Buying a car advice

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derp90

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Does it make sense to go for these offers with large balloon payments and then just trade in the car every so many years? Essentially approaching the car as a subscription service?
 
derp90 said:
Does it make sense to go for these offers with large balloon payments and then just trade in the car every so many years? Essentially approaching the car as a subscription service?
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Do you want to keep paying for a car forever is really the question you are asking.

If you are happy to do that and write it off as a perpetual cost then go for it.

Personally I finance the vehicle, pay it off as quickly as possible and then keep it for 10 years.

Also don’t buy brand new to start with.
 
If you can afford living with permanent debt but it sounds very foreign to me to treat car buying as a subscription service since cars are so expensive, I am used to R299 per month subscriptions.
 
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genetic said:
If you are looking at balloon payments, you can't afford the car. Look for something cheaper.
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I could buy a car cash, but I was just looking at these 'cheaper' options where you get a car for a few years at like R4k per month, under warranty and with services included.

This way of buying a car seems very popular so I was wondering if there was any sense to it.
 
I like having a paid off car. Current car is six yers old, hopefully with another ten years of life. Previous car gave me twelve years. But I'm not a car guy.

If having nice cars is worth it to you, then by all means go for the subscription model. But be aware of the opportunity cost because that money could also be buying you travel, experiences, sex (slight overlap here), fine dining and such.
 
derp90 said:
I could buy a car cash, but I was just looking at these 'cheaper' options where you get a car for a few years at like R4k per month, under warranty and with services included.

This way of buying a car seems very popular so I was wondering if there was any sense to it.
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So why not look for the same option but without a balloon? It makes more sense, pay it for 3 years, trade it in, no balloon to carry over into the new debt. Unless you want to drive a more expensive car, in which case the affordability question comes back into the picture
 
3WA said:
I like having a paid off car. Current car is six yers old, hopefully with another ten years of life. Previous car gave me twelve years. But I'm not a car guy.

If having nice cars is worth it to you, then by all means go for the subscription model. But be aware of the opportunity cost because that money could also be buying you travel, experiences, sex (slight overlap here), fine dining and such.
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I'm not a car person either! Would never spend huge amounts.

Maybe the 'subscription' model is only worth it for those that want really pricy cars.
 
TheChamp said:
So why not look for the same option but without a balloon? It makes more sense, pay it for 3 years, trade it in, no balloon to carry over into the new debt. Unless you want to drive a more expensive car, in which case the affordability question comes back into the picture
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No I'm looking at things like the Peugeot 208/2008. Could definitely do it without the balloon.
 
Question do you actually need a car or new car?

I was going to buy a new car just before covid happened. Still doing wfh that cash went straight into new solar system. Simply cant justify a new car. Total waste of money imo

The amount of money ppl waste on cars is crazy it is setting you back financially when you can simply pay off your house sooner, be debt free etc.
 
derp90 said:
I'm not a car person either! Would never spend huge amounts.

Maybe the 'subscription' model is only worth it for those that want really pricy cars.
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The subscription model will always work out more expensive than keeping a paid-off car for a couple of years. So if you're not a car guy, why not just rock an old car for a few years and use the money for something you like more?
 
TheChamp said:
What's you motivation for considering this?
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Considering options for a family member who actually owns my current car. I could sell the car I have, settle their CC debt with the money, and I'm wondering if that's a good idea.

Then I would need my own car and I have the means to finance it.

That way, they get the money from a car that's technically theirs, their debt is settled, and I can use my money for a newer car instead of keeping their car and using my money to settle their debt (the other option).

I guess another option would be to 'buy' the car from them, but I'm kinda into the idea of driving a newer car. Nothing fancy though! Demo models welcome!
 
derp90 said:
Considering options for a family member who actually owns my current car. I could sell the car I have, settle their CC debt with the money, and I'm wondering if that's a good idea.

Then I would need my own car and I have the means to finance it.

That way, they get the money from a car that's technically theirs, their debt is settled, and I can use my money for a newer car instead of keeping their car and using my money to settle their debt (the other option).

I guess another option would be to 'buy' the car from them, but I'm kinda into the idea of driving a newer car. Nothing fancy though! Demo models welcome!
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Objectively it appears you are going down the road of bad financial decision making…to compensate for someone else’s bad decision making.

Let them suffer for their own mistakes and stay out of it.

Otherwise I hope you also have a family member to bail you out when it all goes wrong.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Objectively it appears you are going down the road of bad financial decision making…to compensate for someone else’s bad decision making.

Let them suffer for their own mistakes and stay out of it.

Otherwise I hope you also have a family member to bail you out when it all goes wrong.
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I should have known when I asked for advice on buying a car, it would never stay within the realm of car buying advice :rolleyes:
 
derp90 said:
I should have known when I asked for advice on buying a car, it would never stay within the realm of car buying advice :rolleyes:
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Just don’t put yourself back for helping others who got themselves into trouble for bad decisions.
 
derp90 said:
I could buy a car cash, but I was just looking at these 'cheaper' options where you get a car for a few years at like R4k per month, under warranty and with services included.

This way of buying a car seems very popular so I was wondering if there was any sense to it.
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Cash is the cheapest option.
 
derp90 said:
I should have known when I asked for advice on buying a car, it would never stay within the realm of car buying advice :rolleyes:
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Well buying a car is a MASSIVE financial decision you just need to take a look around the finance threads to see that one bad CAR FINANCE decision has set ppl back many years. There is always a bigger picture that you need to look at rather take the holistic advice.
 
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