Okay, so help me out here. What’s the range of people’s car payments (amount, length of payment) and what type of car did you buy?
We had a car payment of a $150/month for 3 years for a Ford Focus 2000. It was a ~$5k loan and I thought it a lot.
Since then we haven’t had a car payment and I think we probably should be saving for it. But right now it’s just not a priority. I know I’ll get into trouble with our next cars because we don’t have anything saved up. But what will likely happen is we’ll end up with a cheap used car until we can save up more money. Perhaps our financial circumstances will improve as I get job and we can afford to save more for a car, rather than what we are now.
I also realize that traveling as much as we have over the past 4 years could have paid for a $20k car. But it’s a matter of priorities. Obviously a vacation was more important than stashing the cash for a new car, and thus we may have to buy a cheap used car.
16 responses so far ↓
1 The Weakonomist // Mar 12, 2009 at 11:48 am
I paid my car off two months ago. I did it within a year of buying it after putting 50% down. About $11,000 was financed at around 7% and the payments were $345 over a 36 month loan.
Glad I worked hard to pay it off. It feels great not having a payment.
2 Kristy // Mar 12, 2009 at 12:03 pm
DH and I have never had a car payment in the 7 years we’ve been married. We paid cash for both of our cars through a family friend who owned his own business. He would buy cars for his salesmen and then replace them when they hit about 60,000 miles. Then he would sell the cars. I bought my 1999 Pontiac Grand Am in 2001 for $5,000 and we bought DH’s 2000 Chevy Lumina for $4,500 in 2003.
3 Angie // Mar 12, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I bought a 2003 Honda Accord in 2006 and my payment is about $350/month for 5 years. I know it’s a lot and it’s a long time, but the thing has barely depreciated over the last few years, and I know it will run for quite a while.
4 Casey // Mar 12, 2009 at 12:39 pm
We bought my husband’s 2006 Chevy Malibu two years ago. The payment was about $296/month for 5 years. Just paid that sucker off last month (early).
5 SP // Mar 12, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I had use of an old car when I graduated and haven’t replaced it so no current car payment.
I’m currently saving ~$400/mo towards my next car and I hope to buy it with cash. Something used again.
I agree, I’d rather travel than have a 20k car.
6 Lynn // Mar 12, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Well, we know better now but our car payment is 419.00 for 72 months. We financed about 26K and we can afford it easily but I just hate making the payment. It is my husbands dream 4-door F150 – we got a $43K truck for about 32K with employee pricing so I couldn’t say no. Its more than 1/2 paid for so I am happy but I will never do it again.
7 LivingAlmostLarge // Mar 12, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Interesting that a lot of people also still had payments even with used cars. I think we might have to go that route. We’ll see. I am not sure what we might be wanting to drive in the future. Maybe with kids something with 4 doors.
8 missliliane // Mar 12, 2009 at 9:44 pm
We bought a new CR-V about this time last year…financed 95% of the cost at 4%. Payments are a little over 400/month for 60 months.
4% is pretty cheap money. We’re saving for a house downpayment, so I’d rather pay Honda 4% than sink all of our available cash that is for a house into a car. The interest over the life of the loan is minimal, and at normal returns of investment, the money we are earning on our investments will be worth more than the interest we’re paying on the loan.
And I adore my car…
9 fengshui // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:30 pm
I’m one of the DUMB people who thought that I “needed” a NEW car…. I have 2006 and it was $400 a month for 5 years. I pay extra every month to shave a year off of the loan. I will NEVER do this again…. What a waste. However, I do love the warranty on it. I had my trasmission replaced and some other repairs at no cost and free rental car while it was being fixed.
10 Natalie MacNeil // Mar 13, 2009 at 12:05 am
I bought a used Toyota Corolla up front and I don’t think I will ever take out a loan for a car. I rather save up and buy a used car that I can afford since buying a new car is quite a waste with the depreciation. I agree that traveling is waaaay better than having a new car!
11 Mary // Mar 13, 2009 at 8:32 am
With car payments, there is no norm. IMO. I would play around on bankrate and look at length and interest rate. Set your boundries from there. Then what kind of a payment is comfortable for you. What are you giving up to make that payment? What length of time is acceptable to you? What kind of payment does that give you? Can you work with that?
Hubby and I both bought our cars new and spent way too much money. Both cars were bought before we got married (actually DH’s car was 6 years old when we met). Anyway, DH’s car is now 11 and if we have kids we should probably replace it in a year or two after that. So, I’ve been looking and planning. I’ve decided I’m only comfortable financing about $10k. (A far cry from my $25k truck). That means we are going to be looking at vehicles in the $10k to $15k range. We want a CUV type vehicle that is 2-3 years old, less than 40,000 miles. So that rules out Rav-4s, CR-Vs, etc (at least around here). Right now the vehicles we would be looking at if we were ready to buy would be an Equinox or Taurus X (or Freestyle). But we aren’t ready to buy and what I have noticed is that every year something a little different comes out that would fit our probable needs a little better. We are probably 2 years out for a new to us car (1 year out from kids, I hope; but DH wants a shop before he wants a new vehicle, so that is our compromise… we get kids, a shop and no new to us car for a while).
My advice is set your boundries and go from there. Don’t depend on what “other” people or the “norm” is.
12 JoeP // Mar 13, 2009 at 12:54 pm
We have no car payments, but when we did, they were $237 for 5 years, and $325 for 4 years. They were not at the same time, though. We’ve never bought new. The only time I might even consider buying new is when we move to our next house and the kids are moved out. Then I won’t have to worry about a milkshake spilling between the leather seats.
13 fengshui // Mar 13, 2009 at 6:48 pm
In theory it would be nice to “save up” and pay $10k for a car and never have payments, which is easier said than done. After putting away for retirment and other obligations, to set aside an additional $10-15k is a lot, and that is assuming you can make your current car last without having to replace a transmission at $4k……
It seems like once a car has >80k miles and 4-5 years old, EVERYTHING needs fixing…. brakes, timing belt, you name it…. and the repairs can be very costly, which eats up more funds that could be used for saving….
14 LAL // Mar 14, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Wide range of car notes. Interesting that a lot of people have had car notes. I wonder if it’s because a lot of people starting out don’t get free cars from their parents?
And even $10k is too much to have saved on a used car?
15 Patience // Mar 14, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I’ve never had a car payment. Three years ago we bought a 2000 Toyota Sienna for $8,000, from a family who had advertised in the classifieds. We saved a good $2,000 over what we would have paid if we’d gone to a dealer and bought the exact same car. We always buy our cars this way and always pay cash.
16 LivingAlmostLarge // Mar 16, 2009 at 9:58 am
Wow, I wonder if it’s worth buying a used car though that’s barely used and close to the same price as new?
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