Do I take the 36k or pay Cash??

[tobee43]

oh! no!! i knew it would happened sooner or later. i was just hoping it would be later. it's not that this problem happening with the car, can not most likely be fixed, but with the type of lives we have now i must have a reliable car at all times. it keeps stalling.

i have saved money for a car, but just thought i would see what cap one would give us which is 36k. so i'm thinking since i need about 46k do i put down 10k and then double pay down the loan, OR just pay cash BOOOOOHOOO!! now that i have it saved up i so hate to take it out of the bank! keeping in mind of course that we never over used charging we filed because of job loss and medical bills. we have no bills now other than utilities, paid off the house OF COURSE in june...just as luck would have it. no mortgage payment but one needs to have a good car.

do NOT tell me that i shouldn't have a 46k car PLEASE. why, because at this stage of our lives we can afford it; one, two, it's the exact car that i had for over 16 years and we purchased that one cash (for our 30th wedding anniversary). i'm just thinking if i double up or really i see in my budget i can triple up on the payments as opposed to using our "car savings account" i can even improve our credit even more...for what, no clue.

PLeASE!! i so loved saving the money for the car and now it's just killing me to take it out of the bank. it just looks soooooooo handsome sitting there proud and it took so long

advise requested, but please be kind LOL!!

[frogger]

You should be able to get a loan on the car around 2 - 2.5% interest rates. Keep the cash in the bank for emergencies and finance the car. It's worth a couple of % to be able to retain your cash.

CASH IS KING!

[pamkev]

I'm with frogger on this one

[TheBajan]

I'll go against the grain and say that I would pay cash. Of course, that's me. I don't think that using credit is evil or even a bad idea for some people. But for me, credit has never been comfortable and being in BK has reminded me of why it's not comfortable. I would not be able to enjoy the car if I knew I had a debt attached to it. So for me, the right decision would be to use the cash. If I couldn't get myself to part with that much cash, I would buy something for less. That's me though.

For you I would pose a single question. Would you consider borrowing $36,000.00 at a rate of 2 or 3 percent just to open a savings account and put the money in it? That is essentially what you are talking about doing. Hopefully your savings account is earning you more than you will be paying on the money you borrow.

Whatever you decide to do, I can only say congratulations for being in a place that you actually CAN pay cash for that sort of purchase. THAT is an accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself for it. Enjoy the car.

[tobee43]

frogger: nope cap one gave us 5.1% dealer is offering 1.2% but i'm certain that is for those with PeRFECT credit the payments would be approx $560 yuck...but i would pay another 1k monthly towards the principal.

pamkev, me too i think i'm still a bit uneasy about it.

TheBajaan: i hear you! but it's been over 5 years now, and i have saved every single dime. doing legal work on the side, doing ebay and now we havee a paid mortgage, no bills, a good regular savings actually back into investing again with close to 6 figures. (all investments are tax free and yielding approx 6.8 and up fixed).we are older now and really don't have too much debt to occur anymore. well i shouldn't say that, since the stove or frig can go, but we also have a house account that covers those type of expenses. also we have a fixed income of ss and a good pension and when i work it's just icing on the cake that goes directly into savings. once i hit over 10k i invest it, but have been letting the car fund sit getting near nothing. now i can take that money and roll it over into an investment that will pay a higher yield, pay on the loan out of our monthly income since we really don't have any more to do with it. being retired is boring when we aren't running to the doctors. both of us have traveled been there done that...one gets to a point that there simply is nothing to buy other than when you actually need it.

i know we could consider a car for less, but they are like tin cans!! this last one lasted us 16 plus years it has approx 115k miles on it and we should be able to do even less mileage on another car we purchase. i use to think buy only with what cash you have, but i'm changing my mind on that one

thanks for the congrats! this bk was the best thing we ever did! we would NEVER have the savings we have now if we hadn't filed. all of this would gone to pay the medical bills we racked up on the CCs. it was the wises move we ever made other than married LOL!

[msm859]

Easy answer. Pay cash. Start replenishing your savings with what your car payment would have been. If you need cash down the road you can take out a car loan with your new car as the collateral. A credit union should give you a good rate if that is necessary.

[df04527]

Cash Tobee CASH! Your savings will recover eventually and you will have a new car too. What is better than that? We paid one final payment of 65,000 to finish paying off the mortgage just three years ago. It hurt like hell but recovery is sweet!

[spidge]

If the car simply stalls every once and a while you may be surprised as to how little it may cost to repair compared to the cost of replacing it. Wouldn't you feel better not having spent or obligated yourself to a large debt?

Just say'n.

[AngelinaCat]

I also recommend paying cash. That way you don't have that payment every month--with interest!--and you can put that 'payment' back toward your savings.

Although, I am also with Spidge. See if you can get it fixed for a reasonable amount.

[Pjmax]

Although I appreciate the suggestions of 'get it fixed' keeping a car going for 16 yrs. is quite remarkable. You deserve a new one at this point and should not feel guilty about buying one.

You have substantial savings in addition to your car money, so if you pay cash, you have backup savings should you need it, however, if you can finance for 2% or so, and keep the car savings I don't see how you would lose. You can afford the payments and still have the ability to pay it off at anytime. Make a large enough down payment so the car's value isn't underwater, just in case. You don't need a possible deficiency hanging over you should something happen to the car.

[TXskyblue]

I disagree with the notion of "deserving a new car". I won't speak for anyone else, but that kind of thinking is what lead me to overextend myself.

Is this 36K the extent of your savings? I wouldn't recommend spending the entire cash reserve. If it were me, and I were hell bent on buying the car, I'd probably do as Pjmax suggests and put enough of a down payment on it that it will no be upside down. Then, you can make accelerated payments as your financial situation allows.

[Pjmax]

I disagree with the notion of "deserving a new car". I won't speak for anyone else, but that kind of thinking is what lead me to overextend myself.

Is this 36K the extent of your savings? I wouldn't recommend spending the entire cash reserve. If it were me, and I were hell bent on buying the car, I'd probably do as Pjmax suggests and put enough of a down payment on it that it will no be upside down. Then, you can make accelerated payments as your financial situation allows.

My 'deserving' comment is partially based on knowing a bit more of Tobee's history than it seems you do, especially when you make comments like that without reading the whole thread. Tobee can afford the car and has significant savings in addition to the car savings.

[magic13]

Unless you feel you have to have a "brand new car" I would purchase a car that is one or two years old for cash and save about $15,000 and still be all new, shiny and current. A one year old $46,000 car may cost $30,000.

[angel7821]

If I was able to pay cash for a car and not have to worry about a monthly payment that is the way I would go. If your payment was to be 560.00 then I would just put that amount back into the savings account every month. I think you will enjoy your new car much more knowing it is paid for.

[kmjatl]

In line with what magic13 said, here's a thought...

A significant amount of high-end car sales are actually leases. When returned, most leased cars become "certified pre-owned" cars. These come with the balance of factory warranty PLUS an additional warranty (example: 100K TOTAL miles or 3 years).

So a 2 year old Lexus with 20K miles on it can come with a warranty of 3 years 80,000 miles.

Now this depends on the make/model you are looking for. Some start the calendar on the original vehicle in service date, so in theory a 2012 car could have been in service sometime in 2011.

Have a look at the Edmund's comparison tool. http://www.edmunds.com/certified-car...e-program.html