@Anonymous wrote:
@ridgebackpilot wrote:
@Save-n-Invest wrote:
The last time I bought a car (the kid bugging me to buy a black car) the manufacturer was offering 0% financing. The kid brought a demo to the house for a test drive. We stopped along the way at Panera to look over his paperwork for the deal we struck on the phone. Of course he had financing info for the 0%. The numbers did not compute. I don't think they realize we can do math in our heads.
On the drive back he started with the nitrogen fill for tires and other nonsense. If I wanted a bunch of useless nonsense I would have tuned into QVC. It was a cash deal, no foolishness just doc fees. I don't have any reason to make an opera of a car purchase. It's a personal preference not a standard for others.
Just imagine: If you had taken their 0% financing deal and invested your cash in Tesla stock instead of a depreciating car, you'd have earned enough to be able to buy three or four cars by now! This principle is known as the "cost of capital" and it's a very real phenomenon.
Or Tesla could have done nothing. Maybe Apple won't skyrocket after the upcoming split. You never know.
I've had a position in Apple for several years. If you like roller coasters I highly recommend it. I would not want to be in a situation that required me to unwind a portion on a monthly basis to make payments on anything.
I would just like to mention to anyone financing for 72-84 months please ask yourself do you really need a car that costly? That's a long time to pay for a depreciating asset. Will it ever be worth the amount you owe on the loan? Low rates or 0% is tempting but do you want to be in hock that long for a ride? Letting someone put you into a payment is a fool's game. You are still obligated to pay off the loan.
Frequently I see threads started by a poster who asks if they will be able to roll thousands of dollars of negative equity into a new car loan. That just makes the next car purchase more difficult. Life happens and we can never be certain when/if a new vehicle will be needed. Just think things through before signing anything. That car will still be there tomorrow. If someone else buys it another dealer has one waiting for you.
FULL DISCLOSURE I have no direct experience financing a car. I've never done it. I've bought luxury cars and paid for them at the point of sale. I saved for the purchase. My daily now is Walmart luxury IMO but considered luxury by the carmaker of course. 
If you are new to car buying do what is best for you. Don't be sold. Evaluate if you actually need the things (upsells) offered in the F&I office.
I've known quite a few people who were uncomfortable without a car payment. Seriously. When they retired the debt on one car they almost got the shakes and ran right out and went back in hock for another. The people I know like that ended up with repos, forclosures or deed in lieu, bankrupcy and ordering from McDonald's $2 menu. They bought other things the didn't need with money that hadn't earned yet, too. Their fate was not cause exclusively by car purchases.
If you need a certain type of vehicle for work that's different. I'm not referring to commuting, pizza delivery or Uber. I mean a real job/business where your vehicle is primarily a business expense.
Good luck and happy motoring!
@Save-n-Invest wrote:
I would just like to mention to anyone financing for 72-84 months please ask yourself do you really need a car that costly? That's a long time to pay for a depreciating asset. Will it ever be worth the amount you owe on the loan? Low rates or 0% is tempting but do you want to be in hock that long for a ride? Letting someone put you into a payment is a fool's game. You are still obligated to pay off the loan.
Frequently I see threads started by a poster who asks if they will be able to roll thousands of dollars of negative equity into a new car loan. That just makes the next car purchase more difficult. Life happens and we can never be certain when/if a new vehicle will be needed. Just think things through before signing anything. That car will still be there tomorrow. If someone else buys it another dealer has one waiting for you.
FULL DISCLOSURE I have no direct experience financing a car. I've never done it. I've bought luxury cars and paid for them at the point of sale. I saved for the purchase. My daily now is Walmart luxury IMO but considered luxury by the carmaker of course.
If you are new to car buying do what is best for you. Don't be sold. Evaluate if you actually need the things (upsells) offered in the F&I office.
I've known quite a few people who were uncomfortable without a car payment. Seriously. When they retired the debt on one car they almost got the shakes and ran right out and went back in hock for another. The people I know like that ended up with repos, forclosures or deed in lieu, bankrupcy and ordering from McDonald's $2 menu. They bought other things the didn't need with money that hadn't earned yet, too. Their fate was not cause exclusively by car purchases.
If you need a certain type of vehicle for work that's different. I'm not referring to commuting, pizza delivery or Uber. I mean a real job/business where your vehicle is primarily a business expense.
Good luck and happy motoring!
Why should it matter if that person has to means to pay the note and "enjoys" the fruits of their labor?
@ridgebackpilot wrote:... But one dealership told me so many buyers misrepresent their creditworthiness that dealerships began pre-checking credit before they forward the file to their lenders. Why they can't do that with a SP is beyond me...
Especially since you aren't requesting credit from the dealership itself unless they're into self-lending.
I just got my app shotgunned at a dealership, 11 inquiries total including them and a Cap1 triple-pull.
After promising they wouldn't do that. Alerts are popping up on my phone like mad.
They lost the sale over that. I guess they figure that once you see all the damage that's been done,
you'll just suck it up and buy instead of have it all be for nothing. They also seem to think the longer they can
keep you waiting inside the dealership, the more likely you'll go ahead and buy so those 6 hours waiting
weren't all for nothing. Doesn't work with me. I just grow more and more aggravated.
@Save-n-Invest wrote:
FULL DISCLOSURE I have no direct experience financing a car. I've never done it. I've bought luxury cars and paid for them at the point of sale. I saved for the purchase.
That explains your lack of understanding of manufacturer financing and incentives. You've always purchased cars the old-fashioned way. I respect that; in the 1950s, most people bought automobiles that way.
Today, however, manufacturers offer financing and incentives to sell cars that were unknown in past decades. Zero percent financing is the best example; it basically amounts to free money for those who qualify. As such, it's the biggest no-brainer in the credit universe. No credit card offers such rates except for short-term promotions.
With these kinds of subsidized incentives available to credit-worthy customers, it really makes no sense anymore to buy cars the old-fashioned way by paying cash. Even without zero-percent interest rates, few people today tie up capital in a depreciating asset like an automobile. Of course, if you don't feel comfortable carrying debt, then none of this matters and you're unlikely to take out a loan under any circumstances, whether it's financially advantageous or not.
