I do home loans for a living. The vast majority of people only care about what the monthly payment is. They are never going to own a car outright. The most common response when I suggest that they should pay off their car and not buy another one so they can qualify for the house they want is "But I've never NOT had a car payment?!?!". I don't understand it, but it's just the way most people think and I've given up trying to talk people out of it anymore.
People get screwed on that kind of deal on anything, even bikes. Well, "screwed" isn't exactly right, because they willingly signed the papers. My aunt bit on one of those "no payments for 6 months" deals on a Mitsubishi car. By the time she made the first payment, she was so far upside down on the car that she had to keep it until it was paid off.
Insane loan terms is one of the big reasons costs of things like cars/motorcycles/RVs/boats have skyrocketed in the last 20 or so years. People are so willing to sign up to a manageable payment rather than truly understanding just what they can afford. I've lost count of the number of folks I know, and having a real good idea what they pull in each year, recently buying $75-100K fishing boats here in FL and opting for insane repayment terms just because the monthly payments are (barely) manageable.
I finance vehicles, because I don’t want to unass that much cash at one time. I liked to keep a good “oh shit” fund. But I get a good interest rate, and between my trade and down payment, I never finance more than half of the cost of the vehicle. Then I always pay extra every month. Which means even the vehicle can be considered an “oh shit” fund, because at any time I can unass it and put money in my pocket. I am one of those people that “always has a car payment”, because I like to change vehicles every 2-3 years. But I am never upside down on the vehicle.
Being upside down in a car loan is not inevitable, as you make it seem. If one makes the decision to put little or no money down on a new car, then the MOMENT they sign the paper, they are likely upside down, and yes deferred payments such as are the current hot offer out there, make that matter that much worse. However...if one chooses to do that, it's on them, and buying gap insurance becomes a good idea. As noted above, most people just don't care, accept the deal with the lowest payment on new car smell and go on their merry way...
I'm simply suggesting that those who choose to defer payments or put little or no money down and subsequently find themselves upside down are not victims of some trickery or deception. I read your comments as though that was what you were saying. I apologize to you if I misread your intent.
I bought my GMC Duramax in 2016 new with a sticker of $69k. GM incentives knocked off $8k, I had $12k towards it from a trade in. My loan was for 6 years of which I never intended on carrying it that long. My interest rate was good through my company’s credit union. Wasn’t zero but significantly better than GMs offering at the time. It was a payroll draft twice a month for the months note. Very easy. At the 3 year 10 month mark I owed $19k to which I paid off in cash. At the same time I had the truck completely deleted and gave up 1 year of factory warranty left on the truck by doing that. Didn’t care was fed up with DEF and stupid regens. I love the truck, it’s been a good truck and the mileage is low at 68k miles and not gong up any with the current work from home situation. I had a truck note for 10 years on several trucks I’m glad I no longer own. I literally hate a vehicle note. But I have one sitting in my garage that’s a keeper after all that.
I have done A LOT to the truck. I love it because it is a crew cab, short bed with the rare ZF750 6 speed manual transmission and zero rust. Here are some of the fixes/modifications: KC stage 1 turbo, Spearco intercooler, SCT X4 tuner w/ custom tunes, O-ringed heads, ARP head studs, EGR delete, South Bend dual disc clutch, AirDog II-4G fuel pump, AFE HD Momentum CAI, AFE CAC pipes, AFE intake horn, AFE front & rear differential covers, Magnaflow 4" turbo back exhaust with cat deleted, Sinister 200 amp alternator, Sinister coolant filter, Bulletproof Diesel radiator, Bulletproof Diesel water pump, big 3 wiring upgrade, blue fuel spring, Edge Insight CTS2, Morimoto BI-LED projector headlight retrofit and LED fog lights, Bilstein 5100s, Pioneer dual din head unit with bluetooth, Sony Xplod speakers front and rear and on and on and on. I feel like I'm leaving a lot out, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I did all the work myself with the exception of O-ringing the heads. I don't have a way to lift the cab at home. It's a 14 year old truck that drives very well and has all of the amenities (mostly) of newer trucks. The biggest reason I purchased the truck was the manual transmission. They are just so damn hard to find in decent shape with low miles and no rust, took me 8 months to find this one out in New Mexico. Bought a one way ticket from Detroit and drove it back.
This depends on what you mean by bulletproofed. A truly bulletproofed 6.0 is o-ringed, ARP head studs, EGR deleted, BPD radiator, BPD water pump, BPD remote air to oil cooler, upgraded FICM, etc etc. You aren't doing that for $6k, trust me.
I spoke with a local dealer today about a leftover 2019 F-150 on the lot. By taking the 0% for 84 months, you have to give up $6k in rebates.
Funny, but that's why lease's are so popular. I've always been a own it guy, but can understand the other side on really expensive cars. My wife's car is around $1300 a month, which is freaking ridiculous to me, but it's a very nice AMG C43, I think it stickered for low 70's with some whiz bang interior which does look cool, but we could have gotten into a lesser optioned C63 for the same money. For me it should be a Ferrari, McClaren or Lambo for that kind of payment, but then again for myself I've almost always bought used. Anyway she could probably have leased it for $6-700ish, I presume, but we didn't really check because she drives a lot of miles and hopefully we own it for awhile after it is paid off?
Sounds nice. What is the fuel economy with that just driving and then towing a big trailer, presuming you have a big trailer?
Exa Exactly... my son's current truck is a 06 Ram 2500 deisel with close to 275k miles... we both tend to keep our vehicles till they are wore out.
DAAAYYYYUUUMMMMM! Now I see why you cant get no nice watch. You shoulda bought her a Yugo and used the rest on some wrist bling for you...
Which translates into "we are going to get our money one way or the other...either we get the $6k right now, or we get it in interest".
A lease makes perfect sense for me, except i just cant make myself "rent" a vehicle. The SVR just turned a year old, and it only has 6k miles on it. All of my vehicles are still in new condition when i trade them in. A lease makes alot of sense, but i dont like the idea that it isnt mine. If i want to tint the windows, or change the wheels, or do whatever...then i want to do it. I also dont mind making a payment on something, if it makes me feel like i am paying off MY vehicle. The fact that i always change vehicles every 2-3 years is irrelevant. I still feel like it is mine. One of the perks of a lease (IIRC) is that all routine maintenance is included. But that is always included with my vehicle purchases anyway. So that is a moot point. I dunno. Ive thought about it alot, but i just cant bring myself to do it. I know you can get the same car for a cheaper monthly note that way (vs financing the whole thing), but i never finance the whole thing anyway. And i never worry about the monthly payment until it is all done. I always focus on the price of the new one first, then the value of my trade, and the interest rate. Once those pieces are in place, the monthly payment just ends up being whatever it is. The monthly payment is the result, not the goal.
