Buying a new car, well used car.

[GoldieSaysMeep]

no opinions from me, since according to you, i am a fool.

No kidding.

I think it would be foolish to pay cash for an older car, that's going to need more work, and maybe not be as safe.

I think it would be foolish for me to quit my job and not have a car because I can't afford to pay cash for a reliable car. I need a car for work, so I'd have to quit until? I guess forever because I can't work without a car and I can't save up the 15K to buy one without a job. There is no public trans in my town. Foolish me.

Not to mention, having a good credit rating is a good thing. No credit is almost as bad as bad credit. What if there was an emergency breakdown of your cash paid car and you don't have the cash to fix it and then you can't get credit because you have no credit history?

I think I'll keep my reliable new car, my low interest car payment, my job, my 700+ credit score and keep on being a fool.

 

[Darcy03231]

Another fool posting here as we don't have that kind of cash floating around our house. We are waiting for the incentive to pass where you can get the $4,500 credit to trade in "Bessie" towards another used car. I'm just looking for a good solid running car. I'm still open to auto makers. My main thing is that I want something smaller than what I drive now. We are actually trading in his car and he is taking my car since mine is larger than what I'm used to driving.

Even though you said you don't want a mini-van have you ever driven a Honda Odyssey? They drive so smoothly and have plenty of room. That is actually my dream car.

Just so you know the proposed credit, as of right now, is only for new cars. I've been waiting to see what happens with it and following it closely. I really hope they amend it for used cars.

 

[daughtersrus]

I just don't believe in car payments. I its a very foolish thing to do. I believe cash is king. Never had a credit card, paid cash for my DVC, my only monthly debt is my house. Say you lose your job or get hurt and can't work, who is going to make your car payment. Just how I was raised, It's worked for me for 37 years. And no I did not mean to offend anyone.

Side note on the "not having the cash around the house" comment. I budget every dollar that I bring in each month. So I save for large purchases, the way I see it I "make payments" on whatever I'm saving for. Example, I was at woodfield mall, saw the doorway to dreams shop, got the info, price. Waited 8 months and paid cash for the AKV. I just think that my money should work for me, we as a people work way to hard for our money to give it away in interest.

But if you put that money in an interest earning account and withdrew your car payment for your 0% loan, you would be coming out ahead. If you lost your job, you'd still have that account from which to draw from to continue to make your payments while still earning interest on the balance in the account. However, if you paid cash for the car you do not have a car payment nor do you have the interest coming in from the account.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Well, I don't appreciate you calling me a fool, but we got our last car from Avis and couldn't be happier with it. It's definitely served us well.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I just don't believe in car payments. I its a very foolish thing to do. I believe cash is king. Never had a credit card, paid cash for my DVC, my only monthly debt is my house. Say you lose your job or get hurt and can't work, who is going to make your car payment. Just how I was raised, It's worked for me for 37 years. And no I did not mean to offend anyone.

Side note on the "not having the cash around the house" comment. I budget every dollar that I bring in each month. So I save for large purchases, the way I see it I "make payments" on whatever I'm saving for. Example, I was at woodfield mall, saw the doorway to dreams shop, got the info, price. Waited 8 months and paid cash for the AKV. I just think that my money should work for me, we as a people work way to hard for our money to give it away in interest.

Cars are another matter. Depending on where you live, you need a car to work.

And I don't see how you can not realize you're offensive when you call millions of people fools.

 

[RC Fan]

I don't think you can compare the current financial status of GM to that of Toyota, regardless of the amount of money Toyota may have lost in recent times. I would suggest either Toyota or Honda.

 

[DizBelle]

You know, he could have said that he just doesn't prefer to have a car payment without insulting everyone that does.

Anyway, financing the purchase vs. paying cash has nothing to do with what car to buy so why did he bring it up in the first place except to have an opportunity to feel superior to others?

 

[sbell111]

I don't think you can compare the current financial status of GM to that of Toyota, regardless of the amount of money Toyota may have lost in recent times. I would suggest either Toyota or Honda.

If I were to buy a new car today, it would be made by GM. I will never buy a Honda or Toyota.

 

[sbell111]

I'm sorry, I'm not offering help, just tagging along on this thread. I either need a transmission or a new (used) car, I'm not that picky right now. Add to this, I have no car to drive at all. I am relying on others to help in transportation right now.
So, I could use some advice too.

I was in the same boat as you are a while back. I chose to buy a rebuilt transmission for my otherwise awesome Grand Cherokee.

 

[squirrlygirl]

If I were to buy a new car today, it would be made by GM. I will never buy a Honda or Toyota.

 

[sbell111]

My situation may have gotten a lot better. When I mentioned to my so called long time friend that I was thinking about trading the car in for another car, he got a lot more enthusiastic about finding a transmission I could afford to have him put in my car. But, there is nothing else wrong with my car. I hated chancing another one. (Yes, I would have my ex or the friend inspect it before buying.)
I also mentioned that I was online this morning and found several that was under $!,000 with a year warranty (Yes, I do know enough to get into trouble.)
Now, I know that isn't great. But it beat the 1,700 he was trying to say it was going to cost. There is one thing though. The company he goes to for parts, told him that the company they get this from have been having problems with this transmission and he did not recommend it.
He told me to keep looking and let him know what I find. He would also look, in a couple days. He's got 3 cars waiting for him to fix.
As it is, I just drove it home. It was fine, almost. I have to baby it. It doesn't like to accelerate, and it won't go into reverse.

It's possible that he isn't giving you the best advice. In my opinion, any rebuilt transmission that has a year warranty will be fine. Just about any problems that wqould be caused by a bad rebuild job will materialize long before the year is up (assuming that the car is driven and doesn't just live in the garage.) Just make sure that you check out the rebuilder (and your mechanic) with your local BBB.

 

[mickey&minnie04]

And I only have ever paid cash, car payments are for fools. Rob.

Wow.....I guess most of us are not as fortunate as you.

 

[sbell111]

Wow.....I guess most of us are not as fortunate as you.

Rob has dug himself in enough, so I may as well lend him a small hand.

Buying stuff with cash instead of credit isn't really a question of being fortunate. It's about being dedicated to not spending on credit, even though it's harder and you don't have as cool stuff as other people do, in the short term. In the long term, it's likely a different story.

 

[ead79]

Well, foolish me will go ahead and chime in anyway when it comes to buying a car.

My entire family (both my parents, as well as DH and I) all own Hondas (dad's is an Acura, but it's essentially the same thing). They are extremely reliable vehicles. Toyotas are also very reliable. While I am sure many people have had reliable American autos as well, I tend to use Consumer Reports heavily in my decision-making when buying a car. They don't have an agenda when it comes to whose vehicles they rate most highly, and they have LOTS of data on used cars of the various model years. This could help you out a lot since you could look up specific model years of used cars to see which ones have been most reliable. Year after year in most of the categories, Honda and Toyota consistently top the list of Consumer Reports' best buys.

 

[1stluvispooh]

I don't think you can compare the current financial status of GM to that of Toyota, regardless of the amount of money Toyota may have lost in recent times. I would suggest either Toyota or Honda.

I agree. Also the Honda and Toyota both have manufacturing plants in the USA.

 

[chell]

Just so you know the proposed credit, as of right now, is only for new cars. I've been waiting to see what happens with it and following it closely. I really hope they amend it for used cars.

Sorry, I meant to say I hope they amend it for used cars as well. I was thinking it but never typed it.

 

[ChrizJen]

LOL, I was going to say, I imagine that was offensive to many.

I am normally one to let someone else take the first round of depreciation, however I'm not sure this still holds true with the current incentives being offered. But it's up to you what you want to buy.

I'll add my 2 cents as well. I personally think that the person who buys someone else's problems (with whatever, if any, warranty is left over) is the fool. In today's market with the incentives, great rates being offered, and unbeatable warranties, it makes more sense to buy new. You know what you're getting, and you can rest assured that if something goes wrong, it's covered.
That's why I just bought a brand-spanking new 2009 Hyundai Elantra. Great 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, and a really GREAT low interest rate. Good for you if you're able to pay cash. But my payments are close to same as cash. So call me a fool. To each his own. I personally think that you're the one making the foolish purchase, not knowing where your car came from and where it's been.

 

[Chicago526]

I was at woodfield mall,

Howdy neighbor! I live in Elgin now, but I grew up in Schaumburg!

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Rob has dug himself in enough, so I may as well lend him a small hand.

Buying stuff with cash instead of credit isn't really a question of being fortunate. It's about being dedicated to not spending on credit, even though it's harder and you don't have as cool stuff as other people do, in the short term. In the long term, it's likely a different story.

Hmm...

There are other benefits to using credit as well. Credit cards offer protection that cash doesn't. Here's a lesson in this:

I bought a computer from Circuit City. Paid about $500 cash. Got it home. It did not work. I mean it was just awful. It turned on but something was very wrong with it as it was slow and crashed every 15-20 minutes. I know computers and something was NOT RIGHT. A friend of mine has the same machine and hers works just fine.

I took it back. Well, wouldn't you know, because they turned it on and it turned on, they said it was not broken and they were charging me a restocking fee. I forget the % but it amounted to like, $60 or so.

I lost that money. I did call my cc later to see how they handle situations like that for future reference (this was literally the ONLY time I've ever bought something "big" with cash) and they told me that they would have reversed the charges.

I'll never buy anything with cash that costs more than $100 or so again, for my own protection.

 

[squirrlygirl]

I agree. Also the Honda and Toyota both have manufacturing plants in the USA.

Funny thing...so do GM and Chrysler

To think Consumers Reports has NO agenda is They're in the business of selling their information. Last I checked, interpretation of data is usually colored by the glasses the interpreter is wearing. In fact, there's been studies that involved sticking a Toyota badge on a GM car. Funny thing....that "Toyota" was suddenly a much better car than the "GM" car.