THE TRUCK!

not many people buying $80,000. trucks to 'break even'. or even $40,000. prius, just the deluded ones.

 

Being bullet proof is a nice feature ... I guess ... but will a standard 8' sheet of plywood fit in the bed?

 

tesla-cybertruck-review-a4750335741

 

I could put several sheets of plywood in my 2002 Honda Odyssey and close the trunk (did this several times while building my cottage, plywood, drywall, etc). Even a 10 foot ladder did fit and closed the trunk. Longest item I've put there is a 12 foot gutter and closed the trunk (did reach over the dash, but it did fit). Nothing got wet. Trucks are over rated. Vans are more useful IMHO.

 

Only if you fold down the gate. My understanding is 4' x 6'.

Bob Wilson

 

Break even? When you are buying a depreciating asset? Never. How would you break even if you buy a Harley, or a Cessna, or a Cadillac. Ain't going to happen. Perhaps we are talking about different things. If you mean fuel costs, the lighter the vehicle the less each will use. The heavier the vehicle? The way more fuel it will use. So if you are charging a cyber truck that has been fully amortized just using electricity from your house,
.... it depends how many miles you would drive in each. It wouldn't be very long though - Apples to Apples, for instance comparing against a diesel F-250 pickup truck refueling on $7 California diesel - versus $3.99 somewhere in the southeast.

 

Take in the initial cost, the fuel cost, the depreciation, the insurance, maintenance, consumables (tires, wiper blades, etc). Now how long before a The Truck is a better financial decision than a hybrid Maverick?

Of course when buying a vehicle of any type, you balance wants and needs and intended use. There are always trade-offs. AT $39k you might make one decision, at double that, not so much. And as for the $120k version ... I could but I won't. I don't invest in cars, I use them. Which is why total cost is important.

I'm waiting for the price on that rear wiper blade.

 

better financial decision? are we talking about transportation vehicles or investment vehicles?

 

What I noticed is that early models of any technology are terribly expensive but this soon moderates as 'copy cats' make less expensive knock-offs. It happened with IBM mainframes, later VAX/VMS, down to PCs/Macintosh.

My habit has been to buy used or discontinued products when the latest 'hotness' comes out.

Bob Wilson

 

I wonder if it will become the new soccer mom mini van

 

High trim quadcab trucks are already minivans for people who care what the neighbors think, so why not?

 

Having retired in winter snow country - we get a fair share of slushy / snowy / ice covered winters. The picture below represents how ubiquitous corrosion becomes when they're using Rock salt, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, sand, gravel on roads to prevent folks from ending up in a ditch or worse.



Maybe some folks are either too poor or less hypervigilant. We pay a monthly fee during the winter - just so we can use affordably the local automatic car wash that gets this stuff off of the steel/oainted body - as well as the undercarriage. Sometimes we'll end up going three times a week turning on how the storm fronts hit the area. It dawned on me the cool thing about a stainless body is your car won't end up looking like the above. Between that & a nice thick layer of undercoating on the belly of the truck -owners should be good to go.

 

Based on Sandy Munro videos:

• 2014 BMW i3-REx - bought without ever being in one. User forums told me how to get it coded so flew to Charlotte NC to pick it up. Two blocks from seller, stop, coded, and drove home. LOVED IT.
• 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus - again, bought with not even kicking the tires. Drove it home with wife and still LOVE IT. BTW, FSD download two days ago and much improved.

Bob Wilson