New Cars and Financial Ineptitude

[gathermewool]

What do you consider new? Personally, my days of driving around new cars AND old beaters is done. I’m now a fan of buying slightly used vehicles (2-4 years old) and keeping them for 5-10 years.

I’m a fan of some of the newer safety systems and doodads, but don’t need the latest and greatest nor do I want to pay for its depreciation. My most recent vehicles (a 14 and a 15 Subarus) have backup cameras, which are standard now, but were great upgrades from my previous vehicles that didn’t have them. The same goes for Eyesight, Subarus safety system; major upgrade!

Both vehicles have been paid off for over a year now. Will I have a payment in the future? Depends on used car financing offers at the time and what else my money could be doing for me.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I have both old paid off vehicles and newer, financed ones. Why would I pay take my cash that's earning 22% or more when the loans are basically free at 3% or less? Could pay them all off, but that'd be a dumb decision. Debt is a tool, and like any tool, can be used for great success or great failure. Should we get rid of ratchets because some people use them as hammers?

 

[gfh77665]

Why don’t you worry about you, and let other folks worry about other folks?

Thats easy to say but the poor decisions that "other folks" make affect me and everyone else. Just wait until we all get the priviledge of paying off the insane mountain of student debt the deadbeats have accumulated. The nations cumulative Auto debt won't even be on the radar.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Debt scares the xxxx outta me.
I agree 100% with doitmyself; personal finance is a critical skill and should be taught in grade and high school.
So many people, perhaps most people, are not armed with sufficient financial knowledge and get trapped.

I agree, it has to be taught in School, because the parents don't know it to teach at home / maybe in 2 or 3 more generations.
In High School I had a class called - Consumer Economics / best class I ever took.

 

[javacontour]

As long as no one is coming to me for a bailout, it's none of my business. Once folks want to make their debt my problem, and that's as specific as I get, I have the right to make some judgements.

It has to be a two way street. If you don't want my judgment, don't look to me for a bailout.

I pay attention to my own finances and not to others. It’s none of my beeswax how others want to spend their money.

 

[Lyman]

Have you ever seen the huge repo auctions they have? They are huge! Many people buy cars that are in way over their head.
I like cash myself but have financed a few times in my life. I have a lot of coworkers that live "high on the hog" These are the same people that can't afford lunch.

 

[Passport1]

Impulsive buying habits are similar to the motivation in an old line from the lyrics of 'Bad Girls' 'I got what you want and you got what I need'

These are my principles. Deseridata;

Deseridata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; …

ginprana.wordpress.com

 

[02SE]

As long as no one is coming to me for a bailout, it's none of my business. Once folks want to make their debt my problem, and that's as specific as I get, I have the right to make some judgements.

It has to be a two way street. If you don't want my judgment, don't look to me for a bailout.

A big +1

 

[OVERKILL]

Historically we bought used and drove until the proverbial "wheels fell off", however, that changed when I traded the BMW in on my 2014 SRT Charger, which started a trend of new(er) vehicles that has landed us where we are at present.

I expect we'll hold onto both of these vehicles, particularly the truck, for the foreseeable future until FCA has a BEV GC or similar with performance comparable to my current SRT at which point I'll likely trade the Jeep in on that.

 

[PimTac]

PimTac, you seem to have good financial sense. Perhaps you might counsel others; many will go their own way anyways, but you just might save someone's behind.
Of course, preaching is to be avoided, but if someone asks, perhaps you might share your experiences, good and otherwise.

I do when asked but I always preface that with the fact that I am not a professional financial expert in any means.

I attribute a lot of my financial wherewithal to my parents. They lived during the Depression and WW2 and learned the meaning and benefits of frugality. They in turn passed that knowledge on to their children.

 

[Job]

The new cars have more important features. A lot of people buy new after owning and putting money into an old car. If a new car saves your life, it is better than saving money and being dead. You are assuming your 20 year old car will last forever, and you are never going to need safety advancements. Also a lot of people lease or go on payments as a way of putting car expense into a monthly cost. If they lose 10,000 on resale every 4 years that's about 200 per month. They have new tires, brakes, battery, warranty, and everything else to start the 4 years with. A lot of people think like this.

 

[JTK]

I think the longest I've kept a vehicle in 30yrs of decent vehicle ownership was one of our minivans at 6yrs. A 2007 Honda Odyssey that I leased and then bought out. Other than that I tend to get the bug for a different vehicle every 2-4yrs.

I only make a move when I find a deal for something I'm after. I'm ahead in terms of what I owe vs, what I can get for it and if the financing terms are ~2% interest or so. I buy late model used.

I have paid cash for daily drivers in the past and used the money I put away monthly to do it all over again in a few years.

Some people spend gobs of money on hunting, fishing, gambling or other hobbies. To me, owning and taking care of my vehicles is a hobby of sorts.

 

[Kurtatron]

Thats easy to say but the poor decisions that "other folks" make affect me and everyone else. Just wait until we all get the priviledge of paying off the insane mountain of student debt the deadbeats have accumulated. The nations cumulative Auto debt won't even be on the radar.

This is kind of how I feel. I do wish people were more modest in their spending habits. I think consumer debt is bad for the economy. Consumer debt, (not investments) just makes bubbles, and bubble bursts cause depressions. It's like no one learned from the 2008 crisis. Excessive debt can lead to national crisis. Sure, I don't judge from a high-horse perspective, but it is an aspect of culture that I believe is self-destructive. I don't see anything wrong with judging others' financial habits as unwise or wise.

 

[ollie]

For myself the days of financing anything is over and that includes property. If I can't afford to pay cash then I don't buy. My latest big purchase to me, was a brand new Super Tenere motorcycle. I saved from 2013 and picked it up in 2018. And no matter how any finance expert, banker, or dealership wants to twist it, CASH IS KING!!! With good negotiating skills you will always get a better deal paying cash than financing.

All my vehicles are paid in full and I run them into the ground. It's how I roll.

 

[dishdude]

As long as no one is coming to me for a bailout, it's none of my business. Once folks want to make their debt my problem, and that's as specific as I get, I have the right to make some judgements.

It has to be a two way street. If you don't want my judgment, don't look to me for a bailout.

The little guy never gets bailed out, all that money is taken from the working man and goes straight to the top.

 

[csandste]

I have both old paid off vehicles and newer, financed ones. Why would I pay take my cash that's earning 22% or more when the loans are basically free at 3% or less? Could pay them all off, but that'd be a dumb decision. Debt is a tool, and like any tool, can be used for great success or great failure. Should we get rid of ratchets because some people use them as hammers?

You're making 22%?

 

[OVERKILL]

This is kind of how I feel. I do wish people were more modest in their spending habits. I think consumer debt is bad for the economy. Consumer debt, (not investments) just makes bubbles, and bubble bursts cause depressions. It's like no one learned from the 2008 crisis. Excessive debt can lead to national crisis. Sure, I don't judge from a high-horse perspective, but it is an aspect of culture that I believe is self-destructive. I don't see anything wrong with judging financial others' habits as unwise or wise.

Modern society functions on consumption, this consumption is, unfortunately, primarily fuelled by consumer debt. We have transitioned from an economy and mindset where goods were reasonably costly and there was an entire industry that revolved around repairing those goods to facilitate continued operation to goods that are arguably no more affordable for the most part, but are now no longer designed to be repaired. Instead, this "Walmartization" of society has created a dependence on that consumption cycle.

If people were to curb their spending habits, that entire house of cards would collapse. From single use tools from Horror Fraught to electronics that are obsolete the moment they leave the store and not economical to repair from Walmart, society has transitioned to function in this manner.

 

[Barkleymut]

Why don’t you worry about you, and let other folks worry about other folks?

Would be nice except for the fact that at some point these folks that cannot balance their spending with their income will need to be bailed out. Student Loan forgiveness, Social Security, we can go on and on. But of course the people that get forgiveness usually end up in the same spot a few years later. They will want MY money to address THEIR issues.

 

[wbwanzer]

I can afford the cars that I buy. I get a different car ( mostly new but not necessarily ) every few years because I love cars and only have a few more in me before the wife or kids take away my keys and license.

 

[ollie]

You're making 22%?

They are gambling like a casino that it will earn 22%. There is no investment anywhere in the world that is going to make a risk free 22% earning. If there was we would all be rich.