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Comment by crispyambulance | Hacker News Reader

$150/day for, maybe, one or two days a year is far cheaper than buying a $25-50K pickup, maintaining it, gassing it and dealing with the stress of driving a huge vehicle-- all so you can haul stuff, "if necessary".

They're status symbols like Porsche's or Tesla's, but for a different demographic, one that gets defensive about admitting they just want to drive a truck because it makes them feel good.

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Most people aren't looking at pickups relative to owning no vehicle at all. Which is to say they aren't spending a $25K premium for one. They're looking at the cost/utility benefit relative to other new vehicles with similar features. For example a large trunk SUV Vs. a Crew Cab-style pickup. The cost increase could be <$3K.

Cheap pickups definitely aren't a status simple. The pickup market ranges from $100K+ all the way down to $25K or less. Some are status symbols, some aren't, but the cheap ones definitely aren't.

It's accruing cost year round though from the reduced MPG but even if we don't factor in daily fuel consumption that $3k cost increase covers 20 solid days renting a truck vs buying one. The math rarely works especially with so many places offering home delivery for large furniture. The number of times a person really needs a truck vs it being more convenient than a car are pretty slim.

Purchase prices of vehicles are increasing, driven in no small part by the higher cost of larger vehicles (trucks and SUVs in particular). A truck or SUV simply costs more than a car, especially if you're buying used (where trucks hold their value longer for essentially no reason except desirability).

Partially driven by the higher costs of purchasing trucks and SUVs, the average American owes more money in car loans with longer terms than before.

Cheap pickups aren't a status symbol, but look around and see how many people are actually driving cheap pickups. The number of people out there driving the newest, largest, most expensive truck (and never using the bed for anything 80% of the time) is shocking.

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