Since we're on the topic of vehicles lately, here's one for you. I was talking to a buddy of mine the other night. He just paid of his F150 (2010). He's already browsing a local lot looking at 2014-2015s. He hasn't even had the truck paid off for a month, yet. My wife and I are long time friends with this guy and were trying to talk him out of it (it may have worked). He said that he wanted to trade in before he lost too much money and that he would still be right around the same payment as he had before. I couldn't get it through to him how much money he could save if he just hung on to it for a few years and, at the very least, put the money in the bank (investments would certainly be a little better option). He essentially made it clear to me that a vehicle payment is an expected expense rather than a luxury expense as I consider them (in most situations). I know a lot of guys who only hang on to vehicles for a few years due to fear of maintenance, value, or simply being tired of it, so I know he's not alone. Me personally? I hate payments. I have my 05 Tacoma with ~150K on it, and plan to put more and more on it. I can't see dropping the money required on new vehicles as frequently as some, but then again, everyone is entitled to do what they want with their money. Is my buddy the majority here? Do most of you "expect" to have some sort of vehicle payment through most of your life, or do you payoff and ride it out for as long as you can?
Screw that. I hate car payments. I pay those bastards off as quickly as I can. Car notes are the #1 thing that hold most people back financially. I will never have 2 car payments. My truck is paid off, and I'll drive that thing till it dies. Hopefully I can pay my wife's car off in 2 years, then hopefully get 5 good years with no car payments. Hell yes. The only "expected" payment that a person should have is their mortgage.
I hate them. I've only had to buy 1 car... A 2011 Chevy Malibu. I would much rather buy an older vehicle I can pay off in 2 years and drive it until it dies than buy new cars and have constant payments.
I bought my 01 chevy new back in October of 2000. Back when the 'preferred' interest rate was still 9.1% I paid that sucker off in just under three years and am in no hurry to get into car payments again. I figure I'd be better off putting away $600.00 a month and occasionally dipping into that for repairs rather than getting into payments. Of course, I never do sock away the $600.00. Sigh...
I owe nothing on my current vehicle and will write a check for my next one. I plan on driving this one another 4-5 years.
We make payments to ourselves. Then, if we can afford it, pay cash for a 3-5 year old vehicle. Don't think we'll ever have a car loan again. Doing something similar for house/land. We won't buy anything unless we can put at least 50% down.
I have a '06 Silverado with 68,000 miles. That baby is going til it dies which hopefully is many years. No payments here either.
Well technically, many new car purchases are essentially free money. I certainly agree the expense of high cost vehicles is a waste and not mandatory, holding a loan at 0 to 1.9% is much smarter than paying it off while having a mortgage or other loans at higher rates just because of what the loan was for. Money is money, and once you borrow it you pay off the most expensive money (highest rate) the quickest. It's always smarter to hold off from buying a new vehicle financially. That said, if you do buy a new vehicle... it's not always the smartest money decision to pay it off quickly given the rates thrown around these days.
I would be saving for a long time if I did that for land. House would be no problem with equity, but definitely not land. 240+ acres just went on the market a few miles from here. 1.9 million. Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
Zero percent loans on vehicles generally requires paying a higher upfront cost (giving up other incentives).
Yeah I realize you can't walk in with nothing and get these loans... just that they are available. I just hate the stigmatism people hold on what their money is for. Money is money. Doesn't matter where it went to, just matters how much it is costing you to keep that money out. I have Federal Student Loans at 7.9%, this is double what I can sign for a house and closer to triple what I could get a new car for. I'm not paying off a car first, just because that is the bad loan to have.
You will actually pay a higher price for the vehicle if you are offered 0% APR from what I have seen. People who do this if not paying much down are upside down on the vehicle for a long time. Right, payoff the higher int rates first. I chuckle when I hear some people say things like education loans are "good debt"?
We used to love customers like you when I worked in the dealerships.... Agreed, but I would say ALWAYS..., if someone wants to overpay for a vehicle and buy new, they will save thousands of dollars by paying for it immediately ... I have not seen a 0% deal that didn't cost some rebate or incentive...its what we called, "The Hook" Buy used and pay cash or pay it up as fast as possible.... A vehicle is not an investment, a house is
Our 2004 Accord has 203,000 miles. Our 2008 Explorer has 104,000 miles. I hate both vehicles and want a F-150 in the worst way but there is no way I am going to buy it until one of these vehicles dies. Every time you switch vehicles you lose a ton of money.
I don't really worry about my car loan. When I pay my truck off in another 18 months I will probably turn around and buy my wife a new car. I really have no problem with always having a car payment.