Why dont people like trading in their guns every few years?

I keep cars for at least 10 years, my 2005 had been paid off for 6 years now....I've purchased quite a few guns since my last car payment.
 
Trading in a gun every two or three years means that over time I'm losing thousands of dollars in equity and will have only one gun to show for it.

On the other hand, I can add the additional two or three hundred dollars to the lost equity and have two guns.

Pretty simple arithmetic.

Gun A bought for $600
Gun A traded, Gun B bought for $300 and Gun A
Gun B traded, Gun C bought for $300 and Gun B
Cost of Gun C is $1200, value is $600
Congratulations, you have just turned all your dollar bills into half dollars. Provided you stop at Gun C. Continue through Gun H and you will get a stack of quarters. Turn in your financial advisor card and let your wife handle the money, you're lousy at it.

or

Gun A bought for $600.
Gun B bought for $600
Gun C bought for $600
Cost of Guns A, B, and C is $1800, value is $1800
This will be true at Gun H and Gun ZZZzzz if you want to think about it.

It's a no-brainer, as they say.
 
When I acquire something, its usually with the idea of keeping it.
Like my previous truck, kept it for 20 years, and my better half, going on nearly 50 years with her.
If it's a good one, why trade it off?
 
Desibaba said:
I understand that a gun can last you a lifetime unlike a car but I'm sure most firearms enthusiasts get the itch for new products fairly quickly but it doesn't seem to be common to be trade in your 3 year old 9mm or AR15 for a new model. Compared to most other products (like automobiles) the loss is only a few hundred dollars instead of thousands so why aren't most people doing this?
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With firearms costing much less than cars, it isn't necessary to "trade in" a perfectly good gun in order to buy a new one. We can buy the new one AND keep the old one.

Plus, there are property taxes on cars (in most states), but not on guns. A gun doesn't deteriorate if left parked outdoors, but a spare, unused automobile deteriorates, plus unless you keep it registered and insured there may be a zoning or blight ordinance that prohibits parking it in your yard. Guns don't take up that much space. There's always room for one more.
 
While I can't speak for others I don't rotate my guns like I do my trucks. Got my first rifle in 1958 when I was 8 years old. I still have it. Over the years I have sold very few of my guns and I seldom buy "new" guns. I lean towards the nicer classic revolvers and semi-autos like the Colt Series 70 guns. The same is true of my rifles. I simply have no desire to own many of the newer guns out there nor any desire to part with the guns I have and thoroughly enjoy.

Just My Take
Ron

On the side, the wife is due for a new truck. Well, it will be new to her anyway. :)
 
I will ask you the car salesman. Why get rid of a firearm for half of what I paid for it when it is still like new? Why pay three times the price to replace it?

Besides I don't have enough skills as a salesperson to trust you or anyone else to offer me a fair deal. It is best for me to stay out of the sales profession.
 
"trading in" a gun has a different connotation than "trading in" a gun. A car wears out, even if you stored it in your garage and did not put a mile on it, in 10 years you would have a car that would require a lot of work and money to get it back into driving condition. All those new electronics that make a newer car desirable will degrade just by sitting there unused. yes, some people do collect cars, but the majority of us at the most "collect" and keep a couple of cars at a time. you trade in a car because the car loses some utility due to repairs and increased upkeep.

A firearm, with minimal maintenance, will do it's job for years and will be just as good at it after ten years of storage as it will if it was used for 10 years.

It really boils down to the fact that there is no reason to trade in a firearm at any set period of time, whether that limit is set by maintenance costs or by reduced performance. This is not the case with an automobile.

David
 
I have a couple of S&W 1960s Model 10s, a Winchester 94 and a Ruger 10/22 from the same era. They all function perfectly and serve a purpose. They take little space in my home, I invested less than $1500 in obtaining all of them, and I can handle the maintenance that they require. Can't do that with cars.
 
It's kind of like that smug, you call that an arsenal, feeling you get when you see the pathetic arsenals the news shows when some schmuck gets popped by the police for doing something stupid. Where you actually say out loud, you call that an arsenal?

Yeah, that's why... ;)
 
I sell my guns all of the time. I just sold 2 shotguns that I acquired second hand at a fair price. I wanted a specific rifle. So I sold the two shotguns at what I had in them and bought the rifle. When I sell a gun it is for "gun money". I never buy anything but guns with "gun money". I have no sentimental value in any of my guns. No one in my family owned a gun, and there is no one to pass anything on too. So I just enjoy shooting what I have at the moment. When I find something that interests me I will sell what I have to get it. The only thing that I keep and hoard are bullets, primers, and brass. :D
 
desibaba said:
So basically what this means is when it comes to guns and ammo we are only progressing at a snail's pace compared to things like cell phones, computers or automobiles? I mean today's cars are way better in almost every way compared to one that was made 40 year's ago but a 40 year 9mm pistol is the same in terms of performance? Why aren't these gun companies investing more in research and development?
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To accomplish what? What does a firearm do that you think needs to be significantly improved?

I've been driving for almost 60 years, and shooting for longer than that. I've lived through the introduction of power windows, power brakes, power steering, automatic transmission, air conditioning, turn signals, halogen headlights, LED lighting, radial tires, disc brakes, seat belts and probably several other automotive developments. Each of those developments made something about the driving experience better and/or easier.

What can we change about firearms to make shooting better or easier? I still have my grandfather's .22 rifle that I learned to shoot with. It's easier to shoot and easier to load than a great many newer .22 rifle designs, and more accurate than many newer .22 rifles. What should be changed? What needs to be improved?
 
I work in the car business and while I can definitely buy and maintain a car for 10 + years I like leasing them so I'm in a brand new one every 2-3 years max.
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Some people like other things more than just having the latest style sheet metal and plastic. To many people, their decision is that the amount of money you sacrifice to stay in a relatively new car can be used more advantageously in other areas. Seems to me that the consumer driven artificiality of car pricing is a quick way to give away lots of money. I've seen brand new cars up to 3 model years old sitting on the car lots. 2016 = $50,000, 2015 = $40,000, 2014 = $35,000. And they are all identical (drive trains, bodies, electronics) except for the shape of a couple of pieces of minor plastic at the most! If there wasn't an official piece of paper telling you what "model year" they were nobody could tell the difference. Sorry, not worth it to me to stay with the latest and greatest!

I bought my 1999 4WD K2500 Suburban LT in 2007 for $3500. 135,000 miles on it but like new. Total maintenance in the last 9 years (besides oil changes) has been a replacement intake manifold gasket about 5 years ago for less than $100. Less than $4,000 in purchase price plus repairs in over 9 years.

I've been driving and racing cars for almost 50 years (certified car nut here also) and the only really significant and meaningful changes to me in that time are computerized fuel injection, antilock brakes, and air bags, all common for about 30 years now. But I'm an engineer and like things like heavy duty drive trains and full-floating axles. Swoopy plastic, Wi-fi, backup cameras, different color lights, and sci-fi and/or retro styling (looks like the late 60's with all the Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers running around) don't mean enough to me to pay you anything for them.

A new 4WD Suburban is almost $60,000. A private buyer can't even get the 3/4 ton version (2500 series). Lease is $591/month. What does that gain me over my current vehicle?

The way I see it, the approximately $6,000/year I've been saving over the last 9 years by not leasing can go into a myraid of investments or another rental property which actually makes me money and generates plenty of extra cash to indulge in all my other hobbies/vices. I can easily buy a gun a month and still have money left over versus paying out the ying-yang for the "privilege" of having the latest "style" vehicle!
 
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Here's the thing about guns - many of the discontinued models really were made better, are historic, were banned from import, or were just out-right banned. It's not like I'm going to trade in my 1960 Python for a 2016 Smith and Wesson! You might as well trade in your 1960 Corvette for a 2016 Chevy Volt.

Also, the more you shoot a particular gun the better you get with it. I well cared for gun can look new for ten, thirty or even 100+ years, even if regularly used. You just can't say the same thing about cars. Rubber rots, seals shrink, glue decomposes, leather cracks, plastic degrades, cheap steel rusts, aluminum corrodes.
 
I work in the car business and while I can definitely buy and maintain a car for 10 + years I like leasing them so I'm in a brand new one every 2-3 years max.
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Are you related to one of the guys who calls at regular intervals wanting me to trade my two year car on a new one?
 
Are you related to one of the guys who calls at regular intervals wanting me to trade my two year car on a new one?
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I AM one of those guys. :D Gotta make 20 calls every day at work to current customers if you want to keep your job or take floor customers. I dont enjoy getting yelled at but the truth is you do find sales if you make enough of those calls. Doesnt work on everyone obviously but some people do react positively if you can tell them you can get them to trade in their 3 year old vehicle for a new one with zero down and keep the payment the same. Sure some of them say "But Im almost done with my payments" but I just respond by saying that "Based on your service records it looks like you are starting to make payments pretty consistently to our service department now too which you wont have to on a brand new car" I dont love it but its a job and it pays the bills :D
 
There comes a point in a car's life when running costs, maintenance, resale value converge to make selling it for a better, newer model a financially smart or at least convenient. Needs also change: another child, a new job or location. Finance and leasing schemes make that easier.

A car used for one's entire life would cost a lot to keep going in relation to its performance in the current market. That said, I think keeping a car going is still probably cheaper than bying new

A gun simply doesn't wear out at the same pace as a car and a gun bought and shot regularly can still be serviceable for one's children and beyond as well as costing far less to run.

If I kept my current car (its already 14yers old and still going strong after some big spares bills) and then left it to my daughters they'd think it was some kind of bad joke from beyond!
 
Fudd that I am-Life Member, Sons of Neanderthal Man-I have always felt that there are "classic" designs-the M1911, the Colt SAA, the S&W M&P/Model 10-that really can't be improved on. The complaint I hear from car aficionados and mechanics is that the newer designs have too much plastic, too much electronics, are harder to work on, require too many computers, etc. Think of "smart" guns (?). IMHO if GM announced they were bringing back the 1955-57 Chevy and Oldsmobile-an EXACT copy-they couldn't keep them on the lot.
 
IMHO if GM announced they were bringing back the 1955-57 Chevy and Oldsmobile-an EXACT copy-they couldn't keep them on the lot.
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Until you realize the oil change interval on many modern vehicles is longer than the tune-up interval on some of those. They would end up buying back the majority of them under various lemon laws by 60K miles (when engine replacement became a real possibility)

I get what your saying and it likely applies more directly to firearms. There is little doubt that modern vehicles are functionally vastly superior to those cars. Most of the time they have more power, more comfort, more efficiency, longer life, various creature comforts.... there are things on a 2016 Chevy that simply were not there on a 1955 (or did not work if they were).

A Glock (or whatever) and a 1911 still perform the same task in a manner that functionally is so close to equal it is nearly indistinguishable. The same can be said for many revolvers.
 
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