires and earthquakes - we have:

1. A home worth into 7 figures, but with a mortgage left on it of only 2-3 new Ford 1-ton dually pickups.

2. Property taxes based on our home's value 41 years ago that are allowed by law to increase only around 1%-2% a year.

3. Several beautiful 100+ year old redwood trees surrounding our well and spring water sources.

4. Several decades-old fruit trees we eat off of.

5. Temperatures so nice that we never have to winterize our RV.

6. An old spring water filled swimming pool that we exercise in -> kept toasty warm by solar panels.

7. A wonderful blue sky forest filled rolling hills view I'm looking out at as I type this (until the trees maybe burn down).

8. An orchard area often occupied by coyotes, turkeys, deer, and wild boar ... in addition to various wild hawks in the sky above.

9. A country store two miles away where they know us by name and that is stocked with every food item we need if we don't care to drive into town to save a buck.

10. A state government that watches after the little guy instead of the big guy - so long as the little guy will eventually be content to sign their life away to make the payments on a battery powered Ford 1-ton dually pickup.

11. A polling place one mile away located in the recreation room of a decades-old still operating white country church with a bell tower that still chimes.

12. Our kids living close by - one in our back yard and one only a few miles away.

13. World class medical care minutes away.

14. A home insurance company that - at no additional premium charge - will dispatch a private fire fighting company to protect our home should those forest filled rolling hills ever start coming towards us in flames.

All that being said, for some strange reason we still love leaving our home to go on RV trips! :h 😉

[ShinerBock]

There are various factors that go into the cost and price of a vehicle that many people do not understand. There are project budgets, R&D, labor, materials, sales estimates, environmental regulations, and much more. You have to get a rough idea of what all this is going to cost and how many you are going to sell to configure a budget for vehicle model. This will tell you where to allocate the money for your research and development(R&D).

One huge factor that gets applied right off the top is environmental regulations due to CAFE and carbon credits. If the cooperate average fuel economy numbers are below the government regulation, then that company has to either buy credits from other companies like Tesla and such or pay hefty fines. Either way, it will cost them tens/hundreds of millions of dollars which gets spread across the vehicles they make.

Then you have other regulations like government mandated ABS, air bags, roll over pillars, stability control systems and most recently back up cameras. These used to be only for high end trims/packages, but now they are required standard by law. There is also fuel economy and emissions regulations which eat up a lot of (R&D) money as well which in turn is spread over the whole model.

In regards to trucks, a lot of R&D money is spent on making it "best in class" useless 30k tow ratings which gets spread across the trucks in that model. Not only that, but it eats up a lot of the initial budget that can be spent elsewhere like making it more fuel efficient or more reliable. Hence the reason why I find it useless because I know that it is utilizing money that can be spent on making other things that most truck owners buy even better, but instead is used to beef up numbers that less than 5% of your customers will use.

Of course, technology eats up a lot of the budget as well which is why those high trims and tech packages cost so much. Labor and material cost is always increasing with inflation so the cost will keep going up in these areas unless for some odd reason worker demand less pay and/or benefits.

A1ARealtorRick is right that we only have ourselves to blame. As long as the consumer keeps demanding more power, more capabilities, and newer models then the prices will keep going up. It used to be that the makes didn't change the truck models that often so they were able to keep costs lower. But with today's competitive environment, truck makes have to come out with major changes and more power/capabilities with new models every decade or so just to compete which costs a lot of money. If truck consumers were not demanding so much stuff gripping over who has better what and were happy driving a truck model that spans 15 years or more instead of needing to have a major overhaul every 8-10 years, then the costs to make these trucks would be much lower.


So what will it take to lower truck prices...... Stop demanding model changes or complete updates ever 8-10 years. Stop demanding more power than you will need (more power can be had aftermarket anyway). Stop caring about "best in class". Stop caring about tow ratings that you will never tow. Stop demanding more tech. Stop voting in people that make EPA CAFE requirements so strict. Stop demanding more pay for the same work(it increases inflation and cost of goods) Stop....... you get the picture.

[Stclairm]

A1ARealtorRick wrote:
And the saga continues. As long as Americans are willing to pay the crazy high prices, the manufacturers have no problem supplying their needs. Much like we are all willing to pay for poorly constructed RV's made of shoddy materials -- we don't resist, so the manufacturers keep them rolling off the assembly lines.

Truth, but what options do you really have? I can't stand being nickel and dimed or worse with an older vehicle with a bunch of miles on it either. Travel trailers are definitely as you described, then you think spending $45000 for a bumper haul gets you a "much" better unit and end up having some of the same issues. Crazy, buyer beware!!