Question About Car Down Payments

[kahiljabroni]

How many miles? 5k? 10k? 20k? 30k?

Again mine was 14k $ for an accord sport with 20k miles. I looked for over a month and negotiated that price ...but I saw many in the 16500$ range with similar miles. They are a dime a dozen, do not buy new

 

[Brother Numsi]

Again mine was 14k $ for an accord sport with 20k miles. I looked for over a month and negotiated that price ...but I saw many in the 16500$ range with similar miles. They are a dime a dozen, do not buy new

That's what I've been hearing. Same thing with the Toyota Camry and Corolla.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[aerius]

I'll put my banker hat on for a bit. There's a bunch of car payment calculator programs out there on the 'net that will work out your monthly payment given the price of the car/loan amount, interest rate, and down payment.

Punch in the numbers for $0 down or $5000 down at whatever the interest rate is and it'll spit out your monthly payment.
https://www.carpaymentcalculator.net/

Now, here's the fun part. Your buddy could be right in many cases since the dealership will screw around with the terms & rates on the loan to max out their profits. They have a nice table of down payments & credit scores that they'll use to adjust the interest rates on their loans and fuck you over. Let's you should get a straight up $90/month difference between $0 down and say, $4000 down at the same interest rate. What the dealership will do is jack up the interest rates a few points so that you're only saving $25/month, they won't show this to you but you can work it out by adding up all the payments for the term of the loan then working it backwards through the calculator.

You can have the payment calculator ready on your phone when the dealer gives you the numbers for their loans. If they're screwing you for $10 a month it ain't too bad and you can probably live with it. $100/month and you can tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine.

 

[ThinkGreen]

I have an 04 Corolla that has like 160k miles on it. My plan is to just drive it as long as I can, and then buy another cheap, reliable car. I drive at least 300 miles a week, so good gas mileage is key.

I also work with a ton of people who make less than me but drive way nicer cars. It’s so strange.

 

[Omegaboy13]

I have an 04 Corolla that has like 160k miles on it. My plan is to just drive it as long as I can, and then buy another cheap, reliable car. I drive at least 300 miles a week, so good gas mileage is key.

I also work with a ton of people who make less than me but drive way nicer cars. It’s so strange.

That happens a lot where I live too. I drive a ~10 year old small truck, but I see guys making ~50% of what I do driving some big 2018 F350. Most are in debt, cash poor, and live in cracker shack houses.

Shit, one of my vehicles has 220,000 miles on it. I’ll drive it til the wheels fall off.

 

[TeTe]

I disagree with trading in the car to the dealership. They will lowball the fuck out of you, so if you do then you will want to use that trade-in to create psychological wiggle room for them to lower your price. Otherwise you're better off selling that car yourself. Selling to mechanics won't waste your time if you know your vehicle is worth something. They will buy value when they see it.

Lease is very advantageous for the dealership because then you are a stream of income. Use that advantage against them to leverage the lowest down and monthly payments possible. Let them do the work by constantly responding with their offers with both interest and questions. Problem solving questions.

You're right for sure about getting low balled at the dealer and it's always better to sell privately. I guess it depends if by $2500 he means dealer trade value and if he's comfortable with that. I decided to trade my last car in because I negotiated a higher value or I was threatening to not buy the car I wanted. I told them, the price is right on the car I want so I'm not going to even try to negotiate on that, but they had to give me more on my trade and they did.

 

[TeTe]

I have an 04 Corolla that has like 160k miles on it. My plan is to just drive it as long as I can, and then buy another cheap, reliable car. I drive at least 300 miles a week, so good gas mileage is key.

I also work with a ton of people who make less than me but drive way nicer cars. It’s so strange.

Damn son, 300 miles. I think I'm at about 200-225 driving up to RB and around town each week and my Camaro gets poor gas mileage, but I've always been a muscle car guy so I'm willing to put a little extra gas in my car every month.

 

[rj144]

Yeah. See this is what my guy was talking about. Not too much of a difference in monthly payments with cash down. Most car dealers just want down payments to make their commission which is understandable.

Thanks for feedback homie

Look at the first line (from the post you quoted) there is an example. You save $139 a month for 24 months. That's $3336 saved with $2400 down, so you save almost $1000 in total. Are you sure you went to college?

Seriously, everyone should know this stuff. It's important.

 

[kahiljabroni]

I'll put my banker hat on for a bit. There's a bunch of car payment calculator programs out there on the 'net that will work out your monthly payment given the price of the car/loan amount, interest rate, and down payment.

Punch in the numbers for $0 down or $5000 down at whatever the interest rate is and it'll spit out your monthly payment.
https://www.carpaymentcalculator.net/

Now, here's the fun part. Your buddy could be right in many cases since the dealership will screw around with the terms & rates on the loan to max out their profits. They have a nice table of down payments & credit scores that they'll use to adjust the interest rates on their loans and fuck you over. Let's you should get a straight up $90/month difference between $0 down and say, $4000 down at the same interest rate. What the dealership will do is jack up the interest rates a few points so that you're only saving $25/month, they won't show this to you but you can work it out by adding up all the payments for the term of the loan then working it backwards through the calculator.

You can have the payment calculator ready on your phone when the dealer gives you the numbers for their loans. If they're screwing you for $10 a month it ain't too bad and you can probably live with it. $100/month and you can tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine.

So true.
I pre-ordered a new car out of state and was given a verbal commitment to their prime rate after a credit check.
I drive 3 hours, show up to the dealer and they give me a 30 minute demo on the cars features...then when I'm all psyched up and distracted by how awesome the car is they send me into the finance office. There's a stack of papers he's reading over like an auctioneer then I'm just about to sign when I notice that the interest rate on paper was a full percentage point above what we agreed. At that point I threatened to walk, started calling my bank, etc.
They come back to me after 30 minutes all disgruntled and said they'd honor the rate but only at 60 months instead of 72...which increased the monthly payment significantly. I did the deal at prime and saved 5k over the course of the loan.

In retrospect the entire process was set up so I wouldn't catch it...most people probably don't and the dealer throws a couple extra grand in their pocket

 

[minute bull]

You're right for sure about getting low balled at the dealer and it's always better to sell privately. I guess it depends if by $2500 he means dealer trade value and if he's comfortable with that. I decided to trade my last car in because I negotiated a higher value or I was threatening to not buy the car I wanted. I told them, the price is right on the car I want so I'm not going to even try to negotiate on that, but they had to give me more on my trade and they did.

It's not a bad thought to trade-in to the dealership, I was shedding a different perspective on the mentality behind the dealership. The trade-in is negligible because what they're interested in is MONEY. Because SALE is better than NO SALE, they'll do whatever they can to make it. So if they kicked some bullshit like we cannot come down any lower on price you can say, "I don't want to hurt your bottom line, so can you increase the trade-in value? [AKA is there another way YOU can help ME??]" This too is bullshit, but it gains you more time during the negotiation phase -- and really that's your leverage: how much of their time you consume. That's why it's a good idea to buy a car when you're in no rush. The walk-away is the most powerful bit you have -- and never use it as a last resort. Last resort implies there's some kind of adversarial relationship, when they're absolutely shouldn't be. Rapport counts.

 

[RJ43]

Don’t listen to these guys. Put nothing down and lever up as much as you can. I’d say 65k is where you should aim for the vehicle. Get in the car, feel the wind in your hair, and drive like there is no tomorrow. Think how good it will feel.

 

[electroman187]

So I wouldn't be struggling to make ends meet every month with a car note.

If you're only worried about "not struggling", then you will never get ahead.

I would much rather be stress free with a pile of cash at home than driving a new car that the bank owns. It's surprisingly satisfying driving my 16 year old Honda Civic, knowing that I could pay cash for whatever vehicle I want.

Most people think you need to make a lot of money to be financially independent. It's not true. I've never had a giant income, inheritance or windfall but I've amassed a pretty impressive portfolio. And yes, you can spend money - you just need to be judicious and delay gratification.

 

[Midnighter]

Don’t listen to these guys. Put nothing down and lever up as much as you can. I’d say 65k is where you should aim for the vehicle. Get in the car, feel the wind in your hair, and drive like there is no tomorrow. Think how good it will feel.

 

[Blowing Dixie]

People paying banks in order to live a lifestyle they otherwise couldn't afford really rubs me the wrong way.

 

[aerius]

People paying banks in order to live a lifestyle they otherwise couldn't afford really rubs me the wrong way.

I used to work for a bank. Those gold windows and marble buildings don't build themselves you know, someone's gotta pay for this shit...

 

[RJ43]

Sherdog always cracks me up with it’s absolute terror of debt. Debt is a tool to be understood and used to your advantage.

 

[djacobox372]

Spending $$ when someone is willing to lend you $$ at an extremely low rate is stupid.

If you want to feel better, take that $$ that you would have put on a down payment and invest it right away.

 

[electroman187]

Debt is a tool to be understood and used to your advantage.

Great point. It's just sad that most people don't understand it and too many use it to their own detriment. It's kind of like cheap, convenient food. Sure, some people use it sparingly to fuel up and get through the day but mostly, you just end up with a bunch of fatasses. Well, easy access to credit has caused a lot damage to a lot of folks. How can such a rich educated country be filled with so many broke dummies? It's not because they don't make enough - it's because they spend too much and mis-use of credit can get out of control real fast.

Spending $$ when someone is willing to lend you $$ at an extremely low rate is stupid.

If you want to feel better, take that $$ that you would have put on a down payment and invest it right away.

I generally agree with that. I could pay off my house, but there's no rush at 3% interest. Meanwhile, I'm socking it away and making a much better rate of return. But I don't think most people have the discipline to do that. They take the loan and find something more exciting to spend the cash on rather than saving it. Like a boat, RV, vacation, furniture or just smaller things like clothes, electronics, going out to eat...

 

[Midnighter]

Sherdog always cracks me up with it’s absolute terror of debt. Debt is a tool to be understood and used to your advantage.

Debt is rarely used to one's advantage.

For instance, this thread is about buying a car.

 

[TeTe]

Look at the first line (from the post you quoted) there is an example. You save $139 a month for 24 months. That's $3336 saved with $2400 down, so you save almost $1000 in total. Are you sure you went to college?

Seriously, everyone should know this stuff. It's important.

Even if you didn't go to college, there a whole slew of simple interest loan calculators on the internet.