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car ownership


  

342 members have voted

  1. 1. car ownership

    • own our car/s outright
      245
    • have loans out on at least one car
      92
    • I don't have a car
      0
    • other
      5
    • Look a flying pig
      0


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We own (paid for) a 1987 Chevy truck (totally re-done),1997 Ford truck (104,000 miles--always well-taken care of), a 2000 Grand Am GT (high miles and will have another engine dropped in), and a 2007 Mountaineer (50,000 miles). We are keeping all of these vehicles, except for the Chevy. We are in the process of trying to sell it.

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We currently have two car loans. Dh has an '08 Mercury Sable (almost paid off) that is 2.9% and my '09 Traverse was 0%. They were both purchased new.

 

Both are still worth a good deal more than we owe on them. We buy new, get low to no interest rates and drive them way beyond the end of their payments.

 

As my teens start driving more, we will probably just lease something for me when a family car is no longer necessary.

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After reading several posts here I am starting to wonder how many people have a loan out on their car, so I thought I would make a poll. B)

 

 

We own all our cars outright. Always buy used and pay cash. We've never had a problem.

 

FWIW, my son bought his first car last summer. He bought used via Craigslist and did not listen to our advice. It was a nightmare! He was able to re-sell the car "as is" for a fraction of his buying price. Then, someone in his church blessed him with their used car (they were getting a new one) for free! It turned a bad situation into a blessing. My son learned a lot from the experience.

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In October 2012 my 2001 Honda Odyssey's second transmission was dying. I do NOT want to get stranded on the side of the road. We ended up buying a new Toyota Sienna. My husband works in professional motorsports so we were able to get an employee price on it. On top of that the dealership was running a special on all new vehicles, lifetime warranty on the power train. That includes any major mechanical problems, including the engine and transmission. What sealed the deal for us was getting 0% on the loan. We just couldn't walk away from that offer. I don't like having a car payment but it's not forever.

 

Elise in NC

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This conversation is making me wonder if there are any one-car families out there.

 

We've always bought used cars with cash. My ex still drives his 78 Toyota Truck, and we share a mini van. I would like to be entirely car-free, but our son volunteers once / week at an airport far north of us. Four parents take turns driving, so once a month I get a one-day vacation on the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula — but someday! Someday I'll be able to get rid of that van.

 

I'm currently looking for a new job, and it's alarming to me that for the type of position I would want and am qualified to do, the pay at several universities is not nearly enough to live anywhere close to within walking distance. I don't care how awesome the job is, if the house prices are in the millions unless you live ten miles from campus, no thank you.

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I bought my current car for cash 10 years ago. :)

 

The previous car, I bought 10 years before that, and took a 5 year loan.

 

Before that I went in halfers on a $450 junker - a great deal if I do say so myself. (Paid cash ;) )

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We own my 2003 Caravan - paid cash a few years ago. Dh says I can replace it, but I have yet to find a vehicle I really like enough. My van is still like new on the inside, and runs perfectly. I like the space.

 

We own ds' 2008 Hyundai Accent - paid cash a couple years ago.

 

We have a short-term note on dd's 2011 Mazda 3, but she pays it. Her previous car was totaled last spring, so this was kind of a forced purchase and we didn't want to use savings. We will pay it off this summer.

 

Dh has a brand new truck that has more features than our house! I think it was over $50,000. His dad purchased one for him and one for his brother as bonuses for work. We pay nothing.

 

We have also purchased (in exc used condition) for cash in the past: 2 Suburbans, Toyota Highlander, Pontiac Vibe, 2 Toyota Corollas (kids' cars), Mustang convertible (kid's car - she paid notes to us), Chevy Cavalier (kid's car), and one other Dodge Caravan.

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We paid cash for our vehicles - both used. One is a 1993 Bonneville, affectionately known as Duct Tape Car, or Swamp Car when it's rainy. I remind myself often that if we had bought it new in 1993, we would have felt like the richest people in town. We are saving for a replacement, although the engine and transmission are doing well for a car with 265K miles on it and mostly held together with duct tape. :001_smile:

 

Our other is a 2008 Ford E350 12 passenger van. It was a really good buy with only about 15K miles on it. I think they are fairly easy to find new because corporations often use them for company transportation and will trade them in frequently.

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my husband's and my car are paid for, but we have a loan out on my oldest dd's car. Dh really, really wanted a car with high miles per gallon, and the one he wanted was brand new this year, so we owe a bit more than half on it, the other part was cash. It has really saved us money, dd drives the farthest for her jobs and then if I need to go somewhere far I will borrow it. Right now, gas is 4.09 a gallon here. We have always had a policy of not having more than one car payment at a time, no car payments is our goal.

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This conversation is making me wonder if there are any one-car families out there.

 

 

 

We're a one-car family. :) I have a bike, a train station behind my house, and a bus stop around the corner. We pay over budget for our rental home, but it's negligible compared to the amount we're saving - $120/mo in gas and wear and tear on the car. I can't say we'll always be a one-car family, but it works for us right now.

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We only buy used cars for cash.

Dh and I do not think it is wise to borrow for something which drops in value so quickly.

 

And conversely I don't want to spend money on the lemon someone just got rid of, know what I mean? We generally only turn in cars when there is an issue with them How can you be sure you aren't just inheriting someone else's problem? And yes they drop initially in price but my 2009 Odyssey was worth MORE than the lease terms and they gave us 2K toward the new lease when we turned it in because the dealer wanted to buy it outright and not turn it over to Honda. For me, the knowledge of hopping in a car this Friday to drive 13 hours with no reservation is my peace of mind. Watching the dash for a light to come on? BTDT NOT going back.

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And conversely I don't want to spend money on the lemon someone just got rid of, know what I mean? We generally only turn in cars when there is an issue with them How can you be sure you aren't just inheriting someone else's problem? And yes they drop initially in price but my 2009 Odyssey was worth MORE than the lease terms and they gave us 2K toward the new lease when we turned it in because the dealer wanted to buy it outright and not turn it over to Honda. For me, the knowledge of hopping in a car this Friday to drive 13 hours with no reservation is my peace of mind. Watching the dash for a light to come on? BTDT NOT going back.

 

We share the same philosophy.

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We share the same philosophy.

 

 

:iagree: :iagree:

 

And I will happily be that "unwise" person who buys new and helps to keep the auto industry afloat so others can buy clean well-maintained vehicles. Somebody's got to do it.

 

You're welcome. ;)

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And conversely I don't want to spend money on the lemon someone just got rid of, know what I mean? We generally only turn in cars when there is an issue with them How can you be sure you aren't just inheriting someone else's problem? And yes they drop initially in price but my 2009 Odyssey was worth MORE than the lease terms and they gave us 2K toward the new lease when we turned it in because the dealer wanted to buy it outright and not turn it over to Honda. For me, the knowledge of hopping in a car this Friday to drive 13 hours with no reservation is my peace of mind. Watching the dash for a light to come on? BTDT NOT going back.

 

 

 

I guess there is a risk, but we've never had any trouble. I've had 5 cars in my driving life, all excellent, all purchased used, 3 for significantly under blue book price. DH and I have bought from a friend who is a mechanic and from a small dealer who just flips cars right off their original leases. Both of these sellers are small, local businesses and would quickly go under if they didn't operate in good faith with a quality product. We would probably not buy from someone we didn't know or a large business.

 

We live on a very tight budget and simply cannot afford consumer debt of any kind. It's not an option. Except for our house, we buy only things for which we have cash. We have reliable, safe, comfortable cars. No reservations here.

P.S. I have an Odyssey too and it is a great car!

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We have a 2002 Honda Civic that is paid for. I also had a 2005 Toyota Camry that was paid for but it was in need of repair that cost more than it was worth. So we bought a 2013 Honda Accord about 2 weeks ago at 0.9% interest.

 

Wow! if you don't mind my asking how did you get the interest so low?

 

I own my escape out right. I did take out a 3000 loan to buy it. It was either take out a loan or not have a car. I much prefer being debt free and was glad when it was paid off.

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Paid cash for our cars. We drive older (10 yo+) cars, but DH used to be a mechanic and is very, very good at removing the wheat from the chaff. We bought my car off craigslist for $1,600 but we had to test drive a lot of clunkers before we found it. I'd love to drive a newer (<5 yo) car, but the idea of a car payment practically gives me hives.

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And conversely I don't want to spend money on the lemon someone just got rid of, know what I mean? We generally only turn in cars when there is an issue with them How can you be sure you aren't just inheriting someone else's problem? And yes they drop initially in price but my 2009 Odyssey was worth MORE than the lease terms and they gave us 2K toward the new lease when we turned it in because the dealer wanted to buy it outright and not turn it over to Honda. For me, the knowledge of hopping in a car this Friday to drive 13 hours with no reservation is my peace of mind. Watching the dash for a light to come on? BTDT NOT going back.

 

I so agree! We actually, just this past September, bought our first brand new vehicle with financing. We were both raised to buy used and pay cash and not be car poor. In theory, we still agree with these things. However, we live in a large city, not around any family and are frequently (at least once a month) making a 3 hour drive to either his hometown or mine so our children can see their grandparents. I often do this on my own. I ADORE having the peace of mind that comes wiht a brand new car and feel it is completely worth the payments we're making! It doesn't hurt that our rate is 1.7%.

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I guess there is a risk, but we've never had any trouble. I've had 5 cars in my driving life, all excellent, all purchased used, 3 for significantly under blue book price. DH and I have bought from a friend who is a mechanic and from a small dealer who just flips cars right off their original leases. Both of these sellers are small, local businesses and would quickly go under if they didn't operate in good faith with a quality product. We would probably not buy from someone we didn't know or a large business.

 

If we could find such a reliable business to purchase used from I think that would still be the route we would take.

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We just finished paying off dh's car a few months ago. My van has been paid off for a couple of years now. I am hopeful that both cars keep going for a few more years.

 

We usually need to take a loan when it comes time for a new car but we do make it a rule to only have one car payment at a time.

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The results suprise me! I thought more would have loans. Ours are both paid for but we desperately need something newer that gets better gas mileage for dh to commute 100 miles (total) each day to work. He gets 17 MPG in his truck that has 250K miles on it. We go round and round (in discussion)...should we get a new or newer car with payment? It could easily pay for itself in gas savings...or do we get a beater that gets good gas mileage with fewer miles than what the truck has so that we don't have a payment.

 

I'm torn.

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I guess there is a risk, but we've never had any trouble. I've had 5 cars in my driving life, all excellent, all purchased used, 3 for significantly under blue book price. DH and I have bought from a friend who is a mechanic and from a small dealer who just flips cars right off their original leases. Both of these sellers are small, local businesses and would quickly go under if they didn't operate in good faith with a quality product. We would probably not buy from someone we didn't know or a large business.

 

We live on a very tight budget and simply cannot afford consumer debt of any kind. It's not an option. Except for our house, we buy only things for which we have cash. We have reliable, safe, comfortable cars. No reservations here.

P.S. I have an Odyssey too and it is a great car!

It is hard to tell with used cars isn't it? My friend got a used Volkswagon van. Great brand but the car is terrible and has had nothing but issues. But yes the Odyssey is simply amazing isn't it??

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We have two cars, mine and dh's truck. Dh's truck was paid for as part of his loss of employment settlement and mine had a loan that we paid off in July. We will never take a loan on a vehicle again, no matter what the circumstances. We are taking Dave Ramsey's advice.

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We have one car that was financed but is now paid off and a small loan on our other car. DH wants to trade his car (the one that is paid off) for a truck but I've convinced him to wait until we have the other car paid off and have enough trade-in value + cash to cover the cost of a different vehicle. I'm hoping that we will be able to buy our future cars outright.

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