Just for fun, how are you enjoying your car payment

[supton]

I think most of mine were $300-350. But only on the 0% did we not pay extra on, so as to pay off quicker. Last one, I took a look at the terms and simply wrote a check and was done.

Not sure what I will do now, could use another car (again) and Im not sure the market is all that great on used.

 

[ATex7239]

We have a payment and a lease. Forgive me, Bob, for I have sinned

Combined it doesn’t equal the national average for one car payment. We could’ve paid cash for the van (still could pay it off anytime) but opted to keep the money in savings instead. The lease is used for work. Did the math many times and it is financially more beneficial to do a lease rather than purchase for me. If you purchase within your means it is not a big deal either way in my opinion. I won’t go so far as to say, there is good debt and bad debt, but I will say there is educated debt and uneducated debt.

 

[supton]

Rust belt life is a tough one when you use your vehicles for 25k+ miles per year.

Yep. Kinda rethinking this at the moment, as I seem to be in the worst of it, wife drives that much and I think I do more. And with the kids starting to fall in step with that…

Bit of a race to watch, will the car rust out or wear out first? the race is on, the moment it leaves the dealer!

 

[nwjones18]

Mine is $560 and the last payment is in Jan!

 

[ATex7239]

I hate car/boat/ATV/etc payments with every fiber of my being. What else do you pay 30k for, plus interest, and when paid off for a few years sell it for let's say 5k on the upper end depending. Makes zero financial sense, better to just buy a good example at the 5k level. But I bet I will have another one at some point, my wife doesn't really get the buy a used car with 150k miles thing, at least for her vehicle.

Though I understand your sentiment, I don’t think car payments and boat/ATV payments go in the same category. One is a necessity and the other is a luxury. If someone is going into $30,000 worth of debt to have a car, I think they are justifiable reasons for that. If someone is going into $30,000 worth of debt for a boat, not so much.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I'm a boomer. I haven't had a car payment since the Reagan era. It's just how I roll. Don't ask me about my white New Balance tennis shoes and white cotton socks though, they keep me hoping I hit the Bingo jackpot

We are so much alike.... white sox, New Balance - no car or house payments since around 2000.
Wife paid cash for these engine-junk HyunKias' we drive. They may turn to junk inside & out, before we pay sticker prices or above, for any new rides.. Thankfully, they only have 34k and 25k mileages on them.

So we're a long ways off, to needing any new rides and ridiculous monthly payments.
By then, we will be in our early/mid-80s and might be found then in a plastic bag on-top of a closet wood shelf...... pushed far into a dark corner....lol

edit....
Did you just hear me just yell to the wife? I suggested we go visit a cemetery front office and get ourselves a couple spots in a Mausoleum there. She probably doesn't mind a dark shelf in the bedroom. One of her parents were there for years, until I found out and got the deceased parent moved to a dresser-top by the mirror.... what I call a more respectable place in the home.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I don't believe in car payments. If you can't afford the vehicle don't buy it. JMO. Ed

Not willing to pay cash for it - invested money is earning 8 - 20 percent sloppily and amateurly invested. Car loan 3-4 percent. Even lowly bank CD earning 5+ %

Bad financial decision to pay cash. Also, big chunk of emergency funds are no longer liquid.

Now if you just put that big hunkin' $75,000 truck on your HELOC - you is a dummie !

 

[gman2304]

Three pages of “ justifying “ having new car loans, some multiples, some for many years, some perpetually etc. Even paying cash it’s still money out of your pocket for an item with diminishing returns. How would that 30k, 40k, 50k, performed if it had been wisely invested in the market over the last 5 years or more? Some people have a lot of discretionary money and they’re good, but most don’t!

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Not willing to pay cash for it - invested money is earning 8 - 20 percent sloppily and amateurly invested. Car loan 3-4 percent. Even lowly bank CD earning 5+ %

Bad financial decision to pay cash. Also, big chunk of emergency funds are no longer liquid.

Now if you just put that big hunkin' $75,000 truck on your HELOC - you is a dummie !

It really depends on the price of the vehicle as a percentage of your total portfolio. When you have a loan, you also need to carry comprehensive insurance. If it’s a vehicle with a lower relative value, that can really add up to a significant amount compared to the total cost.

There’s also something to be said for not having to deal with a bank or credit union. I personally think buying outright gives you more negotiating power at a dealership, less to worry about after the sale, no worries of being underwater, more freedom in general to sell the car, to modify it, etc.

I don’t think there’s a single blanket statement that covers whether it’s smarter to lease, have a loan, or pay cash. It depends.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Funny thing, while chatting in this thread, this just popped into my InBox

 

[CT Rob]

0.00 a month ,loving it

 

[RhondaHonda]

I’m in my early 40s. Had one in 2017 for one month to get the extra $1,000 off the purchase price on the Corvette, then paid it off. Prior to that had one on a new 2009 Dodge Ram for about $300/month. Paid cash for all others and can’t fathom an $800/mo car payment but can see how it’s possible with today’s prices.

 

[ATex7239]

Three pages of “ justifying “ having new car loans, some multiples, some for many years, some perpetually etc. Even paying cash it’s still money out of your pocket for an item with diminishing returns. How would that 30k, 40k, 50k, performed if it had been wisely invested in the market over the last 5 years or more? Some people have a lot of discretionary money and they’re good, but most don’t!

The problem is vehicle purchase money is not necessarily investment money. Everyone always likes to take it to that but that is not how finances work. That is like saying, well you could be investing your money versus buying food or having a mortgage payment or putting money aside for your kids college… really, but not really.

If you are putting money into a sink fund to purchase a vehicle cash or you are making a vehicle payment neither of those are going to be in your investment portfolio. Or at least they shouldn’t be.

 

[walterjay]

I bought a new car this year. I could have paid cash for it but they offered 0% financing for 48 months. So I get to use my money for other things rather than draining my bank account.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

After I reached a certain age with no kids left at home, I decided if I can't pay cash, I don't need it. Last car we bought the dealer asked "will you finance through us", and I told him it depends on the rates. When the deal was done and he said "all we need is a check". We wrote it for the full amount. I don't ever want to loose the feeling of being debt free.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Three pages of “ justifying “ having new car loans, some multiples, some for many years, some perpetually etc. Even paying cash it’s still money out of your pocket for an item with diminishing returns. How would that 30k, 40k, 50k, performed if it had been wisely invested in the market over the last 5 years or more? Some people have a lot of discretionary money and they’re good, but most don’t!

Sure, but you still tie up a large portion of that total cash amount when you have a loan. Either way, you’re parting with the cash.

You end up “making” the difference between your loan interest rate and your investment return rate on a diminishing fraction of the purchase price over the loan term. Depending on the numbers, the markets over the term, inflation, and other factors, it may not be worth the hassle for some people.

 

[oldgrayman]

Next Thursday I'm going down to the Credit Union to pay off my pickup . The APR is very low but it's all about cash flow ...

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Paying off a car loan over time greatly helps your credit score for when you really need a loan.

 

[oldgrayman]

I bought a new car this year. I could have paid cash for it but they offered 0% financing for 48 months. So I get to use my money for other things rather than draining my bank account.

You paid for that 0% . I promise you .

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

I bought a new car this year. I could have paid cash for it but they offered 0% financing for 48 months. So I get to use my money for other things rather than draining my bank account.

Agreeing to these offers, though, often gives up all one’s negotiating power. It often leads one to pay more for the car than one otherwise might.