I think owing $48,000 on two cars is absurd.
SPENDING that much may not be, but if you have to borrow the money, you shouldn’t do it to buy two cars that cost you that much in borrowing. I bought two brand-new Prius cars, for a total of about $48,000, but I paid cash for them both.
The problem is, I don’t even know if they can get rid of those cars and pay off their loans, because cars depreciate so fast.
I agree with you about how sometimes the old beat-up cars can be a drain on your pocketbook and your sanity — that’s why at some point I decided to get two brand-new cars, pay money for two comprehensive 7-year warranties, and then I didn’t have to worry about my cars for a decade.
On the other hand, if you can buy a $1000 car that falls apart after one year, every year, you’ll come out a lot better than if you buy a new $20,000 car and have to borrow $19,000 to pay for it.
Of course, you can’t buy a beat-up car anymore, they got demolished by Obama to as part of his plan to make poor people suffer and be more dependent on the government.
I think owing $48,000 on two cars is absurd.
It may be, but it is ridiculously common. Frankly, if it were not, the auto industry would be a shadow of it’s current self.
I tend to agree with you. That being said, when you can get a car for 2% financing, you are not paying much in interest over the life of the loan.
And I like to put it this way: If there were no such thing as credit, the motorcycle, motorhome, snowmobile, stereo and myriad of other industries would be mere shadows of what they are now. So would the employment numbers. The reason we’re in the mess we are in is that the credit overheated. To be blunt, a business that refuses to borrow to establish itself simply can’t compete with those that do.
Credit is a two edged sword.
Of course, you can’t buy a beat-up car anymore, they got demolished by Obama to as part of his plan to make poor people suffer and be more dependent on the government.
Heh, heh. Don’t worry, a lot of cars have gotten beat up since then. ;-)
Yep, and it can be hard to tell whether a used car was flooded in Sandy—or whatever.
Worst case, you can lease an economy car for a couple grand a year.