• OrkneyKomodo@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 days ago

    I’ve never understood buying a car on credit. My car’s 17 years old now. Bought it when it was 8 years old. Insurance is €390/yr.

    • JayleneSlide@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 days ago

      Liquidity. Buying a car on credit is mostly stupid, but there are cases when it makes some sense. My last car loan was 3.54%. My combined accounts were earning ~8%. Paying cash in that case would be throwing away money. Well, throwing away money on top of wasting it on a car.

      • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        I’m doing the same thing, but I still don’t understand it. Why are creditors offering 3.54% car loans instead of just getting 8% themselves?

        • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          2 days ago

          That loan was likely originated during a different intertest environment. So that commeneter is playing arbitrage

          • JayleneSlide@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            2 days ago

            This is exactly the case. Also, I worked for a credit union at the time, and employees got a 1% discount on interest rates for loans over a 24 months.

          • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            2 days ago

            I can’t speak for the other guy, but these high interest investments were available when I took out my car loan too. That’s why I opted for the longer term loan.