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

[billf]

I hate Corvettes and Durangos.   

Why?

[pointdablame]

I got a loan for my Mazda 3 for a few reasons.

1) I had just graduated college and couldn't pay cash even if I wanted to
2) Got a really nice interest rate
3) Wanted to build up my credit history.

I've made some extra payments on it and hope to pay it off early.

[Level42]

Geez, am I the only one with a company car ?

[Jdurg]

I hate Corvettes and Durangos.   

God, I would KILL for a Torch Red L89 1967 Corvette Convertible with a black interior and side pipes.  Sadly, almost zero of that make were made so it would cost a FORTUNE if I ever found one.   

[SirPeale]

...I'd be all over that like Peale on someone taking too many antibiotics.....

It's not too many antibiotics, it's the kind of antibiotics used. 

[quarterback]

I paid off the vette last year

What year Chevette do you own?

[quarterback]

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

Even though the original question is phrased as "who owns your car?" that's not actually what d_g meant and you would fall under "got a loan".   In the first post he says:

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)

[danny_galaga]

3) Wanted to build up my credit history.

you fell for one of 'the mans' oldest lies. my sister and i got a loan for our house, without ever having borrowed money for ANYTHING. and it isnt just because of the current easy lending era. i was approved for a loan on a flat when i was 21 but chickened out. that was in 1991. they werent giving away money back then. what they really want to see is that you can save, and that you have some earnings. and a deposit. although obviously this credit crunch your experiencing was partly because there were lenders who didnt even worry about a deposit...

[D-Lew]

Mine's paid off.  It's an 02 Focus with a few mods, I love it.

[shardian]

3) Wanted to build up my credit history.

you fell for one of 'the mans' oldest lies. my sister and i got a loan for our house, without ever having borrowed money for ANYTHING. and it isnt just because of the current easy lending era. i was approved for a loan on a flat when i was 21 but chickened out. that was in 1991. they werent giving away money back then. what they really want to see is that you can save, and that you have some earnings. and a deposit. although obviously this credit crunch your experiencing was partly because there were lenders who didnt even worry about a deposit...

hehe, when I went to get pre-approved for our home loan, my wife's credit rating was higher than mine by 10-20 points ( mine was around 740-750). There is only one problem with that - my wife has never had a credit card, or even had anything in her name, and I had a well established and flawless credit history.

So yes, that is defnintely a myth, or at least was true once in years past.

[pointdablame]

I don't buy that.  Having never had a loan previously besides school loans that were all but given to me without any checks, I think having a loan on my record is worthwhile.

I wasn't concerned with my credit persay, but I still say its 100% worthwhile.  I have good credit as it is and have had credit cards and credit lines for years (much longer than most folks my age).  I could in all honesty get a loan for an apartment/small house without little problem (putting aside the credit situation in the US for a moment).  I'm still proving that I pay on time and wasn't going to be able to get the car if I didn't get a loan.

Plus, I've seen my score increase since the loan with no other changes to my credit history, so unless these past 6 months of normal payments hit a magic mark as far as the length of my credit history goes, it DID help.

[danny_galaga]

I don't buy that.  Having never had a loan previously besides school loans that were all but given to me without any checks, I think having a loan on my record is worthwhile.

well, 'the mans' plan worked  you are convinced that somehow its worthwhile paying twice as much for junk that will be worth next to nothing when the loan is payed off. as i said, i got a loan for a house without ever having borrowed before. so why would it have been worthwhile to have had a credit rating?

dont get me wrong. im not worried about people getting loans since i have shares in a bank and a large furniture/electrical retailer- good news for me if people think they need all that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- ! but if you ever want to get away from working purely to pay off loans it would be good to get away from that mindset 

[pointdablame]

You're making a lot of strong assumptions there, many of which make me look foolish in my finances, and I think its uncalled for.  You don't seem to know as much about personal finance as you think you do.

Explain to me how 1.9% financing on my car will make me pay DOUBLE... especially if I'm making extra payments?  Yeah.. it won't.  Also, getting a loan and getting a GOOD loan are very different things.  You could have gotten a mortgage for a flat with no history... great.  Was it at 4% or 15%  Bit of a difference no?

Like I said, I keep a strong watch on my credit score, and have for the past 4 years.  I've SEEN an increase since my car purchase with no changes to my number of inquiries, revolving credit limits/lines, or types of credit used.  The only thing that's changed is I now have a 6 month longer credit history since getting my car.

You sound exactly like someone who hates loans and just needs to pay cash for everything... most likely because you or a loved one already f%*#ed their credit history in the past and don't have the capability to spend wisely.  Don't throw subtle hate at people who are smart enough to use credit instruments to their advantage.

[danny_galaga]

yeah, i havent written that very well. i didnt mean it as a personal observation. sorry for that. all i meant is that a lot of people see credit as the 'normal' situation. we've become really used to the idea of wanting stuff and getting it without having worked for it. you're right, some people can use credit wisely. i think a couple of guys mentioned in this thread that they got their car loans at zero per cent if they paid it off quickly. if you do that (by the way, they only do that with furniture and white goods in oz as far as i know) then naturally that is a wise use of credit. the institutions know that the majority of people going for those loans IMAGINE they can pay it off in time, but actually dont. then they pay huge interest, more than off-setting the guys who got a loan for free.

the loan for the flat was with a major bank (one of the so called big four), so probably not the best deal around, but not 'subprime' stuff either. same with the house we own now. we shopped around maybe 3 or 4 major institutions and 1 or 2 credit societies. that was a pretty good deal. obviously my credit rating is AOK  . and no, no loved ones have screwed up financially. just how i was raised. dad always told us, if you cant pay for it dont buy it. with the exception of a house obviously...

[AtomSmasher]

i think a couple of guys mentioned in this thread that they got their car loans at zero per cent if they paid it off quickly. if you do that (by the way, they only do that with furniture and white goods in oz as far as i know) then naturally that is a wise use of credit. the institutions know that the majority of people going for those loans IMAGINE they can pay it off in time, but actually dont. then they pay huge interest, more than off-setting the guys who got a loan for free.

Unless they want to get last years model off the lot before the new model comes in.  Thats how I got my zero percent for 6 years loan, which is zero interest for the life of the loan, so there is no ballon interest rate.

I just read an interesting article about rent-to-own places and apparently they can get away with outragous interest rates (over 70% in some cases) because technically they are renting the stuff and not selling it until a set number of payments are made.   http://biz.yahoo.com/nytimes/080202/1194743058304.html?.v=15

[Zero_Hour]

Rent-to-Own is just loansharking with props.

[spookymuffin]

I got every car I've owned used.