Like others have said already, I paid for it using my personal checking account, dealer did not ask for cashier's check or anything similar. Bringing in cash would make me look like I just robbed a bank...

 

Actually let me clarify that percentage, 95% of younger US residents . Baby-boomers have been around long enough to have paid off their mortgages if they've purchased and stayed in the same house.

What I would call someone living beyond their means is someone living off from credit cards and only able to make the minimum monthly payments on them. IMHO, having to finance a vehicle or pay or mortgage does not fit into that category, provided that you can afford the payments that is .

 

I think living beyond your means is pretty subjective, but I would say that if you are not saving at least 10% of your money, you need to stop a take a hard look at where your money is going. If it is all going to a car payment, that is bad, if it is going to CC debt, that is worse.

By the way, I have no issue with financing as long as you do not become upside on the car. To me, that is the danger point.

 

+1

 

Look, it appears that I touched a raw nerve with some here and my intentions here is to make friends, not enemies. I do apologize if I offended anyone. However, so many people live paycheck to paycheck. Even people with high incomes. When you become a slave to your credit card payments, car payments, or what ever payment, you are in the negative.

If you knew all of the "millionairs" out there that you would never know were, and looked at how they became millionaires, you would realize it was due to staying out of debt by not buying what they cannot afford or for that matter not really need. How will paying an additional $2000 a year interest on a $25000 purchase above the actual cost of the vehicle be smart fiscally.

I'm 54 and this MCS is the first car in the last 20 years that I purchased new. Most of my cars have some miles on them before I bought them. All are still running great and are well maintained. I've gotten in this financial state through careful planning and by following my self imposed rules above. The main reason I went with a new Mini, was because I was finding the "Used" prices to be near or higher than new. Go figure. Plus, I wanted a fairly basic vehicle that I would mod out, rather than pay for it twice.

Yes, we're all caught up in that instant gratification delema, myself included. Look at all of the advertisements on TV for cars, how much down, how much a month for our new vehicle. What is the usable length of time for the average $25,000, let's say "Honda Accord" before you start dumping a lot into maintainance? 12 years? Why not purchase someone elses loss in depreciation? Just because everyone else lives that way, why do you? Each of the cars I bought were in extremely good shape and looked relatively new. My Acura had 54,000 miles on it. This is a car with the potential of 250,000 or more miles and I paid less than half price.

 

Charlie_Crocker, no worries. I just thought your interpretation of "living beyond your means" was very strict. As LuxoDave pointed out, everyone's interpretation of that phrase is completely subjective.

The advice you gave is great advice! Saving up and paying cash for something is always a better way to go than financing (via CC or loan) anything. I strive to do that as much as possible myself. I mean why pay interest if you do not need to pay it.

Happy Motoring!!

 

Since I got this new job, I am trying oh so hard to save up and purchase my MINI in cash...

It is so hard to follow these rules when I could just take a drive in my trusty ride and finance a MINI today...

Oh, the pain of patience... it will only feel that much better on delivery day though!

 

Before I married wife #2 I would Not have followed this advice - but she has convinced me.... As soon as you buy your new car - start saving for the next car - we tend to keep ours for a long time - getting the ball rolling on savings is the hard part.

My last new car was a 86 Elcamino, hers was a 96 toyota Avalon - We both are getting new cars this month - Cash for both - We both work for a pay check - our biggest + for being abel to save $$ is = no kids at home and no grand kids at home....

 

Totally incorrect. Paying cash is not always better. In fact it is a bad financial decision. How about 60 months at 0% and getting interest on your money in a 5% on line savings account? You have to look at the BIG picture, its not always better to pay cash. However, finding zero percent financing on a Mini, thats another issue.

 

See my post #40 in this thread - It's gotten a *lot* harder to earn more in investment interest than you'll pay in finance charges, especially when buying a MINI.

In general, though, I agree with you. My father wanted to pay cash for his last car, but his financial advisor convinced him to finance the car instead, pointing out that it was silly to pull $30k out of an investment account that was earning a solid 14-18%, just to avoid paying 2.5% interest on a car loan.

 

OK, so I wasn't entirely clear in my post. Yes, you have to see what the interest rate would be on a loan. If you can invest your money elsewhere at a higher interest rate than the loan will cost you, yes, it would be better to invest the money and earn the little extra interest over what you'd be paying in interest on the loan. That should just be common sense.

 

Simpson,

I agree, but I'm going one step beyond. I'm using a 0% credit card and keeping my money invested. I'm using the interest earned on my money and applying it monthly to the payment of the vehicle. In the end, you will use a good portion of the initial savings, but you will still earn interest on your money and still satisfy the debt.

Please forgive me for not having empathy, but so many people buy things/items/consumables and don't really look at how deeply they are sinking into the debt quagmire. Sure, if you need a truck for work, by all means do what you have to do to have a work vehicle, but when it comes to elective purchases, do try to ask yourself: "Do I really need this, and can I really afford this." This is how we get into financial trouble, and unfortunately, no matter how you slice it, if you can't pay it back quickly, you've purchased too much consumable.

Again, my .02 and hopefully some of you will understand that with all borrowing, you must pay back and then some. This "and then some" could be going into your savings instead of Bank of America's.

 

Fridge,

What market are you in? Show me where I can get a 60 month, 0% rate, and I'll jump on it along with you. This is even better than my suggestions. I could only get 0% for 12 months and if you have access to 60 months, I'm quite sure many of us will/would love to joing you.

Please, more info and a link if you would!

 

I think you need to read the fine print for your credit card. Unless your money is in a deferred tax investment such as an IRA you're going to be paying taxes on your earned interest. You also need to learn the residual value game versus insurance company payoff for totaling a car. Always avoid being severely upside down

My rule of thumb - buy only what appreciates - lease anything that depreciates and has a high residual value at the end of the lease.

 

Better than leasing is buying a cheap car (<$10000) and driving it until it quits. With a good maintenance a car will last a long time. Sure, it will cost you to do the maintenance and do the repairs when something breaks but it will still be cheaper than buying a new car.
So. What's better than buying a cheap car? Buy a MINI Cooper and pay it off as soon as you can. In 1 year would be great but most people are not that capable. Do it in several years. And just keep driving the same car for 10 more years after it is paid off. You will have saved thousands more than leasing a car every 2 or 3 years.

 

my dealer (brian harris) will not change the price for anything and i had a cash sell?