You have a vehicle

Plan A: conserve the miles on this vehicle. You may want to trade it in later or its the last truck you will ever buy and it essentially becomes a shrine in your driveway or garage

Plan B: drive it every chance you get because you are paying insurance (and maybe a note) and every mile you rack up is in your favor as you are maximizing the return on your investment.

Curious to hear peoples thoughts. I know lots of peoples trucks here are their livelihood so if the truck is sitting or empty they aren't making money...

 

Plan B! Vehicles are meant to be driven, IMO. Rack up the miles I say! It's a testament to it's build quality! Also, vehicles are horrible investments in general...how much do you lose now just by driving it off the lot? Well, unless it's a collector car, but even then, there's no guarantee.

I have a 2003 Mustang GT that I bought new. It was my daily driver (and my only vehicle) for 11 years. I never batted an eye at driving it...it's got over 172,000 miles on it now and still runs like new. Biggest items that have been replaced are the intake manifold, the clutch (at 160K), the water pump, and the radiator. It has had it's share of collisions unfortunately...and as such, two more rear ends have needed to go in it. But "that's it."

The first Explorer I had was a 2003...I bought it used in late '14 and it had 320K on it when I bought it for $1000. Needed another $2500 to pass inspection but nothing was a deal breaker...mostly suspension and exhaust stuff. I put another 14,000 miles on it before a deer killed it. Then I picked up my second '03 Explorer for $2500...has half the mileage of the first one and still runs strong. Again, I have no problem putting mileage on these things.

"Built Ford Tough"...right??

 

plan a is a complete waste.you take a beating trading in a vehicle.

plan b for sure,however there is no return on investment because vehicles are not investments,they are liabilities.there are exceptions but these are are not daily drivers.they're collector cars.not what's being spoken of here.
if it's a tool to make $ with,then it's an expense like any other tool and still not an investment.

to keep on your point though,plan a is ok so long as your retired and or wealthy and set for life (just don't forget about your children,your church and reputable charities.)



In an economic sense, an investment is the purchase of goods that are not consumed today but are used in the future to create wealth. In finance, an investment is a monetary asset purchased with the idea that the asset will provide income in the future or appreciate and be sold at a higher price.

 

Depends on a persons situation I reckon. My car doesn't come out of the garage often. I have a work van supplied to me and that is what gets the majority of my seat time. I've had my car 22 months now and I've only put roughly 10,000 miles in that time.

 

A garage is almost essential, keeps the sun off it, the rain, snow, bird droppings, helps keep critters from setting up shop inside the engine, wasps, the list is endless.

But a vehicle that sets a long time, is not good for it. Fuel goes bad and turns to varnish. Brake components start to stick, rubber parts like tires and belts take a set. Best to use them, get the motor up to normal operating temperature now and then, put everything through the paces.

 

I'm a big fan of driving. If I own it and it runs, it's getting driven. My miles are split between three trucks right now and I've still managed to put 4k miles on my 2000 f250 in the last three months (it's got 480k miles on it anyway.)
I used to average 20,000 miles a year on my daily driver plus whatever beater truck I owned at the moment. I'm not sure if it's more or less now that I only work 2-3 days a week, because I'm always going somewhere on my days off.

I just don't see the point of owning something I'm not gonna use.

 

Plan A is like having a hot girlfriend, but not having sex with her so she's fresher for the next guy. Any more questions?

 

lmao! nice analogy.

 

Bikes never see salt and usually don't get ridden if it's under 60*. Car never sees salt and only comes out of the garage in the winter when the truck won't do or it needs to be started. The truck sits most of the summer unless you have to haul something because the car and bikes are in season.

So...both?

 

When I buy a vehicle, it's always new so I'm looking for at least a solid 10-12 years of service. I average 12K-14K per year. So, I guess I'm the in between guy.

 

No matter which plan you choose, except in the rarest occasions, they're a losing "investment". It's just a matter of how rapidly you reduce the value of your vehicle. For example, drive it off the lot, Bam! Devalued it by $5000 It's a losing proposition nearly every time. Calling it an investment is a marketing gimmick that relies on the consumer not knowing what an investment actually is.

Unless the vehicle is a tool by which you make money calling it an investment is misleading at best.