Its that time again. New vehicle time that is.

[Tom Schindler]

I am single (now engaged though), no children, and live rent free with my parents.



I still can not afford a new car every 3 years. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I prefer not to have a car payment. I think I will keep my Trac 'till 2012. By that time, it will have 200,000 trouble free miles.





Tom

 

[Frank Marano]

if I get an 07 ST, I might keep it until 2012, lol

 

[Thomas Rogers]

>> I wish I could afford to buy a new vehicle every three years.



Why the envy, Tom? I suspect you do make enough to buy a new vehicle every three years. If you live in Ohio and make more than 60K a year, you could swing that.



I suspect instead you choose NOT to buy a new vehicle every three years because it would require that you NOT spend/save money elsewhere (hobbies, vacations, the kind of house you want to live in, entertainment, etc, etc).



I am not picking on you, Tom, or your choice of words. As someone who works hard, makes good money but tends to buy nice things I am sick of being the "envy" of my friends with some of the things I have and am quick to point out to people when they say things like "I wish my wife didn't have to work", or "I wish I could have a truck like that", that if they really wanted to, I suspect they could.



TJR

 

[Paul Maurer 2]

I unexpectedly had to car shop when my ST flooded, bought a reg. cab '04 F150 and have been pleased with everything but the interior space. I just solved that problem- bought a supercab F150.

 

[MARVIN McINTYRE 2]

All, I am thinking of buying either a BMW 5, maybe sometime next year after I pay off the ST in April of 2007. That is, unless they (FORD) come along with something that looks like the ST Adrenalin Concept they were showing off last year and teasing us with. Having said that, I know they are going with the 07 ST as it is, except for late changes and such, but I have been told by Bryan Olson - aka - the ST Brand Marketing Manager, that something may be in the works later on this year concerning the ST, but it will be for the 08' year production. I don't really want a car, but of all the ones out there, I like the BMW 5. I, too am single, no kids at home, and I enjoy having something brand new, and will keep the 01 ST just because I bought it spanking new and have went through a few fixes, but it is an original, and unique, as well as stylish and functional. We bitch, we moan, we cry out to FORD to do better, but in the final analysis, we bought, drive, modded, upgraded it and are (were) proud of this particular truck. I am not speaking for anyone, but the bottom line is that it was what we wanted when we bought it!

:angry::wub::unsure:

 

[Tom Schindler]

Why the envy, Tom? I suspect you do make enough to buy a new vehicle every three years. If you live in Ohio and make more than 60K a year, you could swing that.

Actual no envy here. Even thugh I am union, I do not make $60,000. I know it is impossible, but I don't make even close to 60,000/year.



Honestly, I can afford anything I want. Nothing is out of my reach.



The problem is that I have trouble sleeping having to make a car payment.





Tom

 

[Frank Marano]

So if you have no payments then you pay cash up front for all of your vehicles? :unsure:

 

[Tom Schindler]

I put the largest downpayment I can put on the vehicle I can, then finance the rest. I then double up the payments to get it paid off as soon as I can. I work all the OT I can during that time to finish paying my car off.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Thanks for clearing that up, Tom.



Then you really don't "wish you could have a new car every three years"...but instead, you "wish somehow you could have a new car every three years without having to work so hard, or go in debt for it".



That's what I meant by the "choices" aspect to wishing. We often "wish" for things we think we want, when clearly the situation is that we make "choices" in life that allow us what we have...and with different choices we could often have what we wish for.



When I bought the ST in '04 it was with 0% financing, so though I took a loan, there's really no incentive to pay it off early (at least not for me anyway).



Later,

TJR

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Nissan of Bellevue, in my area, has a Titan up front on the lot. It has a 6" lift with 35's on it. Looks great!

 

[Tom Schindler]

When I got my Trac, I would have lost money taking the 0% intrest. I saved over $1300.00 by not using the 0% intrest.



$2000 rebate and if I would have kept the loat to the end, I would only have paid $700.00 in intrest. She was paid off in 26 months.



Payment was 376.02 and I paid $500.00/month.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Yup, Caymen, you have to watch it, usually you lose an incentive and therefore pay more by getting the 0% interest...wasn't the case for me though, it worked out the best that way. I had the finance guy ran the numbers given all the scenarios (and I double checked him). I had to choose between a 0% with lesser rebates and a 1.7% with more rebates...the 0% still worked out with me paying less (but it was VERY close).



P.S. You know, now that I think about it I might have to check the paperwork, I am not sure which one of those scenarios I settled on, because they were so close...however, I did go with the one that had me paying less over the life of the loan.