this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2024
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[–] [email protected] 94 points 9 months ago (33 children)

Cars have always been relatively expensive to own and operate and the American way, unfortunately, has been to take out lines of credit in order to purchase vehicles they could just barely afford.

It's insane to think about but the average car payment for a new vehicle in 2023 was $726 and the average loan term is nearly 70 months!

[–] [email protected] 70 points 9 months ago (27 children)

I've always lived by two rules when it comes to vehicles:

  1. Never buy new. Buy approximately two years old used low mileage

  2. If I can't afford the vehicle on a three year note, I can't afford the vehicle

Additionally, always secure third party financing and have it in your back pocket, but don't tell the dealership that part until absolutely necessary. They may try to match it, but their fine print has always had catches it in that make it a worse option in my experience.

I'm not sure if these rules will work going forward as prices seem to have doubled in the past three years, and I'm loathe to ponder how purchase is getting replaced by subscribe.

My current car is ten years old with 110k miles on it. I keep it super maintained because I can't stomach the thought of my next buying experience.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I think statistically speaking the absolute best value is a 5 year old car that has been at least reasonably well-maintained. The vast majority of depreciation happens during those first 5 years.

For those that do need to finance a car, a three year loan term should be the maximum. I think you are 100% correct on that. There are people with car loans that have terms of 7 years. It's sad that people are setting themselves up for failure like that. If you can't afford the monthly payments on a 3 year term then you really can't afford the car at all.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I think my current car was four years old when I bought it. I didn't mean two years as an absolute. The term of the note is absolute though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

No worries, I wasn't trying to imply that to be honest. I liked your comment and was simply trying to add some extra information for anyone else that stumbled upon the thread.

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