My Last Car Payment was...

stever

When was your last car payment?

steine13

Maybe we need a topic called something like "My last car payment was _____"?

Oh, good idea. I'll go first.

"My last car payment was _____ in 2005."

Cheers -Mathias

jimbres

Cool. Thanks, Steve.

My last payment was in '90 or '91.

stever

Kind of an open question in the title there. I'm waiting for someone to post "My Last Car Payment was in ... arrears". :shades:

qbrozen

My last car payment was in the form of an automatic withdrawal about 28 days ago.

steine13

Well the title was supposed to be "My Last Payment Was ...," followed presumably by a $ figure. As part of the Chronic Car Buyer's exercise.
I was just trying to be funny...

Heck my first car payment was in 2003.
I hated the concept so much I paid an interest-free loan off early.
I still might do a car loan in the future, who knows.

There are few hard rules in personal finance. Once you owe on a house,
the meaning of "cash" becomes very blurred.

Cheers -Mathias

qbrozen

Ah. Totally missed it.

Well, I don't mind car payments when the money is cheap. When you think of how much you are paying in interest on your home, for example, the interest on a car loan at less than 5 percent is nothing.

It is typically taboo to share how much your monthly payments are for anything... but I don't care. I pay $250 for the GTI and I was paying $315 for the mazda5 ... soon to be $465 for the T&C.

Our highest total was when I had the G35 and she had the XC90. It was about $825 for the pair. At least I think that was the highest. I'm not sure, as the Pacifica and Infinity may have overlapped a bit, during which time the total would have been a bit over $900.

Also, recently, I took out a couple of personal loans to put solar panels on the house. Those are at higher rates than the cars, so we'll definitely focus on paying those off as fast as possible before turning our attention to the car loans.

speddy

Im not sure how long ago, but it has to be at least 12-15 years ago. I paid off my car early and the last car we bought we paid cash for. I will never borrow on a car again. It doesn't make sense to pay interest on a depreciating asset. It's a double wammy. Another thing I will never do again is buy a new car. You get killed on depreciation.

andre1969

was the last payment for my 2000 Intrepid. Everything I've bought since then has been cheap enough I've been able to pay cash for.

That was a really happy time, financially. I was juggling a house and a condo for close to a year, but two weeks after the Intrepid was paid off, the condo finally sold!

fintail

My last payment was very recent...don't know when I will have another one. As I get older, the money used to pay for a car seems to be better spent elsewhere...savings, travel, etc.

uplanderguy

My last payment was in 2005, when I paid off our 2002 Venture van. GM had "Employee Pricing for All" in '05 when I bought our new van, and in '08 they had big rebates and I had $2,000-odd dollars on my GM card, so bought a new Cobalt 5-speed. Paid cash for both.

stever

Well the title was supposed to be "My Last Payment Was ...," followed presumably by a $ figure.

I think that works better so it's been changed back. We'll accept dollar amount or years or whatever. :shades:

Ok, I had to borrow some money in 1982 to buy a Toyota Tercel that cost around $6,700. So we put $3,000 down and borrowed $3,700 on a two year loan from the credit union. The payments drove us nuts so we paid it off a year early and saved up to buy the next ones out of pocket.

paid an interest-free loan off early

That's pretty funny but I understand. And there are benefits to doing that as well. When we sold our Anchorage house the young woman buyer had an interest free loan on her truck and the lender made her pay it off in order to swing the home loan.

stickguy

bought Odyssey 12/2004, with a 3 year loan that I paid off in 2 years. About $300 (my personal max!). Accord bought a year later, but no loan.

no payments since. Which helps when you live in a ridiculously high area for housing costs.

$800-$900 a month in car payments would give me a nervous breakdown.

I hope to never have another car payment in my life, but if I get in position to need one, will probably use the same 3 year/$300 ish rule (maybe go to 4/$350 for something really special!)

andre1969

As I get older, the money used to pay for a car seems to be better spent elsewhere...savings, travel, etc.

Yeah, I know the feeling. 11+ years ago, when I bought my Intrepid, its $2000 down payment and $347.66/mo payment seemed cheap. Yet today, even though I'm a lot better off financially, and in the job situation, the thought of paying that much for a car makes me shake like a wino during Prohibition!

I plugged that # into an inflation calculator, and using 2009 numbers, the most recent I could find, that would come out to $2551 down and 443.44/mo.

The thought of even paying those unadjusted numbers today makes me cringe, let alone the inflation-adjusted numbers!

fintail

For maybe the intended thread title, my last payment was supposed to be something like $450/month - but I usually paid extra. Took 4 years and change to finish, I did put a decent amount down. Probably won't happen again...if this car dies or gets written off somehow, a sweetheart low down lease will be tempting. I look at those yearly payments now and think of the cool things I could buy and/or the nice trip I could take.

fezo

Last payment was maybe three days ago...

I have a $240 a month on the Camry and a $270 on the Ody. The latter will be paid off late this year.

On both loans I send them $300 a month. The rates were the same whether I took a 4 or 5 year loan so i took the 5 year and pay it like a 4 year.

We'll see what I do once the Ody is paid for. A big piece of me wants something smaller but this thing only has like 78K on it and my SIL has the same vehicle with 225k+ on it and no issues. Holding on to it would save buckets of cash even after allowing for the lousy mileage.

qbrozen

The rates were the same whether I took a 4 or 5 year loan so i took the 5 year and pay it like a 4 year.

That's what I always do. Take the longest term possible without upping the rate. Its just an extra level of security in case something happens.

stever

That's a great idea; didn't think of that. There is something to be said about leaving cash in the bank instead of putting it into a depreciating asset.

Kirstie_H

I did that with my last vehicle as well. During months when I had extra cash, I'd throw a bunch into my payment. During heavy-expense months (like December), I just paid the set amount. Turned a 5 year loan into just over 4, all by myself.

stever

I remember pre-payment penalities in the old days. I guess they don't have those much any more.

anythngbutgm

Did the same thing with my house. Took out a 15 year loan but I'm paying a good chunk extra towards the principle and will have it paid off in about 12 years...

Love having no car payments. Finished paying off the wifes car in August, my 2 cars have been payed off since last Spring.

It's tough tho because I'm really digging the Volvo XC60 and Infiniti EX35 right now.

fezo

Yeah, I'm doing that with the house as well. I round the check up to the next hundred which adds about $89 to the principal and basically creates one extra payment a year.

It was a Honda salesman that first told me I might as well take the 5 year loan because it was the same rate as the four. When I bought my wife's Camry the salesman - a past and, I hope, future poster in these parts - told me teh same thing. In his words "it's cheap money."

kyfdx

I don't really want to talk about it... :surprise:

explorerx4

I don't mind having a car payment because when I don't, I buy a new or another car.
One car payments beats 2.

akangl

I don't really want to talk about it

That bad huh? :P

Let's see, my last car payment was in September, but hubby still has a payment on his Civic, its a low payment and a low interest loan. Not in a huge hurry to pay it off, probably by next spring though since he may replace it then.

I've done my time with high car payments and massive negative equity. We won't discuss the loan I had on the Pilot. No more of that for me, if the payment is over 3 years and $350/mo, I don't need it.

lemko

My last car payment was due on November 23 but I paid it off near the end of October. You'd think you're going to have a surplus, but my wife finds ways to spend it! :sick:

andre1969

You'd think you're going to have a surplus, but my wife finds ways to spend it!

Yeah, they're good at that. You should have just paid it off early and kept your mouth shut. "Sorry honey, got two more years of payments to make!" :P I have a feeling she's too smart to fall for that, though.

lemko

I think so too!

Funny thing is, when I bought the car, I called her hoping she would talk some sense into me and she replied, "If it makes you happy, buy it!"

jpp75

I bought my first car in 1998, a 1996 Accord, had a payment of about $270. I paid it off early and drove the car for 2 or 3 years payment free but I hated the car, so in 2002 I traded for a Nissan Pathfinder SE, took on a payment of about $375 and loved the vehicle. I should have never gotten rid of it. Since then I've had a payment, usually around $400 give or take. That will probably go up with the new Explorer, but to me it's worth it. I still manage to save money, pay extra on the house and enjoy life, so to me the payment is worth it.

slorenzen

paid cash for the last few vehicles, paid the house off last year.

Oh, what a feeling...

fezo

Wow! That DTS is all yours now? Sweet!

Sandman6472

Been this way since 1995 & it's a great way to live...owe nothing to anyone & live within one's means...priceless!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

roadburner

My last payment was in April 2007.

Sandman6472

The only bad thing is that I really want to drive something a bit nicer & more back friendly but don't want to go back in years & spend more $! Been seeing & liking the RX 330 from 2004 to 2007 generation. Friend had one and the ingress/egress was excellent for my spinal issues & with the leather seats, it was like heaven!!! Just to be able to slide over into a power seat was wonderful...don't really need a 6 cylinder engine as a 4 is plenty for my kind of driving. I guess any power seated car will do but these RX's are the "whole package" as far as I'm concerned.

Unfortunately the wife would go ballistic even though we each use our own funds to purchase our cars...the amount of aggravation she'd give me would be outrageous. She went "nuts" back in '09 when I briefly considered buying a used late model Volvo S40 just to get better seats. Found that the seats were no better than my current Civic but she made me miserable for the few days I actually went test driving them! A shame that she reacts so stupidly when an idea I have is different than what she thinks is logical.

Will have the funds within a short time period, but the point is it's not a smart financial move on my part especially since I was let go from Uncle Sam and am deciding between retirement & some other plan for the future. The point of my rant is that I'd like to eventually get something much more comfortable EVENTUALLY with a power seat so I can have the perfect pain free driving position. Time will tell!

Thanks guys for letting me get this out finally in a community that understands about my passion for cars. She doesn't get it...sure most wives don't...but I'm tired of settling & always doing the right thing financially also!!!!

(End of rant)!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

explorerx4

Way back, I had an F 150. I ran summer and winter tires on it, so I don't remember which set it was, but one of them had the perfect height for me to get in or out or the seat.
I felt like I didn't have to bend down or step up to get into the seat.
It must have been the winter set, which were smaller and narrower.
The summer tires were oversize.

carthell

Five year loan, 0%, $235/month. I can't claim a windfall because other recurring or emergency bills seem to have taken away any advantage of not having a car payment. Maybe things will look better for me after paying off a roof repair later this year.

explorerx4

There have been so many many times I thought I was 'all set', but something always seems to hit you out of the blue.
At least without a car payment, it is easier to deal with.

kyfdx

My last car payment was made earlier, today..

Well... it's only the last one, until next month...

stever

If you have a payment or thinking about getting into one, this new calculator will tell you what you'll really be paying for that new car.

Edmunds Releases New "Foursquare" Style Simplified Car Pricing Calculator

michaellno

I'm making the last payment on my '06 ION next week .. should get the title towards the end of June or beginning of July.

garywoods

speddy,

You know most financial specialist would say it totaly different in the fact that should pay cash an appreciating asset not a depreciating one. think of it this way if you pay cash for that auto and you trade it in you have lost money, when you could of held that money in an intrest loan and profited from it, in stead losing it. people now a days tend to trade there cars more often also and with a simple interest loan with cars right now you can pay it off when you chose too, with no penelty of doing so.

fezo

I've got 8 more payments on the Ody and a couple of years yet on the Camry.

I do have enough in my car fund to pay off the Ody if I wanted to. What might make me want to would be the right used convertible that would cost about what I could get for the Ody.

igozoomzoom

I've never paid off a car before, usually trading them somewhere between two and three years old. Luckily they were all Hondas, so I always had equity even after only two years. I watched my friends trade other makes after a few years only to roll $8-$10k in negative equity into a new car loan!

I've had my current car, a 2006 Mazda3 s 5-door, since December 2005 and it only has 82k miles on it. It looks great inside and out (not even a door ding), so I plan to keep it and enjoy life without a payment for the first time in 21 years of driving! I have six more payments of $332.14 per month left on my 72-month loan. I had a lot of credit card debt and a student loan back in 2005 and I only earned about $45k per year. The interest rate was the same for 60 or 72 months, so I went with the $50 lower payment even though it was for six rather than five years. Thankfully, it was a reasonable interest rate and with my $2000 down payment, I have never been 'upside-down' in my 72-month loan. The Mazda3 has turned out to be a class leader in residual values.