GEN 2 Life and job change, do I keep the Raptor?

[sixshooter_45]

You purchased it in the first place because you really wanted it and now that you'll be making more money it would be an easy decision for me but that's yours to make.

Weigh all your options carefully so you don't regret making the wrong one, hell you can always sell it.

And if you don't use it as much it will only retain a higher value when you do sell it, I'd keep it.

 

[FML]

You will do well with the upgrades and still be able to make a profit on the sale.

Sell it and re-evaluate the options.

Btw, have you taken the raptor to the "Cinders" in Flagstaff? I have been there on an ATV, but I do not recall if it would be suitable for the Raptor.

 

[TXRaptor]

Keep it. There is not a better 1/2 ton truck you can own.

 

[Kuan]

Sell it right now. You will have max value for the next month or so. After that, you will be fighting the latest raptor, next model rumors plus the TRX will start to show up in driveways.

 

[Rollofire]

Keep the Raptor, my condolences to you for the Maine move!

 

[isis]

Sell that stupid ass SUV first...And ew MA. My opinion is take the new place, keep raptor as you'll need it. Just keep miles low on it as you have a company truck now.

AZ to MA is a BIG difference in cost of living, so prepare your wallet... and east coast northern folks are rude as ****, so prepare for that also. Yeah, I said it...

They’re not called Massholes for nothing. Aggressive, pretentious ******. Keep the Raptor, you’ll get more elbow room on the highways.

 

[greatone99]

ma pays more because the cost of living is way more , an average house here is 500000, a nice house is 750000 and on .I live here and own a raptor .but im looking to move north I hate ma .

 

[NASSTY]

Keep it.

 

[Mister Pinky]

So, I’ve had my Raptor for a month and have put 700 miles on it, added a Diamondback HD cover, added PPF on the front end, ceramic coated, added E&G console safe, and bought the tire warranties from Discount for the stock tires. I don’t even have plates on the Raptor yet since buying it out of state. The truck is getting dialed in, but I haven’t started daily driving it yet as I still have my sedan and the wife still has her SUV (currently for sale).

Today I got a call about a job out of state that has been in the works for a year, awesome career opportunity in a great industry with room for growth, 50% more salary, comes with a company truck and gas card. I’m 99% sure I’m accepting the position and moving from AZ to MA in the next 6 weeks. My current job I’ve been at for 14 years is solid and predictable, but I’ve hit a ceiling on both salary and position, at 44 I’m not done growing.

I bought the Raptor because in AZ there are plenty of opportunities to use it properly, almost limitless places to offroad, explore, and camp within a day’s drive. With them giving me a company truck (probably a 3/4 ton 4x4 crew cab short bed) I’m not sure how much use the Raptor will see. I will be living at my family’s house on Cape Cod initially, so there is beach to drive on, but I’ll also have access to a boat full time and a Ford Expedition with a beach sticker. I’m not sure what the excursion opportunities are in MA/NH/VT area and if the Raptor makes sense or if I should sell it while it’s still basically as close to new as a used truck can be. If I move with the Raptor it will see a quick 5-10K miles between moving within AZ and the drive across country. Money isn’t the primary factor on the truck decision, but if I sold the truck and rented our current home I would essentially have no bills beyond utilities in the MA house.

Moving to MA posed other challenges related to my firearms and other logistics, but I think this career is worth those compromises. Other benefits include the fact that two of my best friends live within 30 miles of where I’ll be moving to, and my folks spend summers there. My wife’s career in AZ is solid but also somewhat stagnant, and the opportunities for her profession in MA are substantial. We could continue along just fine where we are, but I think this would make me happier long term and likely facilitate retirement sooner.

The same qualities that make the Raptor desirable when it’s doing 90 across the open desert also make it desirable for surviving the bombed out roads of the New England states. There’s just as much if not more to see and explore up there that’ll take you off the beaten path in a hurry.

Keep the truck, undercoat the crap out of it, enjoy your new environment.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I committed to the job today, so we’re going. I have lots of things to sort out. Honestly I could go either way on the Raptor. If I can get close to what I paid I’d probably sell it, if I’m taking a big hit I’d keep it as the value shouldn’t drop too far in the first year. I think it’s going to get listed for sale and see what happens. I drove it across town today and it hit 731 miles. My wife could daily the Raptor and I could have the work truck and all would be well too. Her VW Touareg SUV is pretty ideal for there and will tow the boat, but my VW Passat is not making the trip regardless. If the job had come before I bought the Raptor I certainly would’ve held off.

I spoke to my old man today, he is fine selling the 2000 Ford Expedition, but insists on keeping their Toyota Solera (I call it the GT for Gay Toyota because it the blurple color with a tan interior, why do old people buy that shit?), so there will be Raptor sized garage parking available. I might be able to find another garage to store the GT in the winter, lots of summer only folks up there with empty garages. I’m going to plan on living in the family house for two years for tax reasons. So housing in East Harwich on Cape Cod at minimal cost is secured. Housing prices in MA and Flagstaff are pretty equivalent, $500K gets your foot in the door. We’re going to rent the Flagstaff house so we can return here at some point while building equity. We will use a property manager so they can deal with the BS. We’ll have three years to sell it and still get the capital gains tax exemption if we chose. Living in NH after the two years is not off the table but probably isn’t feasible, I’ll have to see how that would play out with traffic and job sites. RI would be closer but probably isn’t better than MA. Most of my work will be in the Fall River to south of Boston areas and on the Cape.

Looking around my home here, it’s going to be estate sale time, everything must go! The house there is fully furnished and a little smaller than my house now. We really don’t need much past our clothes and personal effects. I’m going to downsize my tools significantly, and my welding equipment doesn’t need to go because I’ll have access to whatever I’d need as part of my new position. The stuff I own had owned me for too long, I sold my diesel truck and trailer in July before I bought the Raptor, so that was a good start. I’m not bringing everything and having duplicates to store, I’ll just buy new shit later as needed.

My 1987 Bronco is probably on the block as well. I’ve had it for 23 years but haven’t done much with it in the past 5. I’ve been planning an LS swap, but haven’t gotten anything started beyond buying some parts. Raptor or not, getting a 2021 Bronco my wife can daily drive in MA makes more sense to me than keeping the 87 which will probably rust out on contact with salt air. One of my friends in AZ will probably buy it from me, so if things went wrong I might be able to get it back later.

As my wife said this morning, sometimes seismic life change is need to move to the next level.