But it's a FORD..........I am sure that you can buy less expensive. I have many vehicles....(am not allowed to say how many) my brother was looking for a new Denali last summer. So we tagged along to the dealer. They were all over 60K, a fancy one well over 70K. My son's new gas suburban was right there and a replacement from a GMC 3500 crew cab 4X4 Duramax dually flatbed was 70K. The bed alone is close to 6K installed. My primary truck has 280K on it.........if the engine ever gets weak it is going to the dealer for a new one and another Allison, total bill under 15K. Your truck looks nice It is even in my color preference. Don't advertise how cheep your licence is here in Idaho.......more people will want to come here.
I hel helped my buddy buy a 1966 Ferrari 330 GT about 8 years ago, it had been in a secure garage behind a condo in Pomona for 30 years. He swallowed hard and paid 12,000 for it. The deceased owners wife had bent the rear bumper and sheet metal just before it was parked by backing into a truck. It came with an uninstalled (magnificent) new interior and needed refinished. I told him if he didn't buy it I would (even though I am a Maserati guy) my buddy has been working on the car at a slow bell, but his insurance man valued it at 360,000 last summer as is. There are always winners and losers in any market. Guns have been soft overall but also very volatile in the last 10 years. My factory Colt Ar's were selling (or asking price) close to 3,000 at one point. I think the market is strong for high quality guns. (A common Blaser rifle is over 7,000$) and the Ar market is so saturated they are selling decent guns for 600.00. There are lots of cheep guns on the market......because they are cheep guns.....things like plastic stocks and painted on finishes. There are still more new 30-50,000 dollar guns on the market than ever. The collector gun market is on fire......so there always be winners and losers no matter what the overall market is doing. You pay your money and take your chances.......as always.
And you sleep much better at night. The interest alone that you have saved compared to the average American would fund a retirement program. I have always been (and remain) a cash guy. In the long run, it is the only method that makes sense.
Taxes have dictated behavior for hundreds (thousands?) of years. The reason there are so many antique armoires come from Europe is because if people built closets into there houses, they were taxed on it as an additional room. Many many of our tastes and opinions are dictated by tax law. My brother had the same experiance as yours. He has always kept a couple of shop cars to loan his customers when he is working on there car. He would have a well maintained clean older vehicle. His accountant showed him if he would upgrade to a newer vehicle (under 5 years old?) he would save thousands of dollars a year in tax brakes. Tax writers know this and use the code to direct and control society. When they eliminated the consumer interest deduction, the secondary mortgage market went nuts because people would take loans on there house (with deductible intrest) and pay cash for a car that the interest could not be deducted from. Joseph and Mary were traveling to pay taxes when Jesus was born. The reason they had to stay in the manger wasn't that they were poor, all the rooms were rented by other people that had traveled to Jerusalem to also pay taxes to the Romans. That is a good example why when traveling, get a room early while you still can...................
I think that is a macro/micro argument. The individual is better off and more stable without debt, the society thrives on profit from debt. In business school we are taught when hiring (particularly commission paid posisition) we are best served by a person that has a lot of responsibility and debt. They are less likely to leave a job and very motivated by money. I don't want to be that guy...........
Yes. The depreciation schedules are different. There was a time not long ago when many people were buying new Hummers because they were over the 6,000 GVW threshold imposed by the tax code for special consideration. So, someone like an accountant that needed a company car would buy a Hummer to take advantage of a tax benefit designed for a small busisness needing a truck. Depreciation schedules are constantly being adjusted (by the government) in an attempt to stimulate the economy by selling new equipment. yes, you are correct, to take full advantage of many tax benifits, you have to be in a higher bracket or own a business. A tax break for the 49% that pay no taxes is of no benefit to them.
