True or false: The best car payment is a $0 car payment.

[JetFueledThoughts]

How did you come up with this arbitrary #?

It’s definitely arbitrary. If your note is $250 or whatever I think that’s fine too if you can afford it. If someone makes 80k a year, their monthly take home is prob around $4,200. A $200 car note would be a little under 5% of their monthly take home.

Once a monthly car note gets to $350 or more it turns into a lifestyle expense, not a simple bill that you’d pay like power, cable, water etc. People that make 100k but have a $900 (~15% of your monthly take home) car note is kinda wild to me, but everyone’s situation is different.

Baseline recommendation in my opinion is to keep your car note less than 5% of your monthly take home earnings. My car note is about 1.5% of my monthly take home and I drive a 2016 car w/ less than 30k miles on it.

 

[LadyJ2]

Good for him. Just move your lemon-flavored bucket off the road when it breaks down, ok?

 

[breakfuss]

What's dumb, the fact that it depreciates or that you have to take out a loan to acquire it? Both are an unfortunate fact of life. I'd love to hear your solution to avoid them.

Right. What the fukk are some people even talking about in here . “Just ride your skateboard to work”.

(Now, mind you, if I lived in a city where I didn’t have to drive or could rely on robust public transit I’d be all over that shyt). I envy New Yorkers.

 

[JetFueledThoughts]

Less than $200 but what if you make 15K a month after taxes with no debt besides the mortgage?

$500 is nothing in that scenario.

If you make that much then I’d recommend doing what I did and pay for 2/3 of the car in cash. Easier to get a manageable car note when you’re financing 8k off a 25k car instead of 20k off a 25k car especially now that financing rates are high again.

I’d rather give the cash up front then have that extra $500 every month to invest or save.

 

[Luke Cage]

i mean, there are alot of people out there who can afford to buy a used car straight cash for like 8k and still get to work and back just fine. but would rather lease a 50K car for 1k a month. so technically this is correct.

 

[Rawtid]

Good for him. Just move your lemon-flavored bucket off the road when it breaks down, ok?

And park over the tarp because it’s leaking fluids.

 

[maxamusa]

Getting a loan to pay for a depreciating asset is just dumb

not all of us get to sleep on top a money mattress

 

[Deafheaven]

If you can get 3% apr on a reasonable whip I don't see the issue. unfortunately people be taking out loans with 7-15% apr on bullshyt and thats wild.

 

[east]

broke: high interest car note
woke: buying outright
bespoke: leveraging your car's debt to make even more money

 

[CashmereThoughts]

A car note is the number 1 financial downfall. fukk a note

 

[Mrhateeverything]

Yup that's facts.
Used to have a car payment and hated it. Ever since then I said never again and spend on a car I like and can afford out right. I've been lucky but I'm meticulous with it when it comes to oil changes and basic maintenance.
It feels so good when you don't owe anything on a car

 

[Sad Bunny]

If you can get 3% apr on a reasonable whip I don't see the issue. unfortunately people be taking out loans with 7-15% apr on bullshyt and thats wild.

This.

 

[Sad Bunny]

broke: high interest car note
woke: buying outright
bespoke: leveraging your car's debt to make even more money

Uber and Doordash?

 

[CrimsonTider]

What ever works for you

 

[Heafcliffe]

Wholeheartedly agree.

Car is 17 years old and guess zilch fukks are applied to my situation.

Had to get a jumpstart the other day and was . Only to find out it needed a new battery.

Driving this bish til the sprockets pop.