Posted on 04/01/2014 7:14:21 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
I'm trying to steer him away from financing a new car.(Trying to get him to buy used and pay cash)
I know my chances are weak, but maybe reading advice from people other than dad my have better odds. He banks at USAA, FWIW.
FWIW, I set out to buy a used car (50-60K miles) 18 months ago. Between the low inventory of used cars coupled with the the higher finance rates, I ended up with a new car for the same monthly payments. Weird, but true. Don’t know if the situation has changed since, but it is worth looking into. USAA will probably give better finance rates than any dealer.
Interest rates for a new automobile are sometimes 0%. It’s time to find out how well you’ve raised him/her. ;)
USAA has car insurance also so he could call the insurance company and get some advice on the cost of insurance. I got a car in Kentucky in 1069 when I was in the service and the insurance for 6 months was enough to buy a car. Consumer reports has lots of information on maintenance costs of different brands.
If you’re buying used, do NOT buy a Chrysler product. And whatever you’re looking at, do your homework. There is plenty of info to be found on just about any car here on the interwebs.
Debt in general makes one a wage slave to the bank in addition to being a tax slave working for the gov't.
Have him look at the price of the car new, versus the Blue Book value of the car slightly used in excellent condition. That’s the cost of driving a new car off the lot.
Cash for Clunkers ruined the used car market. I looked & looked & looked for used. CarMax, Autotrader, Craigslist, you name it. And for daughter driving back and forth to college 250 miles each way . . . while yes even a new car can break down.
I’d say go for something ZERO or very near zero, 0.9% financing. If his credit can get those rates. Go new. Go basic model. Upgrades are expensive.
Otherwise in today’s market you can’t touch much of anything for 10K with less than 100,000 miles on it.
We bought daughter a Honda CR-V last August, about 21K, 0.9%.
Almost got an Escape . . . but in the end got the CR-V. Either one by time up go up a level or two you wind up with a 30K car . . . basic is good enough . . .JMO
And for us, NO GM or Chrysler products. And living in the Southeast, this is our first non-Ford product, but with all the production going on in TN, SC, AL & GA . . . I don’t feel guilty at all. :)
Yeah. I keep trying to explain that.
Finances/money are not his strong point.
Neither did I.
I don't remember who said this (could've been Twain or Will Rogers) but some wise person said, "the older I get, the smarter my parents were."
So you got that going for you.
That said, ask him what he would do if he had an extra 10,000 dollars in his pocket.
Then show him how financing a car is like throwing away 10,000 dollars over the life of the loan.
Show him that even though the list price on the car is X (say 20,000 dollars), by the time he's done paying for it, he will have spent Y (30,000 dollars at least).
A 10,000 dollar difference. At least. Obviously it depends on the "price" of the car.
My advice was to get him a 65 mustang but if you want it drivable it will cost you more than the $1500 I paid in 1976.
My daughter who was in the marines 2005-2009 finally listened to me and got USAA. Now she wonders why she didn’t for all of those years I was harping on her.
I’m trying to point him to a 5 year old or more Toyota or Honda.(that’s what I drive)
Of course, he wants a 300 Chrysler.(like ‘Walt’ had in Breaking Bad)
Yes, I know he’s an idiot.
It’s definitely fun to have a new vehicle. Better yet when bought with ca$h.
p.s. on insurance . . . my 19 yr old daughter, now 20 since then . . . was on a 2001 Ford Escape with 195,000 miles on it for driving when she was in high school and sat here her first year at college . . . lived on campus and transit and foot . .. was about 45.00 a month . . . fast forward to last August and a brand new Honda CR-V with a loan 0.9%, and insurance with full coverage only 55.00 per month. I was pleasantly surprised!!!
What model cars were available in 1069?
The one-year-old vehicle I bought in early 2008 was a one-owner (leasing company). I have never had a problem with it.
Recently, the dealer sent a broadcast email wanting trade-ins.
I checked the pricing at Bluebook.com. The vehicle is worth almost as much today as the price I paid in 2008.
If he is on base, there should be tons of decent used cars.
When I was in the service, we frequently had to deal with young enlisted not being able to pay their bill.
Invariably it was new car payments, child support payments or both.
His car will get beat up, tell him to buy a car that is already ugly, that way he doesn’t have to get mad when his buddy pukes in the back seat or he walks out and sees a new crease in the door.
Also warn him of the town honeys, they know that the military will ensure they get every dollar of child support awarded. Frequently they will have a whole brood with a different enlisted man as the father of each.
I was on my own and enlisted at 17.
I listened to my Dad and took his boring advice. At one point I wanted a Corvette . . . used from a friend, he said you don’t need a Corvette. Then I almost bought a Camaro Z-28 new . . . and beautiful . . . he said you don’t need that and instead I bought a “company car” from where he worked that came off lease for 1500.00 . . . low miles a Chevy Malibu . . . drove it for 3 years and sold it for 1200.00. So not bad. But I do wish I’d have bought either the Corvette or Camaro . . . this was in like 1980.
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