BUYING a NEW CAR - excited and nervous

[lisaross]

now that we're finally buying a new car i'm a bit nervous! Don't think i was nervous 13 years ago..anyway - going to purchase a Subaru Forester - been wanting that car for years! It will be sad saying goodbye to my Plymouth Voyager

My question is i have the $ to buy it BUT financing for 3 years is only 0.9% so i'm thinking of either financing 1/2 or the entire thing - what would u do?

Thanks,

Lisa

 

[dislal]

I hope you have better luck than We did. We bought a brand new 2011 f150 pick up last October. we have a long deep scratch(4 inches long)in one door we are not sure where we got it, but it showed up right after a shopping trip. Just today I was grocery shopping came out of the store there was a shopping cart right up against the door when I moved it there was a massive dent in the door it was not windy this morning either. It looked like someone pushed it very hard right into the side of the truck.

Why are people so rude.. I just told my husband today I will never buy another new vehicle.

To answer your question we had the money too, we financed a little bit of it so we could get some of the incentives.

 

[ssawka]

I would finance, at least initially. Often car dealers have more room to negotiate if your are financing. Also, I think it would depend on how much I had in savings. If paying cash is going to deplete your savings down below a six month buffer or if you have other debt that is at a higher percentage rate than the .09%, then finance.

 

[DisneyPolve]

DH and I just bought a new 2012 Jeep, we opted to finance at 0%. With our trade in, (paid off van they gave us 8100 for) $2500 in incentives/rebates we put down an additional $7000 just get our payment below $400. We will probably pay it off sooner, since the we had to finance 60 months to get the 0%. Which didn't make sense to me since they aren't making any money off us, so why the need for 5 yrs But we didn't want to clear out of secondary savings, so financing made the most sense for US. I think each situation will be different, but do what YOU think makes the most financial sense for YOUR financial situation, not what others think you should do. IMHO, I think you already know what YOU want to do, go with your gut.

 

[arthuruscg]

I would finance every penny that I could and keep all of my $ in the bank/ CDs/ stocks ect. The amount of interest you are paying on 0.9% is very very little. You would be better off paying down your home then putting anything towards the car.

 

[Swimalie]

now that we're finally buying a new car i'm a bit nervous! Don't think i was nervous 13 years ago..anyway - going to purchase a Subaru Forester - been wanting that car for years! It will be sad saying goodbye to my Plymouth Voyager

My question is i have the $ to buy it BUT financing for 3 years is only 0.9% so i'm thinking of either financing 1/2 or the entire thing - what would u do?

Thanks,

Lisa

You are us a year ago. We bought a Forester in June 2011. We love it!! We also had the money to write a check for it and did. After all, you aren't getting .9% on your bank account so why not pay the car off and transfer the money you would have put towards a car payment in to a new account and watch that grow.

What color are you getting?

On a sad note, I baby my car. I don't park near anyone, wash it often, etc. If I'm going somewhere that has a lot of cars that might park near me, I take my husband's car. I park uphill from a grocery cart corral, too. But, last Sat we were sitting about 10 cars back from a red light when the guy behind us hit the gas and hit us! I went in to a full blown panic attack seeing my baby damaged. Now we're dealing with the insurance and I have to get a new bumper. I hope nothing like this happens to yours.

 

[lisaross]

i am getting the Marine Blue

no negotiating since a good friend knows the salesman -- getting it for about 500 below invoice

Getting the Forester with the sunroof - Tom Tom all weather etc.

with tax its about 27,800.

 

[LJSquishy]

If you have the cash, do not finance. It never makes sense to finance. Period. Especially when it's not 0%.

Congratulations on being able to buy a brand new car with cash, that must feel amazing! My husband has a Subaru Legacy and loves it. It's been a wonderful car.

I drive a 2000 Nissan Sentra with 150k miles on it. My husband thinks I will need a new car in a year or two but I told him I think it will hold out for 5 years since I don't drive much. I have never owned a brand new car or even an almost new car (my Nissan was 5 or 6 years old when I got it and is the newest car I've ever had). We bought the Subaru brand new, but my husband drives it every day. I bet it feels nice having a new car! Congrats!

 

[ssawka]

If you have the cash, do not finance. It never makes sense to finance. Period. Especially when it's not 0%.

Sure, if you have no other debt and plenty of savings it does not make sense to finance, but you have to look at more than the total cost including financing. You also have to look at liquidity. Let's say you want to buy a $20K car and you have exactly $30K in the bank. Sure, you could take $20K out to pay cash for the car, but what happens if god forbid you lose your Job. Do you think the remaining $10K is enough to hold you until you get another job? IMO, not using debt wisely when it makes sense assumes as much risk as taking on too much debt.

 

[lisaross]

thanks for the responses

i have a savings account just for a new car purchase - i have just about enough but after thinking it over i am going to finance about 10,000 -- just to have that extra cushion and i am sure i will pay it off sooner then later!

i am going to call and see if i can put anything on my credit card and of course i'll pay it right off but hey why not get some reward points

 

[MickeyManiac]

I don't have financing advice but I will say you can't go wrong with a Subaru. I'm on my 3rd Subaru in 22 years. I would never buy anything else.

 

[LJSquishy]

Sure, if you have no other debt and plenty of savings it does not make sense to finance, but you have to look at more than the total cost including financing. You also have to look at liquidity. Let's say you want to buy a $20K car and you have exactly $30K in the bank. Sure, you could take $20K out to pay cash for the car, but what happens if god forbid you lose your Job. Do you think the remaining $10K is enough to hold you until you get another job? IMO, not using debt wisely when it makes sense assumes as much risk as taking on too much debt.

I assumed the OP wouldn't be wiping out their savings account to purchase the car. If that is the case, then you can't "really" afford to pay cash for the car, therefore you would need to finance at least a portion of it.

 

[ssawka]

I assumed the OP wouldn't be wiping out their savings account to purchase the car. If that is the case, then you can't "really" afford to pay cash for the car, therefore you would need to finance at least a portion of it.

I would assume that too, but just like people irresponsibly run up credit cards without knowing how they are going to pay for them, some people are so dead set against credit and debt that they would drain their bank account to avoid paying any interest. My point was that whether or not you use credit is not always a clear cut issue. In your own words, you said "It never makes sense to finance". That is an absolute that is not always true. There are many factors that need to be considered before saying yes or no to financing.

 

[goofyredraider]

I would finance, at least initially. Often car dealers have more room to negotiate if your are financing. Also, I think it would depend on how much I had in savings. If paying cash is going to deplete your savings down below a six month buffer or if you have other debt that is at a higher percentage rate than the .09%, then finance.

This.

My husband's civilian job is in car sales. You can often get a better deal/incentives with financing. Also, keeping your money in the bank is very wise should the unexpected happen. I would finance in order to do so and then pay it off as quickly as you can...do double payments, etc. There is no penalty for paying it early.

 

[Swimalie]

i am getting the Marine Blue

no negotiating since a good friend knows the salesman -- getting it for about 500 below invoice

Getting the Forester with the sunroof - Tom Tom all weather etc.

with tax its about 27,800.

Lisa, I love the Marine Blue!! I would have gotten it myself but one weekend, every Subaru we saw was te blue color and I wanted something different. We ended up buying the only one we test drove. Mine is loaded except the navigation (I prefer to have it portable). We got ours for just under $27,000 (through Costo) so it sounds like you are getting a good deal. Enjoy!!

 

[arthuruscg]

Also, look at how much you are paying on your home mortgage. It make make sence to finance all of the car at 0.9% and put what you would have put towards the car, towards paying off the house.