• insufferableninja@sh.itjust.works
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    4 months ago

    You don’t have to get an 84 month loan. We just did a 48 month loan on my wife’s new car. The trick is, buy within your means and don’t roll negative equity into your new loan.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Yes, that’s so true. I remember coming into a small amount of money and had been saving a little bit, and had just paid off a ridiculously long car loan on a used car - still one of the dumbest financial decisions I had made in my youth - 5.5 years on a used car, WTF was I even thinking, LOL.

      Anyway, I was itching to buy some new car possibly, as I had never bought new. Someone handed me a book about finances and the author reiterated what my parents had always tried to drill into my head - about the only worthwhile debt is real estate.

      For cars, he had this notion of “paying yourself” the car payment once you pay off a car. Do that for many years, and use that savings for your next car, preferably used, about 2 or 3 years old, after which the depreciation has had the steepest drop.

      So I skipped buying something new or used. For so many reasons, I am glad my co-worker lent me that book at that particular time.