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It's a Great Time to Buy a Full-Size Pickup

July 16, 2007 | Categories:

I can't remember a better time for consumers to purchase a new full-size pickup.  Despite the fact that they just introduced amazing, brand new models General Motors and Toyota are providing a very high level of incentives on the Silverado / Sierra and Tundra.  Toyota already has 0% financing for up to 5 years or rebates as high as $3,500 on the 2007 Tundra.  GM has a little less support on its new GMT 900 pickups, featuring 0% for only up to 3 years or rebates of $1,500 to $2,000, but it is currently testing 0% for up to 5 years in California and I would not be surprised if it rolled it out nationally before the end of the month.  The other two major players in this segment, DaimlerChrysler (soon to be just Chrysler I suppose) and Ford are feeling the heat as well.  There is currently 0% for up to 5 years plus $1,000 bonus cash or $6,000 on the '07 Dodge Ram Pickup and 0% for up to 5 years or $3,007 on the Ford F-150. As you can see, the deals on these trucks are amazing right now.  I think that there are three main reasons why manufacturers are being forced to put such a high level of support on them.  First, the first is the softness in the housing sector probably has caused a number of builders to cut back on purchasing new pickups for their businesses.  Second, gas prices are pretty high right now.  According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas currently sits at over $3.00 ($3.05).  Let's face it, large pickups are not the most fuel efficient vehicles.  So this will naturally have a little impact upon demand for them. Lastly, Toyota introduced the redesigned Tundra to increase its share of this segment of the market, but the domestic manufacturers are not ready to give up much in the only part of the market that they still dominate. The bottom line is this is a great time to pick up a new full-size pickup truck.  The deals and the vehicles themselves have never been better.

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