Current situation:

2014 F150 w/ 89k - owe $20k
2013 Escape w/69k - owe $0

The first mistake came when I was dumb enough to lease the F150. Why I still owe so much on it. The shame caused me to declare we would never have two car payments again.

We are expecting our 3rd kid in July and my wife wants to get a larger vehicle. Her idea is to trade in the Escape.

I'm hesitant to do this. I don't want to trade in a paid off vehicle. I said we could trade in my truck but I'd want to choose the vehicle to be purchased as I'd want to drive it on weekends etc. and don't really like to idea of commuting in the escape but would if it made sense for us.

I want to avoid making another financial auto purchasing mistake and I want my wife to have the vehicle she needs with three kids.

TIA

You first need to identify vehicles which can easily fit 3 kids, has excellent value, and is very reliable. Thus, I would be looking very hard at a Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey based on their value, reliability and function. Should be able to find a 2011-2013 model well under 15k. Sell the escape and should leave you with 7-8k to come up with for the Toyota or Honda. You're going to need the third row that is accessible by your older kid(s).

Don't get a crap tastic Tahoe or anything Chevy SUV. ..Sequoias can be looked at but will be high, high mileage.

First question would be how old are the other 2 kids? Second would be is the F150 crew cab?

To keep from making a purchasing mistake I would advise you NOT purchase a new vehicle, especially if you don't want two car payments. The Edge can get your wife and kids around fine now, and if the F150 is a crew cab then you CAN get your whole family in there from point A to B. It won't be comfortable and all of the kids stuff will be in the back but it CAN be done.

As hard as it is tell your wife no, get the financial mess cleaned up now while you can, and put yourself in a position to make far more advantageous decisions for your family in the future.

If your wife truly loves you, she won't banish you to the couch for long.

Don't get rid of the only car you Actually own.

How much is the f150 worth (really)? I would dump that note yesterday or turn it into something you can use.

I wouldn't even consider an expedition in your current state. You'll pay twice as much for one as a minivan.

i was shopping for cars recently and the 2019 Toyota Highlanders have some killer deals right now(the 2020 is a new redesign), there are still a few on dealer lots, it would be a great vehicle for your situation with 3 rows.

Used Highlander on classified board.

NWE said:

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Current situation:

2014 F150 w/ 89k - owe $20k
2013 Escape w/69k - owe $0

The first mistake came when I was dumb enough to lease the F150. Why I still owe so much on it. The shame caused me to declare we would never have two car payments again.

We are expecting our 3rd kid in July and my wife wants to get a larger vehicle. Her idea is to trade in the Escape.

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What a mess but, at least you're asking for help. And, you've realised that a lease is a fool's errand.

Tidbit of trivia, in Australia, personal leases are illegal. Only corporations can lease vehicles.

You've got pretty low mileage on both of the vehicles and age wise, they're not that old.

To give you an idea for comparison, the year models and mileage on the vehicles I own at the moment are:

2020 - 2,000
2009 - 130,000
2001 - 135,000
1999 - 220,000

My point here is that you can drive vehicles for a lot longer and a lot farther than you think you can.

And another one learned the hard way is, when you buy a new vehicle, you need to plan ahead for where are you going to be with that vehicle in 5/10/15 years and what do your needs look like then?

With my 1999 Expedition 4x4, I never thought that I'd need to get an 80+ y/o person into my car because when I bought it, I didn't have any in my family. Now I do.

Living in SoCal, I've seen plenty of conspicuous consumption financial mistakes. The salesman who buys the $120,000 BMW because he had a good year last year and then two years later he's not driving it any more because he had a bad year and it was a lease anyway.

Car finance guys will figure out how to roll that negative equity into a new vehicle as long as you buy something that is even more expensive and less affordable.

I had a Sales rep trade in her old C Class because she was tired of people making jokes about it. She turns up in an E Class AMG and I was impressed. I asked her about it and she said because she had so much negative equity in the C Class, that's what she had to buy to roll in the debt.

Now, I'm not going to go all Dave Ramsay on you but, I strongly recommend, that you figure out which one of the two vehicles you need/want for your daily driver for the next five years.

Then, trade the other one in for the vehicle that she is going to drive for the next fifteen years.

You're right to not want two car payments but, you shouldn't feel bad about financing a vehicle for a 5-7 year term because you're going to keep that vehicle for 10-15-20 years.

It's having those paid off cars where you're going to get ahead.

Good Luck.

Really.....

Minivan

Except for towing, minivan can haul and move people and things easier than a truck unless you're moving a fridge or several yards of cow manure.. Get rid of the truck and commute in escape...

The escape is a great little SUV. Inexpensive to own and repair. I would keep it for the commuter given that it's paid for. Look at trading the truck for a lightly used Explorer. You get third-row seats in a vehicle not as large as an expedition and you'll get better gas mileage. You can drop the seats down and fit almost anything you can in a short-bed crew-cab truck. Make sure you get one with a receiver hitch and you will have a vehicle with reasonable towing capacity. It's a lot better looking and more sporty than the minivan option and can tow a trailer. If you can afford the sport version you will really enjoy the experience. I have a 2013 Explorer Sport and it's been super reliable and I use it like a truck. I highly recommend it.

Take the wife and kids along and test drive several options. That's the best way to know.

2014-2021 Highlanders in DFW - less than 60K miles under $25K

I don't know where you live. Here are Highlanders for under $25K within 100 miles of DFW. My sister has 3 kids, and the Highlander works great for her with the 3rd row.

NWE said:

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We are expecting our 3rd kid in July and my wife wants to get a larger vehicle.

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Do yall want a larger vehicle or need a larger vehicle?

This is a tough pickle to be in.

Unless your truck is a loaded 4WD Plat or Limited, with 60K miles, I dont think you'll get 20K out of it.

Is it not a possibility to let the wife drive the F150 and you use the Escape for commuting duties? You keep what you have, and still have something you can use on the weekends and keep the truck bed to boot.

Even if you dropped 750 bucks to get a nice bed cover to haul baby gear, you are still ahead of trading out.

What is the private party value of the truck?

I see two real options.

Option 1: Semi Dave Ramsey Plan

Do nothing until August except save money and crush the debt on the F150. Once everyone is home safe from the hospital address this. You can use the Escape for a couple of months. Your email lends me to believe that your wife stays at home with the children. If so, the first couple of months probably have less trips than normal. This decision is now a SUVtember or Trucktober one. If you do this plan, you will have more cash or less debt on the truck. You can then assess what to do.

Option 2: Do something now plan

You drive the escape, and she gets something else like a bigger SUV or minivan. This is a mature decision and the best option for your family. That said, you should have a conversation with your wife if you want to get back into a truck. The plan may look like pay off her SUV/minivan then you go back to a truck.

As someone who has been where you are, I would do option 1. Then in September, I would do option 2. There is no reason to do anything right now other than have a plan.

Keep F 150.

Try to refinance if possible.

You'll likely need a truck anyway for Costco/sams shopping.

Assuming its a 4 door crew cab style, its a decent back-up family car.


Sell Escape.

Use funds for down payment.

If you are just looking for something with 3 kids worth of room and aren't picky, there are abundant options out there that aren't total bloodbaths for your cash flow.

You can always buy a cheap 4x8 trailer for the rare instances you need a truck bed, if you don't use your truck bed much.

Unless you work a farm/ranch daily, or tow large trailers on a regular basis, the truck is just going to be a pain in the ass.

Even if you cram all 3 kids across the back seat, their stuff is going to be on someone's lap, on top of someone's feet, or out in the elements in the bed. Even if you get a cover, one unexpected stop and the diaper bag or whatever other kid crap you have back there is going to spill out all over the bed and roll around.

You're going to take a hit to get out from under that lease, but honestly you're going to take a hit to finish it out too. If it were me, I'd bite the bullet now, take the hit on the lease, and get a used minivan that is tailor made for hauling families and kid crap. Get a low trim level with some miles on it for cheap, and you commute in the paid off Escape.

I take one of our kids to school everyday. My wife is rarely going to have all the kids in the escape.

I'm trying to make the point that we don't need to do anything at the moment, but she keeps sending me links for third row vehicles.

I really like my truck but I guess my only question is if the leasing of said truck put me in such a bad spot it would make sense to trade it in now while the miles are still pretty low.

We had two car payments for so long.... I hate to be THAT husband, but I never want two payments again.

But, I also don't want to give up my truck. Lol

Yes F150 is crew cab. Lots of room. But I don't have bed liner or cover so threat of rain puts luggage on long hauls in the cab.

Need to address that too

What could you trade the escape for that gets a 3rd row without adding payments? Could you kick in any additional cash by that point (3 to 6 months of hyper savings) so you could buy up just a bit nicer?

I'd suggest that it may be most important to look at long term financial planning and plan around that.

Personally, I wouldn't want to give up the F150 either. You left what you wanted out of the original postand that's an important consideration.

Another alternative: could you trade the other car for a truck (without adding payment) and then your F150 for a 3rd row (with payments)?

Awesome advice so far. Appreciate it.

Go get some new car seats that fit 3 across if necessary (https://www.babycenter.com/609_35-car-seats-that-fit-3-across-in-most-vehicles-updated-for_20001028.bc) - Diono Radian is a popular skinny one for toddlers, an MX4 bed cover to turn the bed into a trunk, and hand the keys to your truck to your wife. Enjoy daily driving the Escape with only 1 car payment and realize that your car is just a way to get from A to B.

Aggietaco said:

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Go get some new car seats that fit 3 across if necessary (https://www.babycenter.com/609_35-car-seats-that-fit-3-across-in-most-vehicles-updated-for_20001028.bc) - Diono Radian is a popular skinny one for toddlers, an MX4 bed cover to turn the bed into a trunk, and hand the keys to your truck to your wife. Enjoy daily driving the Escape with only 1 car payment and realize that your car is just a way to get from A to B.

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^^^^
This!

Are you guys fans of Dave Ramsey?

Your original question was about how to not make another mistake and you referenced leasing and two payments. I used an online tool to value your vehicles. I assumed the Escape (10.5k) is an SEL and the F150 (21k) is a Lariat. If so, you have about 31.5k worth of cars with 20k owed. This gives you about 11.5k in true equity.

The real problem is that you still like your truck, but you owe too much on it. At the same time, you have a paid-for small SUV, but your wife wants to trade. The Escape probably will not bring enough money to buy what she wants.

You currently have 31.5k worth of cars with 2/3 of it in the truck. Is this the way you would allocate it if you started now? Is 20k more debt than you want right now? Do you have some cash to throw into the mix?

GrimesCoAg95 said:

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Your original question was about how to not make another mistake and you referenced leasing and two payments. I used an online tool to value your vehicles. I assumed the Escape (10.5k) is an SEL and the F150 (21k) is a Lariat. If so, you have about 31.5k worth of cars with 20k owed. This gives you about 11.5k in true equity.

The real problem is that you still like your truck, but you owe too much on it. At the same time, you have a paid-for small SUV, but your wife wants to trade. The Escape probably will not bring enough money to buy what she wants.

You currently have 31.5k worth of cars with 2/3 of it in the truck. Is this the way you would allocate it if you started now? Is 20k more debt than you want right now? Do you have some cash to throw into the mix?

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From the OP it sounds like the F150 is leased now. I'm certainly no expert in leasing, but I would think the only potential value it has to NWE is what the dealer might be willing to pay for him to break the lease early if the dealer thinks they can make a few bucks selling it to someone else. And that seems like a big "if."

And OP. It sounds to me like you're asking two different questions here. Initially you asked for advice to avoid getting stuck in a bad deal again. But as the thread progressed it sounds more like your asking for creative solutions that will let you keep your F150, even though it has put you in a financial and practiciality pickle. Those are two different questions, that will lead you to two different answers. My advice would be to have an honest conversation with yourself about which question you are really asking, and the rest of the picture will fall into place for you based on your answer.

I don't understand how the lease is still going on a 2014

John,

This is an excellent post. I was assuming that he leased the truck then kept it when the lease ended since it was a 2014 model, but I may be wrong.

You summarized the thread excellently. "How do I make the best financial decision" and "how do I keep my F150" are very different questions with different answers.

Lease was years ago.

And yes, I'm sort of spitballing here. Mainly to see if the overall positive sentiment regarding having a paid off vehicle was mutual. And it is.

I like my truck and I'm fine paying for it I'd like to drive it a long time tbh. I like the idea of putting money into the truck to make it work for my wife. Feel like I'm battling the concept of a third row more than the actual ability to haul and stow three children.

Escape is an SE and F150 is an XLT. Lol

We had these. For sure 3 can go across. Don't buy those huge car seats that are like captain chairs for kids. Don't do it. Not needed. All car seats meet the same safety requirements.

Keep what you got. Get a truck bed cover if needed. You can fit 3 car seats in that escape or truck. Get the slim car seats. Don't haul around all of their kid crap around town.

NWE said:

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Yes F150 is crew cab. Lots of room. But I don't have bed liner or cover so threat of rain puts luggage on long hauls in the cab.

Need to address that too

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I don't believe we've asked yet but, how far are the commutes to the Grandparents houses?

What I'm getting at here is, how far do you have to go with all the kid gear in the bed of the F150, worrying about rain, or security when you stop at Dairy Queen enroute to the grandparents.

When I was in your situation, we lived in Round Rock with grandparents in Waco and Clear Lake.

With one kid, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was good. With two kids, the wife couldn't cope with trying to stuff everything into the JGC so we wound up with a Ford Expedition. That's the same Ford Expedition that kid #2 currently drives to college.