Car finance. It’s so prevalent, I think I’m literally the only one on our road that doesn’t drive a 1 year old, brand new, financed car. Literally everyone is like “but it’s only $499/month and I can just hand it back when I want a new one”. Well shit, yes, but try tallying up what you’ve paid for running all these new cars every three years.
Save up instead and continue saving after you bought the car. Then you can afford a different car later.
You can also buy the car at the end of the lease, can’t you? Definitely an option in my country, a lot of people just choose not to exercise it.
Car loans tend to have about 13-20% interest while leases have like 1.5-2% + 6 mon euribor, so a lease is preferable any day of the week, it’ll save you several thousand over the usual 5 year term.
Yes I get the point but I guess it depends on you considering a car a luxury or a requirement. Where I live, it’s definitely a luxury - we’ve got great public transport.
It’s literally like renting a car at $499 per month. Nothing really wrong with that as long as the economics work out (there’s more expenses than just the monthly payment), because a car is going to depreciate anyway. You can buy it, but it will just get old and fall apart.
Some people feel it’s worth $500 a month to always drive a relatively new car, rather than drive an old car for free.
It’s going to depreciate!? Oh no! Often the people I hear talk about cars like that can’t or don’t change their oil. Change the fluids, rotate the tires, follow servicing time tables; same things you should be doing with your rented car you continue doing with your older car.
Obviously, you can maintain your old car, and make it last a long time, but it’s still going to look older, maybe dented and scratched, the finish is dull, the interior is worn, etc. Some people don’t want to go through all the maintenance, and would rather just pay to have a nice looking reliable car in the driveway.
I’ve never been a car guy, so I like an older, paid off car, but I understand why some people would want to follow the other strategy.
Car finance. It’s so prevalent, I think I’m literally the only one on our road that doesn’t drive a 1 year old, brand new, financed car. Literally everyone is like “but it’s only $499/month and I can just hand it back when I want a new one”. Well shit, yes, but try tallying up what you’ve paid for running all these new cars every three years.
Save up instead and continue saving after you bought the car. Then you can afford a different car later.
They call it “leasing”, but get angry when you point out they are renting.
Take out a loan then, at least at the end of it you still have a car
You can also buy the car at the end of the lease, can’t you? Definitely an option in my country, a lot of people just choose not to exercise it.
Car loans tend to have about 13-20% interest while leases have like 1.5-2% + 6 mon euribor, so a lease is preferable any day of the week, it’ll save you several thousand over the usual 5 year term.
Yes I get the point but I guess it depends on you considering a car a luxury or a requirement. Where I live, it’s definitely a luxury - we’ve got great public transport.
It’s literally like renting a car at $499 per month. Nothing really wrong with that as long as the economics work out (there’s more expenses than just the monthly payment), because a car is going to depreciate anyway. You can buy it, but it will just get old and fall apart.
Some people feel it’s worth $500 a month to always drive a relatively new car, rather than drive an old car for free.
Some people are broke ass in debt their whole lives.
Yeah, I’m not saying it’s economically wise, but it’s true, and who are we to judge what people prioritize in their lives?
It’s going to depreciate!? Oh no! Often the people I hear talk about cars like that can’t or don’t change their oil. Change the fluids, rotate the tires, follow servicing time tables; same things you should be doing with your rented car you continue doing with your older car.
Obviously, you can maintain your old car, and make it last a long time, but it’s still going to look older, maybe dented and scratched, the finish is dull, the interior is worn, etc. Some people don’t want to go through all the maintenance, and would rather just pay to have a nice looking reliable car in the driveway.
I’ve never been a car guy, so I like an older, paid off car, but I understand why some people would want to follow the other strategy.