Car Advice

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Some six months from now, the 2009 BMW 1 Series will be introduced to America, a smaller, leaner and sportier driving experience from Munich. With the formal introduction of the BMW 1 Series convertible, it's clear that BMW wants the 1 Series to be not just a car but also a whole new BMW culture.

09.bmw.1series.conv.act.f34.2.500.jpg
 
Will BMW be providing all the financing, too? Or are they going to price the 1-series below that of a Hyundai Accent to ensure it sells in 2008 "brother, can I get a loan?" America?
 
Corolla review. Best comment:

If there’s one thing you should never mistake a Corolla for, it’s being sporty. Performance and Corolla got divorced in 1987 when they ended production of the GT-S.

Corollas are designed for people who don’t like cars, but have to put up with the indignity of owning one. In the end, they get a sanitized vehicle that’s inoffensive, requires no more maintenance than a pet rock, and will be the only thing to survive a nuclear holocaust along with cockroaches. There’s a lot of people on this planet that are like that.

I don’t think it’s Toyota resting on their laurels, they’re just going with what’s worked well for them for so long. People what a car that’s easy like Sunday morning, and you’ve got to give the people what they want.
 
What % of your monthly income should go to your car payment? I guess it depends of your other debt payments such as home (or rent), student loans, or anything else you have. I read somewhere that you shouldn't spend more than 36% of your gross income on dept payments, so assuming a home is 28%, you would have 8% left for a car if you don't have any more debt. Of course, the article below states that US consumers are spending more than they should (11%), but that shouldn't surprise anybody.

http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/21/pf/autos/q_spendtoomuch/

Can't wait to give myself a nice Christmas present, a nice convertible. Can't wait for the Serie-1. It will be a soft top, do you have a ny preference between soft vs hard top? The Serie-3 convertible has a hard top which I think I prefer, but never had a convertible so can't tell the pros and cons.

Thanks!
 
Awgee

Thats the best advice in the world. Pay cash for your cars. Car payments are the worst. Like a bad credit card you never pay off completely. The car dealers make more on the loans than the cars. When I negotiated my last purchase they wanted to change the deal because I was a cash buyer. The nerve of car dealers is almost as bad as a Real Estate Agent.

Roo

I have a Mercedes SL. The convertable hard top is the best invention. Security and Sun all in the same car. The soft tops wear out and sooner or later some nutcase tries to break in. Hard top is my preference too. Good luck on your present to yourself !
 
I think it's more correct to say that it depends. If you have $XXk and need a car, is it better to pay cash for the car to save on interest, or is it better to have the cash in the bank and the opportunities it may qualify you for? I buy used cars, and my loans are still at 5.25 & 6%. Most places give better rates on new cars. I make maybe 4.5% on my savings account. Granted, that's before tax, but the spread of ~2.5% net really isn't much to have the chance to get into opportunities as they arise.

If you have the funds but are irresponsible and/or are absolutely certain you won't have any investment opportunities beyond risk-free rates, then pay cash.
 
I would think that when you are leasing you can not pay cash for the lease. However, you can make a bigger down payment to reduce your monthly cost.

Also, as Daeladus says, if your interest rate is lower than what you make with your savings, then again it doesn't make sense to pay cash.

Finally, I'll need my $ to pay for my down payment anyway so it's not really an option.

So again the question, would 8% seem like a reasonable amount?
 
My credit union from the place I work. I would think they are all competitive. I got my 5.25% loan in '05 and my 6% loan in June.

I just looked it up. Right now they're offering a 6.49% rate for 3, 4, 5 1/2 or 6 years, and 7.49% for 7 years. These are the best rates, of course, depending on the usual circumstances.

EDIT: Sorry, changed the numbers. I originally posted rates for NEW cars. These are for used. Rates are up about 1/2% from June.
 
Ford's doing 4.9% on certified pre-owned.

As for paying cash, go ahead and take their awful loan if it'll get you a better deal on the car. Pay it off on month 1.
 
bltserv,

If you can find a competitive car loan rate (not through the dealer) of about 5-6% or less, I'd borrow rather than save until I had the cash in hand (presuming you had a steady job). The reason for this is because non-retirement savings is taxed at your personal income tax level thus sacrificing as much as 30-40+% of any earnings from interest in a cd/savings account.
 
Amusement:

We here at TTAC have gone out of our way not to characterize Toyota Prius owners are left-leaning tree-hugging smug bastards. Our very own Glenn Swanson is amongst their ranks, and he's about as open minded a Constitution Party supporter as you're likely to find west of the Mississippi. And as the Toyota model's gone mainstream– sales north of 50k per month– we've taken pains (pains I tell you) to point out that its success is down to the fact that the gas - electric hybrid makes economic sense.

And then I get this press release from Scarborough Research (fayre enough?) that boldly declares "Hybrid Vehicle Owners are Wealthy, Active, Educated and Overwhelmingly Democratic." (I might point out that I've been personally overwhelmed by more than a few Democrats at dinner parties.) It gets worse/better. Thirty-three percent of hybrid owners belong to a health club (as opposed to 18 percent of the generally obese population). They're sixty-six percent more likely to have gone biking in the last year and twice as likely to practice yoga. They're also twice as likely as the average Joe to hold a college degree and a 27 percent hold a post-grad degree. Forty-two percent of them have household incomes above $100k per year.

All of which raises an interesting question: if the Prius appeals to such wealthy, active, socially conscious people, why did sales take off when Toyota lowered the price? Cheap, rich AND smug? What's that all about?
 
Trooper, my wife has a 2006 Beetle Conv, I just asked Her how she plays her ipod and it's simply a case of Plugging it in under the Dash and pressing the AUX Button on the Head unit. Unfortunately it won't charge the ipod or display on the Head unit...

My Car is ipod compatible on the other paw, it charges the ipod plus it displays the artist/song on the head unit and it also allows you to control the ipod from the head unit, switch tracks fast fwd etc etc. it will also work from the steering wheel audio control...

btw Head Unit = the Radio in your Dash.
 
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