[Ferretlover]

Rush right out and buy a car-

By James R. Healey, USA TODAY
Automakers and buyers are diving into extra-long auto loans, and they could drown from that plunge.
Toyota Motor Credit brought the loans to light when it acknowledged at a meeting last week it is making 84-month loans — seven years — to cut buyers' payments and boost sales. It's been making them since August.
GMAC, some credit unions and others also offer 84 months, and a sliver of auto loans, 0.1%, are even longer: 96 to nearly 102 months, says Power Information Network, a unit of consultant J.D. Power and Associates. About 82% are 60 to 77.9 months.
"Definitely bad," says Kevin Tynan, auto analyst at Argus Research. Easing buying with long loans "is bubble-inducing, and the bubble's bursting."
Jeez, they never give up, do they?

[vision-master]

$500 Month for 7 years?

I think not!

That and 50 year mortgages.

Enslave the masses for life!

[furrydog]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '$')500 Month for 7 years?

I think not!

That and 50 year mortgages.

Enslave the masses for life!

[gnm]

It will take more than that to lure me out of my 15 year old POS....

Only a sucker would take more than a 4 year loan on a car anyways.

-G

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', 'I')t will take more than that to lure me out of my 15 year old POS....

Only a sucker would take more than a 4 year loan on a car anyways.

-G

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '$')500 Month for 7 years?

I think not!

That and 50 year mortgages.

Enslave the masses for life!

[I_Like_Plants]

That being said, I was an idiot with my Prius, it was a 5 year loan. I should have gone to one of the local Volvo mechs or used car places and gotten a used Volvo wagon, 240 to 960, one of the older ones. Even with financing by Rocky & Vito I'd have had it paid off within a year. And then it would just take some gas, sure, some repairs, but not the money-drain the Prius was and it's possible to camp out in those suckers. Another choice would be a good used Toyota van, same deal, sure it would have been maybe 5 thou to buy it, but I'd have had it paid off within a year.

The best way to go though is to completely eschew credit and just buy cash out of pocket, look for that $1000 sleeper that shows up if you keep your eyes open.

[pup55]

http://peakoil.com/fortopic30081.html+ramsey

Time to revive this from the archive.

This all comes down to the same thing: People buying too much car for the amount of money they have. The car companies encourage the buyers to stretch these payments out, which then allows them to get "upside down" for a longer time. The owners get tired of their cars, and trade them/flip them frequently rolling the payments over into the next loan.

At some the golden goose comes to a stop.

You would be surprised how many relatively bright people fall into this trap.

[I_Like_Plants]

Well, I like to think of myself as being relatively bright, but I was an idiot buying that Prius.

Sad to say, I considered the bubble-driven US economy of 2000-2005 to be normal. Normal is what's going on now. People don't have money, jobs are scarce, housing is precarious, and better save that tent you got for camping, Mr and Mrs Jones, because you may end up living in it. That's normal for the US from here on out.

And in that scenario, any car loan or debt is stupid.

[jasonraymondson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')
And in that scenario, any car loan or debt is stupid.

[Armageddon]

84 months at 0% would be ok.

[I_Like_Plants]

Jason - you should be able to clear up those student loans with your sign-on bonus and your pay while in the Army. The pay's pretty good these days, just pay them off.

I paid off mine.

[gnm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Armageddon', '8')4 months at 0% would be ok.

[I_Like_Plants]

Student loans are really hard to get out of, harder than IRS debt, harder than any other debt.

I actually had about 10 grand in 'em, just paid the bills as they came in, it was actually not bad. Knocked off the last bit of 'em with some money left me in a will.

If you're going into the military, you should get a sign-on bonus of some type, and well, you get food, shelter, etc., AND pay, so give yourself an "allowance" of say $100 a month and put the rest into paying off those student loans. You should be able to knock 'em out in a few years. The IRS already takes out their cut before the money gets to you, so no problems there.

You could actually get guys to pay you to take their guard duty or CQ duty, shit like that, and come up with your "allowance" and keep your pay untouched, all can go to paying debt. Yeah this sounds like the advice of a Depression-era uber-tightwad, but that's the way to survive in our money-based society.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')
And in that scenario, any car loan or debt is stupid.

[lateStarter]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')
And in that scenario, any car loan or debt is stupid.

[I_Like_Plants]

I have 15+ years to go ..... this is why I'm working on skills that are universal, and will work whether or not my vision goes.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lateStarter', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')
And in that scenario, any car loan or debt is stupid.