|
So you want to finance the car for 8 years? At some point down the road the car will need maintenance too, out of warranty. That would suck to be making car payments and the cost of repairs.
If you buy the car, after 3 years you've paid more than the residual value of the car. You not only can walk away, but you can sell it and pocket the difference. With a low interest rate you're paying roughly $5k/yr in principle, so that's $12k due on your loan in Feb 2017, on a car worth $17k.
If you put enough down now, you'll never be upside down on the value. And if you keep the car for 8 years, the last 3 you can spend without any car payment.
What you're effectively doing if you lease then purchase the car to keep the payments lower is saying "I can't afford this car, so let me pay more for it, spread over a longer time."
You see how the "can't afford" doesn't match well with "paying more". Also, used car interest rates are typically higher than new car rates.
|