More than half of all car loans in Canada are for 84 months

Joey_V

I did a 72 mo payment plan on my Toyota. 0%, can't refuse that.

tonyb

motorhead43026 wrote: »

My last 2 cars including my most recent (3 total), have been Honda Certified used. I let others take the depreciation. I have bought one new car in my life, that was 1974.

I drive my cars 7-10 years minimum.

I do the same. Depreciation on a new car is horrible, money out the window. Wish the loan amount depreciated with it.....then we'd have something.

jflail2

My last purchase was an 06 4runner limited. Incredibly well kept with 87k miles, and got it for 15k out the door. Put a couple grand down, so Ive got about 13k to crush in the next couple years. I refuse to finance anything other than my house for more than 4 years.

Buying at least 4-5 years old is HIGHLY recommended. As was already said, let someone else eat the depreciation. County taxes are also incredibly low on that aged vehicle, so don’t forget that component as well.

Gonna drive that 4runner till it dies, which will be a long time. Also looking at a 2012 or so Honda Civic for the commute to my new job. Keep it cheap, retire early!!

NotaSuv

My last 3 transports have been current daily driver is a 2015 hellcat, before that it was a 2012 wrangler with a V8 conversion and before that a 825hp 2004 SRT 10, the cost of gas alone to run em is outrageous let alone the maintenance to keep em in tip top shape but well worth the slam against the seat when hitting the gas..then there are the go faster mods, custom tunes....$$$$$$$$ Only 7 more months before full retirement and lot's of time to play with some new toys.....oh yeah i am one of those crazies who have done the 7 yr loan and ended up selling both trucks well before the 7 was up both for a profit...............

mhardy6647

Joey_V wrote: »

I did a 72 mo payment plan on my Toyota. 0%, can't refuse that.

'zackly. Every year the real amount you're paying back is less, thanks to good ol' Mr. Inflation. You pay less for the car over 72 months than you would've if you'd have bought it out right on Day Zero with cash

Plus, you protect your own principal by not spending all in one lump sum for something that (most likely) depreciates over its lifetime.

pitdogg2

NotaSuv wrote: »

My last 3 transports have been current daily driver is a 2015 hellcat, before that it was a 2012 wrangler with a V8 conversion and before that a 825hp 2004 SRT 10, the cost of gas alone to run em is outrageous let alone the maintenance to keep em in tip top shape but well worth the slam against the seat when hitting the gas..then there are the go faster mods, custom tunes....$$$$$$$$ Only 7 more months before full retirement and lot's of time to play with some new toys.....oh yeah i am one of those crazies who have done the 7 yr loan and ended up selling both trucks well before the 7 was up both for a profit...............

Just wait they are bringing back the 426 hemi serious wood package there.

nooshinjohn

I paid cash for my 04 Jaguar XJ8... only 26k miles on it when I picked it up 4 years ago.

heiney9

7 years is too long for a depreciating asset like an automobile, IMO. A longer than 60 mo loan makes sense if the rate is super low and/or you intend to pay it off early.

My current car I bought new in the middle of 2017, $6K off sticker and out the door for approx. $28K. I put $10K down so my loan is approx. $18K at 1.9% for 72 months. Payment is $265/mo.

My intention and so far reality is to pay it off in atleast 60 months or less. I pay about $325/ mo w/extra going to principle. But this gives me the option to make a lower monthly payment should I loose my job temporarily or some other tragic life event or monetary catastrophe.

I could have put the minimum down and financed for 5 years and had a payment over $400. But I didn't feel comfortable with that monthly burden. If the interest rate had been higher, then 72 months might not have been as attractive. This way I have some flexibility should something arise and I can also pay it off early as I am now.

I also could have paid cash, which would have mostly drained savings, but at the time interest rates were very low and I'm ok with leaving $$$ in the bank and paying a little interest.

H9

muncybob

I've only ever bought new twice. Once on a great price to begin with and added 0% financing for 48 months on top of that. The other time again a good price and GM took my 900 or so points and jumped it up to 2000. While I like the shiny/new aspect of buying new, unless there is a great price combined with 0%(or close to it) it really is not a good financial move...but sometimes we just have to have that new toy I guess.

Even at 0% financing I still absolutely HATED to make those monthly payments. There is a lot to be said for being debt free.

heiney9

This was only my 2nd brand new, zero mileage car. I have always bought 3-5 year old cars. I have to say, brand new is nice, especially the tech. Plus I can take care of it from new as I want to. But I admit, when it's paid off and still has good equity I'll probably sell it and put that into another new car or maybe 1 year old car.

We'll just have to see. Right now I own two cars the other is paid off and the girlfriend mostly drives. My 2017 I bought in May of 2017 only has 8700 miles. I put about 6-6.5K miles a year since we also use the other car too. In 5 years the car will only have 30K miles, so I may keep it longer. Who knows.

H9

Jimbo18

I would look for something similar to what I did this last time. Car was a 2016 that I bought in 2017 with less than 10,000 miles so my interest rate was based on it being new. I think it's about 2.5% which is nice for a used car.

kharp1

@tonyb in KY you're only paying taxes on the part in use. Equals out to the same, basically, only you're not paying it all up front. Worked out to my advantage in this particular situation. I put too many miles on a vehicle for a lease to work for me normally, but, this time I knew I would be keeping the car and passing it on to a child as a first car. The mileage wasn't an issue. Grabbing the $4k rebate was a plus. I agree Leases can be tricky and problematic so leasee beware.

Plus, it helps that I'm a A plan recipient, so its pretty cut and dry.

BlueFox

motorhead43026 wrote: »

My last 2 cars including my most recent (3 total), have been Honda Certified used. I let others take the depreciation. I have bought one new car in my life, that was 1974.

I drive my cars 7-10 years minimum.

My last two cars, including my current car, was a VW Fox I bought new in 87. Had that for 17 years until October 2004. Then I bought my 2005 Mazda3, which I still have. Cars suck. Stereos rock.

mhardy6647

I realized a long time ago I could have nice cars & work 'til I die or drive cheap, bland cars and retire young.

I chose the latter path.

motorhead43026

^^I have driven bland cars all my life. Still have to work to 68....lol...…Actually I feel like crying.

BlueFox

I could have retired young, but like the paycheck.

I will be retiring within the next year, and I have to spend my savings before I adios this world. It won’t be spent on a car. LOL.

muncybob

Yep, I also plan to spend every penny of the nest egg on stuff besides a car, but if I ever came across the right muscle car(442 or a nice 68 Charger or 'Cuda come to mind) it would be tempting to take it for a ride for a few years.

mlistens03

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I think most automobiles today are a pretty low risk in terms of major repairs for seven years.

Thought it might be worth adding, my parents bought a 2011 Audi Q7 a few years ago. It had been rented by someone for a trip, and then returned with a few thousand miles, and it had been sitting on the lot. Got it pretty cheap too.
Anyways, when we hit around 30k miles, the air conditioner motor burned out, the sunroof broke, both electric seats broke, and we had each of these things fixed, and they broke again. Needless to say, we dropped it like a hot potato and moved on to our Mercedes R350, which has been almost perfect (only a few minor issues, plus one air suspension part and the wheel well falling off when something went under the car) since 2006 w/ 120k miles.
So, most, but not all cars will be reliable for 7 years or more. This all happened before 2016 by the way, and it was taken very good care of. YMMV, figuratively and literally.

mantis

Since 2005 I have been leasing cars for both my wife and myself. Mostly no money down and low monthly payments then get a new one each every 3 years. No brakes tires or any maintenance costs since oil and state inspections are all included. So just gas and go.
For me this makes a lot of sense. I actually have not really fully liked any of my vehicles I've been driving enough to want to own until I got my 2017 Durango R/T. This truck is fantastic and at a $55k price tag it would be a lot per month to buy up front. So at the end of my term I'll have the ability to buy it or lease something else. Right now I'm strongly leaning towards owning it. I really love it and enjoy driving it. It does everything I need it to do and it's pretty fast for a 3 row SUV with the HEMI engine.
My wife likes her cars well trucks she drives Jeeps and will mostly likely get a Dodge Charger next. We might buy that one as she really likes it especially with the plumb crazy Purple color or the B5 Blue. So with this car I will compare owning it vs leasing then buying as you never know things might change in need over the years and with a lease it's so easy.

I think the average buy term is 5 years and they are offering 7 years now due to high costs of cars and trucks these days. Everything seems to by over 40k anymore and trucks are really expensive.

tonyb

My brother in-laws brand spankin' new Jeep, has been in the shop more time than he's had it. He since dumped it at a loss, bought a used jeep....and so far so good.

7 years carefree on a new vehicle is not a guarantee. Maybe with a Toyota or Honda. Everyone I know with a new car loan, dumps them right after the loan is paid off and they still had to pay for repairs not covered by their warranty. If your going to keep a car payment for like....forever, you might as well lease them and not worry about repairs aside from maintenance.

If you prefer to have a few years in between new cars with no payments, then buy something with a track record for dependability, durability. In todays world, that built in obsolesce thing applies to just about everything, very little is made to last.

Had an interesting conversation last time I was at the shop having some maintenance done on the Lexus rx350. The owner, nice guy....works on mainly all the foreign and upscale cars/trucks. I asked him, what vehicles today, or say in the last 5 years would you recommend to buy based on dependability ? If you want to know something, minus the hype, talk to the guys who repair cars.

He was hard pressed to name one. He did however name a few to steer clear of. BMW X3/X5, Benz, Audi. Parts alone will kill you, plus the labor costs. He did say American cars/trucks are just about even with their foreign counterparts in the way of reliability, but the fit and finish was still a tad bit behind.

I was in Florida recently, and our aunt had a nice Caddy Suv, don't recall the exact model. Very nice, plush, rode smooth and thought the fit and finish was every good as some foreign SUV's.

Now, me....I rented a Mustang convertible, brand new with under 5k on the clock. What a piece of junk. You couldn't pay me to take that car. Just horrible in every sense. Noisy, didn't track well on the expressway, had to fight to keep it from drifting. Cheap interior, poorly laid out controls, poor visibility. Granted, it's a sports car, I get it....but my RX350 with 140k on the clock runs smoother, quieter, has better visibility and controls. Even at idle, you can feel the Mustang shake a bit.

There's a good gap between retail of the Mustang and higher end SUV's, which shows you get what you pay for. Quality cost money in everything. When you consider the price for a 3 year old certified higher end vehicle, or a brand new lower end one in comparison....the 3 year old higher end vehicles will kick the snott out of them.

mhardy6647

. . . . . . .
(this post was too grumpy to live)

Viking64

mhardy6647 wrote: »

. . . . . . .
(this post was too grumpy to live)

Doc, I thought you were too Happy and Bashful to be Grumpy? Sometimes your long, Dopey posts make me Sleepy, though. Something Sneezy something.

sucks2beme

When i buy new, i drive them as long as makes sense.
I had my Mountaineer for 14 years. I would of
Stuck with it if it wasnt a pos. It had 100k on it when i sold it.
I paidz cash for the wifes new car in 2016. The dealer calls
And emails weekly starting last year. Are people really that stupid
To sell after 1 year??

charley95

14 RX 350 35k miles. 2 minor repairs when I bought with 6k on the clock. No issues whatsoever since then. Rather boring car but very reliable. Speaking to mechanics who service these cars everyday is crucial IMHO.

Joey_V

The important thing I learned was to buy the car that you like but not necessarily dream about. If you buy a car that makes you miserable, it's more than likely that you will not keep it for as long as you would had you bought a car that you liked in the first place.

Dennis Gardner

My 2004 Dodge Quad Cab Hemi has been great! In 190k miles, I have only had oil, air filters, 3 sets of tires, 2 brake pad sets and 2 batteries for maintenance. It has had the lifter tick since about 40k and the interior is showing some wear, but I couldn't ask for a more reliable utility vehicle. My son was a service manager for a Dodge dealer for a couple years and he said that particular year has been known as their best year, compared to later models of the same pickup.

GospelTruth

I will only buy Toyota now - and used. I bought my FJ Cruiser (2008) and Rav4 (2010) both new. I paid cash for them both and plan on driving them until they fall apart - which should be a long time coming. Here in Northern Nevada, it's a great climate for cars to last a lot longer than say the Midwest. Roads are better and not all the salted roads in the winter. I love both our vehicles. Are they the latest and greatest with tech? - nope. But they run every time I turn the key and are comfortable to drive. I've changed the oil, filters, brakes and battery on each. Normal maintenance and they have given us no issues. One is at 90k miles and the other at 92k miles. They just run with zero issues so far.

Growing up in Michigan, all my family owned was domestic brands. I had only purchased domestic as well. However, always dealt with costly repairs. My last domestic that I had was a 2000 GMC Jimmy. That thing was a money pit. Ball joints had to be replaced twice and that was before 60k miles. That was only the beginning. AC, wiper motors, power windows, ect. My best buddy at the time was a mechanic and told me to buy Honda or Toyota. I took that advice and have been totally content. I won't buy American any longer based on my prior experience. It would take a lot for me to go that route again - a lot.

I do still have a 97' Mustang Cobra convertible. Not so much for the reliability, but because I liked the car back then and had a few mustangs before. It's more just a causal driver during the summer months - definitely not for the reliability.

joecoulson

I’m not as smart as you guys. I have $70k in vehicle loans (2.9) I did pay half of my truck in cash, but still. Ugh
Brighter side, I have my house halfway paid off and I bought it in 2014.

verb

I drive company cars that are very early production or not yet in production vehicles. Every few months I get a new one. The goal is to identify any late idiosyncrasies or issues and get them fixed before they hit the public.

Electrical and Infotainment are the biggest challenges IMO. Every subsystem is computerized nowadays. Getting your phone to sync, playing apps, navigation, active safety, you name it. All of them have some quirks waiting to be identified and fixed.

Viking64

verb wrote: »

I drive company cars that are very early production or not yet in production vehicles. Every few months I get a new one.

That must cost you a fortune!