I fully support your approach ;) for what it is worth! haha. thanks for sharing. Hopefully others can learn from you!

I don’t see any concerns with moderate risk as long as you won’t be crippled by losing some of it, but it sounds like you’ve got things squared away!

It is kia...

Not sure if this is legitimate or baiting, but since I am a personal finance counselor, I am fairly open about it. Depending on the bureau, between 817 and 832.

Some of my colleagues give me a hard time because they view credit as an “asset”, therefore anything over 750 can be viewed as wasting the value of an asset…

I don’t disagree with you Andrew!

But unfortunately a sub-prime score does straddle you with high interest whether its your fault or not. That is a burden the buyer has to deal with regardless of fault.

That doesn’t mean its right... but being angry at a bureau isn’t a good reason to throw $17k out the window either...

I get that, and if the interest expense is less than renting, it still makes a lot of sense to buy a house. Its also easy to refinance when your rates drop.

There are a lot of things about credit scores that “suck”.

I won’t disagree with that one bit.... but it doesn’t change the fact that a sub-prime credit score means your paying massive cash to the bank for no value to yourself, and even if its not your fault, can most people afford that cash outflow?

I have no disagreement here :) thanks for your thoughts!

I agree with everything except a sub-prime buyer getting 4.25% interest...

Rest of point is solid!

That could very well be possible, so lets help educate them on their financial situation. Take that $17k they are paying the bank and keep more of it in their pocket. Lets get them out of debt cycles so they can give more money to charity, provide for their own retirement, and help countless others. I think we have…

a 32k near luxury car is the practical solution to riding your bike to work? What logic brings that suggestion?

Its the MOST EXPENSIVE CAR you can buy from Kia. Kia makes some great cars- like the optima- thats $10k less. or a CPO optima, for $23k less.

In fact about HALF of all new cars are purchased for less than $32k.

…

I’m not disagreeing, but if you have a mid-six figure household income, why would you pay $17k in loan fees to a bank on a $32k car? Why not buy a cheaper car OR pay cash? If your trying to build your credit back up, why not put $22k down?

There’s a lot I don’t know about this guy and I don’t want to tell him he’s…

I agree with your argument, but with a subprime credit score your looking around 14% interest right now. Thats $17k in interest over a 6 year note. Wouldn’t you be better off picking up a cheaper car in the short term?

Maybe he can afford to shed $17k to the bank, but even people who make loads of income normally…

Like an Optima! Or even an optima CPO!

Kia and Hyundai offer new credit terms on their CPOs which is pretty awesome.

I’m not going to disagree with the warranty benefits, Although Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonatas are available in the $10k ballpark CPO With a 10 year 100k warranty... and $17k in interest can really pay for a lot of car repairs...

But ultimately if he knows what he’s getting into and he’s happy, its fine... and if he…

I get that argument, and when it comes down to it if someone gets a loan with a 620 credit score and it “makes sense”, so be it... but that shouldn’t be the socially acceptable plan.

I believe car loans really only make sense when in a leveragable situation. If your credit score is a 620, then its near impossible to…

My entire life is devoted to helping people in their finances... as a college professor and as a credit and personal finance consultant.

I just think our society shoots ourselves in the foot making it seem like its “OK”.

So maybe I am judgmental on this case, but that’s because I put everything I have into ending this…

Thanks!

I’m still stuck on why someone with a 620 credit score is buying a new car.

THAT is the travesty.

I like them but for some reason something about them just doesn’t land them in my garage.

I felt the same way about the crossfires. They are essentially SLKs, but I’m seeing them get cheap too.

is there a good reason not to buy one? I don’t know. Why don’t I ever see these at racing events? autocross? etc?

are they just…

Good luck!