A recent survey conducted by car buying and research website CarGurus found that many current and former owners of pickup trucks think the vehicles have become too expensive. Furthermore, a small minority of current pickup truck owners are unlikely to replace it with another, with poor fuel economy the most likely factor to push them away.
The survey found that 68 percent of pickup owners say trucks have become too expensive, while 17 percent are unlikely to replace their pickup with another in the future. Toyota truck owners were the most likely to defect, with 24 percent saying they probably won’t be buying another pickup, while Chevrolet owners are the least likely, with only 11 percent saying they won’t be purchasing another.
Of those who said they would be replacing their trucks with another vehicle type, 42 percent cited poor fuel economy as their reasoning. Another 24 percent said it was because trucks had become too pricy.
2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD High Country
It also dug up some interesting findings with regard to brand loyalty. A whopping 70 percent of those surveyed said they would switch to another brand if their current pickup brand of choice were to raise prices by $10,000. Ford buyers are most likely to defect to Ram, but owners of Chevys, Toyotas, and Rams would all flip to Ford. Chevy was the least common answer in this part of the survey.
2019 Ford Ranger
CarGurus says it surveyed “1,067 current and former pickup truck owners,” for this survey, with 581 currently owning at least one pickup truck and 486 having owned one previously. Among the current pickup truck owners surveyed, 195 owned a Ford, 154 owned a Chevrolet, 106 owned a Toyota and 101 owned a Ram.
The survey company also says that pickup truck owners are currently “feeling the pinch of rising prices, even more so than before.”
You can view the entire survey for yourself at this link.
Source: CarGurus
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If the amount of profit pickups trucks made for a manufacturer stayed within the truck development programs, trucks would be flying by now.
Truck prices are ridiculous, but so are luxury vehicles. A fully loaded pickup for $70k next to a $70k Land Rover will be about as fast, similar fuel efficiency, similar luxury appointments, but far more capable.
A fullsize pickup spans many segment, a regular cab with a bench seat to a luxury crew cab. They may have the same badge but it's not the same vehicle. No other vehicle completely changes its body through it's range.
I'm not a fan of spending $55k to get a decent equipped truck.. but that's why I buy a 2 year old lease return for 60-70% the initial sticker price.
a Silverado gets the same fuel economy as a Mercedes S class as well. you are right about how the big three takes the truck profits and spends them elsewhere. We could have a truck getting 30mpg+ with gasoline if they put more effort into the motors. Its a shame that the trucks that people want are paying for the electric vehicles that nobody wants.
Most 2014+ Silverado 1500 owners seem to report beating their EPA estimates. To say that none of the manufacturers are putting effort into the motors is absurd. GM has updated their Gen V engine twice in the last 6 years. They just released a very efficient 2.7T inline-4 that averaged over 24 MPG in a real-world fuel economy test conducted by TFL Truck. They're also preparing to released a totally new 3.0L inline-6 diesel engine. Ford just updated their engines in 2018 and released a new 3.0L V6 diesel engine late last year. Ram and Toyota are the biggest offenders when it comes to outdated powertrains. The new for 2019 Ram 1500 is using an engine that dates back to 2003 with an update in 2009. The Tundra's 5.7 V8 was developed in the early 2000's and is one of, if not thee, thirstiest V8's in the half-ton class.
My friend just bought a new style 2019 Ram Big Horn Lone Star Crew Cab in Patriot blue with the Sport appearance package and the basic level 1 package, the eTorque engine upgrade, the normal sized touch screen, cloth interior, no bed liner, no moonroof or running boards and the optional remote start and some type of optional floor mats and the window sticker was a tick over 50K. With discounts he actually paid 44K for it which I don't find too out of line for such a capable large roomy truck. However his 2 chief complaints are fuel economy and the transmission which sometimes jerks and hesitates. His best all highway MPG run so far has been 19.1 MPG but in 35 degree weather. It remains to be seen if that figure improves much in warmer weather but his truck now has over10K break in miles. This trucks best feature is the ride quality and serene drive. Interior room is great too. The performance, even with the pricey optional eTorque engine, is good but it doesn't feel any quicker than a 2019 Silverado with the 5.3 and 8 speed and std 3.23 rear gears I tested last month. His has the 3.21 rear gears
Ram made a bunch of changes that have created a lot of problems with their 8-speed. I know a couple guys that have had transmission problems with their 2019 Ram 1500. The one has had to leave his truck there several days now. The other will randomly refuse to go into drive or reverse when you select it with the knob. It acts like it's in neutral. He has to cycle the truck on and off a few times before it finally responds.
With the monthly payments that one has to endure along with those type of major problems just shortly after it was purchased, me personally I would be looking to do away with that truck with no regrets.
I have a 2014 Silverado WT. It is used as a second vehicle. In mid year 2014 full sized were only trucks GM was selling. Wanted another small truck but not available then. $29k was more than I paid for my main vehicle! Luckily with rebates, incentives and credit card points I got it for 20k. Gonna keep it for a lonnnng time. No short box anymore anyway. Colorado doesn't really fit small truck either. Prices are nuts.
I'm finding this "survey" a little difficult to believe. Why? Look at the past 20+ years and how truck sales have been consistent and increasing....both. When younger, I grew up on a farm and my dad was the first in the entire area to buy a 4X4 truck. Yup, everyone made do with a rear wheel drive (2 WD) truck and only farmers/contractors/vets drove trucks. Now look at the market today (30 years later)! Women in dress cloths going to work and dad's taking kids to school driving huge 4dr and 4X4 trucks........and why? Because they can and they will. I certainly don't agree with it, but people will spend their money how they want. Fuel price fluctuations and truck prices going WAY up have not deterred them and I don't feel it will any time soon.
Thus I just have a hard time with this survey!
Considering nearly half of those they surveyed are only former truck owners is probably part of why the results seem so hard to believe. If the last time I purchased a truck was 10 or 15 years ago and I don't realize that the actual price of a truck is $10-15k less than the sticker price, I wouldn't want to buy a new truck either.
At one time the price of a pack of cigarettes was 50 cents and when it went up to 75 cents they though it was the end of the world and everyone thought they stop buying them. I know you know really what has happen and now it's an average of $6+ a pack and people still buy them. Same as for trucks, when you want one the buying public will pay.
no surprise that the Toyota crowd citing that their trucks burn too much gas. they should switch to one of the Detroit three with the V6 option. They get the same gas as a highlander or escape that a Toyota buyer would replace their truck with. Of course someone who buys a Toyota truck isn't really doing their research. worst fuel economy, worst ride, least amount of features, worst in class towing and off road. Trucks have gotten expensive, but there is a big reason for that. The big three were loosing their pants over fleet sales, where a fleet buyer would order thousands of trucks at a low profit margin and then resell them for next to nothing, cutting in on individual sales. Now they all have insance prices so that a corporate buyer can "save" 5k per purchase and notch in that he saved a million dollars for the company. Then the individual sales are moved by large incentives that are not available to fleets. Trucks are a good price and by far the best quality if you play the game right.
It would be interesting to see just how many were current or former Toyota truck owners. Indeed, the Tundra is a real gas hog. Soon 3/4-ton trucks will be beating it in fuel economy. The Tacoma improved a little with the 3rd gen, but the reliability and build quality of the truck has been very mediocre so far.
Does anyone "buy" trucks or just lease forever? Lease payments for several years and then start again in another truck doesn't interest me. Buying now they offer 6 year or longer deals. Crazy.
I know a great number of truck owners and MPG is not a prime factor in their purchase.
Now the cost part is a problem. The trucks are too expensive but the large rebates always bring the prices down to where folks buy again and again.
In my area a Ram crew 4x4 can be had for $35k. The GM and Fords in similar trim are about $42k to $45k. No they are not the king ranch or Denali but they are decent trucks with closing seats.
Now are those prices too much sure but all vehicles are too much. A fwd sedan can easily run you $35k. That is too much.
As for more mpg in trucks pouring more money into them will not fix that. Three ways to get more mpg.
#1 is to make them lighter with materials. The trouble is the materials that are lighter are more expensive. Also there is a limit to how light a frame can be.
#2 make them smaller. We have mid size but yet people still shop full size.
#3 electric technology or hybrid but there again it adds to the cost.
My mid size gets 20 around town and almost 27 highway. That is with a 300 +V6 and 4500 pound crew 4x4. To me that is good considering my last Sonoma 2WD got 19 out of a 192 hp 4.3.
The truth is most things in life are too expensive. People want to make more money to pay for more expensive things so it is just a viscous circle.
The move to EV cars at some point will help lower cost once battery cost come down. Less emissions testing, less components and more share components. But the path to this is still not cheap.
The truth is changing brands really is not a solution. They all are too much. Often if you get a cheaper price there are short cuts involved. I was in a co workers new Hyundai today and it is nice, cheaper but you can see and feel all the areas they cut cost in. It made my GMC feel like a Bentley. But it will get him 4 years down the road and then he will see what he can afford to replace it then when it needs shocks, brakes and other issues as his last Hyundai suffered.
Me my truck will get me 10 years like my last two andthen I will see what I can do.
I think if you are buying a truck, no matter the trim level, for the intended purpose a truck was built for then fuel economy would not even figure in. A truck is not an "economy" vehicle but for what they are, they get pretty good mileage. Our heavy duty pickups get in the mid to high teens and some of the 8 speed light duty pickups get consistently over 20 mpg's with a V8! We don't have any 10 speed units yet. We keep them a long time too! Some are late '90's models! Now with prices going crazy because people are buying trucks for commuter vehicles we will have to keep them longer! I think there are a lot of buyers out there that thought owning a truck would be "neat" and quickly find out you actually might need a reason to justify owning it. It may not fit in your complex's parking deck! There's nothing wrong with buying what you want, we have that freedom, but sometimes rational thinking should weigh in on that decision. scott3 makes a good point about a mid size vs full size. Dan Berning a very good point about what was needed vs what was bought. There is a man in the little office strip next to where our business office is (our trucks are not kept in town, they pull out of the stables). He drives a very nice F-350 King Ranch in everyday. When I saw the fifth wheel set up in it I asked what did he pull with it, he said "nothing, I haul my bicycle's in it".
The big problem with ALL vehicles, as far as pricing goes, is that the technology "arms race" comes at a price. With all of the new sensors and adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, bird's eye view, rearview mirror cameras, etc, etc, etc, prices aren't going down anytime soon.
Want prices to go lower? Stop leasing and start buying. Then hang on to your vehicle for a decade or more. If people would quit paying for all of the excess crap that they don't actually need, it'll go away.
again, v6 ford 2wd, v6 chevy 2wd and v6 ram 2wd = 26mpg higway. Toyota highlander V6 2wd = 26mpg, chevy traverse 2wd=27mpg and explorer 2wd= 27mpg. Theres no real fuel savings unless you plan on going with a super small car.