The latest survey regarding truck owners reveals that people increasingly see pickups as overpriced and poor value.

You might have noticed that it’s getting a lot harder to get behind the wheel of a pickup truck these days. Even midsize pickups are routinely priced over $40,000 for a decent trim, and full-size pickups are closing in on $50,000.

A 2018 report from the Detroit Free Press (by way of Jalopnik) points out that new pickup prices have risen 48% over the past decade, compared to the average new car price rise of around 20%.

You can certainly argue that pickup trucks have gotten a lot more technical over the years, but no more so than actual regular cars. By their own admission, pickup trucks make carmakers huge profits. It’s why Ford is getting out of low-margin coupes and sedans and now only makes high-margin SUVs and pickup trucks.

However, average consumers are increasingly viewing this rise in pickup sticker numbers as just plain old price-gouging.

According to the 2019 Truck Sentiment Survey from CarGurus.com, only 15% of pickup owners said that a new pickup truck represented good value, while 68% said that current pickups are overpriced. Another 48% said that new pickups built today have lower build quality than older pickups, while 17% said they aren’t going to buy another pickup truck after they’re done with their current truck.

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Brand loyalty is also starting to suffer as a result of this price-gouging sentiment. Around 70% of respondents said they’d switch brands if truck prices rose $10,000, compared to 64% from last year. Of all truck owners, Toyota owners are the most brand loyal at 40% refusing to switch, while Chevy pickup owners are the least brand loyal at 28%.

Tacoma
via Toyota

Of former truck owners that switched out, 37% went with a new SUV or crossover, while 35% went with a boring sedan. Roughly half of respondents said they switched due to poor fuel mileage or the high price.

With pickup prices around the cost of a new luxury sedan, many are looking at their options and figuring that pickups are just a bad deal all-around. Whether or not this will eventually cool the red-hot pickup market is still an open question.

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