Am I crazy for debating trading my gladiator for a TRX?

[dcmdon]

AND…. One more thing, if you can afford a TRX (I am assuming you aren’t financing that thing) why would you be concerned about gas mileage. If you have the money you have it. Gas mileage is not a concern. My JT is getting 14-16 mpg, my Mustang GT manual should get 25 MPG… 450 HP and over 500 ft/lbs of torque with a 6 speed manual? Too much fun to push the skinny pedal… 17.5 mpg

I can afford to pay cash for both. But it makes no sense to pay cash with today's interest rates. Invested money is making far far more than the roughly 3% that is charged on a car loan.

You are better off financing as much as you can and leaving as much cash as possible invested.

For the most part vehicles get fuel economy based on how much power it takes to push them down the road.

That's why a JT with a 190 hp engine gets the same economy as a JT with a 280 hp pentastar. There are exceptions though. As you add cylinders there is more internal friction that reduces fuel economy. The parasitic drag of a supercharger greatly impacts fuel economy.

This all is why a Corvette with 500 hp gets 30 mpg on the highway when driven reasonably. That powerful engine is only being asked to make 30 hp when cruising at 65 mph. So it sips fuel accordingly.

I love fast cars. If the Gladiator was offered with a beast of an engine, I'd pay extra for it. If it got 10 mpg, I'd hesitate. If it got decent economy, I'd definitely go for it. But full sized trucks like the TRX and Raptor are just too big for my tastes.

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[XJADDICTION]

I can afford to pay cash for both. But it makes no sense to pay cash with today's interest rates. Invested money is making far far more than the roughly 3% that is charged on a car loan.

You are better off financing as much as you can and leaving as much cash as possible invested.

For the most part vehicles get fuel economy based on how much power it takes to push them down the road.

That's why a JT with a 190 hp engine gets the same economy as a JT with a 280 hp pentastar. There are exceptions though. As you add cylinders there is more internal friction that reduces fuel economy. The parasitic drag of a supercharger greatly impacts fuel economy.

This all is why a Corvette with 500 hp gets 30 mpg on the highway when driven reasonably. That powerful engine is only being asked to make 30 hp when cruising at 65 mph. So it sips fuel accordingly.

I love fast cars. If the Gladiator was offered with a beast of an engine, I'd pay extra for it. If it got 10 mpg, I'd hesitate. If it got decent economy, I'd definitely go for it. But full sized trucks like the TRX and Raptor are just too big for my tastes.

gee, thanks for the interest lesson, all free right here on the internet. Glad you aren’t my investment advisor, paying interest on a depreciating asset that’s dumb IMOP

oh and thanks for the power lesson, I’ve learned so much.

point is, if you can afford to buy vehicles like these you really shouldn’t care about MPG … IMOP of course.

 

[PunknJLBlackJT]

Mpgs wasn’t a concern but I think the deal breaker is that it won’t fit in my garage and the gladiator will. Hard to leave a car like that outside year round that’s hardly driven.

 

[dcmdon]

gee, thanks for the interest lesson, all free right here on the internet. Glad you aren’t my investment advisor, paying interest on a depreciating asset that’s dumb IMOP

oh and thanks for the power lesson, I’ve learned so much.

point is, if you can afford to buy vehicles like these you really shouldn’t care about MPG … IMOP of course.

You are very welcome. I'm glad I could assist you in advancing your interests in life.

The reality is that there are people who might benefit from this knowledge.

Isn't that what this whole freaking forum is for? I don't know about you, but I read a combination of things I already know and also things I don't know. So oh well.

One other thing. Through the magic of 8 year financing, an $80k truck can be afforded by people who shouldn't afford it. The guy who is renting with a decent income and should go buy a house or max out his401k contributions instead.

This lesson is free also. You are very welcome.

 

[QuickOne]

I traded my first ‘21 gladiator in on a TRX. Amazing truck, but it was huge and ultimately wasn’t as capable as I needed it to be. Too big for the trails around here, and the 700hp quickly wears off. The interior was absolutely gorgeous though. Ended up trading it for a arm 2500 to pull my car trailer.

4 months later I bought another Gladiator diesel as it’s the most unique and capable vehicle in my view.

 

[Clv22p]

392 Gladiator would be the ultimate truck. It would be more expensive than the TRX somehow.

I don’t understand the pricing on the hellcat vehicles.

TRX - truck with all the extra beefed up suspension and drivetrain, super nice interior- $72,390

Jeep Trackhawk- same drivetrain as TRX without any of the suspicion $90,000

392 Wrangler -$74,640

 

[PunknJLBlackJT]

392 Gladiator would be the ultimate truck. It would be more expensive than the TRX somehow.

I don’t understand the pricing on the hellcat vehicles.

TRX - truck with all the extra beefed up suspension and drivetrain, super nice interior- $72,390

Jeep Trackhawk- same drivetrain as TRX without any of the suspicion $90,000

392 Wrangler -$74,640

I agree the pricing structure is weird. I think they put a premium on the Jeep name over Ram.

 

[pbrevo64]

Are you crazy for considering it? Absolutely not! The JT is great, and I love mine, but the TRX is awesome, in its own sense. I would say if it makes more sense for your family and lifestyle, and you are in a financial position to trade up to one, do it! I see a lot of TRX's on the road near me, and they are pretty awesome trucks.

 

[XJADDICTION]

You are very welcome. I'm glad I could assist you in advancing your interests in life.

The reality is that there are people who might benefit from this knowledge.

Isn't that what this whole freaking forum is for? I don't know about you, but I read a combination of things I already know and also things I don't know. So oh well.

One other thing. Through the magic of 8 year financing, an $80k truck can be afforded by people who shouldn't afford it. The guy who is renting with a decent income and should go buy a house or max out his401k contributions instead.

This lesson is free also. You are very welcome.

Ok, So sarcasm obviously isn’t something you pick up on. Your information is misleading. Owning a vehicle outright is always better than financing a depreciating asset(a car is a depreciating asset in most cases. Collectors cars.. think Barret auto Auction…. Might be an investment ??? Not for me, too many other options that are less risk to invest in). Sure, there may be some depreciating assets out there that are worthy of financing but… unless the interest is at 0% on a financed car (BUT… even a new car purchase at a dealer at 0%, will still hit you in the wallet with other fees that you wouldn’t t have on a lightly used vehicle from private owner that has already had dealer lot drive off depreciation taken away) then you are spending money on depreciation, interest and fees that you could invest elsewhere. Free money (dealers and their banks still aren’t really giving you free money at close inspection).

so as mentioned even at 3% interest with compound interest and fees you are loosing money on that depreciating asset. Vehicles that are more expensive have higher insurance rates, usually higher maintenance costs etc. if you have the money and it doesn’t t matter to you as it’s something you enjoy then by all means buy it. If it is a financed want and you can’t afford buy a cheaper car with cash or pay off that JT you already have and put money somewhere else that appreciates in value.

Gas mileage does not matter to those that buy a vehicle and can afford it. That is the point i

 

[FloridaMan655321]

As someone who loves vehicles, I would never say someone is crazy for buying something awesome like a TRX. I personally won't but that is because I am crazy and try and limit myself to 50k for my vehicle purchases.

 

[DAVECS1]

TRX is a absolutely a cool truck, if you can make it work do it.

If you like the jeep form factor there are a bunch of options to make it scoot!

 

[dcmdon]

Ok, So sarcasm obviously isn’t something you pick up on. Your information is misleading. Owning a vehicle outright is always better than financing a depreciating asset(a car is a depreciating asset in most cases. Collectors cars.. think Barret auto Auction…. Might be an investment ??? Not for me, too many other options that are less risk to invest in). Sure, there may be some depreciating assets out there that are worthy of financing but… unless the interest is at 0% on a financed car (BUT… even a new car purchase at a dealer at 0%, will still hit you in the wallet with other fees that you wouldn’t t have on a lightly used vehicle from private owner that has already had dealer lot drive off depreciation taken away) then you are spending money on depreciation, interest and fees that you could invest elsewhere. Free money (dealers and their banks still aren’t really giving you free money at close inspection).

so as mentioned even at 3% interest with compound interest and fees you are loosing money on that depreciating asset. Vehicles that are more expensive have higher insurance rates, usually higher maintenance costs etc. if you have the money and it doesn’t t matter to you as it’s something you enjoy then by all means buy it. If it is a financed want and you can’t afford buy a cheaper car with cash or pay off that JT you already have and put money somewhere else that appreciates in value.

Gas mileage does not matter to those that buy a vehicle and can afford it. That is the point i

Owning ANY depreciating asset is a bad idea.

But whatever that asset is, if your money is earning more than the finance company is charging, then you are better off financing. If you can't grasp that very basic financial concept, then I cant' help you.

I really don't have time to run amortization tables. But suffice to say that if your money is earning more than it is costing, then you should finance. You do have to look at the earnings NET of taxes. But that's just part of the analysis.


If you want to be smart, go buy a classic Vette or something else that catches your eye. It doesn't depreciate. So its actually a smart choice for a toy.

 

[Klutch]

Well, since you asked...

- No doubt about it. The TRX is a way cool and completely badass truck that almost any real dude would love to own and drive

- To me, the TRX is a like a super car in truck form. Not really practical, but a lot of fun

- As mentioned, the sticker price, cost for fuel and cost for insurance is going to be stratospheric

- Like a super car, if you have to ask how much it costs, it's not for you

- Thus, if you would have to trade in your JT to afford a TRX, it's probably not the truck the for you

- If you have the coin to simply show at the dealer with a signed, blank check and say, "I want that one", by all means, go for it

But that's just my take.

 

[GoFastGoFish]

Nah .. I ordered mine Saturday Billet Silver, Level 2 , Pano, let's goooo!!

For the record. Current market levels of TRX trade-in / auction .. are still crazy high.. not sure how that maintains next year or so.. if it levels out or not. I think the original market value was heavily skewed due to "Launch Edition" but people didn't care. Dealerships were buying the vehicle themselves and then taking right to auction to make a quick buck.. (scummy scummy)

So for now there is no depreciation.

Also I traded in my 2019 Ram Limited DT .. and made 10k off it.. the market for Ram right now is bonkers ... So is Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator..

Also I should add I am on the East Coast.. The west coast is much crazier number wise.. and they are still "Market Adjusting" the prices..

 

[bleda2002]

Owning ANY depreciating asset is a bad idea.

But whatever that asset is, if your money is earning more than the finance company is charging, then you are better off financing. If you can't grasp that very basic financial concept, then I cant' help you.

I really don't have time to run amortization tables. But suffice to say that if your money is earning more than it is costing, then you should finance. You do have to look at the earnings NET of taxes. But that's just part of the analysis.


If you want to be smart, go buy a classic Vette or something else that catches your eye. It doesn't depreciate. So its actually a smart choice for a toy.

This guy gets it, if the bank loans me 45k and I pay them 2% on it but make 8% on it I'm going to pay less than the guy who buys it cash and then has to rebuild the 45k for investments. Not to mention dealers usually give better prices for financed versus cash transactions, with the way the current market and interest rate it's just a bad choice to go all cash right now if you have good credit.

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