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and find a car you want to pay for/drive/maintain for 8+ years!
Yup. The average life span of my vehicles as been 11 years. I still drive my 20 year old pickup, but not daily any longer.
I'm no genius, but it was pretty obvious years ago there comes a time when fixing a beater is cheaper than making payments.
Probably not. Cost of raw materials keeps going up, and setting up a reliable dealer network would probably be extremely tough these days.
true, but seeing the amount the current big name car makers mark up there price, I am sure there is some room to be cheaper and still make a profit. It will be smaller, but you will capture your own niche of people wanting and needing a much cheaper vehicle. Plus you can sell online. But that is off topic. I will start a new thread.
I'm 63, still driving my 1985 Toyota Supra, and making repairs as needed. This will be my last car!
I just discovered a new trustworthy mechanic in my neighborhood, who's very reasonable, and he told me: I'll do everything I can to keep your car going another 10-20 years!
A 97 month car loan? I haven't had a car loan for decades now!
Any car loan is a bad idea. Worst case you should do a three year car loan. If you can't afford those payments you can't afford the car.
I say the same thing about 15 year mortgages. Im willing to cut someone slack on a car. If you keep cars for 5+ years, a 60 month car loan isnt the worst thing in the world. Its nowhere near as shortsighted as a 30 year mortgage.
its not the raw materials cost,its all that new software and computer stuff they are adding
look at the price of copper and other metals,they are way down.
I say the same thing about 15 year mortgages. Im willing to cut someone slack on a car. If you keep cars for 5+ years, a 60 month car loan isnt the worst thing in the world. Its nowhere near as shortsighted as a 30 year mortgage.
A 30 year mortgage is a waste of money with the interest you pay. With a home you at least have a chance it will increase in value though. There is no chance of that with a car.
Is taking on an 8 year loan on a car that will last 10 years all that different from taking a 3 year loan on a car that will only last five years? And what of locking in low interest rates for 8 years? Not necessarily a bad thing, even if you can pay outright. Might even be better to buy that car you want to keep for the long haul vs. a cheaper model you cant wait to upgrade and take a depreciation hit twice.
Ive got a 13 year old car, a 7 year old car and a 4 year old car. Even the 13 year old car has plenty of life left in it. I have no loans on them, but I might have been better off 4 years ago taking a loan and investing $30K in an index fund, rather than buying a car outright. 4 year auto loans are around 2.75%.
And buying used means potentially higher maintenance costs (brakes, tires, etc.), plus generally higher interest rates. Though, I would still recommend a good, low-mileage used car to anyone on a budget!
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