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Another Car Topic! Do You Pay More For Transportation Than Your Mortgage?

O

Ornery

Lifer
Just saw this on a news report on ABC news. A study by a pro public transportation group, found that many people are paying more for their vehicles than their mortgage! Guess those Europeans have us pegged after all 😱

As far as I'm concerned, public transportation better pay its own way, or forget it! But I do agree that your money would be far better spent for more real estate than vehicles, which merely rust away. Personally, I've never had a car payment in the 27 years I've been driving. That may change, but not for a while...
 
Yeah no kidding, cars are a terrible place to put any large money into. I've never seen a car actually become more valuable over time.

I think in socal, cars are here to stay basically forever. To alot of people, they are like a status symbol and I don't see people giving them up anytime soon. If public transportation were fast, safe, cheap and efficient, I'd use it. Tall order though.

My car is paid off for, so no payments, just gas, insurance and the occasional repairs.
 
I was actually kicking around taking on a payment to get my wife a new van. I figured, what the hell, a hundred bucks a month would be worth it since the upkeep can come close to that. Then I actually did a little math. $20,000 would run me $333 per month! For five years! With no interest! And that's only for $20,000! :Q

Uh... SCREW THAT! :|
 
the day the IRS gives me a break on car financing interest is the day I'll consider buying a new car (and financing it).
 
Cars are by no means a cheap investment, but they are a price I'm willing to pay.

My car payments are around 20% of my monthly income. My monthly rent is about $200 less than my car payments. My cars have under 30,000 miles between the two of them. They both have warranties that cover another 2 years for one, and 3 years for the other.

The only costs that I have to pay for are oil changes, tires, and wiper blades. Nothing more.

I work a lot, and drive a lot. I don't have the time, space, or the equipement to work on my own vehicles if one was to break down. Used/older vehicles can and do break down and require repairs. All of those costs come out of my pocket. If it's something that requires several days worth of work, I have to pay for a rental car to get me around.

For me, having a new car, with a higher price tag, is worth the hassle that they save. As they say, time is money.

Just for example, if the alternator were to die in my Monte Carlo, labor and parts costs would run almost $900. Thank chevy for putting the alternator behind the engine for that. You have to take the engine completely out of the car to replace the alternator. If my car was out of warranty, and I had to have this done, it would be almost 3 months worth of the car payments that I pay on it now. But, since I have a warranty, it's free.

I also just like having a new car every couple years. It's something I was cursed with 🙁
 
Someday, God knows when, but someday I'm gonna spring for a new buggy. That, or lease one. I figure my mortgage will be paid off by then and kids done with college. Damn, I wonder what cars will be like by then. Hell, I'll probably end up buying a '67 GTO anyway 😉
 
By then, cars will be impossible to fix by yourself because there will be no free space under the hood. Instead, you have to take it the dealer and pay 50 bucks for an oil change 😉

My feeling is that if you got a car that runs well, keep it as long as you can. If I can squeeze out another 100k miles out of my current car, I'm going to keep it that much longer, save atleast 30k+ over buying a new car, and be content along the way.

I remember once driving past a small town house garage, which had a new BMW 3 series in it. Who ever owned that car certainly had to pay more to keep the car than his place. Is it just me or does that seem like terrible money management 😛
 
I own all my cars outright. I have never made a car payment, I'm not saying that I wouldn't but I just never have. Whether or not a new car is worth the money or not depends upon your priorities and bank account. I personally won't pay interest to own a vehicle.



<< I've never seen a car actually become more valuable over time. >>



OuterSquare, I have a 1966 Shelby GT350H in the garage that I think can prove that statement incorrect.
 
The really insane people are driving around in $40k trucks and suvs with payments for 8 years 8 YEARS!! and I bet they aren't low payments either. Every car I have bought has been paid in cash and sofar the most expensive one has been $1200. I have yet to break down on the road other than running out of gas anyway gas gauges don't always work right when you drive < $1200 cars 🙂. Both the cars I am driving are worth more now than when I bought them but one I got for free cause it broke down in my driveway so that probably doesn't count and the other a 67 Galaxie I paid $1200 for and is worth about $3000 but I have had to put about $5000 into to get it there 🙂.
 
Yeah, I've heard of people taking 8 year loans on cars. That is insane, you probably won't own the car that long. :Q

I have a single car payment, which is about 7% of my monthly gross. My mortgage is about 20% of my monthly gross. Having too much more than that allocated from your monthly income just doesn't seem right to me.
 
Off course, if you buy those humongous and expensive SUVs, which suck up gas like army tanks then you gonna waste a lot of you income on transportation. Majority of Americans are too dumb to understand that concept. They buy what is the trend of the day and they pay for it dearly. At the same time they ignore the fact that they are damaging the environment in a big way.
Did you know for example that the average American Care driven the average American distance (10,000 miles) in an average American year releases its own weight in carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And bear in mind that we are talking about a ton of GAS per car per year!!
We as human race will have to pay for this in a major way. Actually we are already suffering some major changes in weather patterns which have translated into more natural disasters. So we will undoubtedly see more of these stuff in the future. This is only one of the many side effects of global warming. So, think hard and smart next time you make that major purchase. 🙂

BTW, I think Americans could make a better use of motorbikes than they are right now. Look at the rest of the world; motorcycles are a major means of transportation. It saves you a lot of money. It is far better in traffic and it is environmentally friendly.

-Some hints from a Fellow American.
 
Oh god, here we go again. What is with some people? Is there a religion that I haven't heard about where SUVs are satan to your subcompact god?
 
Thankful I get a new fleet car every three months. 😀 😀

But I also own several of my own, none of which I ever financed. Other than homes, if I could't pay for it up front, I haven't bought it.

Also -->

<< I've never seen a car actually become more valuable over time >>

I own several that dispute that theory, just one example is my '67 StingRay which is worth at least 10X times its original price (and I have the window sticker ... nice touch to put a spare copy on the gas tank 😉 ).
 
It really depends on whats important to you. I can easily see many young professionals spending more on their car than on mortgage. If I was working, I'd probably be one of those.
 
I spend too much time in my car not to have a new one.

I still spend more on mortgage... but not THAT much more, taking into account petrol, insurance, and the other banes of the car owners existence.
 
Our mortgage is probably 20-25% of our net income but we have 4 cars and we owe nothing on any of them. Sure two of them are more then 25 years old but they both are very reliable. 🙂
 
I think a lot of people in their 20's are this way. You know the ones...when you've got an obviously low-income hick driving around in his late model mustang; its clear as day that about 80% of this guy's $6/hour goes into pretending he actually has money to spend whereas in fact he parks next to his parent's junk-box in their shanty little house.
 
No don't, I'm only 22 - I just think that if a person is cranking in so much money into their car they have to live like a bum then they need to re-evaluate themselves...I know a guy making $6.50/hour and he just bought a brand new fully loaded GTI VR6. I make 3X that amount and would not consider buying one of those right now (granted, we're in Canada so a new GTI is well over $30K). Its equivalent to a mortgage payment on a small house - and yes he lives with his parents 🙂
 
Hehehehe, I pay $150/mo more for my car than my rent, and SO WHAT? I can afford it!


Skoorb, my rent runs $610/mo and my car payment runs $751, and I still live very comfortably. Maybe it's that expensive/exquisite taste of mine 😉
 
Well my rent is $415/month and my mother lent me her new car for a year so beyond routine maintenance I'm sitting perty 🙂
 
We make some awesome coin but I still wouldn't pay even 25K for a car. the most we payed so far is 13K for a 2 year old Grand Prix.
 


<< OuterSquare, I have a 1966 Shelby GT350H in the garage that I think can prove that statement incorrect. >>



Actually, if you reread the statement, you'd have to show me the car first to prove me wrong 😛 Your car is certainly the rare exception and not the norm.


I know that there are occasional classic cars that actually become more valuable, but almost all cars will depreciate with time.
 
I'm one of those drive-it-until-it-dies people. I'll only finance for three years - if I can't afford the payment on the three-year loan, I'll save up more down payment until I can. Anyone taking an 8-year car loan is throwing their money in the toilet.

I worked with a guy who bought a new loaded truck just after he landed a $23K/year job. He paid nothing down and financed it over 6 years. Six months later, his gf moves out and he now has to pay all the rent himself. Turns out he can't afford the whole rent with his truck payment, so he goes back to the dealer to trade it on a cheaper vehicle. Once the dealer explained he owed $3,000 more than the truck is worth the guy almost fainted. He couldn't afford to keep it and couldn't afford to trade it.

But maybe one reason some people might pay more for transportation than for housing is that you can live in a car, but you can't drive a house. 🙂
 
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