So I go into the dealer to talk about a new 08 Super Duty and man did I get a good deal. The problem was I asked about trade in (which I would never do because I usually sell outright) but with the market the way it is I thought I would see what they would give me instead of trying to sell myself. Now my truck stickered for $40K + 2 years ago and have many options added on and they told me I would not get more than $11K for trade.

The truck is almost paid for and it does the job but thought it would be a good time to move up. Forget that. If I would have taken 3 years to pay the truck off I would have still been upside down. Now most people finance for 5-6 years. Unless a new truck is your first vehicle, they would have to sell at 20K off list to make up for low trade in.

Just thought I would share for all those people thinking the price of new vehicles is so great.

 

Why anyone would finance for that long is beyond me, unless they are getting 0%. If they have to finance 5+ years they are buying above their means and need to get a vehicle they are better able to afford. Unfortunately, 70% of Americans are living beyond their means so the 5 years, 4 month average for a loan (as of October 2007) isn't surprising... but its still a very sad statement about people's buying habits. Its like buying a house... if someone is doing anything creative with a loan to afford the payment they are buying too much home for their income. Don't blame you for walking away... if it were me I'd wait and see if gas prices keep going down as they have the past couple of weeks. If the trend continues your old truck may be worth a lot more in 6 months.

 

Regarding long term financing...A long time ago Will Rogers had a solution for all our traffic problems. He said, Just don't let a car on the road unless its paid-for.
(Seems like this problem has been around for a while.)

 

Given today's urban sprawl and the need for dual incomes I think many of us would end up homeless if that were the case. No car no workie...

 

heck, i just traded in my '02 s'crew 2wd and they gave me 9000 value for it trade in... they should be offering way more than that for an '06 4x4!!

 

A big part of that is because people buy bigger homes for the same number of people than ever before, more options on their vehicles than ever before, more gadgets than ever before and have more monthly subscriptions (satellite/cable, lots of options on the phone line, 2-3 cell phones in the family, etc). The "need", IHMO, is a more of a "want" in order to live a lifestyle that is unrealistic for many. Read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" for good examples of why people are in the mess they are in, through their own actions. My family hasn't required a dual income for many, many years and I don't make more than most around here.

Years ago we looked at the cost of day care, the cost of extra eating out (lunch at work), extra set of work clothes, more meals out because two people come home tired instead of someone cooking meals at home (and this also means having time to pack lunch for the kids and saving a lot there), extra gas each week for the additional car and the hit on depreciation with all the additional miles on a vehicle and determined that we just about broke even and it wasn't worth a couple of hundred extra bucks a month for my wife to miss out on being a stay at home mom. I think most families if they ran the numbers would come to similar conclusions.... Its all a matter of priorities....

 

same here. make $1k a month (for her) and then spend $700-800 in child care

ridiculous and effectively only ends up just being an excuse for her to get out of the hosue


I see nothing wrong with a 5 yr loan. It's when people are taking 6-9 yr loans to pay for a vehicle. wow. imagine paying for a vehicle 8-9 yrs

 

Granted...I tried to convince the wife of the minimalist lifestyle. She's willing to work for the security of a new car, cell phone and yearly trips to Disney. And then there's my toy addiction (which finds me here most evenings).

However, if we add another tike to the clan we'd have to reassess. Childcare is an absolute joke around here. For what we pay I hope my 4 yo daughter is being served caviar and lobster. So, for the near future we'll both work 48 weeks/year for the chance to experience life and make memories 4 weeks/year.

 

It's gettin outrageous how people live today. Everybody needs a new house that is bigger than the next, a new most expensive vehicle then their neighbors, must go out to eat constantly just to show other people look i'm high status in my own little world of reality. Its the damn celebrities and all this bs reality tv that corrupted America along with other things. Its very sad. It will only get worse within the next ten to thirty years. Guranteed thier our others out there that see it this way.

 

I ate out tonite...a chicken wrap and a baked potato from wendys $2.79 ...64 oz gatorade from Qt 1.08

burp!

 

it isn't the high cost of living so much as the cost of high living. since we had our baby my wife hasn't worked and i've come to see that it was costing us more to have her working that it is to have her at home. she's contemplating going back to work in the next year, but i'm trying hard to persuade her otherwise. there'd be need for another vehicle, fuel, eating out, then child care... i see beyond the bottom of the hole already. to those who are satisfied to live within your means, i salute you!!

 

right after college, a 5 year loan was ok; payments were low, which was what I needed... after 2 years I started paying more on it just to get rid of it tho. nowadays, i do 2-3 year loans, mainly b/c that's roughly how long it takes for me to get bored with a car/truck .

If someone's not fresh out of school/army/etc and they're still buying cars based on how much they can afford monthly payment wise, using 5-6 year loans, I'd say that's a problem... and I think that's what Ken is getting at. 5-6 year loans though do have their place though; young couple getting married buying a house, furniture and 2 cars, budgets are gonna stretch thin, even with dual incomes... throw a kid in the equation, and paying off a car in half the time pretty much goes out the window.