Time to Let Her Go?

Let me start off by saying that this is definitely my dream truck and I know that I will regret it in the future, but at this time I think I need to make the responsible decision. This is where I stand, during the past 2 and half months the truck has gone in twice into the dealership for repairs and later today it will be dropped off again due to another problem arising(Total Dealership repairs since acquiring: one driveshaft, one new shock, new diff gears, 4x4 repairs and now this, unknown for now) . It is a 2011 screw with 87,*** miles and with warranty soon to expire and still 3yrs worth of payments ahead I believe it is time to let her go as the dealership has offered me $5K above what I owe. I feel that problems are only to be more constant since she does not get babied but is used as it was intended, with that being said I find myself chasing squeaks more frequently and quite scared to be left without warranty having to pay out of pocket for repairs as well as keeping up with my hefty monthly payment. To top it all off I'm 27yrs old and not getting younger, I need to start looking into buying a home as well. Living in an apartment is getting old! Any feedback from anybody in a similar situation would be great. Thanks.

Here she is in all her Glory:

1. You can come out with some equity.
2. Unless you don't like your job/area, paying rent sucks(imo). The rent market around me is retarded high now.
3. If the payment is too high, then get out now.
4. Got to pay to play. You use the truck how it was intended, breaking shit is part of the game. Learned that lesson with my Lightning(aka money pit).
5. IMO once you start worrying about breaking stuff, and money is somewhat of an issue, you lose the fun of owning said vehicle. Happened to me with my Lightning years ago. What's the point of having a forged shortblock and a 2.6 KB when I'm too afraid of tracking it because something else may break?

I'd say you've already made the decision without even realizing it. Take the dealers offer and build off that equity. You can always pick up another raptor in the future if you so desire. A truck is a truck and not irreplaceable. She's a good looking ride, i'm sure you'll miss her but sometimes you're better off without worrying about covering the next part to break.

$5k more than what you owe can be very different than what it might really be worth. Never look at it that way but the real value instead. If you are very concerned with coming up with money to fix things, stop taking it offroad. I mean if you sell it and get something else, you probably ain't going to drive it like a raptor so why not keep it and drive it like the replacement you might get. Problem is, you know its a raptor so it makes it difficult when you see some dirt. Yeah better get something else, geez talked myself out of it and it ain't even mine. LOL

This sounds way to adult for me!! Seriously it sounds like you are making a rational decision. RDFTS makes a good point about driving it less aggressively but that is hard to do. My 2011 just tuned 90,000 and I admit it only sees a medium amount of rough off road so it is in great shape but it needs maintenance that can be pricey. If your budget is tight and you want a home then maybe sell it but what will you replace it with to truly save money?

You're faced with a tough decision and as was mentioned you seem to already be leaning in the direction of letting it go.
You're finances will probably dictate what you need to do, but I'll echo the question on what you plan to replace it with that will save you money. A new car or truck, is just more money in the long run (though with a new warranty). Would keeping it and spending less time off road be an option? Can you refinance it for a lower rate/payment?
I sold my 2010 about 15 months ago. I managed to put over 50000 miles on it and sold it for $2000 less than what I bought it for. Seemed like a good deal and I wanted to move into something for the trails more prevalent here on the east coast. I picked up a Rubicon and 13 months later couldn't stand not having the Raptor. Now I'm back in another Raptor and couldn't be happier. I'm already making plans to get back down to TX to visit family (and get the latest Raptor dirty).

There's always going to be another truck. Sell it, get finances in order, buy a house, and then go get yourself another one when the time is right.

Coming from a fellow engineer, it's hard to rationalize keeping the truck. I think about selling Night Raptor for similar reasons. But in the end, I'd be quite unhappy without it. My truck will be paid off at the end of the year, I got 110k miles and warranty up at 125k.

If you can sell it for what it is worth, then it might be a smart move. Especially if you already have a house lined up. But will your replacement vehicle save you money?

You buy a house, you'll want a truck for moving, for hauling supplies and tools for fixing, repairing and improving your homestead.

Have you thought about de-modding your truck, keep out on the road more? To help keep future repair cost down?

@Yukon Joe
Drive your raptor here!!!!
www.runraptorrun.com
( * Y * )

The key piece of information for me is that you still have 3 years of payments. That's not a great situation for the year and mileage of your truck. You currently have an opportunity to get out of that situation with money in your pocket. You might not have that opportunity a year or 2 from now.

Yukon Joe said:

Coming from a fellow engineer, it's hard to rationalize keeping the truck. I think about selling Night Raptor for similar reasons. But in the end, I'd be quite unhappy without it. My truck will be paid off at the end of the year, I got 110k miles and warranty up at 125k.

If you can sell it for what it is worth, then it might be a smart move. Especially if you already have a house lined up. But will your replacement vehicle save you money?

You buy a house, you'll want a truck for moving, for hauling supplies and tools for fixing, repairing and improving your homestead.

Have you thought about de-modding your truck, keep out on the road more? To help keep future repair cost down?

@Yukon Joe
Drive your raptor here!!!!
Great Lakes Raptor Excursions (GLRE) | Run Raptor Run
( * Y * )

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Guess we have quite a few engineers on here?

I admit I thought sbout getting rid of the truck time to time, but like you, I would miss it too much. Plus, I think the wife would kill me.

Like you and others have said, maybe not using it as an offroad toy as much may help. But if you're looking to get into a house, and the truck payment is high, it may affect your debt to income.
And yea, the truck is real handy when it comes to owning a house.