Comments on: Another reason to buy that car with cash

By: Yard Sales: My Social Event

Yard Sales: My Social Event — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:19:47 +0000

[...] Another Reason to Buy That Car With Cash at Gather Little by Little [...]

By: Miss T

Miss T — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:49:23 +0000

I’m making payments and I’m fine with it! I see it as a luxury that I can afford. Is that bad? No seriously, if I can afford my payment and there’s money left over at the end of the month, I’m tithing and saving for retirement and putting college money away for my kids – am I still wrong for having a car payment?

My car was $17,900. Hardly an expensive car these days – it was a year old and I’m certain I saved at least $10,000 buying used. I have friends who owe more money on older cars and were upside down on their trade-ins and rolled that money into their new payments…(AACCKK!!!) I did not have that issue. We do have another car, my husband’s truck, that we paid cash for. I want to be a good steward of my money – I feel like I make frugal choices. I can totally afford my car payment – but I just can’t do the beater car thing!

Is it ok to spend this money every month on my car when I don’t have any other big luxury items on my list – we don’t do expensive vacations, I don’t wear big diamonds, I use coupons! ha ha

Just wondering – I really don’t feel bad about my car payment!!!

By: Tommy R

Tommy R — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:43:46 +0000

Thanks Stew, not just for the column, but for the Bible verse reference of Matthew 10:29-31!

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:41:04 +0000

I am not sure what state they were in, but the vehicle owner is always the vehicle owner and has first rights to the vehicle in the case of a total loss. Insurance companies always try to make you believe that they have your best interest at heart, when really it’s their bottom line that they are concerned about.
I own a repair shop and I see this happen quite often and we always try to make sure the customer understands their rights and also give them some advice on weather or not to retain the salvage. Sometimes it can be a great deal for them and other times a carrier will try and charge an unreasonable amount for the salvage. The titleing laws vary by state when it comes to owners retaining salvage.

This to me would have been an ideal situation for the vehicle owner since they had gap insurance. Cars are an area where people waste so much money just because they want to impress their friends and people they don’t even know.

By: SingleGuyMoney

SingleGuyMoney — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:10:48 +0000

The insurance company will do a cost comparison between repairing the vehicle or deeming the vehicle a total loss. Whichever one will cost them the least is the one they will choose. It doesn’t matter if the vehicle still runs or not.

As far as your friend, if he had GAP coverage, his loan should have been paid in full.

By: Zengirl

Zengirl — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:26:36 +0000

Similar thing happened to friend of ours, but they were happy, and bought another new car. Go figure. I am with you, buying with cash is best way, specially if you buy a few years old car, it is possible to save up money for it. Good luck with your car.

btw, I am happy you finally sold your house. Congratulations! I gather, it must have been very tense situation from your post.

Zengirl.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:50:30 +0000

Anytime you can save up and pay for a car in cash you will get a much better deal. It will be easier to haggle with the salesman to bring the price down.

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:27:39 +0000

We owe about $2,000 on our main vehicle, and a month ago the engine blew on it. We only have one car right now (running great, but it’s old!) so my husband uses it to commute to work and I am stuck all day without a car. We were considering financing another car, even though we don’t want to be financing vehicles anymore….but your post helped me to reaffirm my stance. We’ll be saving up to get a new engine for our vehicle, however long that may take!

By: Korwin

Korwin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:36:37 +0000

During college, my car was seriously dented by hail and was considered totalled. It was just a well used Buick that had full insurance (not sure why my dad kept so much coverage on it) so I received a check from the insurance company and was able to buy it back for very little. I’m not sure if the age of the car affects the situation, but turned out to be a good deal from me as there was no loan against it.