Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
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Percentage of monthly income spent on a car?
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Wasn't long before she was at the local credit union looking to re-finance the Escape!
Do the math first!!
I think a good rule (one I now live by) is to either have 'paid for' car that you put money into for repairs, or have payments and little maintenance expense. Almost never a good idea (financially anyway) to have a car that you are paying both a big payment and substantial upkeep costs. Like, if you can afford a $17k car, you're probably going to do better on a new Civic than you would on a 96 Acura. Just my $.02.
I am also looking into buying a 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe - Automatic, but I am not sure on what a good price is since this car is pretty popular. (Will a dealership work with me on a good price) Need some advice...
As far as the price for this car goes, The Edmunds.com True Market Value for a 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe with an automatic transmission is currently $16,172. This is only slightly over this car's Dealer Invoice, so as you can see there are certainly deals to be had on this model if you live in an area that has some competition for your business and do some comparison shopping.
Car_Man
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Car_man
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He has the exact vehicle I requested, a 2001 Civic EX 2-door Coupe with auto trans in the colors black, red, or green. His price including the options I wanted (half nose mask/carpet floormats/rear spoiler is $16,980 plus TT&L. I think I would like maybe $500.00 less. Is this a fair deal on the first offer.
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I think what AudiA8Q is saying, and I agree, is that you ought to consider all of your ownership costs here.
Figure you finance the car at, say, 8%. Say you get it for $16,500 and your out the door is roughly $17,690 with taxes and reg (I'm assuming 6% tax).
That's a payment of roughly $315 or thereabouts a month for 60 months with $1,700 or so down...
Then ya gotta figure in insurance, which, if you're younger can be high (I'm a 26yr old single male who just got popped for 95 in a 65 (i know.. I know.. but it was at 3pm on a sunday and nobody was on the road..) so I know about paying for insurance!))
I think we're saying that ya need to look at your total budget...
Bill
According to Edmunds.com you should take you 20% of your take home pay and thats what you can afford? (right) Well if this is true then I should be able to afford around $340.00 a month for a car payment. Which I think is a little more than it would be if I got my car. So I am in the clear for other things that might come up. I have thought this out with all my bills etc. and I should beable to afford this no problem.
I just dont understand, I guess that the amount of money you save up should matter what you can afford. Or something like that
Your right Bill my insurance will be around $200 a month unitl Nov then it will drop to about $100
That's as high as I would go personally. Have you checked esurance.com? They are pretty good although I bet they get PO'd at me when they find out about my latest speedy gonzales antics... =O
Good luck with the Civic, theyre great cars with great resale.
Bill
PS.. Mmc.. was an 00 CLK430 Cab.. top down too! Damn those Black and Tan Fords that hide in the bushes... grrrrr
I know, I know, very conservative of me!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
If I have a radar detector I am screwed...
Speaking of cars remind me to tell you the story of the $115 Volvo 240 I just bought
mnowak: Yup! Hondas have great resale value. I consistently see clean, Silver, low-mile 5-year old Civic LX sedans do $7,500+ at the auction, so you know they're being retailed for close to $10K. So what did these things sell for new? $14K?
Smart move to buy that car.
Good luck with it!
As far as 20%.. I think it depends on a lot of factors. I think it should be used as a Maximum, but what if you make like $100,000 a year? And you take home like $6,000 a month? Does that mean that a $1,200 car payment is a wise move? ($55,000 financed over 60 mos).
I dont think so myself! But, at the average-lowish ends of the income spectrum.. its ok I think. I mean, Lets' face it, unless you put a huge chunk down.. most any nice new car is gonna cost $300 a month these days..
Bill
As for the 20%, I guess I could spend 20% (and I did on my first car out of college, but since then I have doubled my income and lowered my lease payment), but I think that's just too much. I think I'm at about 12% (just lease payment, no gas or insurance), and I'd like to lower that even a little more, but it's not bad at all.
Well, the advantage to buying them from the dealership is that they can generally be financed in with the deal.
The disadvantage is that they are often quite expensive.
There's a honda website out there (Check the Honda topics) where you can buy Genuine Honda accessories on the cheap. Certainly worth looking into.
Bill
Bill
I don't think that they will retail at a dealership for less than $500 or so.
Alloys tend to be expensiveish...
Have you tried aaarims.com? They are in Michigan and quite competitive...
Bill
mnowak1
-$100.00 Grand total of $520.00 plus $12.50per rim shipping...total walkout price $570.00...not bad! Do you know of any other places that I could look?
thanks a bunch, mnowak1
I recently had to buy 2 Highlander rims. They had em.
I dunno.. maybe might try se4arching the net but they are generally the cheapest..
Bill
You need to get a budget for all your living expenses - it will give you an accurate picture of how much you can afford to be spending on a car.
A popular car like the Camry costs $5,000 to $6,000 annually to operate, including monthly loan payments, your cost of capital on down payment, insurance, gas & service, and miscellaneous. Probably a reasonable amount for a family with income of $40,000 to $80,000.
but overall if you 'NEED' to finance a car for 60 months or more you probably can not afford the car. We are currently seeing alot of 72 month financing and I am amazed. oh well, its not my money.
TB
2003 Chevrolet Cavalier $99 per month
Small print: $5k down, 96 months, 10.99APR
Financing an econobox OVER 8 YEARS!! OUCH !!!
Personally, I do not believe in car payments. Drive a beater until you can afford to pay cash for a better car.
When you go to a dealership knowing that a new car will set you back $22k and you have to write out a check for THAT much, all of a sudden, that used car deal that you passed up doesn't look all that bad.
I have a question, and it is not intended as a slam on you or the other salesmen. Do you or your salesmen tell buyers that "if you 'NEED' to finance a car for 60 months or more you probably can not afford the car"? I have seen the opposite effect at most dealerships, with the saleman doing anything to get someone in a new car, whether they can afford it or not. If I were at your dealership and you were that candid with me, I for one would be grateful that you were looking out for my interests as a customer.
It's the 36K miles I drive each year that drive up the total transportation cost number. Yes across the three vehicles I drove 36K and wifey another 8K.
And yes all vehicles will be paid off in 36-48 months.
TB
Back in the 80's when 48 month and 60 month financing become more and more of the norm it was dealers who were pushing the longer terms to make the payments more affordable. With the 72 month terms I am seeing more and more consumers asking for the 72 month term. As a dealer the last thing I want is a customer who is going to be out of the market for 5-6 years. Many consumers who finance for 48-60 months are trading in the 38-42 month range...72 month buyers have paid so little towards the principal at the 40 months that they cant get out without a huge payment increase, lots of cash down, cheaper car or a longer term.... and the cycle starts again.
We I signed up, the guy had already put in a 72 month term - on financing $16,500!! I asked, "Are you on drugs?". His reply was that most people want the smallest payment possible, and being former F&I, I understand it.
I went with a 48 month term where the payment was only $48 more per month.
Hmmmm. Maybe I should take on a car payment and get something nice.
Don't think the car dealer has any obligation to prevent a customer from getting in over his head financially. The risk on a car note is assumed by the buyer and the lending institution. Frankly, anyone who makes a big financial mistake on anything as simple as a car payment is probably doomed anyway.
rubicon...I agree, but it happens everyday...gotta keep up with the jones' you know...
But then, I generally am not a fan of buying a car new anyways. $22K for a new Camry versus a 2 year old Saab or a 1999 BMW 528i? etc?
Ummm...