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Owe more than it's worth... I'm upside down and I can't get up!

1160 messages,  Last post on Oct 22, 2009 at 7:11 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Leasing


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#1124 of 1160
what ever happened to.... by ghulet
May 15, 2009 (8:45 am)
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.....just buying a car and (gasp!) just keeping it til it's paid off? I guess when cars didn't last as long (and people didn't finance for 60-84 months), trading every three years was a viable option, commonplace; I can't see doing that now, unless you're putting massive amounts of miles on it (or otherwise wearing it out), or you have money to burn.
#1125 of 1160
Re: what ever happened to.... [ghulet] by lokki
May 15, 2009 (9:08 am)
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Replying to: ghulet (May 15, 2009 8:45 am)

Keeping it till it dies was a lot easier when your only accesories were a heater and an AM radio.
 
Now an old car suffers the death of 1,000 cuts. A power mirror quits working, then the auto wipers, then the self-dim rear view mirror, then the power seat, then the power window, then the cruise control, then one of the power locks, then the climate control, then the back up camera, but you get the idea
#1126 of 1160
Re: what ever happened to.... [lokki] by jimbres
May 15, 2009 (9:29 am)
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Replying to: lokki (May 15, 2009 9:08 am)

Although I often hear people cite the greater complexity of today's cars as a reason for trading frequently, my experience, which goes back to the early 70s, is that the supposedly simpler cars of 30+ years ago were far more prone to breakdowns in their later years.
 
My '78 VW Rabbit - stick, no air, AM radio - died short of its 4th birthday, with just 55K on the clock. I sold it to someone who was looking for parts. Contrast this with my wife's '99 Lexus ES 300, with all the goodies. We kept it for more than 8 years - 4+ years past warranty expiration - & spent a total of $500 on repairs before selling it for top dollar. We'd still have it today if my wife hadn't fallen in love with the ES 350.
 
I've found that I can easily get 10 years out of a properly maintained car without any heroics. That's why we've bought a grand total of 6 cars for 2 drivers during the past 25 years.
#1127 of 1160
Re: Lowering payments [joel0622] by fezo
May 15, 2009 (9:39 am)
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Replying to: joel0622 (May 15, 2009 7:28 am)

70%! Wow.
 
I can't think of the last time I've been upside down on a car. As I said earlier, Joel, I'm glad this works for you. You'd hate me at shopping. Our Accord will hit 10 in December. It recently hit 168K on the clock which makes it officially the highesy mileage car we've ever had. It long ago became the one we've put he most miles on since out two previous 167K+ cars were bought used with mileage in the upper 30s when we got them.
#1128 of 1160
Re: what ever happened to.... [jimbres] by fezo
May 15, 2009 (9:40 am)
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Replying to: jimbres (May 15, 2009 9:29 am)

I had an 80 Rabbit that never made it past its payments. What a piece of junk. It was great when it ran. A lot of fun. Unfortunately that wasn't a frequent event.
#1129 of 1160
Re: what ever happened to.... [fezo] by fezo
May 15, 2009 (9:49 am)
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Replying to: fezo (May 15, 2009 9:40 am)

Now I am of the buy it new or slightly used and drive it into the ground over a long period of time school, but a friend of mine has another theory. He had used my method for years but I suspect the new one is because he has more money to throw around and it still works pretty well.
 
He figures to always carry a car payment. He bought new a bunch of years back - a Subaru Outback. When it hits about 59 K he trades it in for another. He keep a low loan payment and keeps a small fund for putting down on the next one. He figures he never pays for repairs, never has an unmanageable payment and always has a nice, clean, well kept car. He could do worse.
#1130 of 1160
Re: what ever happened to.... [fezo] by benjaminh
May 17, 2009 (4:24 am)
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Replying to: fezo (May 15, 2009 9:40 am)

Yeah. I had an 87 Jetta. Nice handling. Nice manual. Functional package. And yet, at the same time, total, total unreliable junk. It's amazing that VW has survived in the US as long as it has given that they did that to generations of customers....Is their reliability better now?
#1131 of 1160
fez method by stickguy
May 17, 2009 (7:39 am)
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Basically, your friend is doing a self-managed lease. He just assumes the end of lease value risk.
 
At one point, my method was 1 new car (the wifes family mobile) kept as long as it served it's prupose and was reliable. Target being 6 years at least, and it got the long trips (so 100% reliability was key). the Quest? No problem for the 6. The Voyager? That made 3 before it got traded for the Quest!
 
My car was a 3 YO something interesting that I would keep until it was 6 years old, theoreticlaly lower the cost.
 
WOrked correctly, every 3 years or so a car would be purchased.
 
I have since abandoned the plan, and for me, find that buying new and keeping a long time should work better (not that I can do it).
 
Currently we are invested heavily in being too poor to buy a new car (and college bills loom), so we have switched to the keep them forever plan and hope they last!
 
But, if I do need to replace one soon, I am going with a 2-3 yo semi luxury with heavy depreciation (say, a 2007 Volvo). Some good buys to be found tht way.
#1132 of 1160
Re: fez method [stickguy] by fezo
May 17, 2009 (8:53 am)
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Replying to: stickguy (May 17, 2009 7:39 am)

Yes, we even would refer to it as a self managed lease. One reason he likes it better than leasing from the dealer is that if he hit a bad patch for any reason he has more control over the situation.
#1133 of 1160
Re: fez method [stickguy] by tidester HOST
May 17, 2009 (11:05 am)
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Replying to: stickguy (May 17, 2009 7:39 am)

kept as long as it served it's prupose and was reliable
 
I think that's redundant. If it's not reliable then it's not serving its purpose.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

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