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Well if you're just going to drive it a couple times a month to pull a car trailer, I'd actually look at a used truck or if you insist, a new truck. Trucks are quite a bit cheaper than even the most basic large SUV's. Trucks will always hold value better than SUV's because no matter what because there will ALWAYS be a market for them. You can get a brand new F-150 or Silverado for around $20K but given this will be a very basic model without any of the "luxuries". If you spend about $30K, you can get a fairly well-equipped model with an extended cab or possibly a crew cab.
Basic large SUV's start at around $30K and go up from there. I drive an '07 Yukon Denali which had an MSRP of $55K (I didn't actually PAY that much tho). But this is my only vehicle so I wanted something nice and comfortable and didn't mind paying the price for what I wanted. Since you'll be driving this a couple times a month, buying something expensive is a mistake (unless of course you have the money to blow). I'd stick to a truck in your situation.
If you are not in rust country, you can find good to decent conditon older pickups for way cheaper than these new SUVs. Look around a little and you'll find one already set up for towing.
If you are not towing fast or far, even a fairly well worn truck will work OK. If you buy the right truck at the right price, you should not lose any money when/if you want to sell on.
For towing 3000#, you might want to think about a 3/4 ton, or "heavy" half-ton.
If you are only doing it once a month, why not think about renting a truck just for that time? You would save on your yearly insurance bill, license fees, oil changes, and that other regular upkeep. You wouldn't have to even wash the darn thing! You might even come out ahead. Put your money in something sporty for driving around!
You can buy a new SUV at a cheaper price than has been sen ion years because they have way too much inventroy. It even makes judging the deal by edmond invoice price hard because you can get so much lower.Bit you have top deal not just look at or ask a price. Be prepared to walk away because they don't want to loose a sale. The inventroies of 2008 models is very high right now.
I would recommend a Dodge Ram with the cummins turbo diesel. A nice Ram 2500 with a crew cab is my preference over an SUV. While I wanted an early Ram, I ended up with a 1990 Ford F250 Diesel for less than 1K because I am a cheapskate. I tow a 7000 pound Bobcat from time to time and needed something rugged. I have pulled my car trailer with my 1969 Dodge Charger with another charger on the trailer with no problems.
If you are only doing it once a month, why not think about renting a truck just for that time? You would save on your yearly insurance bill, license fees, oil changes, and that other regular upkeep. You wouldn't have to even wash the darn thing! You might even come out ahead. Put your money in something sporty for driving around!
Thanks to all for the advise and suggestions.. I am going to check out the GMC Trucks as an option. I was leaning toward an SUV model because the last time I borrowed a friends truck, I left with a back ache.
Renting is a good Idea. Actually a great idea if it is convenient. Save me the hassle of storing it as well. Just need to see if anything local to West Los Angeles will rent to suit my needs safely. Although, I am certain that I will need to buy the trailer.
Mitch, it's going to be a racecar, the exact one is not known yet. That's the easy part of this whole process. It's these logistics that are a pain.
Just a thought.... Some companies will love to have their name on the side of a race car. Perhaps you could work out some sort of deal with a rental company. Might work, might not.
If you are using it 2 days a month it would seem that you could rent a lot of vehicles for $30K and not have to worry about other expensed involved with owning.
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