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S t r e t c h i n g To Buy More Than One Can Afford

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  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    Absolutely! I remember them featuring American made products. This was back in the day when if there were three people waiting to check out they'd open another register. Heck, they even kept the store clean.

    I miss old Sam.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,139
    My region didn't get WMs until the early 90s, when those policies and products still existed. Wally World didn't seem so bad then (and I don't think it is a horrible evil now), but it certainly was more benevolent. Then the changes hit.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    And, that's exactly what I have. 2 very foolish kids. I'm skipping them in the trust, (assuming there is anything left but my car), and going to the grandkids...hoping for better. :sick:
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    Well she's a board member of the Walton Foundation which was founded by her parents. So they got the tax benefit of the bequest.

    According to her wiki, she worked in finance for many years before getting involved in raising horses and opening an art museum.

    Other than the DUI's, she seem to be a pretty dull person.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,139
    I am sure her name and family money got her none of that. She knows hard work, and none of the "philanthropy" has other benefits.

    She also apparently ran someone down, with no charges being filed, and has never actually served any time for her transgressions. I am sure someone of low socio-economic status would be treated just the same. What a great legacy, Sam is very proud no doubt. And don't raise her taxes! It'll trickle down, just wait, any day now, it's coming.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Here's a mugshot of the witch herself:

    image
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    How did we get off on this tangent? The Walton fortune trickled down through millions of jobs, but Sam himself didn't like any cars better than his 79 F-150, so he didn't prop up the economy at all by buying new cars. Neither does Warren Buffett, very often anyway. Nor does Ross Perot. Bill Gates will occasionally buy a new Lexus at least. People with scads of money often don't care about those things, those who do buy supercars or Rolls' often. Well, I don't like cars THAT much, nor can I afford one. I stretch a bit, but within reason.

    Around here, I find lots and lots of people who should not be able to afford expensive SUVs or luxury cars, driving them. One wonders how they do it. Clearly, they're not the folks who can really afford them. Escalades are very popular with a very young segment of the population. Mercedes with another, and so on. Unless they are pharmaceutical representatives, I don't see how they can afford them, even on a stretch.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Impressive..... :shades:
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    edited November 2011
    Me, I LOVE cars!!! Still, even if I had a Bill Gates-like fortune, I wouldn't drive anything more expensive than my Cadillac DTS. I have no desire to own anything as extravagant as a finicky exotic. Most of the time I drive my 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis LS which I affectionately call "my hooptie."
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    aaagggghhh...change it, Butthead!!
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    image
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,139
    Yeah, I'm really not here to bash that woman - she likely has her own demons and maybe money hasn't bought happiness, but what the Walton legacy has wrought isn't all positive. I strongly doubt the old man would be smiling at some aspects of his company today, especially the abandonment of the American made theme, and his company becoming something like the 8th greatest purchaser of Chinese goods on the planet.

    Way back when, Gates spent a fortune trying to import a Porsche 959 - easily one of the coolest Porsches ever and one of the most advanced cars built, so maybe there's some form of gearhead under his nerdy facade. He didn't have to stretch anyway :shades: As he lives about 2 miles from me, I've always kept my eye out for an Lexus SC, haven't spotted it yet.

    There's a lot of easy credit and undeclared income out there for some to stretch with...
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Bill Gates was a Porsche afficianado from way back. I believe he was once arrested for speeding in 1978 driving a 911 he acquired after he established Microsoft. He was only 23 at the time.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    edited November 2011
    I once saw a photo of him behind the wheel of a red Ferrari. Of course, if he can't afford one or two exotics, who can?
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    "At car dealers across the United States, loans to subprime borrowers ... are surging - up 18 percent in 2012 from a year earlier, to 6.6 million borrowers, according to credit-reporting agency Equifax Inc. And as a Reuters review of court records shows, subprime auto lenders are showing up in a lot of personal bankruptcy filings, too."

    How the Fed Fueled an Explosion in Subprime Auto Loans (Yahoo)
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    Yeah, I saw that...pretty disturbing. And to think that I was whining about the 3.99% I was paying on my 2012 Ram! :shades:

    I knew some people back in the late 1990's that were paying around 20% interest on used cars. One of them had a used 1995 Monte Carlo Z34 that he only paid around $10K for, but his payment was still in excess of $300, for 60 mos. And one of my friends had a 1998 Tracker with 47 payments of $323, and a 48th of around $5600!

    I also had a friend who initially got a new Neon coupe...some "designer" model like an Espresso or something. But then after a few days they decided to not let the deal go through, made him give the car back, but let him buy an S-10. I think it was only around $15,000, but I know his payment was in excess of $300 per month, as well.

    So, with those monthly payments as a reference point, it was pretty easy to talk myself into buying my old 2000 Intrepid, a car that was $22,389 out the door, but with 0.9% APR, was only $2K down and $347.66 for 60 months.

    I think that 0.9% spoiled me, though.
  • michaellnomichaellno Member Posts: 4,120
    So, with those monthly payments as a reference point, it was pretty easy to talk myself into buying my old 2000 Intrepid, a car that was $22,389 out the door, but with 0.9% APR, was only $2K down and $347.66 for 60 months.

    I think that 0.9% spoiled me, though.

    GM loaned me $25K at 0% back in 2002 when I got my Saturn L300. Can't beat free money (so to speak).

    We're paying 3.9% on the wife's CX-7; seems like highway robbery in comparison.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    When I bought my Intrepid, I think I could have gotten something like $1000 or $1500 more off if I went with conventional financing instead of the 0.9%. But, regular rates were around 6.75% back then! Overall, I think that low-interest financing saved me $1500-2000.

    I could have gotten a lower rate on the Ram when I bought it, but I was planning on using my HELOC and then paying that down fast. However, there was a $500 incentive if I financed through the dealer, which ended up being with Chase Financial. So, I took that, made a few extra-big payments along with the regular ones, and had it paid off after a few months.
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Heck, I paid 0% for 60 months on my Cadillac DTS Performance and my wife paid 1% on her Buick LaCrosse.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    edited April 2013
    What comprised "Performance" vs. other DTSes?
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Higher hp engine for one.
  • hpmctorquehpmctorque Member Posts: 4,600
    Thanks. Firmer suspension too?
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Yes.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    You don't need more HP in an already overpowered FWD car. The torque steer is downright dangerous with an open throttle as it is. More HP is crazy in that car. IMO
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Ask the man who owns one. I notice absolutely no torque steer with my DTS. In fact, it's so imperceptible, I forget it's a FWD car.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    edited April 2013
    Lemko, you wouldn't admit to torque steer if the car flipped end over end - if it's your precious GM iron.....

    I've driven, bought and sold plenty of 'em. They have torque steer, and if you excite that Northstar, it'll jerk the wheel out of your hand.

    Nice touch though, with the Packard slogan... ;)
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    Believe me, I've driven that Northstar in a spirited manner more than once! It's pretty exciting taking such a big car up to speed. It so quiet and smooth it's like a supressed bullet down a rifle. Heck, I got the chance to take a new XTS out and I like my old DTS better. I hope Cadillac comes up with a true S-Class fighter soon. I see the XTS as a stopgap model at best.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    I think that XTS is a car for those who think a FWD is the only thing you can drive in the snow. You need one probably for that mindset.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Are you a Southern California resident who recently (within the last 6 months) financed a new car purchase for more than 72 months? We're interested in learning more about your experience. Please drop us a note at pr@edmunds.com by Friday, June 14 2013.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    I think that XTS is a car for those who think a FWD is the only thing you can drive in the snow.

    With traction control, ABS, and all the computer crap in cars that does everything for you, is RWD even that much of a hindrance anymore in bad weather?

    We didn't have much of a winter here in the DC area, but I did get a chance to take my 2012 Ram out in some slick weather. Despite being RWD and having a light rear end and a lot of power, it was almost impossible to get that sucker to spin our. I'd imagine a RWD car, with better weight balance, would be even better.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,139
    I drove in a couple snow events in my E55 - which had low profile tires, V8, RWD, the whole lot. Had no real issues, other than stopping and turning on hills.
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Exactly right. Stopping in the snow & ice is a lot more difficult than getting going most of the time, 4WD or not. Because the 4WD doesn't stop much, if any better, than the 2WD.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 57,139
    My issue would be stopping on a hill in the snow and getting going again (the mental defectives around here randomly panic when the road is covered), or slowing down to turn and go uphill - the car just put out too much power. Only got stuck once though - I got out of it with cat litter.
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    I learned to drive in the Midwest. But when I lived in Georgia and it iced or snowed, I stayed off the road. Seemed like some of those drivers panicked and only knew two moves - punch the accelerator and slam on the brakes. BOOM!
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    So true. Also, I've noticed that a 4WD vehicle around here is probably more dangerous than a 2WD, because the inexperienced driver thinks a 4WD will navigate ANYTHING - like even a lake?
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    Yep, basically the "smarter" the car gets, the dumber the driver seems to get. I even noticed this back in the late 90's, when one of my friends replaced an '82 Cutlass Supreme sedan with a '95 Grand Marquis. Well, one day he was out in the snow, and not far from my house, and he stopped to call from a gas station (those ancient days before cell phones!).

    Well, he said the car was acting really funny, and wanted to know if he could come by and pick me up, and drive me around and see if I had an opinion on what it was. So, he came by, and we went out driving. What was going on was that he was hearing some grumbling sound, from the abs or traction control or whatever, trying to keep his butt from wiping out. He was driving that Grand Marquis a LOT faster in those slick conditions than he would have driven that old Cutlass.

    Oh, and that ABS and traction control didn't keep him from getting that car stuck in my yard once. Come to think of it, he got his next car, an '04 Crown Vic, stuck in my yard as well when it was snowy/icy/ Now he has an '09 Grand Marquis, but he hasn't christened that one in my yard yet!
  • lemkolemko Member Posts: 15,261
    I only got my Grand Marquis stuck once following a heavy snowfall in a heavy snowbank at Montour and Magee in NE Philly. Fortunately, a woman was shoveling the snow off her sidewalk and I was able to borrow it to dig out my ride. Since then, I've kept a small snow shovel in my car during the winter.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,681
    Thinking back, that time my buddy got his '95 Grand Marquis stuck in my yard, he ended up parking on the grass, rather than the driveway. At that time, I had temporarily de-tagged my '79 5th Ave, and was waiting for it to hit the age where it would qualify for historic plates, which are a lot cheaper. The 5th Ave was sitting in the yard, but on the grass, on a slight downhill slope. My friend ended up parking behind it, and with the snow on the ground, I guess he didn't realize that he was off the driveway. Because of the slight hill, he couldn't get traction to get it moving. So, I had to move the 5th Ave (miracle I didn't get it stuck, itself, with its bald tires on back :blush: ) and he drove forward, and got enough momentum to swing around and make it back up the hill.

    With the '04 Crown Vic, I think he was parked in the driveway, but there was fresh snow on the ground, and he managed to get stuck.

    I've gotten my '85 Silverado stuck in the driveway once or twice when it's icy. But with something that old, no posi-traction, and a light rear-end, you almost expect it from that.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    A reporter would like to talk to a car buyer in his/her 20s who has a 72-month or longer term auto loan. If you would like to share your story, please send your daytime contact information to pr@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, 7/16/13 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.
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