Used Car help

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by speede5

That is bad personal financial managment, if they were to actually make proper payments theres nothing wrong with using a LOC that way. When done properly paying ~3% interest is better than ~6% any way you slice it.

Once again, missing pylons point.

Also I'm not sure where you're getting those rates from. You have an LOC at prime but the dealer offered you 6% on a loan?

In my experience it is the opposite.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by stazzy33

Only if you love rust. Rusty quarter pannels, rusty paint chips, rusty skirts, they should rename those cars the Mazda Rusty McRustface.

I love every Mazda I've had, but this is one area they need to start investing in. It is embarassing how rust prone they are and it really hurts resale.

Mazda P5's and 3's are pretty much my favorites in this bracket.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Yeah but if you're treating it like a loan then what is the difference? If you read the rest of his post he explains why. It is like asking "but pylon if I put it on my LOC then pay off my LOC in a day how is it a bad decision?" Fact is most people don't pay off their LOCs quickly.

Also I'm a little confused at this notion of cheap LOC rates. Unless you're talking about HELOCs, pylon is again correct. Pretty rare you're gonna get dealer loan rates on your LOC, unless you have some crazy good rate.

Sorry I was thinking HELOC.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by speede5

I love every Mazda I've had, but this is one area they need to start investing in. It is embarassing how rust prone they are and it really hurts resale.

Mazda P5's and 3's are pretty much my favorites in this bracket.

There are no Mazdas on that list because by the time they get close to 100,000 km, they are piles of iron oxide in the scrapyard.

[zamler]

Matrix has oil burning issues that was fixed late 2002, best to get a 2004 to be safe. Mazda repeated the mistake early Japanese models had, improperly purified metals. The Yaris is an incredibly reliable car in part because everything is basic and simple, too basic for my taste.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by speede5

Sorry I was thinking HELOC.

Which is an excellent use of cheap credit. And if you're super responsible and make payments, great. But if you have a habit of paying interest only like pylon's example then it is a total fail.

For full disclosure I just bought a car, financed a little more than half, put it on my LOC lol. Except I know I'd be one of those people so I specifically asked my bank to turn it into a loan and they did. Same rate. Except now I have no choice but to make payments.

I used an LOC because it afforded me the most flexibility when making the purchase. I ended up using the whole thing but if I only used half I didn't want to have to wait for financing to go thru. I set up the LOC for my full budget when I started car shopping and knew that I'd have the money ready the minute I was ready to buy. But like I said, I turned it into a loan because I don't trust myself.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Crunch the actual numbers for the total cost of borrowing between a line of credit rate and the lot rate. Its about $1900 in interest at 7% over 5 years...and $500 at 2%

About $23 per month difference....

[worth]

Yeah, will definitely crunch the numbers. Don't think she needs a 5 year term, will likely be 2 or 3 years to pay of 10k. Paying $1,900 in interest on a $10k loan is like mind exploding. Hopefully we can do a little better on the interest rate, and pay it off over 2 years and we'd be paying around $550 in interest.

Also, when I bought my car I took out a $20k LOC and paid it off in a couple years. It does come down to personal finance in my opinion. I wanted the flexibility to pay off large chunks if I got a bonus or something and the rate was pretty good at the time. A car loan might be a better situation for the GF though.

Thanks for all the help guys, she wants to head to Sunridge after work to take a look at their cars.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by speede5

I love every Mazda I've had, but this is one area they need to start investing in. It is embarassing how rust prone they are and it really hurts resale.

Mazda P5's and 3's are pretty much my favorites in this bracket.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Protege 5 without rust on the back wheel well. It's pretty much a standard feature.

It's definitely a real shame...they are such fun cars to drive. I still miss mine.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Can you expand on this? If you're treating it like any other loan how is that a horrible financial decision? I can get a way better rate on my LOC than I can on a standard loan. If you're still making a regular monthly (not interest only) payment, what's the difference?

Couple things.

If you have an unsecured line of credit, AND you have the discipline to pay it off on schedule.... yes, it is do-able. The reality, that almost never happens, as well intentioned as people are. I am even guilty. I have a Ducati I was going to pay off in 12 months, still floating on my unsecured line, as a couple cool projects came up, and I was like... "Well, I do have the free cash to dump into a Jeep, and a truck... and, and, and." I'm gonna get it paid down this summer, but I still fell into the trap.

As far as Heloc's go... that's the one thing I would never put a car on. You do not want a car, tied to your house, for any reason.

[REDVAN]

Sister-in-law has a Honda Fit... her and bro love it.

Good friend has a Toyota Matrix, and you can't really go wrong with Toyota.

My person opinion is to stick with Honda and Toyota. Never really liked Nissan's quality (they always look junky after 3 years) and Kia and Hyundai are just not there either.

Although, I do think some of the newer ones are decent, I just don't think I'd take a lower-end Korean car.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Sister-in-law has a Honda Fit... her and bro love it.

Good friend has a Toyota Matrix, and you can't really go wrong with Toyota.

The first gen had horrible transmission issues to the point of a recall. Long story short, mine died at 60,000kms after numerous trips to the dealership where they said nothing could be found, I was causing the CEL, and nothing was covered under warranty. First new vehicle I had owned. Good times.

I'm sure there's an anecdotal story about every make and model out there, but personally I wouldn't touch the Matrix if it was free, at least not the 1st gens.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by worth

Thanks for all the help guys, she wants to head to Sunridge after work to take a look at their cars.

Any reason you don't have Fiat 500s on your list? Comparable to fit, fiesta. Unless you need 4 doors.

[Corral]

I wouldn't shy away from a Matrix or VW golf with more than 100 000 kms if it is only a few years old. You'll get a good price for buying with high mileage - and chances are those vehicles have seen lots of highway driving. Taken care of, those engines go for 300k with only routine maintenance.

[Table 5]

The guy asked for a reliable car and is on a fairly fixed budget. As fun as they might be, a Fiat 500 or a VW Golf are just not off-warranty cars you can in good conscience recommend to anyone with those requirements unless they have a few K in reserve.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by pylon

Couple things.

If you have an unsecured line of credit, AND you have the discipline to pay it off on schedule.... yes, it is do-able. The reality, that almost never happens, as well intentioned as people are. I am even guilty. I have a Ducati I was going to pay off in 12 months, still floating on my unsecured line, as a couple cool projects came up, and I was like... "Well, I do have the free cash to dump into a Jeep, and a truck... and, and, and." I'm gonna get it paid down this summer, but I still fell into the trap.

As far as Heloc's go... that's the one thing I would never put a car on. You do not want a car, tied to your house, for any reason.

I totally agree that LOC's are dangerous and there are many pitfalls. I have stepped in them in the past and am slowly becoming more responsible. Haha.

I was just commenting that they are not bad products on their own. It would be like saying alcohol is bad because people overindulge.

[worth]

We drove a Hyundai Accent which she didn't like, Toyota Yaris which she also didn't really like, but she loved the Nissan Micra SV and Nissan Versa. For some reason she likes the feel, handling and braking of the Nissan's.

The Micras are both 2015's, one had 47,000km and one has 53,000 which was a rental. Other than that, they are clean. I'm thinking 47,000 has to be a rental as well, but it's not stated in the car proof. Too many KM's in one year?

We're going to try to drive a Honda Fit today or tomorrow, then after that just have to decide which one she likes the best and will try to find one with low km and in the right price range.

Fiat 500's I like, but yeah, worried about reliability and the cost of repair and maintenance.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by worth

We drove a Hyundai Accent which she didn't like, Toyota Yaris which she also didn't really like, but she loved the Nissan Micra SV and Nissan Versa. For some reason she likes the feel, handling and braking of the Nissan's.

The Micras are both 2015's, one had 47,000km and one has 53,000 which was a rental. Other than that, they are clean. I'm thinking 47,000 has to be a rental as well, but it's not stated in the car proof. Too many KM's in one year?

We're going to try to drive a Honda Fit today or tomorrow, then after that just have to decide which one she likes the best and will try to find one with low km and in the right price range.

Fiat 500's I like, but yeah, worried about reliability and the cost of repair and maintenance.

As someone who worked for years in the rental car industry, I cannot in good conscious recommend a previous rental, especially ones with that many kms. Chances are they have been beat on at one point (drive it like a rental after all) and most companies do not adhere to the recommended maintenance schedule (you're lucky if they get an oil change every 10k). You could get lucky with the unit you're getting, but that is a chance I personally am not wiling to take.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by worth

We drove a Hyundai Accent which she didn't like, Toyota Yaris which she also didn't really like, but she loved the Nissan Micra SV and Nissan Versa. For some reason she likes the feel, handling and braking of the Nissan's.

The Micras are both 2015's, one had 47,000km and one has 53,000 which was a rental. Other than that, they are clean. I'm thinking 47,000 has to be a rental as well, but it's not stated in the car proof. Too many KM's in one year?

We're going to try to drive a Honda Fit today or tomorrow, then after that just have to decide which one she likes the best and will try to find one with low km and in the right price range.

Fiat 500's I like, but yeah, worried about reliability and the cost of repair and maintenance.

Have you ever rented a car?


Don't buy an old rental vehicle.

[Fuzz]

Yup, "not mine, never will be" *both pedals to the floor* is something I would stick too.

Funny she liked the Nisans. I haven't driven those specifically but when my wife was car shopping in 2008 those were her least favourites. Felt really cheap.