The Best Length For An Auto Loan?

Just Curious...

 

I dont think you can pick a best? The shortest amount of time would be 'best' in my opinion so you pay less interest. I personally like to have more years so I do not have to pay as much per month. Depends on your situation I suppose.

 

shortest time possible that you can afford the payments unless you can get 0% financing.

 

Expect Dave Ramsey lectures anytime now.

I would suggest never financing for more than 5 years and either have GAP insurance or make at least a 20% down payment. 4 or fewer years would be more ideal.

 

Totally dependent on your loan percentage.

If you have 0%, then it doesn't matter. The higher the rate, the shorter the term. Saves some $$.

For what it's worth, I prefer to buy my vehicles outright -- so 0 years. You generally get the best deal paying cash and no interest. Granted, I did not do this with my Tacoma, but at 1.9% over 5 years I'm not too upset.

 

It depends a lot on the terms of the loan but trying to put that aside, I'd never go longer than 60 months on a car loan unless it was 0% interest. Cars are depreciating assets so the shorter the term the better off you are. Personally, I went with a short term (48 months) because the interest rates were lower and I wanted it paid off well before the repair bills started coming in.

 

10 Year auto loan? 9/10 lenders or stealerships won't go over 7 years on an auto loan...

 

I was just messin

 

Or a ridiculously low interest. When I got my Taco, I was given a 2.5% interest for 48 or 60 months. You bet yer ascott, I got the 60!

 

whatever you can afford to avoid the man backing his tow truck into your driveway at 2 am.

 

I went 6 with a variable rate to get the lower payment, not everyone outright buy their vehicle... We are not all made of money. That being said I do plan on making double payments as soon as the wife's Rav is payed off.

 

3-5 years is good. Just depends on the deal you are making.. **Just make sure you are paying a smart price for the vehicle and know what the market Value is on the particular Tacoma you are buying. It doesn't matter if you are paying 0%-3% interest on a vehicle if you over payed by $3,000. Because that won't matter if you got yourself in to a bad contract. Just be familiar with the fair market price, and you will be good. Toyota has great options for people sometimes

 

I agree with you in principle, but man clean Taco's are HOT on car lots!

I feel like I overpaid about $3K give or take, but getting a used taco/4runner was the biggest pain in the rectum that I have ever felt!

 

A new vehicle is by far the worst investment you'll ever make. You take your biggest depreciation hit as soon as you drive it off the lot and it will only depreciate from there. Unless you get 0% financing, make the biggest payment on the shortest term you can afford.

 

I think for me or anyone else in college having the longer pay outs are better even if you can afford more just in case money gets tight.

But I do agree, pay the most you feel you can comfortably.

 

Depends on the vehicle and depends what your plans are and your financial situation.

Personally, I took out a 6 year loan only because:
1. It's a Tacoma and holds its value really well so I didn't have to worry about being upside down on the loan it like you would with some vehicles. I'm 2 years into the loan and I currently owe about $13k on the truck, I could sell it for around $20k today based on what they're selling for locally so I have a decent amount of equity in it.
2. I bought the truck used for about $4k under market value bc the previous owner was trying to dump it cheap to get out of the payment. This one kinda goes with #1
3. I wanted a lower monthly payment
4. I plan on driving the truck until the wheels fall off, then put the wheels back on and keep driving it until the motor goes bye bye, then put another motor in and keep driving it.
5. I'll probably pay it off in a year or two with my annual bonus from work.

If I hadn't gotten the deal I did and wasn't buying a tacoma, I would have gotten a shorter loan term to avoid negative equity. Currently, If I ever needed to dump it to get out of the payment for some reason, I could sell it and not lose my ass and still have some money to buy a cheap dependable daily driver.

 

You are so right! Toyota's hold there value more than anything out there. Especially Tacoma's!

 

i have a low interest rate so i got a 60 month loan but i asked my lender how much the payment would be on a 36 month loan and pay that each month. This way if things get tough i can just pay how much it normally is.

 

0 months, write a check & drive it away.

 

You should never HAVE to have a car payment. It seems like that is the standard for today. A lot of my friends work all week and have a huge car payment... No one made you buy a new car... It's not a smart financial move at all.