Did you pay cash for your Z?
 

Just wondering how many owners paid cash for your car? Years ago I started saving for a new car and paid cash. As soon as I get a new car I start saving for the next one. It's like reverse car payments.

The benefits are no interest, better more straight forward bargaining on a new car at trade in time, I can pick any deductible on my collision or no collision at all after a few years, plus I just like having the title in my hands.

I've done this for the last 5 cars I've owned and keep them about 4 years before trading. Am I the only person that thinks this is a good Idea?

I put 75% down after getting rid of my car. finance was easy and low payments. I got a very good otd price, you think they wouldn't.

put 50% down

Paying cash makes sense...if you can't manage your money.

I don't think it makes much sense to tie up a liquid $40K when you can get a much higher rate of return properly invested/traded than what you pay on a car-loan. Of course, I do that for a living so others might not have the means and know-how to make money in the markets daily, but I can guarantee you almost all broad-based ETFs and non-speculative US equities will rise significantly more than 5-6% within the next year, roughly the APR one would pay on a car-loan.

With every car I've financed, however, I've put down 50% rounded up to a nice, whole number. That is of course if there isn't a good promotional lease-offer from the manufacturer, as depending on the circumstances, leasing is the best way to go...

I paid cash for mine. I don't necessarily think its a bad thing. If what you're saying is that investments will likely rise
5 - 6% and if thats equal to a good APR, then paying cash for the car is sounder because its a guaranteed avoidance of the 5 - 6 % interest expense whereas with the equity investments, you'll gain 5 - 6% only if things turn out as planned, there's always some downside risk, even if its minimal. If you pay cash for a car, you should have enough reserve cash for investing anyhow.

I'm saving up money now and planning to finance 10k early next year then pay it off after 6 months.

I paid cash for my touring/nav/sport. I really had no choice as I had the car shipped from the US to me and you need to pay cash for that.

no finance option there?

after this year and a half long tour, and i return home, I will see what I can do about paying cash. Perhaps it will put me in good bargaining position? I mean, if you dont give me the deal i want, maybe the dealer down the road will?:-)

Hi Triple's. I wish there was. To export a vehicle from the US you need to go through an export brokerage firm as they will buy the vehicle for you and ship it to you. They will only deal in cash as I cannot get financing because I am not in the US... :(

paid in cash. I didnt like the 5.99% APR nissan was offering.

If i could do it again i would have did a 10,000 loan. But im not hurting and i still have quite a bit of cash.

yes,i paid cash,after trading in my Rover,i paid S$95,000.

put down 31k. Financed exactly 9,950. after taxes, fees, etc.

Put $20K Down.
Already paid off.

that sucks! looks like were in the wrong business those brokerage firms are making bank! good luck! Z u later.

i usually pay my dd's cash but for hobby cars i finance a little bit since i want to buy aftermarket bits the first year.

then pay it off the following year.

Paid cash!!!!!!!!!

I paid cash for my 370Z. It is the first new car I've ever bought with cash. It's a very good feeling to get that title in the mail, while the car is brand new. :happydance:

Put it all down, haggling is so much easier, and damn, it just feels good not having a car payment!

pd cash.

Cash. Don't like payments, and in this economy, seems like savings on interest charged is a larger gain than returns on money.

Bank loan for price plus GAP, did not wrap TT&L in.

5.8% APR through a bank I didn't know existed, 6yr finance. Payments are roughly $640/mo.

As much as I pay for it I should drive it more...lol

I've got around $240/mo in credit minimums currently (I pay more than that...), that I have to pay, once those are gone, then it's off to pay off the $233/mo civic payment, once that's gone, Z.

Ideally, I'll have all my credit debt gone by April next year, civic gone by this time next year, and Z paid off a year and a half after that.

Then it's time to buy a new truck...or jeep, or something more "haul-**** friendly"...or a new civic...lol...but those will be mostly, if not completely, cash sales.

I won't use credit cards again, and loans will be only if I get a rate that's less than 5%, as a general rule.

I had a large portion of cash ready to put down on my car, but was offered .9% financing. Therefore I could invest the cash I had saved, make a higher return, deduct the car payments automatically from the invested savings, and with interest come out ahead after 5 years.

0.9% financing?

Holy crap.

No offense, but if you can do much better putting your money elsewhere, why would you put 50% down? Why wouldn't you borrow as much as you possibly could - my credit union will finance 110%.

To answer the OP's question, I paid cash because debt is a dumb thing to have. Debt = risk.

I paid cash. It's really the only way IMO. Why raise the price of the car by paying extra to a bank or credit institution?

Cash. Our last car purchase was in 2000, so you figure out how long it took to save up.

I'm sorry, but this makes absolutely no sense. Paying interest is NEVER better than not paying interest. If I had a dime for every banker/broker/con man who "guaranteed" that something was going to rise by x% in the next year, I could pay cash for a Ferrari;).

And, yes, I did pay cash for my car. There is no way in hell I'm paying someone money for the purpose of keeping a car that I don't own; this is the same reason I don't "own" a credit card... if I can't afford to pay cash, I don't need it.

Um, not to mention the capital gains tax................:tup:

Oh, and in just a couple of weeks, there will be a new 370z sitting in my garage, and it will be paid for in cash.

Pick up my 370z Sport/Touring/7spd in April 2009 for $40,950.00 (Price includes tax and title). Put down $20,000.00 on the car and will have it paid off by the end of November 2009. I only owe $7,160.00 on the loan right now. I've been throwing a lot of extra cash at my Z about $2,000.00 a month towards principal. I should have saved the money then bought it but I just couldn't wait to get one!:driving:

So my Christmas Present this year will be the Title to my 370z!

Originally Posted by JoeD http://www.the370z.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif
Paying cash makes sense...if you can't manage your money.

I don't think it makes much sense to tie up a liquid $40K when you can get a much higher rate of return properly invested/traded than what you pay on a car-loan. Of course, I do that for a living so others might not have the means and know-how to make money in the markets daily, but I can guarantee you almost all broad-based ETFs and non-speculative US equities will rise significantly more than 5-6% within the next year, roughly the APR one would pay on a car-loan.

With every car I've financed, however, I've put down 50% rounded up to a nice, whole number. That is of course if there isn't a good promotional lease-offer from the manufacturer, as depending on the circumstances, leasing is the best way to go...


LOL, big +1 for earwicker7 :icon18:

Since I've been investing, my 4 investment accounts have all averaged above 8%, 2 of them above 14% over the last 10 years.

The interest I pay on my car is 3.9%.

I'm no mathematician, but it appears that there are better places to allocate my capital than to a car.

Impressive, Matt. You manage your own portfolio?

I'm not a professional investor by any means. I'm a self-taught investor, and only know enough to keep good debt in check and bad debt far away. I tried day-trading for about a year, and lost my *** on it.

I don't really "manage" much. I researched which funds had the potential for the gains I wanted, at the risk that I can afford (being 26 years young). I have a few accounts with Royce, T. Rowe Price, and Fidelity, as well as a 401k with 100% match at 6%.

I wish I knew as much as some of those guys in the off-topic area that discuss investing.

You are one smart 26-yr old investor, don't talk yourself down. I started when I was 25 yrs old. Your attitude and ability alone will make you a ton of money over the years. Good luck to you. :tiphat:

That's great to hear that you were able to start young as well. I work with guys that are all in their 40s and early 50s, and they are playing catch-up in terms of retirement. It's sad, but you gotta spend your first 40 years planning for your last 20, if not...you'll be in rough shape.

Thanks for the well wishes. Same to you!

I just reread this.

I think you are confusing good debt and bad debt. You do know that credit can be a good thing right? When you apply for a home loan or even a job, do you think they care about how much cash you have in your pocket? Or do they care about your credit score?

And yes, paying interest is sometimes better than NOT paying interest, depending on what your gains could have been with the money you spent avoiding the interest.

Of course, if you have the disposable income to write a check for a Z, it probably doesn't matter what anyone says....you're wealthy enough to do whatever you want! More power to you!

Cash is the way to buy anything. If you can't afford it in cash it's not for you.

I knew I shouldn't have taken out that mortgage!! I should have just payed cash!