329
votes
Accepted
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
There's an aspect to this question that I really love. In general, it's a question about consumer behavior that can be expanded to inquire about the purchasing profile of any luxury good. Who buys $...
185
votes
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My friend cosigned for a defaulted loan. Should he declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
DON'T talk to the creditor. DON'T trash your other good credit. DON'T declare bankruptcy for a good while.
The IRA is protected. Protect it.
First and foremost, the IRA is untouchable in MD. ...
173
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
A while back, I sold cars for a living. Over the course of 4 years ,I worked for 3 different dealerships. I sold new cars at two and used cars at the last one.
When selling new cars, I found that ...
- 2,803
170
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
How can people afford luxury cars? The same way they can afford anything: by finding it cheaply, saving for it, or adjusting their priorities.
Company cars - either paid for by the company, or as ...
- 1,987
154
votes
Should I worry about having my credit pulled multiple times while car shopping?
The salesman is lying to you. His goal is to prevent you from walking away. No lie and trick are too grave if they help him achieve that, as far as he is concerned. He does not care the least bit ...
- 3,074
131
votes
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Pay off car loan entirely or leave $1 until the end of the loan period?
If I were you, I would pay off the car loan today.
You already have an excellent credit score. Practically speaking, there is no difference between a 750 score and an 850 score; you are already ...
125
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If the co-signer on my car loan dies, can the family take the car from me like they're threatening to?
It looks to me like this is a 'call an attorney' situation, which is always a good idea in situations like this (family legal disputes). But, some information.
First off, if your family is going to ...
- 35k
88
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
Keep in mind your household income is in the top 20%, which does not translate to wealth. Given a healthy income, and no debt, other then a small house payment, you probably have a decent amount of ...
- 75k
87
votes
Should I pay off a 0% car loan?
Between now and October, your $3,000 will earn $30 in your savings account.
If you are late on a payment for your 0% loan, your interest rate will skyrocket. In my opinion, the risk is just not ...
83
votes
Would using an expensive car as collateral for a small loan to get cheap parking work?
I've never heard of a bank taking possession of collateral at loan issuing, they just obtain a legal right to use the collateral to satisfy the debt in case of default.
Pawnshops/pawnbrokers on the ...
- 64.6k
76
votes
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Dealership wants more money years after vehicle is paid off?
If they have no idea what you are talking about, you could ask whether the dealership will send you a letter saying you do not currently owe them anything, nor have they charged off anything you owed. ...
- 28.7k
75
votes
Girlfriend took off with the car I got a loan for
Call the police and see what they can do to help get the car back (which might include reporting it stolen). Don't stop making payments or it will wreck your credit (not hers). When you get the car ...
- 115k
68
votes
Can a used car dealership switch the price I saw online vs going in and getting a different price?
It doesn’t matter whether it is legal or not. What matters is that this car dealer is trying to rip you off, so you tell them where they can stick their car and buy your car elsewhere. You definitely ...
- 21.2k
67
votes
How can I remove my name from a car loan?
In effect to get someone off the loan they would have to refinance the loan as the sole person on the loan, which once again depends on their credit. In other words, if their creditworthiness remains ...
- 1,218
67
votes
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Can a used car dealership switch the price I saw online vs going in and getting a different price?
I had a dealer try this stunt on me once. I had offered $17K, they had agreed. Then they brought paper work that pushed the price up to almost $18,500. I told them my deal was for 17K and I didn't ...
- 893
56
votes
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Can a car company refuse to give me a copy of my contract or balance details?
The comments are getting too much, but to verify that you are not insane, you are being bullied. It sounds like this is a sub-prime loan, of which you are wisely trying to get out of. It also sounds ...
- 75k
54
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
In addition to those who are wealthy (not the same as high income), there are also a certain number of people whose professional livelihood is enhanced by projecting wealth/income they may or may not ...
- 4,415
51
votes
Should I worry about having my credit pulled multiple times while car shopping?
If you are in the US, you're correct that most FICO scoring models will collapse multiple car loan inquiries into a single one (and I believe it's within 45 days for newer models and between 14-30 ...
- 45.7k
48
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
Partly I suspect this is selection bias. You say you see so many luxury cars go by. But if you're looking for them, you're going to notice them. Have you calculated the actual percentage? Do they make ...
- 20.8k
43
votes
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Electric car lease or buy?
There are some who argue that you should lease an electric car. These factors are in addition to all the normal pros and cons of leasing vs. buying.
The technology is still new and is advancing ...
- 4,623
42
votes
Dealership wants more money years after vehicle is paid off?
You know how you get "extended warranty" solicitations all the time? That's because the fact that you bought a new car is public knowledge.
It sounds like a third party is using that public ...
41
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
It's all about what you value personally.
I'm mid-30s and drive a $40K "luxury" sports car. I also happen to wear a $6K wristwatch every day. I purchased both of these items because I thought they ...
- 6,007
41
votes
Should I worry about having my credit pulled multiple times while car shopping?
He's trying to scare you into thinking doing another search will negatively impact your loan rates / credit score.
If you believe that then you are more likely to buy from the place that has already ...
- 481
39
votes
Girlfriend took off with the car I got a loan for
I was in a similar situation 20 years ago and want to highlight one aspect you didn't mention, that kept me awake at night. This is your car, your insurance and your registration that she is driving ...
- 499
38
votes
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I just paid off my car - should I release my Credit Union's lien on the car?
For practical purposes, you will need/want to remove the lien before you sell the car1, so unless you plan to run the car until it falls apart2, you will need to remove it at some point. The question ...
- 9,037
36
votes
Should I tell my insurance company I have an unsecured loan for my new car?
If the loan is unsecured, then you own the car.
If the loan was secured on the car, and you lost, sold or destroyed the car, you would have to repay the loan. Since it's not, you get to keep the debt ...
- 7,496
35
votes
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Finance or pay cash for car right out of college?
You are in great shape. Very few people have 90k in savings at any age, let alone coming right out of college.
The question you checked out, really does not apply to you. You are making a ...
- 75k
34
votes
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
I'll read between the lines: you're (justifiably) feeling smart about how you manage your money: debt-free, smart about your spending, saving for retirement, etc. But you're looking at all those fancy ...
- 23.8k
33
votes
How can I remove my name from a car loan?
If you were allowed to "simply" take your name off of a loan because you didn't want to be on the hook in case your friend failed their payments then that would mean that the bank would have to ...
- 6,652
32
votes
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Insuring a girlfriend's motorcycle
I think you have two options here:
1) Buy the bike from her. This way the bike is yours and not hers. You pay your insurance, you make the loan payment, and own it if the loan ever gets paid off. ...
- 75k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible