I have a different view on this to a lot of you guys.
I don't view a car as an asset. If I never own a car, I won't be too fussed.
I know how much I am comfortable paying each month and that's my focal point of affordability and the finance deal I select on cars.
Obviously I have some (IMHO sensible) provisors:
- I always owe less to the bank on my car than the trade value so I can always trade up or down without being out of pocket
- My car is insured at retail value (which is more than than I owe to the bank) so that if something happens I'm not left out of pocket
So I work a balance between deposit, balloon and finance term such that the repayment is within my comfort zone.
I would rather pay the prime linked interest rate on my car finance on that balloon payment, and divert the money I would have used for a bigger deposit into, for example, a unit trust investment that is earning more than my interest charges.