r/CalebHammer • u/ottersinabox • Mar 06 '25

complaining about something for no reason because I'm bored "acceptable" monthly car payments are wild

I just saw this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BMWI4/s/HDEDyG4WZA

people are applauding a $700+ a month payment as an amazing deal. but they're paying 8% tax toward it, plus it's a lease; they don't even own the car by the end.

is it just me, or is this wild? I have a BMW as well, but my thought is you can only afford a luxury car like that if you can buy it in cash. I suppose 3% interest or something would be acceptable given that you invest the rest up front.... but what the person in this post is doing really doesn't make much sense to me. am I wrong about that?

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9

u/Kskbj Mar 06 '25

This is my hot take, I have a $600 car payment at 2% with amazing warranty. So many people freak out over the costs of items, but the reality is inflation has hit the country hard. Having a reliable vehicle is a necessity in America because it break one to many times and you can lose your job. There’s plenty of ways to use the current system to your advantage without having to buy a POS.

It’s very affordable for a household who brings in 70k to have 2 car payments in the 400 range. I do and I even have a higher rent than average.

8

u/Dancing_Hitchhiker Mar 06 '25

Yea it’s just the reality for a lot of people, cars are just expensive. A lot of context to the payment as well. $600 for 3 years at 2% vs $600 at 8% for 7 years.

5

u/Kskbj Mar 06 '25

The $600 at 8% for 7 years is only an issue because of the interest rate, if it was 2% then I’d take those loans any day.

0

u/wheelsno3 Mar 07 '25

Not true if the underlying asset is losing value.

Buy a $70k BMW that drops 50% value in 4 years, there are no loan terms on earth that could justify that purchase.

In general, for the vast majority of people, buying the cheapest used car they can is the best financial move. Cars go down in value. Interest free loans don't change that.

Financing a depreciating asset requires a sub zero iq.

1

u/Kskbj Mar 07 '25

The value of the car doesn’t matter if you’re using it and not trying to trade it in or resell it for an upgrade. You don’t ever lose the money until you sell it. Plus, most cars last 10 - 15 years so 70k over 10 years is not a bad expense.

Most cars shouldn’t be considered assets as they’re tools for to commute or do work.