Wow, what a weekend... We thought we would go out and look around for a truck. Called bank...got prepproval for 25k. Went to dealership and found truck. We were kind of "lets see what they say mode" and told them we wanted this new 42K truck. The ran it...and approved us. We were stuuned. They wanted 2500 doen. Hubby said...nope...I'm not payin a dime down...you will lower price, etc...all the usual haggling. We will hear back today on financing terms. Interest rate so far is 7.5%. I think up until this point, we werent really serious...just testing to see what we COULD do. The kicker is... they pulled all 3 reports. Hubby's highest score as like 605. My highest was 648 and lowest was 586. These scores were totally different. How then heck did we get approved with these scores for this amount and interest rate? It was through a big delaership and a big finance comapny, so it wasnt one of those shady deals. I'm in shock. New BIG TWUCK would be cool, but the pmnt is 700/mo. Paying for it isnt an issue, but STILL!!!! Thats alot to spend every month. Almost hope they call back today and say "oops, what were we thinking??". Hubby has blinders on, ya know? LOL. He sees "TRUUUUCKKKK" Its kinda the Homer-donut thing with him. So my question is...are auto scores different? They must not have even looked at our scores.
One Word Here - SPRING FEVER LOL, Hubby and I drove around looking at land Saturday. Like we can qualify for anything until we get our scores up I know from experience that some lenders weigh previous auto repayment history more so than just scores. ie GMAC is score driven, FMCC is repayment driven. We recently bought a new twuck with scores in mid 500s. -0- down, 4.9% interest. Ours wasn't quite as pricey, are you looking at the new powerstroke diesels? Here they are awesome. Anyway, Ford did the deal and never blinked an eye.
Yes...powerstroke diesel...1 ton, quadcab, 4wd, long box...she's PUUURDY. Spring fever is right. We asked the sales guy if it was typical for someone with our scores to get approved for this. He said No. They said hubby's clean reports (only 3 year history), my income and my history length is what got us approved. The approval was through fmc, which is surprising. ex filed bk on a car from them and it is showing on my report as bk filed. Very strange. Still hoping they say no because I know I dont have the discipline to walk away. I know for dang sure hubby doesnt, lol.
ROFLMAO I drug hubby away from the PS diesels. I said, why do you need it? Pardon here in advance - "You are thinking with the little brain vs. the big brain" I got him into a gas engine quad cab 4WD, Pull me over Mr. Policeman Red. He's pretty happy.
Hubby is a redneck at heart plus a little, lol...he HAS to have a diesel. Pardon in advance...used to have a bumper sticker that said "Diesel smoke makes me horny". Ew. (at the diesel smoke, lol) We are here in Central TX...where are y'all? North? East? South? West? You get the hint, lol.
Much rather be looking at land Hey, we were up in the panhandle last year on business. We astarted looking around for land, just for $hits and giggles. Found 75 acres outside Odessa for like 15K. I'm sure you know what this part of TX looks like...but it would have been cool to say "we own some ranch land up north..." Hee hee.
I would be on the east side of the state. Found some land on the west side (Terlingua) at $75 acre. The kids weren't impressed when I told them the downside would be we would have to haul in our water. And, can you say OUTHOUSE. DH's neck gets redder by the day--he's not a native. I'm waiting for him to hit me up for rifle racks for the doggie window.
FMC is in the business of saying "yes"...especially in a sucky economy right now! Plus, it sounds like you co-signed each other...so that's another factor. BTW, I could put that big 1 ton PURRDY TWUCK to work! I own a Ford too, a half-ton XLT 4x4 with lots of toyz, and she's my business twuck...and a write-off too!
Thats pretty much what the deal on the land up north was...haul in water, etc, lol. Lots of mesquite and dust, though. This truck will be a writeoff too. fortunately, hubby married a tax person...~..., so he gets free advice, lol. There is a tax law that says if the gross weight of the truck exceeds a certain amount, you are allowed to write of 3 times the amount of expense (or something like that). It was a law put in to help farmers with big equipment, but docs with Hummers also qualify, since the only restriction was the weight limit. Yes, hubby will use this one for business...he trains search n rescue dogs and breeds bloodhounds. I was so surprised fmc said yes. I was so hesitant in running it with them, I asked the sales guy not to. Apparently, they didnt listen, lol. They were saying that so many peopl bought new cars after 9/11 that the market is really slow right now. That, compounded with a weakened economy and conservatism due to looming war, really seems to make it easier for lenders to say yes and credit card companies to say no.
Well congrats on upgrading! Now, if you dont mind a little conservative, arm-chair quarterbacking, might I suggest that even though you say the payment is not an issue, it sounds like it is. In my opinion, when the monthly obligation for something that will do nothing but depreciate, starts to rival the monthly obligation of an appreciating asset, like a house, then you are spending too much money! Sure, you say it is not a problem today/now but can you say for sure that this will be true 6-18 months from now? How about a down payment? A 10-20% down payment would reduce your monthly car payment by as much as $250 and may even help reduce the interest rate as well as the length of time you will have to finance for. Also, many sites that counsel on good debt management practices, will tell you that if you cant afford to pay 10%-20% down in order to help reduce the amount financed/monthly payment, then you probably cant afford that much vehicle. So what about considering the same model, only trying to find one that has been lightly used for 6-months to 1-year? That way someone else gets to eat the cost of first year depreciation, and you will be spending less while still enjoying the balance of a factory warranty? Your aquisition costs will be $8,000-$10,000 less and you are less likley to be 'upside' down should the need to dispose of the vehicle arise. Just curious, would this be on a 48, 60, or 72-month auto loan? By my calculations, in order to get a $700 monthly payment, you are going to have to finance for 72-months. If you are looking at a term longer than 48-months, then I have to say that you definitely can not afford this. I know what you are going to say, financing for 72-months will lower your monthly payment but long term, it also increases the amount of interest you pay! Lets do some math and you will see why dealers are so eager to finance you: If you finance 31,000 for 48-months $745.93 per month $2,020.19 the first year in interest $8,951.21 cumulative payments for first year $24,068.98 Loan Balance at end of first year At the end of one year, you will have paid $6931.02 on the principle of the loan and you will only have 3 more years left to pay off the debt. Over the life of the loan, you will only have paid $4,804.86 in cumulative interest. If you finance $41,000 for 72-months, you pay $703.94 per month $2,786.86 in interest the first year $8,447.30 cumulative payments for first year $35,339.56 Loan Balance at end of first year In this scenario, at the end of the first year you will only have paid $5204.21 on the principle of the loan and will still have 5 more years to go. At the end of the loan, you will have paid $9,683.79 in cummulative interest. Still think that financing for 72-months in order to lower your monthly payment is all that great a deal? Michael
Um...you're either a car salesman or finance guy, arent you? Feeling a little flamed...thanks buddy. I appreciate you bringing up these points, but I assure you, they have all be thought through and we have made the decisions that are best for OUR situation. We have elected to keep our down payment in savings. Having a good amount in savings is more important to me than dumping it into a truck that we know we will keep for a long time and As far as affording it...we average about 9k per month...the payment itself is not a prob...but isnt it human nature to wonder about financial decisions prior to them actually being made? At least, to make sure that options and decisions are well thought out?
Jlynn, it is that real light silver. Okay, I'm a little offended. Some uy with 29 posts who hasnt quite crossed the troll line yet and probably...okay, okay...it's just PMS. Sorry if I'm taking his post a little too seriously. He brought up some good points... GRRRRR
Re: Re: Truck shopping and scores... I am neither and I did not mean to falme or offend. What I am is someone who is fortunately none the worse for the wear after having made some pretty bad finacial descisions (Dave Ramsey calls it paying stupidity tax) with regards to car purchases over the last 15-years. Hopefully I have learned from these mistakes and I am finally at a point where I will not ever make the same mistakes ever again. I am sure that you have already considered all the options, just wanted to voice an opinion so that others who may not be as financially sound might see and learn. Michael
Go for it NIK!! And if anybody buys land in the odessa area, let me know! I'll buy lunch as I'm about 100 miles away!! Patti
Re: Re: Truck shopping and scores... Okay michael, sorry... I appreciate your opinion. I, too, have made some bad decisions. I guess, even though our income is great, I am a little nervous about making the same mistake again, ya know? I understand, too, that the future is unpredictable and it IS improtant to come up with scenarios and what-ifs before making any type of major purchase.
Re: Re: Truck shopping and scores... Thanks patti...still jittery though, lol. It has been so long since Ive been able to do stuff like this. It makes me a little nervous. There's tons of land there in Odessa. I have some clients out that way, but since my daughter came along, I've just been telecommuting. Don't make it out there too often anymore. Hubby used to love to drive the half hour to NM while I was meeting with clients so he could say "guess what I did today...I went to NM and back" Goofy.
That's right! I forgot all about that! I was (God help me) listening to Rush Limbaugh's show a while back where larger vehicles and some larger SUVs where eligible for accelerated depreciation rules! Geez, that's a good one! You'll more than make up for your high monthly payments with the tax savings and depreciation, much less the $2.00 it will cost to turn that sucker over in the morning, considering diesel prices right now! It's nice to know you can write off your hummers now ;-)~
Re: Re: Truck shopping and scores... Michael -- What is the stupid tax? I know someone who is considering buying a new car ($16k) -- but is stumped by the financing options and doesn't want to make a dumb mistake in that department.
