What kind of logical b.s. is that. You sound like my dad. What, did rob s sign in under another name.
He solved mine when I had this same issue. Guy is the Raptor enabler.....and I am thankful. I absolutely love mine. Heck, if nothing else just for being a safe highway truck. I hit a full wheel and tire at over 70 mph with no damage and a few weeks ago ran over a complet front bumper off a crash with no damage at all. Last year driving to the Tac Conference I never turned my windshield wipers off. Have been through desert wind storms where all the traffic except me was pulled off the roadway. It is nice to have a highly capable vehicle....not a need, or logical, but certainly great if you can pull off a want.
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
Even though I live in the suburbs, I've had a truck since I was 16. My first truck was a 1968 Datsun with a 1300 cc engine. My dad and I hauled all kinds of things in that little truck. When I had just turned 25, I bought a Toyota pickup. My first daughter had been born, so I didn't have much money, but I needed something to get me through my last year of grad school. I bought the cheapest one on the lot - no bumper, no radio, four on the floor. I was in San Diego, so I also didn't want to pay $400 for air conditioning. I regretted that when I moved to Virginia five years later. But I kept that truck for 25 years, which means I had it *half* my life. It was my daily driver for five years in southern California, then for 10 years in the DC area (where I wished I had air conditioning), then only when I needed to haul something or was going on a particularly muddy trail run. 138k miles with the original clutch. That 22R engine would last forever. When it came time to sell it, I parked it on a busy road at 2230 on a Friday night, put a simple sign in the window: "se vende - $600" - and had cash in hand by 1000 the next morning.
About 5 years ago, I upgraded to a Tundra. I wanted a Tacoma, but it was right after the earthquake in Japan. Tacomas were hard to find and I got a great deal on a nice Tundra. So I went from a tiny little underpowered 1986 Toyota pickup to full-sized Tundra. As I said, I live in the suburbs, but I do haul a lot, and the full-sized truck is nice when I need, but otherwise it's a bit big for urban areas (parking garages are not fun), and it just sits while I use my 15 year old Rav4 as my daily driver. So I've been shopping for Tacomas lately, and will probably buy one next week.
Sounds like we bought the exact same first new truck. Mine was an 86 Toyota 4x4 without a single option. Did a pre runner set up on it, and many times wish I still had it. I had sold After I bought an XLT Bronco with all the options a few years later (amazing what happens when you get a job and credit). Wish I still had both.....those old Toyotas are great vehicles that are basically timeless, especially with no stuff to really break on the no option ones.
You know in Texas Tahoe's are basically a Mini Van......that is not what we consider an illogical want.....
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
I say the most financial responsible option is #2, assuming it meets your needs and still runs well. It's probably worth $10k or $11k. Can you put a couple hundred, or even thousand bucks into it (bluetooth, nav, 100k mile maintenance, whatever) and run it for another 10 years and 100,000 miles, then sell it for $5,000? You'd loose a lot money less than replacing the entire vehicle.
I've had a '05 Tacoma for the last 5 years. It might get a little bit better gas mileage than a full size, but I'm not convinced. It's cramped (I'm really too tall for it), and I often find myself needing just a bit more truck. For instance, I rented a compact backhoe from Home Depot a couple months back. Even though my truck would have pulled it fine, they said I needed at least a half ton vehicle to tow it. Off to U-haul to rent one of their trucks.
What is the possibility that gas prices spikes again in the next 5 years? That's a great time to find deals on pickup trucks. The last time gas was at $4+ a gallon, several people I know bought brand new, well equipped, full size trucks for less than $20k.
Raptor, well Raptor ownership isn't about being responsible, now is it? ;-)
Get the Raptor! You'll be much happier in the end. With the trade-in/sales vault you have the price you'll finance is small. Plus you cans always sell it after a couple of years and still make some money for a different vehicle.
If you're interested one of the Texas MotorWorx owner's is selling his fully tricked out Raptor. It's a '12 or '13. Icon suspension, 37' wheels and tires, stainless works exhaust, headers and supercharger. Mid 30s mileage. And 4 doors.
Since you don't actually need a truck for what a truck is good for, I would just drive your current truck into the ground. By then who knows what you'll need. If you want or need a truck then, you'll have saved so much you can get whatever you desire.
Taco's only last a day or two in my house, so that doesn't seem like a viable plan.
Dagga Boy may need to watch the road a little more, and stop playing with revolvers while driving.