[70SWT]

I've had a pickup truck essentially my entire adult life (I'm 51). Until recently, I was a career military guy who moved a lot, and I've been a continuous homeowner and tinkerer into old Porsches. So, it's been pretty hard for me to live without a truck.

My current truck, an '11 Nissan Titan, has been nothing short of awesome. I bought it new, and since then, I've towed back and forth across the country with it, hauled more little loads than I can count, and used it as a regular driver in between. It's never given me trouble, and was long ago paid for, now just costing me maintenance, gas and insurance. Aside from getting 10 mpg (or less!) when towing a large enclosed trailer (which it otherwise happily did), it represents a seriously good value in my life.

I'm a car nut, so thanks to always having a few drivable vehicles to spread my mileage across (combined with lengthy stretches with the military when all my drivers sat unused), the Titan also only has about 60k miles. It does "only" have 2WD, and I would like to go back to a 4WD truck, now that I am in the Vegas area with so much awesome desert to explore. It would also be nice to have an HD truck with serious towing capacity (so I can make some really bad decisions on old car buys...)

So, ordinarily, I would have bought another truck by now. But, aside from the low miles on the Titan, one issue has caused me to hold onto this truck longer than any truck I've previously owned: the cost of new pickups today.

IMHO, it's really gotten ridiculous. Perusing various websites on old car prices, I believe my rose-colored memories are essentially correct: even really stout pickups used to be cheaper than, or at least no more than, cars. Today, a well-optioned pickup with good towing capacity can set you back $60k (or more if you go nuts with the luxo options). That kind of dough will get you a damn nice car.

Meanwhile, my fully-functional, nothing-really-wrong-with-it Titan might net me $14k on the private seller used market. As much as I would REALLY like a new truck, the math on selling or trading in just doesn't add up.

I know some of the counter-arguments: trucks are standard-optioned better than they used to be; they are bigger than they used to be, taking a lot of material to make; and, above all, if the market supports the prices, these must be the "right" prices.

But right now, I know several other guys who, like me, want to buy, but are holding onto their trucks for the same sorts of reasons I've voiced above. We aren't strapped for cash, just befuddled. Is it just us?