Financing Terms for cars

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Aaron Vickers

I ended up taking a 5 year on my Jeep this past August at a 4.9. I would definitely not go anything longer than five, due to the interest rate jump after.

Literally, the difference in monthly payments between 60 months and 72 months was around $20, just because they really ding you on interest for the next year.

I think for Daimer-Chrysler, it goes from 4.9 to 7.2 or so, which causes the jump.

This is also coming from a 24 year old, first-time 'new' buyer. I as well have had nothing but problems with my three prior used vehicles.

that's not in all cases however, we got 72 months at 2.9% and for Mazda I guess that would be pretty damn cheap. It all depends whether you are planning on financing or leasing the vehicle as well. I couldn't imagine leasing a vehicle for 6 years but as I stated in my situation earlier the financing for 6 years is working out particularly well

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by shane_c

I wanted warranty. I haven't had much luck with used cars and it ended up costing a fortune to keep them running.

Why not buy a 1 or 2 year old car then?
It will still have some warranty, and you will save yourself a ton of money in the process.

IMO the worst way of looking at things is monthly payments - look at the total cost of the car - how will you feel in 6 years when you've paid off your car when you see that you just spent $20K more on it than it was originally worth?

IMO I'd rather have that $20K in my savings and investments, and have an older car....

But to each their own - talk to your bank, they love giving out insane loans on insane terms.

[FCAV]

Originally Posted by return to the red

that's not in all cases however, we got 72 months at 2.9% and for Mazda I guess that would be pretty damn cheap. It all depends whether you are planning on financing or leasing the vehicle as well. I couldn't imagine leasing a vehicle for 6 years but as I stated in my situation earlier the financing for 6 years is working out particularly well

When was that? I was looking at picking up a Mazda 6 around the same time and don't recall that as an option. Either way, if that's the case where the interest rate is that low, it may make sense to take it over 72 and then buy it out when you have the money.

[Sylvanfan]

Yeah, most dealerships will sell you an extended warranty on a used car. So if you can find a 2 year old used vehichle you like thats 60% of the cost of a new one and you can get the extended warranty for like $1000 that might be a better bet for you. Warranty might cost you something, but the vehichle which makes up the bulk of the payment will be substantially less.

[Dion]

Buy a vehicle that's a couple years old, Shane. I bought a 2005 Ford Escape XLT last fall. Brand new it would have cost me close to $35,000, but mine had 42,000 kilometers and I paid $22,000.

It pays to buy used. Let the other guy pay the depreciation.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by shane_c

I wanted warranty. I haven't had much luck with used cars and it ended up costing a fortune to keep them running.

Buy a used Toyota. Compared to the Ford's and GM's I've owned over the years the Toyotas have had a fraction of the repair costs.

[Dynamic]

Buying new isn't as bad as these people are making it out to be. You just gotta be on the lookout for low financing rates. Check out any newspaper, they are millions of car ads. And of course you must have good credit and if you don't have any make sure you have someone to co-sign with you.

Almost 2 years ago I got a new 05 Honda Civic. They key was they were clearing them out for the redesigned 06's and I got financing with a co-signer at 1.9% over 60 months. 800 bucks is all I am paying for interest. Just be on the lookout.