Why I’d Finance a New Truck Before Paying Cash for a Used One

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On the surface, paying cash sounds responsible.

No debt.
No payment.
No interest.
No bank or lender involved.

But that logic doesn’t hold up inside a real, growing service business.

Here’s why.

A new truck can be depreciated on an accelerated schedule.

That means instead of slowly writing it off over many years, you can often deduct a large portion of the purchase price up front, reducing taxable income right away.

Example:

If you buy a $90,000 truck and can deduct a large chunk of that in year one, and you’re in a combined federal/state tax bracket of, say, 30%—

That’s roughly $27,000 back in tax savings.

So the real cost of that truck is no longer $90,000.
It’s materially less.

That alone changes the math compared to paying cash for a used truck with limited or slower depreciation benefits. And not to mention the ironclad warranties on a new truck.

More importantly, new trucks don’t live in the shop.

They don’t:

Downtime is expensive.

A truck in the shop isn’t just a repair bill either.

It’s:

That cost never shows up cleanly on a spreadsheet.

But it always shows up in your bank account.

Cash gives you options.

Cash lets you:

Once you dump cash into a used truck, that money is locked up.

It’s in the truck.
It’s no longer liquid.
You can’t pull it back out when something else breaks.

And here’s the part most people get backwards:

A truck isn’t an asset because you own it outright.

It’s an asset because it stays on the road and makes you more money.

That’s what assets are supposed to do.
Enhance cash flow.
Produce more than they cost.

Financing equipment does three important things at once:

That’s not reckless at all!

That’s discipline.

My rule is simple:

Only use debt for income-producing assets.
Never for anything else.

Protect cash for scale and survival during slow periods.

That mindset has saved me far more money than “owning things outright” ever did.

If you’re running a real business, you’re not trying to make just enough money to pay for the things you buy.

You buy trucks and equipment for one reason:
to grow.

You only consider financing—new or used—if:

If that’s not true, the question isn’t new vs used.

It’s whether you should be buying at all.

Let’s get it 🫡

— Justin ✌️ & Tony 🏁

P.S. If you’re looking to finance a truck or heavy equipment and want a solid, no-nonsense connection, we’ve got a great one. Just reply to this email and I’ll make the intro.

Have questions? Hit reply and let us know.