Posted on 10/03/2019 7:39:42 AM PDT by C19fan
Walk into an auto dealership these days and you might walk out with a seven-year car loan.
That means monthly payments that last well past when the brake pads give out and potentially beyond when the car gets traded in for a new one. About a third of auto loans for new vehicles taken in the first half of 2019 had terms of longer than six years, according to credit-reporting firm Experian PLC. A decade ago, that number was less than 10%.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Advice from my Father. Still good today.
Buy the least expensive new vehicle that meets your needs. Be realistic about what you need, but if you really need air conditioning, include it.
Pay cash. If you can’t afford cash, buy a cheap used car and save up until you can afford to buy a new car for cash.
Follow the maintenance schedule to the letter. Never neglect a service interval or repair.
Insure the car for replacement for the first three years. After that, insure for liability only. Drive carefully.
Drive the car for at least ten years. Put aside $100 every month so you can buy a new car in ten years, and repeat the process.
For $13,000 you can get a two year old Corolla with < 50,000 miles.
If you treat it right, you can reasonably expect to get 500,000 miles out of it.
Buy used. Keep it.
You know, I have been wracking my brain to try to remember the last time I had a car payment. A new car is great fun; for about three days. Once you’re on that treadmill, it is so hard to get off.
I have been happy buying and selling at CarMax. I can sell them my car outright rather than have to play dealer trade scam games. CarMax just hands me a check and off I go. I’m generally pretty happy with their numbers.
The cars I buy usually have 3-8K on them. Functionally brand new, but, as someone else said, another buyer took the depreciation hit.
CarMax prices *may* be a bit higher than what dealers advertise, but I never fall for dealer bs pricing. And, I will gladly pay to avoid the new car store experience.
That is what most people miss about buying a car.
Never finance a depreciating asset. Not smart.
I lusted for one all through high school in the 80’s!
You do what you gotta do sometimes. I’m glad it worked out well for you.
***and you might walk out with a seven-year car loan. ***
In the olden days if you wanted to buy a new car, you made your deal, then went to the bank, came up with about 1/3 down payment, and the bank would loan you the rest for 24 months.
If it was a used car, you came up with 1/3 down, and the bank would loan you the rest for only 18 months.
Im with ya! New cars are a colossal waste of money!
I do keep my cars for 12 years or more, just replaced one car. Having trouble letting go of my 2001 Jeep Cherokee sport with 178K miles on it. I like driving the XJ around town.
I have a 2016 Jeep wrangler Willys and just replaced my Wife’s jeep with a 2018 Grand Cherokee Overland. I got he Willys on the Chrysler affiliated program below dealer invoice. This one is paid off.
I got the Overland for $42K with 5,000 miles on it, it was a dealer demo. That was a good deal since it cost $58K brand new.
You can get some prices buying used or through discount programs. As for auto loans, I try to pay cash, or finance only 10K.
Nissan Versa, Ford Fiesta, Chevy Spark, and maybe a couple others can be had new for less than $15k.
Used cars are probably a better deal for the money, depending on exact needs.
Makes my gut hurt to think about paying $40K+ to buy a car or pick up. I just refuse to do it. I have a 2010 F-150, a 2009 Nissan Rogue and a 2010 Ford Fusion. I don’t owe a penny on them and they all are reliable transportation that I keep maintained. Will probably spend $15K to $20K on a used car of some sort next year. Will have most of that saved up and won’t owe on it long. By the way, I am in the banking business.
Bkmrk.
You’re not married then?
If maintained properly and not subject to very high miles most vehicles are in good condition even after 10 years.
Bought an SUV in 2002, just sold it in 2017. Wife driving another SUV we bought in 2011.
I remember when I bought my 2013 Scion FR-S on a five year loan. I joked about it lasting through the payment period. I wasn’t really joking, though. I have a 150 mile round trip commute and, after all, it IS a sports car. They are not known for longivity.
But it’s at 176k and has proven to be extremely reliable (except for a throwout bearing going at about 150k miles).
I think the auto industry is looking at a real shakeup soon. I’m concerned that the coming collapse happens before Trump’s re-election. That’s really the only thing that could ruin it.
I have a 15 year boat loan. Going fishing.
In the “olden days” 100,000 miles on the odometer meant “time to get your next car”. Now it’s just getting warmed up.
The price of an inflated stock market at the expense of main street combined with de-industrialization. Republicans quit bitchin’ because you caused this 3rd world mess.
Death traps....................
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