Americans owe $1 Trillion on their cars

[awames76]

i have a 2001 sierra with almost 300,000 miles. been payed off for 3 yrs. have a 2001 suburban that i payed $400 for, wrecked non running. did not take anything to get running. pulled the bumper out. looks bad but runs great.

im done with payments, other than a house

 

[HoughMade]

...Most houses cost too much. Way over priced and stuffed with amenities that tickle the pride, but really serve no purpose. Due to easy credit, they sell pretty well...

I just don't see how I can be expected to go #1 or #2 unless the counter top in the bathroom was hewn from the bowels of the earth in Vermont or Carrara.

 

[lovemachine]

As I mentioned elsewhere, I have a 2007 Silverado. It has about 125,000 miles on it now. The exterior is perfect- not a speck of rust, no body damage. the interior is great, floor's dirty, but no visible wear on anything.

I can see myself repowering this thing when it becomes necessary (iron block 5.3L) and rebuilding this as needed rather than buying another truck. With the prices these days, for me, it seems like the way to go.

Hmm a hemi OR a diesel would be pretty awesome in my jeep...

I just don't see how I can be expected to go #1 or #2 unless the counter top in the bathroom was hewn from the bowels of the earth in Vermont or Carrara.

I require the best when I poop.

 

[bobzilla]

No car payments in years here either. Do have one of the 4 for sale because they do t all fit in the garage and no wY am I leaving the 40yo project that's never seen snow outside! Last one we had a payment on was the truck that we bought in 2006 with 0%apr

 

[Dr.Midnight]

I guess I'm the exception on INGO. I have a 2016 SUV that has a healthy monthly payment. I don't care either. I'm in sales, and I put 50,000-60,000 miles on a car each year, so I must have a quality vehicle to drive. I get an allowance as well, so in reality, the company is paying for it.

 

[Leo]

I guess I'm the exception on INGO. I have a 2016 SUV that has a healthy monthly payment. I don't care either. I'm in sales, and I put 50,000-60,000 miles on a car each year, so I must have a quality vehicle to drive. I get an allowance as well, so in reality, the company is paying for it.

That is a little different. I also worked for a company that allowed either a company pool car OR gave you a monthly car use payment and fuel receipts on the expense account. My job was abut 10 days out of 30 on the road, the rest in the office. I had a company car for a while. The bad part was that people could bump you out of the car and you would have to unload your personal stuff while they used it. I chose the monthly car use payment and let them make the payments. Of course that put the maintenance and insurance on me. In a way, I ended up with a used car for free.

 

[bwframe]

...I haven't had a car payment since 2001

I haven't had a car payment since 1987.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My only car note is 2.5%

GM stock is paying 4.27% in dividends.

I could have paid for the car in cash, and I could pay it off today. Why would I?

 

[aaron580]

I can say financing drives the world since 80% of my product that leaves the door of my building is financed. That being said, there are smart ways of financing and not so smart. No such thing as 0%. I HAD a large payment on my 50k truck that's 3 years old, but I've had it for 2 years and it will be paid off by june. If I borrow money, I don't expect to get out for free, but I won't be taken either. Low interest rates are the way to go and get it OUTSIDE of the dealer if you must finance, that way you get the cash advantage and still get a good interest rate without tanking credit with 17 hard inquiries at once. I love financing and sales

 

[indykid]

With the average price of a new car reportedly over $30,000 who the heck is buying them?

Agree INGO is not the place to report on how much people owe on cars. I too have no car payments and intend on keeping it that way for a long time.

 

[mom45]

My last car payment was 1988...seems impossible since I am only 29, but I believe that is the right year.

 

[lovemachine]

I haven't had a car payment since 1987.

You, sir, are old.

My only car note is 2.5%

GM stock is paying 4.27% in dividends.

I could have paid for the car in cash, and I could pay it off today. Why would I?

Wish I had $30,000 cash to buy a truck flat out.

With the average price of a new car reportedly over $30,000 who the heck is buying them?

Agree INGO is not the place to report on how much people owe on cars. I too have no car payments and intend on keeping it that way for a long time.

I think people are leasing them.

 

[bwframe]

Is leasing a legit viable option for some or is it a scam?
My wicked step mother has just signed her second lease, when the first expired.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Is leasing a legit viable option for some or is it a scam?

Like anything, I think that it CAN be viable for some. Especially if you can somehow get in on one of those $100-150/month zero down leases for an econo-box that'll likely have very low pay-off at the end of the lease. They can really make even more sense if the person doesn't drive up to the mileage limit for the year.

But a person would have to really research on the average post-lease purchase price a car would have. The cost to buy your Malibu or Chrysler 200 after a lease will be a LOT less than an Accord or Toyota. Depending on the terms of the lease, you can find certain situations where your lease money + after-lease purchase = less than the cost of the new car originally. That's a somewhat rare scenario, but it does happen. And it only happens with vehicles that don't hold resale value...

 

[teddy12b]

It doesn't surprise me at all to hear Dave talk about Americans being in that much debt. Nobody tends to think in terms of how much property do you own, people tend to think in terms of how much left they owe on something before it's paid off. I've never bought a brand new vehicle in my life, but I've also never paid cash either. There's a balance in there some where that allows you to have a very reliable vehicle and get the thing paid off asap.

For all the negativity that millenials hear, one thing I've noticed is that there seems to be more of a common understanding amongst them about staying debt free. At least more so than I've noticed in older folks.

 

[lovemachine]

I will say that the new F150's and Silverados are very very nice

 

[CHCRandy]

My only car note is 2.5%

GM stock is paying 4.27% in dividends.

I could have paid for the car in cash, and I could pay it off today. Why would I?

Some people refuse to understand this. I own stock that has paid 10%+ dividend for years....if you can borrow at 0%-2% and make 10-15%....you aint really borrowing.

 

[spencer rifle]

Never bought a new car. Fewest miles on any was 55,000. Had a car payment for a while in 2008 on a 2004 van. Before that the last one was in 1986. Our newest vehicle - 2005, 147,000 miles.

 

[HoughMade]

I will say that the new F150's and Silverados are very very nice

I agree, but I briefly looked into a Colorado diesel (80 mile round trip every day). $40,000 outfitted the way I would like it. No thanks.

 

[lovemachine]

I agree, but I briefly looked into a Colorado diesel (80 mile round trip every day). $40,000 outfitted the way I would like it. No thanks.

Little expensive.