Is a GT too impractical for daily driving?

[Nomadic]

I know plenty of people who think ANY debt is pretty much a sin and if they can't pay cash, they think they can't afford it. Every one of these people seems miserable. The only thing they ever seem to show any passion about is the fact they have no debt. That's their choice.

I don't think it's a "sin" but I paid cash for my GT. I love the car and taking it out on the weekends is a joy. I love it. I just don't like making fat car payments every month especially for a toy.

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[wanted33]

My bride has DD'ed GT's since 2010. She does the same with the '18. They are made to drive my friend. Get one, and have a ball.

BTW, I have an '06 GT with 96K miles that I drive nearly all the time.

 

[ctandc72]

I don't think it's a "sin" but I paid cash for my GT. I love the car and taking it out on the weekends is a joy. I love it. I just don't like making fat car payments every month especially for a toy.

I get it. I do. And my belief is what YOU do with YOUR money is YOUR business. Simple as that. But I swear sometimes the 'no debt' gurus are like militant vegans. I don't care what you do or don't eat - just don't try to force it on me.

On the flip side - I have a former co-worker - who finally retired - who drove cheap, economical used cars, carried almost no debt, etc etc. I ran into him the other day....he'd finally bought the 'sports car' he always wanted. Granted it's a restored British roadster - but it's what he wanted and he bought it. Says he's going to have to sell it - since his knee bothers him so much it's actually painful to drive.

 

[5.0 435]

Priorities need to be established early in life. Most companies no longer provide a defined benefit pension. So one most build a nest egg. Either by using a 401K , IRA or some other method of building capital. Time does fly by and tomorrow never comes if you put off saving. I know a lot of people in our family caugh up in this mess. They soon will be 65 and not even pot to piss in. They took nice vacations and bought a house to big with a thousand other supid things. It can and does happen in life. Plan your future because nobody else will .

 

[zillah]

Not at all. Gets about the same MPG as some SUVs depending on how and where you drive. All it takes to unlock fun is how much you put your foot down.

 

[poncho@home]

Nothing wrong with using low interest loans to make large purchases, as long as you can afford payments even after a loss of a revenue.

I am currently financed for my GT at 0.9%, while investing my annual savings into a retirement plans. If I were to pay cash I'd fall behind a few years of retirement investments that will be earning compounded interest for the next 20 years, far exceeding the interest I will pay on this loan. And typically I pay off early, so very little interest actually paid out.

 

[Kansas GT]

Nothing wrong with using low interest loans to make large purchases, as long as you can afford payments even after a loss of a revenue.

I am currently financed for my GT at 0.9%, while investing my annual savings into a retirement plans. If I were to pay cash I'd fall behind a few years of retirement investments that will be earning compounded interest for the next 20 years, far exceeding the interest I will pay on this loan. And typically I pay off early, so very little interest actually paid out.

Agreed. I rarely carry a loan to term as well, and I never borrow money that I cannot move funds around to repay if a loss of revenue occurs. It does wonders for freeing cash up for investments though. There is a lot of opportunity to maximize investments while also enjoying shiny things if credit is leveraged smartly.

 

[poncho@home]

yes there is. Just need to be careful not to overextend your liabilities.

A few years back I was about 1-2 years from paying off mortgage. Owed about 30K still. Gov't puts out a new 1 year tax credit plan for home renos to help stimulate the economy. Since I was planning on around $30K of renos after paying off mortgage, I decided to do renos right away and delay mortgage for a couple of years. I got back around $8k on my tax credits from the $27k in reno projects and still paid my mortgage off 18 months later.

Debt is a tool, if you use it correctly, it can be beneficial.

 

[PJR202]

Agreed. I rarely carry a loan to term as well, and I never borrow money that I cannot move funds around to repay if a loss of revenue occurs. It does wonders for freeing cash up for investments though. There is a lot of opportunity to maximize investments while also enjoying shiny things if credit is leveraged smartly.

Agreed. I'm not one of those people that are disciplined enough to let the up front money sit in an investment, but I don't pay outright for anything that I can finance at 0%. This mostly applies to appliances, mattresses, lawnmowers, etc. Why spend a thousand of my own dollars when I can spend someone else's dollars? If I pay it up front I do so with no guarantee that I'll be employed for the next year to recoup that cash. We have a few specific stores we use that are always running a 0% promo on the things we buy.

People act like carrying debt is some horrible thing, but when hard times hit I'd rather have held onto as much up-front money as possible. I was recently on strike for a month and had I not bought a few necessities on 0% this year I would have only had enough cash on hand to make it maybe two months instead of more like 5 months. Gotta look out for #1 first.

 

[codemanstang]

Active exhaust really helps. Quiet mode gives it an almost Euro feel. It's like having 2 cars in one.

Yes active exhaust is awesome. Too bad my 15 didn't have it. Gotta be the one of the best change they made for the 18's.

I wouldn't vote a Gt foe daily driving but it sure can.


In retrospect I pay 410 a month for my stand and 450+ in gas my Mazda 3 is about 150-200 a month with the same driving

 

[Hack]

Yes active exhaust is awesome. Too bad my 15 didn't have it. Gotta be the one of the best change they made for the 18's.

I wouldn't vote a Gt foe daily driving but it sure can.


In retrospect I pay 410 a month for my stand and 450+ in gas my Mazda 3 is about 150-200 a month with the same driving

Wow that's a lot of driving! Like 100 miles a day?

 

[Kansas GT]

Wow that's a lot of driving! Like 100 miles a day?

I was wondering the same thing! My wife and I spend less than $200 combined on fuel a month for two cars. I average around $150, and she averages $50. :lol: Similar distances driven as well. She also gets 37MPG combined though.

 

[Jiki05]

Wow that's a lot of driving! Like 100 miles a day?

I drive my GT at about 120 miles a day for 5-6 days of the week.

 

[Nomadic]

I've contemplated paying cash for new cars, but I always end up financing at 0% or 0.9%. My wife is a total loss adjuster, and I hear too many horror stories of people getting screwed because of the depreciation. Take the below two scenarios, for example.

Buyer 1: Pays cash for a new vehicle and totals it two months later with no insurance provision for new car replacement. Buyer assumes full responsibility of instant and accrued depreciation regardless of fault.

Buyer 2: Finances 100% of purchase at 0.9% and secures GAP coverage for loan. Car is totaled two months later. GAP negates any depreciation during loan payoff as long as it is within loan-to-value limits. Buyer has paid minimal interest at this point and walks away with no major hit due to depreciation.

I don't look at payments as a bad thing. I look at high interest as a bad thing. A low interest loan has a higher cost (interest expense) than paying cash, but sometimes the opportunity cost for spending cash on a liability (unless it's a rare car that will increase in value, it's going to do nothing but depreciate) is more impacting. The cash could be invested elsewhere with a positive return instead of a negative.

Completely off-topic, I know. I've always approached credit with a strategic mindset though for both my business and personal finances.

Of course it's costing you $ to pay gap insurance. You also pay more $ to get that 0% financing and forfeit rebates.

I don't worry about depreciation b/c I buy low mileage used almost always. Depreciation hit has already been taken by someone else.
I haven't had a car totaled in 30yrs of driving and I drive the GT about 4K mi/yr so those chances are slim.

 

[Fatguy]

Of course it's costing you $ to pay gap insurance. You also pay more $ to get that 0% financing and forfeit rebates.

I don't worry about depreciation b/c I buy low mileage used almost always. Depreciation hit has already been taken by someone else.
I haven't had a car totaled in 30yrs of driving and I drive the GT about 4K mi/yr so those chances are slim.

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