This guy...

 

I financed my '04 with a rebuilt title last spring, 150,000km on the clock.... I have an inside man/fellow car nut who happens to be the branch manager of my credit union though... He makes all my bad decisions a reality haha

But on a car this old he would only do a short term... So it's only 2.5 years rather than the 5 I normally do

 

Using this same logic, almost no one would ever buy a house.

 

Houses are real estate and values are unlikely to plummet like the value of a car. Especially a used car. The S2000 is an exception as value is remaining quite stable it seems. For clean, non-riced cars.

As noted, credit rating is everything. My wife's couple-year old Civic EX was rear-ended (totaled) on her way to work a year or so ago. It was obviously totaled so we went straight to a new car dealer mid-afternoon. She drove home at dinner time in a new car. USAA electronic check. She financed the car for all of a month (she hates debt!).

-- Chuck

 

Comparing houses to cars seems so logic. I'm sorry but it's not. It even explains why people in the US are a fan of financing. In Europe we mostly save the money.
A coworker of mine bought a crx with financing, he crashed it. He bought another one with financing, somebody else ran into him and got away. No car, 2 loans. He lost his job and could barely afford his 2 non-existing crxes. That's why you shouldn't buy cars with financing. Even if you have insurace.
But never mind, since most of you are from the US, there's no way an European can 'win' this arguement. I guess our financial systems are too different.

 

It's not different, your coworker is doing it wrong.

 

Comparing houses to cars seems so logic. I'm sorry but it's not. It even explains why people in the US are a fan of financing. In Europe we mostly save the money.
A coworker of mine bought a crx with financing, he crashed it. He bought another one with financing, somebody else ran into him and got away. No car, 2 loans. He lost his job and could barely afford his 2 non-existing crxes. That's why you shouldn't buy cars with financing. Even if you have insurace.
But never mind, since most of you are from the US, there's no way an European can 'win' this arguement. I guess our financial systems are too different.
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Here totalling your financed car won't cause you much grief because the bank required it to be completely insured, so in the event of a total loss they'll still get paid... The big problem here is people trading in wanting the the newer nicer models before they've paid any decent amount on the balance of the original loan...

I've seen people walk out the door with a huge grin on their face and a set of keys for a brand new car that retails for $34,000, and a finace agreement for upwards of $60,000....

And payments... People don't care what the terms are... When they see that they could have a new elantra or a civic for $80 bi-weekly they care that it's and 84 or 96 month term but the car only has a 60 month or maybe even shorter warranty... It's a live for today world now...

 

What can you actually do wrong about parking your insured car, and finding somebody else wrecked it but got away? Insurance doesn't cover that. At least, not in the netherlands. I can keep argueing with you that a mortgage loan is different from financing a car, but that would miss the point of this topic. You wreck the car, you've got nothing. But what are the chances of 'wrecking' your house? What Chuck stated is actually correct:
Comparing houses to cars seems so logic. I'm sorry but it's not. It even explains why people in the US are a fan of financing. In Europe we mostly save the money.A coworker of mine bought a crx with financing, he crashed it. He bought another one with financing, somebody else ran into him and got away. No car, 2 loans. He lost his job and could barely afford his 2 non-existing crxes. That's why you shouldn't buy cars with financing. Even if you have insurace.But never mind, since most of you are from the US, there's no way an European can 'win' this arguement. I guess our financial systems are too different.[/quote]Here totalling your financed car won't cause you much grief because the bank required it to be completely insured, so in the event of a total loss they'll still get paid... The big problem here is people trading in wanting the the newer nicer models before they've paid any decent amount on the balance of the original loan... I've seen people walk out the door with a huge grin on their face and a set of keys for a brand new car that retails for $34,000, and a finace agreement for upwards of $60,000.... And payments... People don't care what the terms are... When they see that they could have a new elantra or a civic for $80 bi-weekly they care that it's and 84 or 96 month term but the car only has a 60 month or maybe even shorter warranty... It's a live for today world now...
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My only point in this topic was that it's better to save the money yourself. People end up in the situation you're describing eventually. I even know people who financed their holiday. That way you can 'enjoy' your holiday for a few more years (sarcasm)

I was taught that if you want something, you save the money for it. This also accounts for cars that are worth €30.000. The only thing you buy with financing should be a house. In the end, you'll always have the house to pay of (some of your) debts.

I'll leave this discussion alone, we're on a different wavelength here

 

Your argument is moot since on this side of the pond most if not all banks require you to have full coverage if you're financing. So even if the other person got away you're covered. Like I said, your coworker did it wrong.

 

How about education? My grad school tuition (not including living expenses) was $112k. A little difficult for a young person to save that much.

And yes, your argument just doesn't apply over here due to how our insurance works. Sure, people make stupid mistakes using financing all the time. But that doesn't mean it's always a bad idea. In my case I could have easily paid cash for my S2000. But at 1.74% interest rate, well-diversified investments in the stock market are likely to make more than that over 5 years, so I'll take the loan and invest what I kept.