How much would you pay monthly for your LTZ?

[20L8TSierra24]

I traded in my 06 (paid off) which they gave me 15 for plus incentives @ the time and my payment with a 2.9 percent rate is $469. 14 ltz z71 is what I bought

[TJMaine]

Things I've learned in life as far as financing goes:
1. Never take a loan out for more than 5 years. Depreciation and such will kill you... maybe if you keep the truck for 10 years but financially i dont see where it makes sense.
2. Your income to debt ratio should be about 30%... Meaning 30% of your income is dedicated to your financed debt ( car loan, mortgage ) I think my credit union caps everyone at 43%

3. Take out the damn life insurance and GAP insurance. ( it's dirt cheap and will save your butt and your spouses butt )

4. Keep full coverage ( motorcycle's get financed on credit cards alot, the dealer and the CC company do not require full coverage and kids drive their brand new bikes off the lot with no insurance because it's 300$ a month ) Also, call your insurance company ( specially if your under 25 ) and find out how much the insurance is on that brand new truck.

5. If your new payment is going to stretch you so thin that you look at your bank account and say "damn, i wish i had money for that 300$ head unit" Your loan is out of your budget

6. Dont feel like you have to keep up with the Joneses. They are probably in debt up to their eye balls and will end up going under in a few years. Or, they are financially well off and that new truck is a drop in the bucket

7. SHOP AROUND! Every vehicle I have bought I have received a better loan through my credit union than any dealer has EVER been able to give me.

8. Dont finance upgrades and maintenance. If 700$ for those new side steps is really going to put a hurting on your finances it's probably best to look at a lower end truck or a used one with the "farkles" or upgrades you want already on. 5k in upgrades, finance registration and everything else results in an extra 800$ in interest paid over 5 years.
9. Pay that thing off as quickly as you can. Any extra money we get ( tax return, bonuses, selling something ) we put on our vehicles. Pay off your lower balanced vehicles first ( and higher interest ) Then you can have more money to beat down your bigger loans.

10. If your living at home with mom and dad and rolling in a 2015 Denali and your payment is 800$ a month, think twice before you sign that loan. Mom and dad might be tired of your crap and kick you out to teach you a lesson. 800$ a month plus rent/mortgage wont be easy to swallow with your freshly printed college degree ;-)

[nards444]

 

Not sure on this logic?

 

Price is what you can afford, what does that mean? Price is what you are willing to pay. I had a price point I was willing to pay, and not willing to go over that. Is that all I could afford, no, but it is what I have budgeted for our family for vehicles monthly.

 

Also, calling someone a moron for taking a car loan for 6-7yrs isn't exactly brilliant either. 100 times out of 100 I would take a 6yr loan at 0% and make interest on the 40-50K in the bank over that time or take gains in the market with that money. It all depends on your situation.

 

Remember, not everyone is in the same financial position.

Doesnt what you afford affect the price? The average wage in america is around ~$45k a year, with median household income being ~$53k(thats the middle) so spending around 20%(7-800) a month on one vehicle(depreciable assest) is a wise decision?? And thats gross income, and pre tax, net income many people close to half which means half of this board after taxes spend 25 cents of every dollar on one vehicle.

 

 

 

Are people really taking the 0% interest taking that money and investing? A few might, but lets get real, most are not. And really who has 40-50k laying around to just invest in something else and at the same time pay 7-800 bucks a month not many.

 

reali life scenario. After tax trade, etc. you buy a truck out the door for 40k. Option A is to finance for 7 years at 0%. Option B is to finance for 5 years at 1.49%.

 

Option A is a payment of $476 a month for a total of 40k

Option B is a payment of $692 a month for total of 41,533.

 

So your saving 1500 bucks going with option B. So for 5 years you would save 216 a month of which 25 bucks a month is savings from interest vs going with option B. Over 5 years that interest you invested(5%) earned you $250 pre tax, after tax save $150.

 

Now if you went with option B after 5 years you could take that that 692 you were spending invest it at 5% and earn yourself $1200 in interest. So for the most part making either option about exactly the same over a 7 year period. Or after 5 years just take that 692 a month and use on something else. Or after 5 years you have a paid off vehicle on trade thats two years newer with less miles.

 

 

 

Im not saying that 0% is not a good deal, your not paying interest. But with good credit anybody can get rates in low 2s to mid 1s. The interest savings isnt so collossol to allow somebody to take that and make a bunch of money on it. I just dont buy this idea that everybody is taking advantage of the 0% to invest elsewhere and even if they are, whats their net earnings after tax.

 

And somebody is going to say well I can take that savings per month on the payment and invest elsewhere or somewhere else. Which is true, but your really not gaining anything as you stretched that loan out to lower the payment, so that savings per month isnt really a savings because you are paying longer.

 

 

I guess theres that guy thats retired or has the money and goes 0 down at 0% and pays a grand a month and keeps his 40-50k in the retirement fund earning money, might not be a bad strategy. But people that really have money dont do that. I worked for a billionaire(amway, orlando magic) as college help. They paid cash for their cars or leased them, these people knew how to squeeze every penny out of something. I tend to beleive if taking long term loans out on cars was a good idea they would be doing it, real estate, infastructure yes, cars no.

 

 

Unfortunately trucks and cars alike have become so exspensive that Ill be honest there really isnt one good way of doing it anymore. Combined with the fact that I dont beleive keeping something 10 years anymore is such a great idea. But theres also the guy that maybe can only get 10-15% interest and found a way to get 0%, which if your credit is that bad to dictate high rates I question your logic in buying a 50k truck. It also seems that most people are into something new every 3-5 years, it almost begs the question is leasing a better option now?

[nards444]

 

Yeah I think his statement was just a little too general.

 

If you are comfortably able to pay 1000$ a month a vehicle and it causes no concerns whatsoever, then why would you be a moron?

If you really had the money though, why you pay that per month. You easily take that $1000 bucks a month and do something different and better with it.

[high country]

Only 2 can sit in judgement and neither of them are walking the earth.

[bigsapper]

Check out the Auto Navigator

http://www.capitalone.com/auto-financing/auto-navigator/

 

It will let you analyze different payment scenarios. And you can get a pre-approved loan.

[phoffmann85]

Update....

 

Saw a used LTZ at a dealer about an hour away....only problem was that they removed the driver's seat and I couldn't drive it. Apparently the original owner didn't want the vehicle anymore due to the issue. Supposedly an older gentleman that ended up leaving with a high country the same day.

 

its a 2014 with 22800 miles on it going for $38,5k. They say NO wiggle room in price due to the "labor" costs for replacing the seat and giving it a certified warranty through GM......isn't warranty work virtually costless to a dealer? If this is true, I may be better off paying the extra 4k on a brand new baby.

 

My original dealer is calling me 3x a day to seal the new LTZ at the orignal price a the beginning of this thread.

[Dropsix]

If you really had the money though, why you pay that per month. You easily take that $1000 bucks a month and do something different and better with it.

 

Well....This is where it becomes a conversation about priorities, interests, etc.. I could have foregone the 50k truck and gotten a 15k Hyundai accent. Sure. But that's not what I wanted. I had two really high mileage cars that were completely paid off and decided I wanted a truck because I live in the country, it's useful and frankly I wanted something nice. My payment is 600$ a month but I pay extra on top of it to pay it down quicker and honestly it hasn't even made a change in my life financially. Everything was set up before I had the truck, savings, retirement, gas, mortgage, etc. Obviously 800$ a month is something that could go elsewhere. But this is what I wanted to do with it.

[ConnRadd]

Apparently the original owner didn't want the vehicle anymore due to the issue.

That statement right there would tell me "no".

[phoffmann85]

That statement right there would tell me "no".

 

Thats what I was thinking, may have been an ongoing issue chevy wasn't willing to fix

[nards444]

 

Well....This is where it becomes a conversation about priorities, interests, etc.. I could have foregone the 50k truck and gotten a 15k Hyundai accent. Sure. But that's not what I wanted. I had two really high mileage cars that were completely paid off and decided I wanted a truck because I live in the country, it's useful and frankly I wanted something nice. My payment is 600$ a month but I pay extra on top of it to pay it down quicker and honestly it hasn't even made a change in my life financially. Everything was set up before I had the truck, savings, retirement, gas, mortgage, etc. Obviously 800$ a month is something that could go elsewhere. But this is what I wanted to do with it.

I understand that. I get that you could choose to buy X or over why. But my question is if you had the money, why opt for a $1000 a month for truck, if you could just buy it. False logic there.

[Dropsix]

I understand that. I get that you could choose to buy X or over why. But my question is if you had the money, why opt for a $1000 a month for truck, if you could just buy it. False logic there.

Do you mean buy it outright? Or leasing? We might be confused here.

[P-Funk]

why opt for a $1000 a month for truck, if you could just buy it. False logic there.

 

I could have bought my truck with cash at time of purchase if I wanted to but I opted for 5 year loan at a little over 2% interest. I will (most likely) be making some money on this as I generally make well over 2% on my money (stocks/funds, etc.). I don't exactly like having payments which is why I generally pay more each month and pay it off early but to say that it is financially advantageous to buy it outright instead of through loan payments is not always correct.

[nards444]

Do you mean buy it outright? Or leasing? We might be confused here.

I meant buying outright

[nards444]

 

I could have bought my truck with cash at time of purchase if I wanted to but I opted for 5 year loan at a little over 2% interest. I will (most likely) be making some money on this as I generally make well over 2% on my money (stocks/funds, etc.). I don't exactly like having payments which is why I generally pay more each month and pay it off early but to say that it is financially advantageous to buy it outright instead of through loan payments is not always correct.

Like I said it might make sense for the guy that can truly afford it to use his money elsewhere. But keep this in mind vehicles lose 20% in value the first year and roughly another 15% per year for the next four years, So is your 40-50k turning at least 15-20% in return in a 401k etc, doubt it. Combine the fact that 40-50K you had to spend and could have spent but are now investing doesnt stay whole for 5-6 years, as monthly 5,6-8,1000 a month is taken away to pay for the truck. So by investing yeah you are probably making up some of the depreciation and interest is getting absorbed by investing instead and there is some sound logic there, and its likely somebody can save money but doubtful they are actually making money.

 

 

And I understand playing with the money and the fact that hey it might be better in the long run for me to have the truck payment hold my cash try and make some of my losses back, and maybe take some of the money and pay cash for a new kitchen , take a trip etc vs throwing it on a card or taking another loan out, so it may just work. But if you look at it in terms of the just truck, its highly unikely any money can be made, but you lighten the burden and save yourself some money by playing with the money.