Ask the Car People.SM


Percentage of monthly income spent on a car?

390 messages,  Last post on Mar 21, 2009 at 6:50 PM

You are in the Smart Shopper Forum.

What is this discussion about? Car Financing

Messages Page 39 of 39

#381 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [qbrozen] by fezo

Mar 19, 2008 (12:46 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 18, 2008 1:13 pm)
"The one he just got a few months ago he got a GS with gold trim, chrome wheels (or are they gold, too, i forget), and cloth top (the family calls it the "Florida package") for about $15k."
 
Of COURSE it's a Florida package. Where else would you sell them like that? Who was the comedian that said his parents moved to Florida - they didn't want to but tehy turned 60 and that's the law...
 
That'll be me before too long.

#382 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [fezo] by qbrozen

Mar 19, 2008 (1:05 pm)

Replying to: fezo (Mar 19, 2008 12:46 pm)
Where else would you sell them like that?
 
Oh, but he still lives in Jersey.

#383 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [qbrozen] by fezo

Mar 19, 2008 (5:18 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Mar 19, 2008 1:05 pm)
Figures. Down here we're like Florida except that it gets cold here!
 
I've seen way too many of those cloth tops. What's up with that? Do they think people that buy convertibles do it because they like the look of the top?

#384 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [fezo] by guss

Mar 20, 2008 (5:41 am)

Replying to: fezo (Mar 19, 2008 5:18 pm)
Landau, say that with me.... Landau. Now that sounds a lot more exotic than hardtop or cloth top. I never understood them either. Than again I am only 45 , that gene is still waiting to come out in me.

#385 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [guss] by fezo

Mar 20, 2008 (6:58 am)

Replying to: guss (Mar 20, 2008 5:41 am)
It hasn't come out for me yet so you should be good for another 10 years anyway.

#386 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [joesmith2] by blueiedgod

Apr 03, 2008 (8:44 am)

Replying to: joesmith2 (Mar 12, 2008 4:07 pm)
Let me address the credit card at 1.9%, no fees. My credit card has no annual fees, and I get 1% back on all the purchases. The credit card business is tricky. Bill O'Reilly talked one time about a conversation he had with an exec at one of the major credit card companies. He asked him, how do you guys make money? The answer was, on the late fees. It's $40 a pop. Credit cards used to make money on the annual fee. Of course they make money on the discount they get from merchants. But that's not where the big money is. They used make it on the exorbitant interest rates. They'll look for some way to get you. It seems like everyone has their own version of a Visa and Mastercard, and they all make nice offers to get you to sign up. I'm not real sure why, but I know they have an angle. One thing I do quite often when I'm paying for something is pull out my visa, and ask "do you give a discount for cash"? Real often they do, and why shouldn't they, they're getting their money now, they know it won't bounce (like credit cards do sometimes), and it won't be discounted. Play their game if you want, just be aware they're not making that great offer as a public service.
 
If you have the cash to pay for the purchase today, wouldn't it make more sense to use someone else's money for the next 30 days to pay for it and then pay them off, and it won't cost you a penny. On top of that, many credit card companies offer cashback offer and other incentives to use the cards.
 
Yes, I agree, if one has absolutley no discipline and can not pay for the purchase today in cash, probably should not be whipping out credit card and hoping to pay it off some day. But, on the end of the spectrum, if you have the money, why not make it go longer.
 
I don't care what interest rates credit cards charge, because there is no way in hell I am going to buy something on the credit card today that I don't have the cash for in the bank. But, I do shop for the "cash back" offers when looking for credit cards.
 
Here is an abbreviated list of things I got for free for just using credit cards:
iPOD Video 80 Gb, Maytag dishwasher, 3 Air purifiers for the house, $400 in Home Depot gift cards to pay towards replacement windows (total was $1200), iPOD Touch 32 Gb, iPOD adapter for the Honda OEM radio.... the list just goes on and on and on. Also, some cards offer up to 5% cash back on gas. Most gas stations don't offer cash discount these days, so by paying with credit cards for gas, you get your discount...

#387 of 390 Re: Paying .75% interest??? [blueiedgod] by jeffyscott

Apr 03, 2008 (8:51 am)

Replying to: blueiedgod (Apr 03, 2008 8:44 am)
Here is my list of the best things I have gotten just for using credit cards over the years:
 
1. Several thousand dollars in cash rebates.
 
 

#388 of 390 should we pay some in cash for highlander? by lrich66

Mar 20, 2009 (1:19 pm)

Hi, I'm new to this forum, but I can see that there are a lot of financially astute people on this thread. We are about to close on a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid with 13K miles on it. I got approved for a loan for 35K (cost of vehicle) 60 mths with 5.89% interest. With sales tax, licensing fees, etc. the loan comes out to around 38K and the monthly payment would be about 750. Should we put cash down to lower our payment? Or hang onto our cash?

#389 of 390 Re: should we pay some in cash for highlander? [lrich66] by qbrozen

Mar 20, 2009 (3:14 pm)

Replying to: lrich66 (Mar 20, 2009 1:19 pm)
$35k? Huh. That's about $5k more than a full loaded Highlander Limited AWD is worth. Hope it lasts you a few hundred thousand miles to make up the difference in gas savings.
 
I know, its not the question you asked.
 
Anyhoo... at 5.9%, I would definitely put money down if you can afford to. Either that or you'll need gap insurance.

#390 of 390 Re: should we pay some in cash for highlander? [lrich66] by joesmith2

Mar 21, 2009 (6:50 pm)

Replying to: lrich66 (Mar 20, 2009 1:19 pm)
If you read my posts from the last year, you'll see I've never made a car payment in my life, and I've always advised people NOT to finance their car. However, I wrote that when we lived in a capitalist country. Now that we live in a socialist semi-communist country, things are different. Look at the tax incentives for buying a new car, especially a hybrid. New programs are sure to come as our government prints more money to try to fix the problems the government created. You might want to wait and see what these programs are, it could mean you need to buy a new car to take advantage. You may as well finance all you can, chances are you won't have to pay it back. When hyper-inflation hits, you'll be paying back with dollars that are worth much less than today. On the other hand, keeping cash could be a bad idea, since it will be worth so much less than it is now. I'm so glad I bought gold and silver when I did.

Messages Page 39 of 39

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement