Buy the vehicle you can afford, no more. Less is even better.
Here’s my story, which is by no means typical: I had a 2019 Laramie before my 2021 Longhorn. I paid $40K for it, sold it for $49K, and had $31K in equity.
I bought the Longhorn from Mark Dodge for $12K below sticker and put a whopping $1,000 down. Financed it for 72 months at 0%. Longest I’ve ever financed a vehicle, but at 0%, why not?
According to KBB, I’m actually in the black by about $4,000. When times return to some degree of normalcy, I’ll be underwater but so what? I kept most of that $31K in the bank, so if I had a total wreck, it’d be no different than if I had put that equity into the new truck. And if I lost my job, I’ve got nearly three years of truck payments socked away.
If I took the $31K and blew it, that’d be stupid and irresponsible. But if you keep the money socked away, you’re no worse off than putting more money down. If you’ve got a low interest rate, you may be better off with a low down payment as long as you’re responsible with the money you didn’t put down.