One more payment

[AstroManLuca]

of course. if you can't afford new, buy used. being able to pay a monthly payment does not constitute one's ability to afford something. i made that mistake when i was young :\

Yeah, so did I. Well, looking back I don't think buying my Fit new was a complete mistake... at the time, it was a good car for me, and it was the same price as used small cars with lots of miles on them. So I figured why not pay the same amount and get one with 0 miles on it?

I should have broadened my search criteria and looked more at cars in the $6-8k range, I could have still gotten something nice and I would have already paid it off by now.

 

[ichy]

Bought my current far used for $4,000 eight year ago. Never had a car payment. It's a pity that used car prices have shot up so much though :-/

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Always pay off debts before saving.

To a point, this is good advice. But if you have significant cash flow and a stable income, your statement should read "pay off debts with interest rates exceeding a reasonable market rate of return before saving."

 

[Jeff7]

My car was paid off when I bought it, back in 2000, at age 18.
($5k, which my parents split with me.)

But I'm on the car payment thing now, since January of this year - it's a 3 year loan, but I figure I can knock it out by the end of this year. Though the rate's 1.9%...it almost feels like it'd make more sense to find an investment that gives something higher than that, and let it run out the full 3 years.
But, I'm not a fan of having debt.

 

[Rage187]

I bought 2 new hondas in 07
Traded in one of the 07s for an 08
an 08 for a 10
and finally the 10 in for an 11

I r stupid. Luckily, one of the 07s is now paid off.

 

[Train]

Not when buying a Dodge. You lose 30% value as soon as you drive it home.

as opposed to other makes that only lose 29%?

And how is that even relevant to this discussion, anyways? If a car loses value when you drive it off the lot, it's the same wether you paid cash or financed.

 

[Sixguns]

I dont really care what my car is valued at because I dont plan on selling it. I plan on running this sucker into the ground before I buy a new one. And even that will take a while since my father in law is giving me his old Harley. My car will be getting parked here in about 2 months once it gets nice and warm.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

lol, people with car payments

This. The only thing worth going into debt for is a house. If you can't afford the car you want outright, buy a cheap used car instead. Going into debt for an asset that depreciates like crazy is stupid.

But, good for you paying it off OP.

 

[ichy]

as opposed to other makes that only lose 29%?

I don't think this is the case anymore, used car prices are different from a decade ago. Good luck finding a very lightly used Honda or Toyota for 30% off the new price.

 

[edro]

as opposed to other makes that only lose 29%?

And how is that even relevant to this discussion, anyways? If a car loses value when you drive it off the lot, it's the same wether you paid cash or financed.

I just wanted to take a shot at people who buy domestic, new.
It is the absolutely worst purchase you can possibly make.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Mine will be paid off this year. Hoping I can drive it for at least a couple more years before I get anything new. I'm convinced that one of the primary keys to easy living is eliminating debt. Hopefully I can swing it so that the only thing I'm paying on for a while is the mortgage. I've decided that the next vehicle I get will be a nice one though, so I'll be saving up for a down payment for as long as I can.

 

[Train]

I just wanted to take a shot at people who buy domestic, new.
It is the absolutely worst purchase you can possibly make.

What's a domestic? Because my dodge was made in Canada (with an engine made in Mexico) while Most Hondas are made in Ohio and Toyotas made in Kentucky/Tenessee

And the KBB value on my 09 Charger has gone UP this year. Go figure.

EDIT: 10 worst resale values, not exactly a domestic dominated list:

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story...&story=loResidual&referer=&year=&aff=national

 

[AstroManLuca]

This. The only thing worth going into debt for is a house. If you can't afford the car you want outright, buy a cheap used car instead. Going into debt for an asset that depreciates like crazy is stupid.

But, good for you paying it off OP.

Haha, I knew someone would come in and say this.

Look, I understand that having debt is bad, and you shouldn't splurge on a car just because you can afford to make minimum payments.

But like I said in an earlier post, not everyone has enough money lying around to buy a decent car straight up. If you buy a $500 shitheap it will break down one day and you will be stuck paying towing bills, repair bills (assuming it's even worth repairing), and you will miss (or be late for) work one day.

Again, not saying you should buy a brand new car for 25 grand just because you can afford the payments. But if you have a decent income but no money saved up, it isn't necessarily a bad thing to take out a SMALL loan to buy a decent used car instead of a ticking time bomb.

 

[heymrdj]

This. The only thing worth going into debt for is a house. If you can't afford the car you want outright, buy a cheap used car instead. Going into debt for an asset that depreciates like crazy is stupid.

But, good for you paying it off OP.

You mean a house? With todays crappy economy and it's not looking to get much better, houses are continually in decline. Once you move in you're most likely stuck there if you can't make cash flow to outright move again. You certainly aren't selling your house within a week or two in order to be able to move. With poor job outlook gluing youself down to an area with 100-300k of debt is just a downright dumb ass move.

Used car prices are through the roof, and sometimes it's worth that little more to get a lot more. What do you do for your used car when you have an ou of warranty major repair? Do you have the cash leftoever to repair that since you just paid cash for the car? Does it make much sense to buy a 6 year old car with no warranty and 90k miles for 10k, or buy a brand new economy car for 15k with a loan, 0 miles, and a 10 year warranty?

 

[Gunslinger08]

Both of our cars will be paid off next year and I'll be very happy to stop sending $900/month away. Hopefully we can get by on our current cars for at least 5 years after that. I only have about 20k miles on mine after 2.5 years, so I doubt I'll have any issues.

 

[D1gger]

We haven't had a car loan since about 1992. Every car purchased after that we have paid cash for. A mixture of new (for her) and mildly used (for me and the kids).

 

[amdhunter]

Sent the last check in the mail today! They wanted me to pay an extra 15.00 to have the title overnighted to me. Um.. no thanks, Ive wanted long enough, a few more days wont be that bad.

w00t. Congrats. Just paid off my RX-8 this week. It is satisying as hell to see $0.00 left.

EDIT: Just logged in and saw this:

This account has been closed. If you have an open account with TFS, you can add it below:

lol

 

[zerocool84]

I paid my car off over a year ago and I'll never have a car payment again.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

If I do ever get a car loan again it's going to be for very little money (10k at most) and at a very low rate.

 

[thegimp03]

We bought a new car this weekend. Could have paid cash for it, but they had a 0% for 36 months offer. With 0%, I don't mind making payments on the car because I know I can do better things with the money.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Always pay off debts before saving.

Disagree. I used most of my saved money to invest...it's making money at a rate > the highest interest rate loan I have.

 

[Corporate Thug]

You mean a house? With todays crappy economy and it's not looking to get much better, houses are continually in decline. Once you move in you're most likely stuck there if you can't make cash flow to outright move again. You certainly aren't selling your house within a week or two in order to be able to move. With poor job outlook gluing youself down to an area with 100-300k of debt is just a downright dumb ass move.

Used car prices are through the roof, and sometimes it's worth that little more to get a lot more. What do you do for your used car when you have an ou of warranty major repair? Do you have the cash leftoever to repair that since you just paid cash for the car? Does it make much sense to buy a 6 year old car with no warranty and 90k miles for 10k, or buy a brand new economy car for 15k with a loan, 0 miles, and a 10 year warranty?

1. The house will eventually appreciate, the care never will (unless it becomes a classic or a collectible but the chances of that is so rare we won't even discuss it).

2. Housing prices are expected to start to creep up in the second of this year.

 

[Tweak155]

Stop keeping them informed of your financial choices. Your money your business, not theirs. Tell them to STFU.

Congrats OP, now drive that car until it dies. Take that money and pay of the rest of your debt.

Yeah *I* don't. Wife... well she is the type of woman that just talks and talks and.... talks.

 

[Zurg]

Key is finding a good deal on a used car.

Bought a 94 Volvo 940 in late 2007 with 75k miles on it.

Approximate costs so for.

2500$ for the car.
50$ spark plugs/cables.
250$ timing belt.
240$ set of tires.
25$ oil change ever 3k miles.
$$ for other minor upkeep costs, air filter, etc.

And that's about it. I've put 60k miles on it so far and it has never quit on me once, thing is a fricking tank. It's all about finding the right one.

 

[heymrdj]

1. The house will eventually appreciate, the care never will (unless it becomes a classic or a collectible but the chances of that is so rare we won't even discuss it).

2. Housing prices are expected to start to creep up in the second of this year.

Really? That's a gurantee? I lived in the Bainbridge area for 17 years and houses only went down. Started at an average of 130,000 and moved down from there to an average of 65,000 now. I see now that it's creeping into the 50's. Crime is at an all time high, employment at an all time low. All the local shops are closing down unable to keep up with the one super walmart there. The town is literall a ghost of its former self, other than Shotwell Street it is becoming decrepit. Local politicians are corrupt as hell and can't get voted out thanks to the "Good Ole' Boys". 17 years is a long time to wait to be out from under a mortgage, especially if you lost you job 6 years ago with 19 years of payments to go. Just bad sauce all the way around. And I certainly don't believe we'll see much of a creep this year, while the housing market is rebuilding, alot of people interested in buying a house haven't had a new job or been out of bankruptcy long enough to get a decent loan.

Well that's a P&N discussion and I certainly won't argue that a house is a wise investment. I just believe that you should not buy a house until you're absolutely sure you're sticking there.