RHO for Tim

Its interesting to hear how folks buy their vehicles, i.e. when or if they negotiate the price. Do they line up their own financing or just let the dealer do it. Heck, how far away do most folks look for a vehicle. Buy vs. Lease, I'm not a leaser but I'm sure for some it works just fine.

Then you have insurance...Dang! I always call my insurance guy with the VIN number that I am looking at buying to get a price of what insurance will cost. I was eyeballing another new 2024 Jeep 392, spec'd perfect (for the wife), but its the stupid insurance that makes me think twice...Geesh! I guess it doesn't help when we already have plenty of vehicles and I don't want to get rid of any of them. Don't think hoarder, think "Car Collector"...sounds much better. LOL! I heard once that Jay Leno has like 209 cars. Can you imagine his insurance payment each month...WOW!
 
I let them find the financing. I never bother with it to be honest because of how short of a timeframe I plan on keeping the vehicle. I'm not sure I'm well versed enough to do a video on auto loans. I AM well versed in monthly car loan payments. LOL
It use to make sense to find financing before but the last four vehicles, 2021, 2022, mid 2024 and again just last week the dealer was able to secure a better rate than what we/they walked in with. I've always been curious, I guess not enough to dive into it, how the dealers make money on the financing. I was thinking an interview with a dealer that would answer some honest questions about how to get the best deal now vs. in years past. Free advertising for them and helps out your viewers.

Some decent questions
1) Why does a trade in of any sort help the buyer and the dealer
2) How are they able to obtain better financing and how does letting them provide it help the buyer
3) Why is a large chunk of cash down not as beneficial as it use to be (Not a fact, just an opinion/question of mine)
4) Is buying at the end of the month, qtr.. year as beneficial as it seems to be. (assuming this is for salesperson/dealer quota purposes)
5) How to maximize incentive
6) Maybe specifically for Mark Dodge or places like it, are they making money on the truck when they give 12k off the MSRP... is there that much money in a new vehicle now? (This has me thinking of grocery stores that inflated prices curing COVID and then seem to all be working together to keep them high as prices should have come down naturaklly)
 
Its interesting to hear how folks buy their vehicles, i.e. when or if they negotiate the price. Do they line up their own financing or just let the dealer do it. Heck, how far away do most folks look for a vehicle. Buy vs. Lease, I'm not a leaser but I'm sure for some it works just fine.

Then you have insurance...Dang! I always call my insurance guy with the VIN number that I am looking at buying to get a price of what insurance will cost. I was eyeballing another new 2024 Jeep 392, spec'd perfect (for the wife), but its the stupid insurance that makes me think twice...Geesh! I guess it doesn't help when we already have plenty of vehicles and I don't want to get rid of any of them. Don't think hoarder, think "Car Collector"...sounds much better. LOL! I heard once that Jay Leno has like 209 cars. Can you imagine his insurance payment each month...WOW!
I would asume most of his are registered as collectors, or "horse and buggy" which drastically reduces insurance rate. I was just talking with my FIL about this as he owns a few old classics. However, Jay may be wealthy enough to not even need insurance.
 
I would asume most of his are registered as collectors, or "horse and buggy" which drastically reduces insurance rate. I was just talking with my FIL about this as he owns a few old classics. However, Jay may be wealthy enough to not even need insurance.
Good point, since they probably don't get driven he might have a reduced price or just not get insurance. Not sure how it works for Jay, but where I live we have to show proof of insurance just to tag, title and license the vehicle. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Good point, since they probably don't get driven he might have a reduced price or just not get insurance. Not sure how it works for Jay, but where I live we have to show proof of insurance just to tag, title and license the vehicle. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's not true in Wa St. unless your financing or leasing. If you outright own the vehicle you can register and license it without any proof of insurance.
 
Good point, since they probably don't get driven he might have a reduced price or just not get insurance. Not sure how it works for Jay, but where I live we have to show proof of insurance just to tag, title and license the vehicle. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm sure Leno uses historical plates/registration. Many states offer those with no expiration or renewal required. My state is like that with no max mileage but a max use of "one day a week". Or maybe has dealer plates?
 
I'm sure Leno uses historical plates/registration. Many states offer those with no expiration or renewal required. My state is like that with no max mileage but a max use of "one day a week". Or maybe has dealer plates?
Yeah, I have Historical Plates on my 1988 Chevy S-10. It only cost me like $75 and its non-expiring. Such a nice option. I still have it insured of course. We have both a Vintage or Historical plate option. Here is the limitations on my Historical plate which only needs one plate on the rear of the vehicle.

A vehicle licensed with Historical license plates may only be used for test drives, parades and hobby-related activities.
Vehicles registered with Historical license plates may not be used for normal transportation to and from work, driven on a daily basis, or used for hire.
Applicants applying for Historical plates must own one or more additional vehicles that are currently registered.
If the vehicle used for regular transportation is titled in the name of a company, proof that the applicant is owner of that company will be required.
Trucks with Historical plates may not be used for commercial business or transport a load in excess of 1,000 pounds.
2024 Wash 2.jpg2024 Wash 1.jpg
 
Nice truck!
Ours is kinda weird. PA is $96, non-expiring. It can be Classic (15yrs old), Antique (25yrs), and Vintage (1906-1976). The difference is that the Classic is still required to get the annual state safety inspection, and the Vintage plate has the specific date embossed in. So, theoretically, I could put Classic plates on my 2011 Ram next year. I'd just be restricted to driving it one day a week, not that it would be easy to enforce that. My current annual registration fee is $110.
 
I put a real plate on my '62 Swede. Only reason was due to the driving limitations for the classic plates regulated to just car shows and parades. I doubt the cops around me would mind, but Swede is a work truck, not a car show queen.
 
What did you end up buying?
In 2021 I bought my truck the GMC AT4

In 2022 we bought my wife's Expedition

Mid 2024 my dad's GMC 2500

And last week my sister and brother-in-law bought pretty much the exact replica of my 2021 but in white and short bed. He's a mechanic at a performance diesel shop that also does some gas and some basic repairs and a fan of buying low miles used and they found one with 25,000 mi on it.
 
I swear the universe is conspiring against me. This morning, I made the long drive to Denver in a GMC Hummer EV SUV driving through the remnants of a winter storm. Snow covered roads, ice, limited visibility, etc... I had to stop to charge since the 285 mile range turned out to be like 110 miles.

About 20 minutes from the airport I get a text saying my flight to Houston is delayed 3 hours. The connection is to Lake Charles and it is only an hour layover. Looks like that's out of the question and a $140 hotel room down the drain. I hit up the United Club, watch football and do some work. Then, I get a text that the Lake Charles flight is delayed by several hours. And then another text saying it is back on schedule. And then another text saying my Houston flight was delayed until 10 pm. Then another text saying it is on time but leaves on January 6. WTF. I go up to the customer service counter and confirm my flight is actually for tonight and is at 6 pm. I'm now sitting at the gate crossing my fingers.

They gave me a hotel coupon/discount code since the delay didn't qualify for a free room. Fine. Don't care. Just get me to Houston.

Click on voucher and find a Holiday Inn for like $90 bucks. Click approve and it says, "room is now longer available." Huh? Go through the process again and I have a room.

Fortunately, I've been through this before and quickly grabbed my personal care bag from a checked bag I brought. I had to bring that bag due to being on the road for 5 days and needing a bunch of stuff. However, I swapped out my cameras for my personal care bag. This matters since...

I'm now on standby for the Lake Charles flight and I have a seat on the 10:45 am flight to Lake Charles. I'm not sure where/when I'll get my checked bag back and I'm not sure where I'm sleeping tonight. I have two hotel rooms with zero cancellation policies. Houston is getting some weather and I was concerned about not finding a room with many people in the same situation as me.

All I want is to get in my truck and drive to Dallas for XPEL to do their work. I have four nights booked at a Dallas hotel. Probably not refundable. SMDH.
 
In 2021 I bought my truck the GMC AT4

In 2022 we bought my wife's Expedition

Mid 2024 my dad's GMC 2500

And last week my sister and brother-in-law bought pretty much the exact replica of my 2021 but in white and short bed. He's a mechanic at a performance diesel shop that also does some gas and some basic repairs and a fan of buying low miles used and they found one with 25,000 mi on it.
Nice lineup!
 
Stayed over in Houston. Got to the room at 1 am. Hotel was nuts and the Uber was $50 to go 2 miles. The Uber pickup area must have had 200 people waiting.

Back at the airport and I confirmed I have a seat on the Lake Charles flight. Cool. Except for... my bag got rescanned at 3:06 am and sent back to Denver. It should have been put on the connecting flight. I grabbed my personal care kit, so no big deal there. However, I swapped my personal care with my cameras and a drone I brought. Oh and a winter coat.

I'm told I have to file a claim when I get to Lake Charles for my luggage. Since I'm only staying Lake Charles no more than I have to before I drive to Dallas tonight, I have no idea what that means. In a perfect world, they ship the luggage to my Dallas hotel. Perfect world.
 
Well this is going to be something. I dropped the truck off at XPEL this morning. They are sponsoring a ceramic coating and paint protection film for the truck. Cool! Except it takes 3 days and won’t be done until Thursday afternoon. I’m booked at my home away from home for 4 nights. Stopped at Buc-ees for food and drinks to bide my time. I’ve never been in a hotel room this long. Plus, it’s cold as hell in Dallas for the next few days with a winter weather advisory starting Wednesday through Friday morning. Going to try to not go stir crazy.
















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