poll: who owns your car? you? or the bank?

[danny_galaga]

i was actually thinking about this the other day and one of the threads in p N p reminded me. i see a lot of BMWs on the road for some reason, and i was idly wondering how many are actually owned by the driver. not many i bet
ive never gotten a loan for a car. even the one new car i owned was paid in cash. im just curious to see what the proportions are. its really simple, either you bought it outright, or you got a loan (doesnt matter if its paid off or you are still paying it off, the bank was involved) or you have a company car only. i can tell someone is going to say "i have a company car, but i have a loan for my own car as well". well, you have a loan. click option 2! if you're confused, dont vote 

[shardian]

Every car I've owned I've paid in cash, except for the Ford Escape. I finally broke down and bought a newer vehicle for my family last May, and got a small loan. I didn't have to, but I would prefer to keep money in the bank than be broke and need it. I paid half down, and got a loan for the other half. Besides, then interest I collect on the money pretty much cancels out the simple interest of the loan.

So to answer your question, me and the Credit union are in halfsies.

[Jdurg]

I own my car outright, although I initially did get a 0.00% financing plan for it.  It was the fall of 2003 and I bought my Honda Civic and put a pretty good downpayment on it.  The dealership had a financing plan that for the first five years of the ten year loan the interest rate on the loan would be fixed at zero percent.  Then it would go up or something after five years.  It was a great deal so I took it.  

The monthly payments were only around $200 so I would routinely pay double that since I could afford it at the time and wanted to pay off the loan.  Finally, thanks to a good week playing poker at the casino, I had enough money to pay off the loan completely.  I did that and now have the title to the car in my possession with the loan paid off MANY years earlier than expected.  I didn't pay one cent in interest which was very nice, and there were no early pay-off fees.  All in all, it was a great deal.  

[Zero_Hour]

You forgot the Lease option, which always struck me as an odd way to obtain a vehicle, but obviously it appeals to someone.

[ChadTower]

I own my car, did have a loan on it that has been paid off for a couple of years.  My wife's car is owned by the bank and is about half paid off.

[Sprucemoose]

Had a loan, paid it off, own it and will drive it until it costs more to fix the car than the car is worth.

[RecycledPast]

I'm not a "car" person so I've never cared what I drove, as long as it worked (and had a great stereo).
My 1st 6 vehicles were paid for in cash.
The other two were bought with loans that have been paid off early.

86 Subaru wagon - Free
Monte carlo - $50
Tempo - $100
Ford Escort - $600
90 Suzuki Katana (motorcycle) - $1000
93 Hyundai accent - $2000

02 Saturn SL2 - $8000
02 Honda Shadow 1100 - $8400

But it's time to get a new "Family" vehicle so I'll probably spend more on this 1 car then all mine combined and take out a nice fat loan.  I need to do my part to help the economy...

[Jdurg]

You forgot the Lease option, which always struck me as an odd way to obtain a vehicle, but obviously it appeals to someone.

A lease isn't a bad option if you are someone who doesn't plan on keeping the car long enough to pay off the loan, and you don't drive from here to timbuk 2 every weekend.  For many people it's an appealing option for getting a new car every few years.

[shardian]

A lease isn't a bad option if you are someone who doesn't plan on keeping the car long enough to pay off the loan, and you don't drive from here to timbuk 2 every weekend.  For many people it's an appealing option for getting a new car every few years.

Yeah, nothing like paying a premium car "payment" every month, being liable for damage or extra miles, paying a "down payment", even though you are not buying. And lastly, signing a contract which results in a sizeable penalty if you need to get out of it.

The only people who should even remotely consider a lease are those who have way too much money, and want to just pay their large sums to not have to worry about anything car-wise.

One of my wife's high school classmates has leased cars since she graduated H.S. All beause she likes to get new cars every 2 years. She thinks she gets a great deal by paying her $250-$300 a month for a frikkin Chevy Cavalier. And she wonders why she is dead broke and massively in debt?

[ChadTower]

I know quite a few people who are only here in the country for 2-3 years at a time.  A lease is perfect for them - no need to worry about selling the car when leaving.

[patrickl]

I got a loan from myself.

[TOK]

I didn't vote because I have one in each category! 
Have a 99 pickup thats paid off, a 2004 crew cab pickup that I got a loan for -its the family hauler so it can't be a junker, and I have a company truck.

If I can only have one car payment at a time, I'm OK with that.

[knave]

I didn't vote.  I own my car, but I did finance it through the dealership for 0%.

Paid it off in 3 years.  Was a great deal.  Not paying interest is awesome. 

Oh and I also still have my old truck which I bought at auction with my Credit card and then paid in full the next month. (I didn't have the cash on me, that was 15 years ago.)

Does my project 1967 Kaiser-jeep truck count? I paid cash for that. 

[CheffoJeffo]

Interesting question ... I have owned all of my cars (e.g. paid cash), with the exception of the car that I bought upon graduation back in 1990 (and I used my line-of-credit, so I owned the car, but I used bank money to buy it).

Same deal with Mrs Cheffo, until this year when she was going to be doing a lot of driving on a daily basis moving the kids around. That is our first leased vehicle ever, but is essentially my company car, although I did not take a pay cut for it.

[Daniel270]

With the exception of an '81 VW Rabbit (diesel model), I bought every car i've owned outright with cash, including my '07 Ford Focus that I have now. It's taken most of my adult life to figure out that if I can't pay for it with cash outright, I don't need it.

[Jdurg]

I didn't vote.  I own my car, but I did finance it through the dealership for 0%.

Paid it off in 3 years.  Was a great deal.  Not paying interest is awesome. 

Same here.  Pretty sweet if you ask me.  You get the 0% interest for a short time, and if you made a big enough downpayment you can pay off the rest of the price without ever paying one solitary cent in interest.  It's like having a family member or friend give you the rest of the money you need to pay the car in full and you don't have to pay them interest.

Nothing feels better than getting the title to your car in your hands.  Now I can only hope to win the lottery and have the same thing happen with the deed to my house!

[shmokes]

I put 1/3 down, and did a 3-year loan.  In exactly one year I will own it outright and, good lord that's going to be a major stress reliever.  Doing the three year loan gave me $400/mo. payments.  But it's a Honda Civic, which means that I'll get at least 3-5 years out of it while I own it outright.

[SirPeale]

We own our car now, but got a load thru the bank.  So there's no option for me.

[AtomSmasher]

I didn't vote.  I own my car, but I did finance it through the dealership for 0%.

Paid it off in 3 years.  Was a great deal.  Not paying interest is awesome. 

Same here.  Pretty sweet if you ask me.  You get the 0% interest for a short time, and if you made a big enough downpayment you can pay off the rest of the price without ever paying one solitary cent in interest.  It's like having a family member or friend give you the rest of the money you need to pay the car in full and you don't have to pay them interest.

Or you can just wait for the right deal to come along.  I currently have a 6 year 0% interest loan and that was with zero down payment.  It's definately useful to have good credit.    I would pay it off quick, but with 0% interest I'd rather pay off any other loans or credit cards first.

I also own my truck, but then I found it in a junkyard and rebuilt it, so getting a loan wasn't exactly an option 

[koolmoecraig]

Just paid off my Miata last week!

$0 debt across the board!

[Chris G]

Paid cash for my Tacoma 5 years ago.  I hate owing.

[Jouster]

I paid off my BMW last year.

Jouster

[mr.Curmudgeon]

I paid off my last vehicle, a $24k 1998 Isuzu Amigo. Then less than 6 months later...a piston froze up.   
My current vehicle, a $13k Scion xA is still on loan from the bank.

[danny_galaga]

Every car I've owned I've paid in cash, except for the Ford Escape. I finally broke down and bought a newer vehicle for my family last May, and got a small loan. I didn't have to, but I would prefer to keep money in the bank than be broke and need it. I paid half down, and got a loan for the other half. Besides, then interest I collect on the money pretty much cancels out the simple interest of the loan.

So to answer your question, me and the Credit union are in halfsies.

goddamit! theres always someone with an option i hadnt thought of 

for those who mentioned lease, thats worse than a loan in my books...

[boykster]

I own 95% of one car (2000 RX300) and about 50% of the other (2006 IS250)

I don't mind financing larger purchases as long as the debt service is reasonable.  My credits good and when I bought both cars the interest rates were reasonable.  Lexus rarely - if ever - offers 0% though....I'd be all over that like Peale on someone taking too many antibiotics.....

[danny_galaga]

Paid cash for my Tacoma 5 years ago.  I hate owing.

amen brother!! i see the poll is roughly half/half. thats quite heartening to see. i know in australia, WAAAY to many people get loans for cars. and quite often they are just second hand pieces of poo anyway. hell, my $2500 1971 VW is more reliable than many of my friends 2000ish model $15000 ford glumpem or toyota doodad...

[Jerry Seinfeld]

Not many people actually own their car, man. A very small percentage of the population anyway.

[shmokes]

 . . . or toyota doodad...

I was with you right up 'till this point.  I find this statement somewhat incredible.

[btp2k2]

I own all three cars.

[Paladin]

3 more payments and I'll own my car (2003 Mustang GT).  I made a big mistake and traded in a car that I owed more than its value, and bought a new car.  Between that and interest I've paid thousands more than the thing is worth.  I've told myself that I'll keep this one until it falls apart.

Here's another question, how many buy new vs. used?  My current car is the only new car I've ever bought.  I went to the dealership to get a 2 or 3 year old car, but let myself be talked into getting a new one.  I'll never get a new car again, too much depreciation right off the lot. 

[Singapura]

In Singapore you not only buy the car but you have to get a license that almost doubles the price. Combine this with a tax that is the highest in the world PLUS electronic road pricing and you don't even want a car. Good thing tax's are relatively cheap and public transportation is abundant. Besides Singapore is very small. Still, you see lots of luxury cars (even Lamborghini's and Ferrari's) on the road.

[danny_galaga]

In Singapore you not only buy the car but you have to get a license that almost doubles the price.

yes, but surely youre not saying that everyone pays cash for their cars in singapore?

[patrickl]

In Singapore you not only buy the car but you have to get a license that almost doubles the price.

yes, but surely youre not saying that everyone pays cash for their cars in singapore?

Yes it's similar in the Netherlands (a 40% extra tax on the purchase price) and I don't think it keeps people from buying cars or from getting a loan to finance the car.

[billf]

The two cars we currently own, were paid for with cash - no loans.  We have a 2004 Toyota Sienna mini van, bought brand new.  And a 2001 Honda Civic, bought used on Halloween night 2005 with cash.

When we bought the Honda it was a nasty, rainy and cold Halloween night.  We had a Honda Accord that was literally on its last legs, so we went to the Honda dealership to see what they had for used Civics.  Test drove two.  Decided to put in an offer on the second one.  The guy actually laughed in our faces at the offer.  We said okay that's fine, we'll see ya later.  He basically cornered us and gave the standard, "let me see what we can do".  This back and forth went on for nearly an hour and we never budged from our original offer.  We stuck to our guns and got the car for that original offer.  I do believe that they were happy to sell a car, any car, on a nasty Halloween night.

[DaOld Man]

I have a 94 dodge dakota that I paid $11,000 cash for in 97.
It had 36K miles on it when I got it.
It has 199954 miles on it right now. As soon as she hits her 200 thousand birthday, i plan to get a new one.
But the prices of trucks now are ridiculous.
If I get a new one I will have to finance most of it this time.

[danny_galaga]

I have a 94 dodge dakota that I paid $11,000 cash for in 97.
It had 36K miles on it when I got it.
It has 199954 miles on it right now. As soon as she hits her 200 thousand birthday, i plan to get a new one.
But the prices of trucks now are ridiculous.
If I get a new one I will have to finance most of it this time.

c'mon, you can do better than that:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_fe_st/odd_million_mile_truck_4

 

[TOK]

I have a 94 dodge dakota that I paid $11,000 cash for in 97.
It had 36K miles on it when I got it.
It has 199954 miles on it right now. As soon as she hits her 200 thousand birthday, i plan to get a new one.
But the prices of trucks now are ridiculous.
If I get a new one I will have to finance most of it this time.

Don't worry, you'll get a screaming deal. With gas hovering at 3 bucks a gallon and reportedly going up for the summertime, the only people buying trucks are those that absolutely need them. Brand new full sized pickups are going for thousands less than they should be.

Yes, even under sticker they're expensive, but way better than when gas was 1.70 a gallon.

[HaRuMaN]

I have a loan for my car, but I'll drive it until the wheels fall off (which is a long time for a Honda, usually).  My wife's '99 civic (paid off) had 256K miles on it and was still going strong when we got totaled by an idiot driving too fast in the snow...   

[Truecade]

I paid off the vette last year and should have the wife's durango paid off in two years.  I can't wait until no more car payments! 

[shmokes]

I hate Corvettes and Durangos.