Better MPG & a helluvalotta fun.
p.s. Gearheads....Picking up my new Triumph Rocket III tomorrow.
Posted on 04/05/2005 12:22:02 PM PDT by ex-Texan
Always buy used cars.
Amen to that. Let somebody else pay for the depreciation.
Also make sure the new car you are buying is worth the combination of the new and old car(trade value).
Otherwise you might be stuck with two payments, like I am.
I just checked out the rate chart at my bank - we will go 72 months only if the loan is $25,000 or more. Otherwise, the maximum for a new car is 60 months. Used car loans will go up to 30 to 60 months, depending on the age of the vehicle.
Perpetual car payments are the "best strategy"?
Pay with cash. Decide to be satisfied with a car you can actually afford.
Ping.
"Always buy used cars."
Got my title in the mail yesterday for the new truck I finally paid off after 5 years. Never again, I say.
hey, I thought our standard of living was going up? now, hardly anyone actually owns their own car anymore - add that to their 40 year mortgage and credit card debt. the whole US consumer driven economy is built on debt, not wealth. debt is wealth for most americans now.
A lease is a good way to avoid this problem, too.
If you want to buy a new car, buy a car you can afford to pay cash for, and keep it for ten years.
Insure it for liability only, and save the extra money you would have spent on comp/collision for the next time you buy a car. After ten years, the amount of money saved is more than enough to purchase a nicer car as a replacement vehicle, also for cash.
If you finance a car, the loan holder is going to require that you get comprehensive insurance, which is murderously expensive. People actually wind up lowering their liability coverage limit to be able to afford the comprehensive insurance, so they are protecting the loan holder, but leave themselves open for a big claim.
I'm still driving a 93 Saturn SL-1--186,000 miles. Brakes aren't too good, but its a manual, so I downshift HARD.
Have a 2000 mazda pickup and the wife has a 99 Windstar-which is a piece of crap. Probably need to get a new family wagon within a year or two. I've though about getting a new commuter car, but I figure I'll drive the Saturn as long as I can.
Been looking at Suzuki's...yes Suzuki.
It is. People who previously would have been driving 7-year-old Chevys are now finding themselves driving all the bling-bling they can get their lender to agree to...
We buy new but pay cash for them then keep them for 12 years or so. We pay ourselves the car payment each month into an interest bearing account then pay cash for the car. The bank pays for part of the car, it's nice.
Good used cars are good too as long as you know how they've been maintained. Someone else eats the depreciation for you but they can also never change the oil and you inherit the problems.
By the time we get rid of our cars there's not much left other than some seats and a small pile of rust :lol: .
LQ
Some credit unions, such as mine, have guarantees on their car loans for those situations where insurance won't cover the loan value. They'll cover the difference. It's a good deal if you can get it.
Buy a car with a big ole tax refund and ptc.
Better MPG & a helluvalotta fun.
p.s. Gearheads....Picking up my new Triumph Rocket III tomorrow.
You got it figured out, LQ. Your first car should be a junker that you suffer with until you have enough money to plunk down to buy that first new car for cash. After that, figure what your loan and excess insurance payments would have been, and put half that into the bank, and you will always have more money than you ever need for repairs and new vehicles down the road.
Loans are economic slavery.
People would think twice about car loans if they saw how much they were paying for their cars, when all the interest payments are factored in.
I got into this trap...was paying $370 a month for a stupid ZX2 escort after trading in a year old Sanoma...Boy was that stupid. Ended up paying around $25,000 for a POS escort...UGH...
Have bought used ever since....and better for it.
Only if you drive the car very few miles a year.
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