[Incorrigible]

 

I'm not a good customer.  I've owned American and Japanese cars and just took car of them for 10 years.  Four years was the maximum loan I've ever taken though.

My current stable:

1997 Honda Accord
1999 Toyota Sienna
2002 Toyota Camry

 

[Larry Lucido]

Cars last 6 years now. I paid off my 1986 T-Bird after 6 years and drove it 13 years.

[GWB00]

I read that that Americans drive their cars for an average of 10 years. The reason being is cars are just built better these days.

[nmh]

We saved our money and bought our F new OREIGN cars with cash. They're older now but we take care of them.

I suppose the government will just have to bail out the consumers on this too? Too much greed isn't good for the economy so I suppose Bush will have to come up with something for that too. LOL!

No one forces anyone to purchase things they can't afford.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The trend toward longer-term loans didn’t start last year or even in the last decade. Since at least 1975, when the Fed began tracking auto loan data, the length of car notes has steadily gone up.***

Fourty to fifty years ago you could only get car loans at the bank.
The rules were..If it was a NEW CAR you could get a 24 month loan. If it was a USED CAR you could only get 18 month loan. State tax included in both loans..

And that was AFTER a down payment of about 20% that came out of your pocket.

[ErnBatavia]

Pretty much the same page. 1997 Camry and a two year old Yaris, which replaced the other "twin" '97 Camry. **

Previous to the Camrys, we had a Tercel from it's birth in 1980 right up until 1997

**We kept the Japanese manufactured Camry and sold the Americanese, as it turns out the one made in the Land of the Rising Sun was much superior in several respects.

[Made In The USA]

I’m not a good customer either: We paid off our SUV and write a check to ourselves each month instead. We bought our family luxury car used (with a warranty) and saved a bundle over brand new.

I love cars, but I don’t love throwing money away.

[Responsibility2nd]

This 72-84 month financing is to the auto industry what sub-prime mortgages was to the homeonwer undustry.

I well remember what Mitsubishi’s zero zero zero financing plan did to Mitsubishi. And even if you paid cash for a Mitsubishi the value was less than half of a comparable Honda or Nissan.

[-YYZ-]

Why not finance over, say, 5 years? Assuming you plan to keep the car at least that long, and the interest rates are (as they have been) negligible. I financed my current car (less the $10,000 in cash I put down on it) over 5 years at 1.9% APR - the financing is costing me very little, and my monthly payment is minimal. And I got incentives and discounts on the car when I bought it, too.

I’ve already decided, though - my next new car will be a used car. Let some other pay the 20-40% depreciation that occurs over the first couple of years, leaving me with a practically new car for a bunch less money. I must admit I’m not super thrifty, though - I’ve developed a taste for nice cars, not just basic transportation. I’ve had enough of those over the years.

[The Eagle Bomb]

As someone said, “I buy a car every 15 years whether I need one or not.”

I celebrated 200,000 miles and my 9 year anniversary last month with the old Jeep Cherokee.

[Trust but Verify]

Our current stable:

1998 Toyota Camry
1999 Toyota Camry
2007 Toyota Corolla
2007 Toyota Highlander.

We have a mini-dealership in our driveway at suppertime every night!!

[the_devils_advocate_666]

I had to bite the bullet and get a loan for a little over 9K for the balance to buy my wife a car last August. The loan officer said just go ahead and get the 5 year term because there’s no penalty for paying the loan off early. I paid it off a week ago today. Grand total of $155 in interest paid on the life of the loan.

[Moose4]

It took me eight years to pay off my truck that I bought in 1995. Five years initially with a balloon payment, then I had to refinance the balloon payment for three more. I wasn’t real bright.

Fortunately, I’ve sort of made up for it by keeping the beast on the road for five years after paying it off. 161,500 miles, looks like hell, but she’s still going.

}:-)4

[AlaskaErik]

My current truck, a 2001 GMC, was purchased new in Oct. 2000 and paid off in 2002 and it still runs like a champ. Its predecessor was 11.5 years old. My 2003 Kia was purchased new in Nov. 2003 and paid off in 2005. At 35 mpg it will be my primary vehicle until the doors fall off. I anticipate keeping both vehicles for 10 to 15 years.

[Osage Orange]

IMO....longer terms are in-line with increased car pricing.

[HamiltonJay]

Not mine... my 1993 Conversion Van finally died, bought it in 1998.. 10 years out of it, and if the frame hadn’t rusted out, would still be driving... I picked up a 2002 Minivan with about 60k on in for about 6k.. paid cash, I expect to get at least 5 years out of it and everything after that is icing on the cake.

My 1996 Sebring Convertible I bought in 2000 is still running with 150k on it.. figure I got another year or two out of that one, and even if I don’t no biggie go buy another 5 year old car with abouut 40-50k on it cheap and drive that one till it dies.

Got a buddy who’s got a new Chrysler minivan all the bells and whistles.. its nice, but its nearly 40k.. even if you own that car 10 years, you are paying out 300ish a month not counting maintenance, insurance or taxes for it... and I know that guy will not have that car for 10 years. That’s rediculous. I shoot for cost to purchase/months owed to be about $100 per month.

[adm5]

Ford offered me 0% interest on my F-150, so I took it.

I checked with my bank, and they said they couldn’t do any better than 0%.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Bullish! What recession?