How much are you paying for your car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been fortunate enough to never have to take out a car loan. I drive a small sedan that I bought last year for $16k in cash.

Most people nationwide can't afford to do that and have car loans. All the people on this board who buy cars in cash are not your average people.

You have been dumb enough to never take out cheap loans to build wealth.
Savvy investors take other people money to make money.
If you can finance a car at 3% but decide to dump all your cash into it, you are not a savvy investor.
A savvy investor will take the 3% loan and invest the cash in a venture that produces a higher ROI.
That's what banks do. The take your deposits and give a laughable 0.5% (that's free money to them), and lend it to others for a higher rate.
All your people who buy cars in cash are dumb investors.

Ever heard of being risk averse? Lots of those risk takers go belly up after borrowing money.

[Anonymous]

It's not a question of risk aversion. If you are offered a 0% loan, you can take the cash and invest it in a 1% CD and are guaranteed to make money.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I wonder why $400 feels like a fortune for some people here. Are these people living paycheck to paycheck?
I am surprised most here are buying the cheap used cars. Who is buying the new cars out there?

I bought the car this week end. A president's day special. Feel really happy about the purchase.
The dealer was pushing me to buy a higher end luxury model.

I'm comfortable with the $400 payment. We still end up with $1600 extra to save at the end of the month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been fortunate enough to never have to take out a car loan. I drive a small sedan that I bought last year for $16k in cash.

Most people nationwide can't afford to do that and have car loans. All the people on this board who buy cars in cash are not your average people.

You have been dumb enough to never take out cheap loans to build wealth.
Savvy investors take other people money to make money.
If you can finance a car at 3% but decide to dump all your cash into it, you are not a savvy investor.
A savvy investor will take the 3% loan and invest the cash in a venture that produces a higher ROI.
That's what banks do. The take your deposits and give a laughable 0.5% (that's free money to them), and lend it to others for a higher rate.
All your people who buy cars in cash are dumb investors.

Ever heard of being risk averse? Lots of those risk takers go belly up after borrowing money.

Risk averse people never make money.

[Anonymous]

I paid $8k in cash for mine 4 years ago. I love my car. It's a 2004 Cadillac? SRX, and that Northstar V8 will run. My husband paid 24k for a 2017 and his payments are around $500. It was actually 12k off the original price because it had hail damage from a dealership in SC, so our dealer had all the dents taken out for us as part of the deal. It looks brand new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wonder why $400 feels like a fortune for some people here. Are these people living paycheck to paycheck?
I am surprised most here are buying the cheap used cars. Who is buying the new cars out there?

I bought the car this week end. A president's day special. Feel really happy about the purchase.
The dealer was pushing me to buy a higher end luxury model.

I'm comfortable with the $400 payment. We still end up with $1600 extra to save at the end of the month.

You don’t make sense. You said before you had no savings because of 529s, mortgage, and daycare. Now you assert you have $2000 extra a month. Where has that been going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m buying a $25k. brand new car. I’m getting a 0% financing deal for 60 month.
My monthly payment will be around $400.
I can afford i but I wonder whether this is too much. I have seen posts here car payments of $400 were criticized as excessive.
I don’t see how I can pay less than that if I want to drive a decent midsize car. This is not even a luxury model.

How much are you paying for your car?
If your car is paid off, how much did you pay for it?

27.8k for a 2017 CRV-EX, paid cash...well, actually put the whole thing on my 1.5% cash back credit card and paid off at the end of the month...I haven't carry a car payment since my first car out of college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious and not snarky question - why do you not have more money saved to put against the car, either outright or a downpayment? You are essentially financing the entire car.

If your finances are that tight and you don’t have the ability to save more, then you probably should be looking at a used car. $25k is the price of a modest new car, but it still sounds like more than you can afford. It’s one thing to take them up on 0% financing for about half that amount, but not the whole thing.

This makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

We paid $26K in cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wonder why $400 feels like a fortune for some people here. Are these people living paycheck to paycheck?
I am surprised most here are buying the cheap used cars. Who is buying the new cars out there?

I bought the car this week end. A president's day special. Feel really happy about the purchase.
The dealer was pushing me to buy a higher end luxury model.

I'm comfortable with the $400 payment. We still end up with $1600 extra to save at the end of the month.

You don’t make sense. You said before you had no savings because of 529s, mortgage, and daycare. Now you assert you have $2000 extra a month. Where has that been going?

When and where did I said that? Did you even read my posts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious and not snarky question - why do you not have more money saved to put against the car, either outright or a downpayment? You are essentially financing the entire car.

If your finances are that tight and you don’t have the ability to save more, then you probably should be looking at a used car. $25k is the price of a modest new car, but it still sounds like more than you can afford. It’s one thing to take them up on 0% financing for about half that amount, but not the whole thing.

I love it when out of touch rich people respond. We didn't have money saved up because our 10 year old car died earlier than we expected it to (it was very well maintained but at this point, repairs would have cost more than the car was worth) and with two kids in daycare and a mortgage, we are not saving much outside of retirement and 529s. We intend to drive this car for at least 10-12 years so buying new made more sense than buying used.

Isn’t this you OP? You made your decision, not sure why you are so defensive about it.

[Anonymous]

Don’t worry about what DCUM says. You do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wonder why $400 feels like a fortune for some people here. Are these people living paycheck to paycheck?
I am surprised most here are buying the cheap used cars. Who is buying the new cars out there?

I bought the car this week end. A president's day special. Feel really happy about the purchase.
The dealer was pushing me to buy a higher end luxury model.

I'm comfortable with the $400 payment. We still end up with $1600 extra to save at the end of the month.

OP. You have two kids in daycare, you are fully contributing and your retirements, and after paying $400 and your monthly expenses, you will have $1600 left over for other stuff and savings!!! You are rich, and clearly afford this car...why are you listening to naysayers here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wonder why $400 feels like a fortune for some people here. Are these people living paycheck to paycheck?
I am surprised most here are buying the cheap used cars. Who is buying the new cars out there?

I bought the car this week end. A president's day special. Feel really happy about the purchase.
The dealer was pushing me to buy a higher end luxury model.

I'm comfortable with the $400 payment. We still end up with $1600 extra to save at the end of the month.

OP. You have two kids in daycare, you are fully contributing and your retirements, and after paying $400 and your monthly expenses, you will have $1600 left over for other stuff and savings!!! You are rich, and clearly afford this car...why are you listening to naysayers here?

I meant to write, OP comma. I am not the OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious and not snarky question - why do you not have more money saved to put against the car, either outright or a downpayment? You are essentially financing the entire car.

If your finances are that tight and you don’t have the ability to save more, then you probably should be looking at a used car. $25k is the price of a modest new car, but it still sounds like more than you can afford. It’s one thing to take them up on 0% financing for about half that amount, but not the whole thing.

I love it when out of touch rich people respond. We didn't have money saved up because our 10 year old car died earlier than we expected it to (it was very well maintained but at this point, repairs would have cost more than the car was worth) and with two kids in daycare and a mortgage, we are not saving much outside of retirement and 529s. We intend to drive this car for at least 10-12 years so buying new made more sense than buying used.

We aren't rich. Our car is going to die soon. Several lights on and after 14 years, I refuse to fix it any more after just putting in thousands into it. We knew this was an issue and are saving/can pay cash. I would not buy a used car as they don't have all the newer safety features. If you can afford it, go for it, but I'd be concerned if you are not very comfortable with two kids in day care and a mortgage. We have no child care costs.

I don't understand - why WOULDN'T you take a 0% loan, especially in the past few years when the market was doing so well. I think a lot of DCUMers are insanely fiscally conservative.