The point is that the average approach to cars costs the average person $1.4 million over their working life. That alone is enough to retire on. Even taking a separate approach like the one you outlined (buying a $20,000 car with cash) would be much better than having a constant car payment to deal with.

You statement is an even more pointed truth than the fact that people don’t know how loans work. The opportunity cost of the average monthly car payment in this country is, basically, a fortune:

I understand - from other posts (and being a lease) this guy has to have a couple grand to put down at least. The better situation given his slightly more limited options from that credit score, is to get a vehicle that is much more reasonable, one that he can actually own, and will allow him plenty of time to reset…

The interest isn’t the killer, though. You raise it to 6% and his payment on that car goes up by $7 a month. That’s less than a fast food burger meal.

Here’s what mine has right now:

This just made the whole story worse, my man. That few grand down with even a sub-prime sort of loan on a quality used car would be much cheaper than $350 a month.

Interest rate only matters if he pays the full life of the loan. If he got something cheaper that he could pay off faster, the rate becomes less and less material to the decision.

How bad was your score at that time? 620 is not great but it’s also not completely in the dregs.

o - Let’s get this straight. This is a person with a 620 credit score that is looking to LEASE a car, which is even worse if you ask me.

I’m comparing 2016 models with about 15K on the clock all within 25 miles of my decidedly isolated midwestern zip code (basically my city as the next bigger cities are 120+ miles away).

Dude -they are. Check a Tacoma vs. a Cherokee Unlimited - the price difference is staggering!

Came here to say this - they might be good but the enthusiast market is influencing the prices. Late model Unlimiteds are listing north of $35k in my parts and they’re just not worth it. I can get a Tacoma with the same age and mileage for $5k less than that every single day. I think we all know which of those two…

The Ford Expresidente

That hood and door config is from a mid 70's F100 layout. My guess is the suspension on these is the same setup they used from ‘65 through ‘79 - the Twin I-Beam IF setup. Hell, the grill looks like it’s straight off a ‘74 F100:

Nice truck. I don’t want to seem like someone who just spews hate. At the time I really didn’t like these trucks. They do benefit from bigger tires and the right angles. At the time, I was always looking at them from a little Buick and they never looked good to me.

This is some outstanding graphical breakdown and a great addition to Torch’s article.

I first want to say this is off topic, and I have no idea what site I visited to have this ad pop onto the page but this was an actual ad on this post above for me:

Same - living out in the sticks without cable or the desire to have satellite, this was COMEDY GOLD, JERRY back in the day.

Having spent time in a slaughterhouse, the hide removal and handling process is interesting, a bit scary, and more than a bit morbid. I can tell you that the last step in removal looks very much like a t shirt being ripped off of someone mechanically while they hang upside down.

I mean, you do have Saab in your handle. That makes you about 80% qualified.