Comments on: If You Are Making Car Payments, You Don’t Own The Car

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:10:53 +0000

I think what you say here is true and you do have a point. But i have to ask, what if there’s people who do this because they need the car urgently and can’t wait till the save up enough cash to go out and buy one.
I think as long as you think hard about your monthly income and what you can afford and see the potential disadvantages of debt etc. if you are willing to take the chances and you have an outcome. It’s ok. It is not ok however to go out, see a car and and immediately go for it without question.
But as i say again you do have a good point but i think you would be ok if you think of what will happen when you do it.

By: Carnival Round-Up (oh, and our high-security dump!)

Carnival Round-Up (oh, and our high-security dump!) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:36:25 +0000

[...] Happy Rock points out that if you’re making payments, you don’t own the car. Good reminder, though I think technically you own part of the car—however much you’ve paid [...]

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:09:28 +0000

@Mya Moola – Yes houses are kind of similar, so changing the language does apply there.

Don’t worry about not owning a home, there are many many great reasons that renting makes sense.

By: Mya Moola

Mya Moola — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:19:25 +0000

It is similar to houses, eh? As a renter, I’m constantly bombarded with homeowners who like to brag that they are not “throwing away money” on rent because they, unlike me “own their home.”

Beyond the fact that I have zero desire to own a home at the moment, the simple truth is, you don’t “own” anything until it’s paid in full. That holds true for me anyway, I won’t feel like I own a home until it’s mine in full and no bank can foreclose on it.

By: The Big Top, A Puzzle, and More: The Carnivals | I've Paid For This Twice Already...

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:40:29 +0000

[...] Happy Rock presents If You Are Making Car Payments, You Don’t Own The Car. Yeah… I know. We do own one car though! And only $4001.78 away from owning the other one [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #119 - Blunt Money

Carnival of Personal Finance #119 - Blunt Money — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:58:50 +0000

[...] The Happy Rock presents If You Are Making Car Payments, You Don’t Own The Car. He hopes to change how the world talks about [...]

By: Avoid The Auto Loan and Paying Cash For Cars

Avoid The Auto Loan and Paying Cash For Cars — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:34:46 +0000

[...] post we talked about changing the way we talk about car loan debt, now let’s talk about avoiding the debt in the first [...]

By: SavingWithMe

SavingWithMe — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:19:50 +0000

Awesome post. Hits home the point that just because you can afford the “monthly payment” does not mean you can afford the item. I am making it a point that my next car I will pay for in cash. I had a friend save up for a brand new Honda Accord and pay with cash completely and in fact he has never had a car payment in his life. He either drove old cheap cars or saved up and bought quality, brand new.

By: Double Eagle

Double Eagle — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:37:05 +0000

This is dead-on accurate. People have come to accept debt as a part of life. I know I’m guilty as charged.

I woke up to the car payment issue a while back and have always intended to pay cash for cars from that point on, but I don’t think I’m going to be far enough ahead by the time I’ll need to start looking again.

However, I can promise you that my next car buying experience will be completely different than previous ones. I can’t see myself even considering a new car again for the foreseeable future. $5k cash (if I can do it) for something “good enough” is going to be in the front of my mind.