awsure

Anyone CAN pay cash if they SAVE their money long enough. I am not rich but have been saving a long time & I drive a '97 F150 that is paid for. That allows me to save money every month for my Challenger. Listen, If you want to borrow money to buy something that is your business but markfromaurora was looking for input on how to buy a Challenger & I think my advice is pretty sound. I cannot believe anyone would actually take issue with someone suggesting he think about saving the money and paying cash.

By the way...I am pretty sure your friend was in a lot better financial shape by paying cash for everything when his illness hit than if he had been financed to the hilt like most people. To think that anyone would claim a good security net is to maintain a good credit rating is laughable.

Jeremiah 29:11

I agree that saving money and paying cash is a good thing because in the long run you save a ton of interest, however (you knew there would be one) as long as all the money he is saving is not totally used for the Challenger. You also have to save money for the future.

GTO JUDGE

Paying cash is the ticket..... Most cannot do this. It is ESSENTIAL especially for a young guy/gal to establish credit. The only way to do this is to go in debit unfortunately. I would bet most of us got started with a co-signed loanS from our parents. From that point it grows. It is one of life's lessons. From credit being accrued in the form of pay backs to a loan comes credit cards, etc. Yes I have read horror stories of credit cards with young and OLD alike but these are two of the easiest ways to get your credit started and growing. Then the co-sign loans from mom and dad stop and lenders see you are worthy of future loans etc. Getting credit is a form of cutting the apron strings from mom and dad to get one started on their own. Once you have credit, then pay cash.

Back to the question asked..... I think I summed it up as easy as it can be said without getting into much verbiage and complexity. Being Bootcamp is in the business I believe he has the knowledge and guidance to answer this.

markfromaurora

its great that i can hear opinions from older more mature adults. Yea right now i dont know yet, i want it real bad but there will be many things to purchase or to save up for when i will be finishing school.

GTO JUDGE

The worse thing you can do is over extend yourself. It's real easy to get into debt. Getting out of it is another thing.....

BootCamp

I don't remember taking issue or expressing such with anything you said.

I don't recall disputing that either. I'm not encouraging financing a car - just answering the question that was asked - one that I don't think would have been posed if he had the disposable income or time to save to pay for a Challenger in full. If he had the cash (or would have the cash by the time he wanted to make a purchase), would he have asked the question at all??? People borrow money to make purchases for things they want or need now. Whether a savings amount, or a payment amount, it still boils down to taking a specific amount of cash from your income at a specified time/schedule to meet your goal. I didn't suggest he could afford to make bigger loan payments than savings deposits, nor did I ever dispute the advantages of having money in the bank.

Did I suggest anywhere that he put himself in a position where he was "financed to the hilt like most people"????

Absolutely wrong. A good credit rating/history is merely one more "tool" available to be used (not abused) if needed. Blindly discounting any possibility and failing to plan for emergencies is ignorant. As in my friend's case, sometimes no amount of money in the bank is enough for the unforeseen and sometimes ugly circumstances life presents us with. Having a good credit rating is an asset. Having little or no credit history is a liability. Keeping your indebtedness managable is essential. In essence, that's exactly how banks make money - prudent balancing of assets and liabilities.

Apparently I put a knot in your shorts, Hal. I was trying to offer an educated and experienced answer to Mark's question, not ruffle your feathers. Maybe you read too much into my post. No need to sling insults when information is being offered to those who've asked for it.[sm=insomnia.gif]

awsure

Boot - you responded to my post & I simply responded back to you. My shorts are not in a knot...I simply disagree with your belief in credit I won't go to the trouble to cut and paste snippets of your posts and try to dissect them. You are entitled to your beliefs (which I said below as well but you chose not to copy). I did not say you suggested your friend was financed to the hilt...I said he was probably better off when his crisis hit that he wasn't like the majority of the public.

[8D]

markfromaurora

I didnt mean for this thread to start a fight ! lol

awsure

No worries bro. I don't think its much of a fight... Good luck to you & hope you get to drive one of these great cars someday. At least you are thinking before you take the plunge. A car like this can be an emotional purchase and it's hard not to leave your brains at home when one considers buying something that conjures up such passion.

BootCamp

There's no fight, Bud.
We can all debate issues, express differences of opinion, and remain friends. We just need to maintain a level of dignity and respect for everyone in here and thier opinions, even if we don't agree with them.

I'm not a "proponant" of financing everything in life. I see credit as a necessary evil, have a lot of experience with it, and feel it should be addressed carefully. If we learn how to do that early in life, we don't have problems with it later on. Too many people don't learn to handle credit responsibly as young adults, and those poor habits tend to follow them through life.
Everyone who's responded to you has valid points. Cash IS the way to go IF you can. If not, don't finance more than you absolutely have to. Be realistic with your payments if you get a loan. Even though your payments won't go up, everything else will (gas, insurance, food, entertainment, the "unexpected" emergency, etc.) so allow yourself plenty of "breathing room" in your budget.
Good Luck!