Auto Finance Question

[ZacFields]

Yah I know it seems weird that I don't know this being a finance major and all, but honestly my 2007 motorcycle is the only vehicle I've ever financed before so I don't have a clue.

When it comes to used vehicles, does anyone know the rules on financing a car? After this winter is over, I'm probably going to be in the market for a new car for Ashley. I drive my cars until they die... thats my rule, because it saves you tons of money in the long run if you drive a car for at least 150,000 miles.

I really would like to finance a car for 5 years if possible. I'll be looking for something in the vicinity of $6,000-$9,000 with between 40,000 and 60,000 miles on it. The car will probably be an 03 or newer. Most likely a Ford Focus, Cavalier, Cobalt, etc. Just will be looking for something with low miles that will get Ashley through nursing school.

If anyone can enlighten me, that would be great. I want payments to be reasonable. I prefer to lock in a lower monthly payment and just pay off the car sooner rather than lock myself into a 2 or 3 year loan...especially since I want to drive the car for at least 150k.

Zac

[Ricky]

dont buy my car if you want low payments :)

[DustinsDuster]

i have heard lots of good things about newer Focus'. i would see what kind of deal you can find on them.

[Ashley]

i'd really like to get a focus.. i looked at one back when i bought my truck, and they seemed pretty nice for what they are. i just haven't heard anything good or bad about how they run and whatnot.

[ZacFields]

HaHa, Ricky I'd be making a lot lot lot more money than I'm making right now before I spend that kind of dough on a car. I've just really fallen out of the performance car thing as I'm getting older.

When I'm settled into a career and I have a house with a big garage, I might pick up an old EVO or WRX or something and do some reasonable work on it as a little project car that I can get moderate times with at the track here and there.

For now I'm just all about saving money. I'm not a tightwad, really... just a guy that has an addiction to saving and investing. :)

So does anyone know what the likelyhood is that I could get a 4-5 year loan on a car that's 5+ years old but has low mileage?

Zac

[Luminatorz34]

i dont see why you wouldnt be able to do this zac...i bought my camaro 2 and a half years ago and its a 99. making my car at 6 years old when i got it with 60k miles on it...did a 48 month loan on it with absolutly no problems at all. it has alot to do with how much you put down also

[96-eclipse-gst]

I'm not really sure what your wondering about? Currently at close to midnight on thursday, the fixed 48 month loan on a used car is 6.24%. At the price range you would be looking at, it sure wouldn't be a large monthly payment. Nothing even close to. I can't really say anything bad about focus's but as for my own fiancee i'm leaning towards a camry. I just hate how ford makes everything plastic. I love the Mazda 6 but everything is plastic. I can't imagine that a focus would be a bad car for Ashley. Just make sure you have your friends check the car out before buying. That way we can steer you from something thats gonna cause problems.

[ZacFields]

^I'll take ya'll up on that offer Andrew. You've been great these last couple months, and don't think that once I'm out of college that I won't be around to give my friends free financial/investment advice. Hell, I offer that now for anyone who asks. If there's anything I can do to help you or any of my other friends, let me know. If you're not making a consistant 8-12% on your investments and you would like to, get ahold of me :)

I guess my real question was: If I were to buy a car of 2000-2004, would a bank actually allow a 4 or 5 year loan on the car? Banks tend to be picky about how long they will finance a used car, because there has to be a reasonable chance that the car will last longer than the financed period with little to no problems, otherwise banks get spooked that the car will break down with 3 years left on the loan and the borrower will decide to quit making payments and default on the loan.

Seems to me like it's feasible. Like I said before, I'm a big savings-guy. I'd rather have a lower monthly payment on say, a 5 year loan, and then paying it off completely in 3 or 4 years by over-paying. At least if I do that, in months like December (Christmas) I can roll back to paying the minimum if I'd like. You might pay an extra 1 or 2 percent that way, but it can save you from financial turmoil later if you run into some extra debt or medical expenses or something.

Zac

[StreetSweeper]

I went to the bank a while back when i was going to by a 2001 and they wouldnt loan any more then 48 months. So you will problably have to go allmost brand new to do that. If you want somthing to last check into a Honda, or a Foreign car!

[Drifte]

brand new chevy aveo. its like 10k lol. or a yarus, its like 12k. i avoid ford at all costs. The simplist thing will cost more and require more work because of the way they tend to design things "different"