Car officially paid off - 49,962mi
doin' the bull dance
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Quahog, RI
Probably the same reason 99% of us did. No $30K in savings to throw down on a car. He probably had a pretty decent interest rate too, and over just 3 yrs. that's not throwing (much) money away, especially if he invested some to balance out interest payments. For all we know he put money down on a house or something instead of using it to buy his 8 straight up, which would equal a pretty wise move in my humble opinion.
Plus - good credit = low apr, probably even 0%. 30k to buy a car outright is actually a waste of money in such as situation since you can make more by investing said 30k than you will "lose" to the APR on a 3 year note. In addition to that the dealer/manufacturer incentives are always tied to mazda financing, so the deductions on the price of the car are only applied when financed.
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From: Richland WA
Good for you, Brillo 
The wife & I paid our 8 off the first year we had it, and last month we paid off our 05 F350 PSD. Yeah we probably could have invested our money, but it just feels good to have title in hand and no vehicle payments.
The wife & I paid our 8 off the first year we had it, and last month we paid off our 05 F350 PSD. Yeah we probably could have invested our money, but it just feels good to have title in hand and no vehicle payments.
Just curious - what interest rates do you pay on a car loan ?
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From: Northern NSW, Australia
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From: Texas
Congrats brillo (havent talked to you in ages)
My RX8 was the first car i bought and paid for all on my own when I got the title in the mail I was giddy. Now it sits in my safe on a shelf just below my Desert Eagle 50AE and SigPro 2022 .40cal.
Its nice to look at my car and know i OWN every molecule that makes it up. I will have to say i paid my RX8 off in 14 months from the day i signed the contract. It helped that I put $10,000 down and sent in double payments all the time too hah. It's not that im super rich - its just that i HATE debt with a passion.
That another thing owning the title makes me think about - the millions out there that will never know such a feeling because they are too deep in debt or do a series of trades/buys that just digs them deeper.
Billo - VP of a bank eh? could you happen to use someone who holds a bachelors of science in economics
My RX8 was the first car i bought and paid for all on my own when I got the title in the mail I was giddy. Now it sits in my safe on a shelf just below my Desert Eagle 50AE and SigPro 2022 .40cal.
Its nice to look at my car and know i OWN every molecule that makes it up. I will have to say i paid my RX8 off in 14 months from the day i signed the contract. It helped that I put $10,000 down and sent in double payments all the time too hah. It's not that im super rich - its just that i HATE debt with a passion.
That another thing owning the title makes me think about - the millions out there that will never know such a feeling because they are too deep in debt or do a series of trades/buys that just digs them deeper.
Billo - VP of a bank eh? could you happen to use someone who holds a bachelors of science in economics
doin' the bull dance
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Quahog, RI
You're funny. Maybe some time - like 5+ years from now I'll be in a situation where I could actually pull this off. 
My qouted statement is for those with plenty of $$ and great credit. If you can get the 0 APR and pay your car off in 3 years you probably are a savvy investor, but you wouldn't need a very high rate of return to beat the 0 apr.
Well if you think it will take 5 yrs to pull it off then thats how long it will take
what is APR anyway and what is your finance rate for car loans ?
what is APR anyway and what is your finance rate for car loans ?
Last edited by Brettus; Jan 14, 2008 at 02:50 PM.
I was going to buy it cash, but I financed through MAC to take advantage of their year-end rebate offers. Paid it off in full about a month later. I basically paid $87 in interest to get a few thousand in rebates (and this was with S-Plan pricing).
Did the same thing with my wife's Mazda5 a year later. I don't think MAC actually expects people to maintain financing with them, because I was given an interest rate around 10%! That was pretty outrageous. I doubt I could have talked them down since they were rebating so heavily, but I didn't really care because I intended to send them a check anyway.
Did the same thing with my wife's Mazda5 a year later. I don't think MAC actually expects people to maintain financing with them, because I was given an interest rate around 10%! That was pretty outrageous. I doubt I could have talked them down since they were rebating so heavily, but I didn't really care because I intended to send them a check anyway.
[QUOTE=Bastage;2241906, because I was given an interest rate around 10%! That was pretty outrageous. .[/QUOTE]
heh - talk about lucky - we pay 10% on our house loans . Car loans are more like 20% here
heh - talk about lucky - we pay 10% on our house loans . Car loans are more like 20% here
doin' the bull dance
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Quahog, RI
That explains the confusion. New model year cars are often sold at 0% APR (annual percentage rate) - so you can see how even T-bills would earn you more money over 3 years investing than a 0 apr loan would soak you for.
Of course, now I'm curious to know if Brillo bought new & had a zero apr? Not that it's any of my business.
Of course, now I'm curious to know if Brillo bought new & had a zero apr? Not that it's any of my business.
Of course if I was being pedantic the argument of ,what would you pay for the car if you offered cash , comes into play .
There is always a cost to finance even if your rate is zero .....
doin' the bull dance
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Quahog, RI
That argument likely would not work, though. Most incentives are only available when financing, so you would likely get a better price on the car by financing it.
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
That argument likely would not work, though. Most incentives are only available when financing, so you would likely get a better price on the car by financing it.
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
That argument likely would not work, though. Most incentives are only available when financing, so you would likely get a better price on the car by financing it.
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
Example: when I bought mine some of the incentives included $2000 off the price only by using Mazda financing. Had I not financed, the car would have cost $2000 more!
doin' the bull dance
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Quahog, RI
Car's been on the lot for 8 or more months and it's new inventory or tax time? Hell yeah, but the deal might still be better in those circumstances through financing.
For me it's all hypothetical.