Affording a Raptor

[Soldier64]

I was all on board until you said you wanted my truck to drop 20k in price. Now ***!

With that said a couple trips to Afghanistan paid for my Raptor. I bought at 27. Mind you, I owe $0 for college (yes I have a Master's Degree. Get an education), I own two homes that I rent out, and you're not buying a Raptor to be practical. Don't even try to play that game. Get a Tacoma to be practical, and get a Raptor to enjoy the finer things in life.

Your user name lets me think that you're a young man, like most of us were, that likes fast cars and badass trucks. I drove an old beat up F-250 for 10 years before I bought the Raptor. Get the little stuff together and get some life experience.

 

[MNWILKO]

I bought mine at 18 all on my own credit. I became pretty infatuated with them when my dad bought a 11 screw brand new. I was only a freshman in HS at the time and through high school he very rarely let me drive it. It basically became a personal challenge for me to be able to buy one. I was fortunate to land an awesome job while I was in high school that allowed me the luxury of saving for one. I went and stared at the dealer at them for 2 years before I could finally pull the trigger on a used one. I did what a lot of people on here suggested and I shopped around for loans.. surprisingly Ford credit actually had the best rate on a CPO. A good down payment for me was key. As I didn't want to leave myself in a financial hole where I Couldn't go spend money aside from the payment. Good luck and if you have to wait it will be worth it.

 

[svt_reid]

You shouldn't have went to college.. That's where you messed up. Get a job with the power company or out in the oil field, or on a tug boat etc. Live with your mom for a couple more years. Bam easy as that

 

[Skyfrog]

There is a lot of great advice that has been given here, and I'd like to add one more thought. It may take 10 or more years to get your dream vehicle, and during that time your vehicle of choice, or it's features may change.

In my case, I wanted to get a Ranger for many years, but the wife talked me out of one for practicality reasons. Instead I got a Ford Explorer, which was a great car. After 8 years and 260K miles, I gave the Explorer to my older daughter. During this time, I really wanted an F150 King Ranch and came real close to buying one. I instead got a "practical" Honda Civic Hybrid. The King Ranch lost it's appeal to me soon after. I put about 260K miles on the Honda in 7 years. During this time the Raptor came out, and I was drooling over an Orange 2010 Raptor. A few years later, my youngest daughter needed a car and the 2014 Raptor models, with lots of great features, were almost all sold out. I also received an inheritance which allowed for a good down payment. So I finally got my Raptor (without the wife's permission) and the daughter now has my Honda.

My point being, that by the time you can afford an expensive vehicle, the vehicle of your dreams may not be a Ford at all or it may be a fully loaded 2020 Raptor with a V8 supercharged engine. You will know when the time is right. In the mean time, follow the financial advice to save.

 

[aR4CE]

Must balance finances and life and fun... but I can't imagine being without a vehicle I enjoy...

 

[The Macf]

@Yunk the Junk, read all of this.

 

[The DRis]

As a prospective Raptor owner, I found this page while looking for reviews on the truck to see if it is worth the money. Clicking through I came across this thread, which I think is a great thread. I just got a very decent promotion and pay raise at work. As the truck is currently not being sold, I really only have a guesstimate as to what a new one will cost when the 2017 models are released. I have taken what that monthly payment will be and doubled it, then divided by 4. Each week that amount, is auto deposited into a savings account. Come fall I hope to have a sizable down payment as well future monthly payments. When the truck is available for sale, I will look into actual prices and see if it is something that I can truly afford. If not, we wait another year and let the payments build up.

 

[O2ShootTheJ]

There's a lot of truth to what has been said in this thread. I'm in a similar situation. 24 turning 25 on Thursday (yay cheaper insurance!), Dental Student on scholarship with the USAF. I've been eyeing raptors for about a year now, sold my infiniti g37s and am driving a 2004 jeep liberty with 160k miles while I save money. My goal is to be able to finance a nice 13-14 model with around 30k miles for under $300 a month. With my credit (very good) i'll need about $10k more to hit that goal. Like many have said, by the time I hit that mark, I may not even want a raptor anymore. I certainly thought they were pretty gay back in undergrad LOL.

But there's almost as much excitement in saving money and creating passive income as there is in blowing all of it on a new ride. certainly a lot less guilt involved! Even small things. I moved my truck fund into an Ally high yield online savings account instead of letting it sit in my checking acount and gain no interest, it's getting 1% now. Just keep saving and like everyone said, your loans, a house, emergency fund, and retirement should come before the truck. It's hard to do, but I think down the road we will thank ourselves.