What the heck would you do?
(Financialy sound information only please)
September of 2017 I made a poor financial decision. I bought a 2017 Mazda6 Touring with all the options for $23,500 OTD. I owe $10,200 and could possibly private sale it for $18-20k. It now has just rolled over 16k miles. In my previous role I was extremely fortunate to have the ability to have access to a company truck. A 2015 Dodge 2500 4x4 with the long bed and hemi. Needless to say the company vehicle is just about overkill for any situation I found myself in.
This past week I have accepted a new position that will have me being in the field, the oilfield, that will be almost 80% of my driving. I expect to be in this position for at least the next 3-5 years. I will no longer have access to the above mentioned Dodge and will instead be given an extremely generous vehicle allowance.
I am going to have to trade in the Mazda. I absolutely love this vehicle and it is going to suck to get rid of it. It is a looker. Mazda came out with the turbo motor in 2018 that was announced I'mmediately after I made the purchase. Needless to say I just drove a car for a year and lost $5,000 bucks. I know this and have comes to terms with it.
So, to a avoid shooting myself in the foot yet again. What should I purchase that is 4x4 or AWD, decent ground clearance, prices around $30k, dead nuts reliable, and is somewhat fun (this is relative) to drive. I am in the boonies guys. These are extremely rough roads. There will be rock chips. I have looked at subi Crosstrek. Good cost, nice tech, horribly slow. I have looked at Tacoma's. Awfully expensive, ok tech, but great resale value. I have thought about Mazda CX-5 AWD and put more suitable tires on.
What would you do.
