I do not really have the time to waste so I ended up looking at some trucks online last night and did a little more research. I was looking at Tacomas at the local dealership but I could not find one with the options I really wanted. I decided to look at J.D. Power ratings and the Nissan Frontier actually had better ratings than the Tacoma so I thought I might have a look at those online.

I found one at the local Nissan dealer that ticked all the “want-to-have” boxes for me and even more – pretty much fully loaded, cheaper…and it’s green. So, this morning I went and had a look & got it out for a spin. It is more truck-like than my Tacoma was. It seems to have more room inside. I did like the Tacoma, but I did not love it – it seemed more like a car with a bed than a truck. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it did not feel as “rugged” as I thought a truck should. feel There were things in the interior that I did not really care for and it looked cheap & plasticky in some ways and not a good-looking design. This Frontier I liked more from the moment I opened the door. Driving it I could tell a difference between the Tacoma’s turbo 4 and the Nissan’s V6 – much more power for towing and would definitely fit my lifestyle so much better.

So, I bought it. I told them this would be the easiest sale they ever made. A HUGE plus is that I also got 0% FINANCING!!! WOOT!!! I even qualified for zero down but I did consult with my financial planner and am going to follow her advice – I will put only part of that insurance money down and have the rest go into my retirement account to work for me, compounding the interest as I take small draws monthly to help with expenses. The payments will be just a little more than the Tacoma due to that righteous financing deal so between those two things my budget stays intact and I can make more on my investments.

I am pretty excited about this truck after driving it and cannot wait to pick it up! One thing it does not have is a trailer brake controller. Nissan does not put them in the Frontier I guess, even though it has a tow package. I will have to have that for my trailer and it will be a few hundred to get one installed. This truck has a lower towing capacity but my trailer is well within the max GVW so I am still in the clear. And for forest driving it even has Hankook tires, which are some of the best tires for off-roading.

There’s the latest excitement!

Shawn