For what used trucks are bringing buying used makes little sense.

A 2019 with 11000 miles is selling for 30k
A 2021 with 2000 miles is selling for 34k

This

Very true on the financing. NEVER tell the salesman know you want to pay cash. Big mistake. Always play along that you are going to finance. Wait until the very last minute to spring the cash and want to go that route instead of financing. Wait until you have a set price carved into stone before mentioning cash. If you let them know you want to pay cash , they will quote you a higher price on the vehicle. One of the highest paying jobs in a dealership is the F&I guy. ( financing and insurance) This is usually the last step to buying a car. The salesman will turn you over to the F&I guy to finish out all your paperwork and sign contracts. A good F&I guy makes $100k to $150k a year. Some even can make as much as $250k at a high volume dealer. The F&I guy makes this because they generate a lot of profit for the dealer.

I just went through this. I decided to get a loan. The intrest was so low im taking the cash and paying off a rental property I have. The rental payments will pay the auto loan instead of going to the bank to pay for the house.

The loan I have on the rental was taken out years ago when raises were higher and I was young. Like 7.25%

I never refinance because I was in a bad auto wreck and my credit went south. I was discussed with banks and started using only cash for years not bothering to fix my credit for years. Now my credit is good but they they want to finance longer than I owe and closing cost eat up most savings.

Pay cash. Vehicles are horrible investments.

Never use cash if you have money and investments making10% or more and cars are going for 0% interest leave your money in the investment andhave them make your payment foryou.

Dealer makes more $$ on the financing side than selling cars.[/quote]
Very true on the financing. NEVER tell the salesman know you want to pay cash. Big mistake. Always play along that you are going to finance. Wait until the very last minute to spring the cash and want to go that route instead of financing. Wait until you have a set price carved into stone before mentioning cash. If you let them know you want to pay cash , they will quote you a higher price on the vehicle. One of the highest paying jobs in a dealership is the F&I guy. ( financing and insurance) This is usually the last step to buying a car. The salesman will turn you over to the F&I guy to finish out all your paperwork and sign contracts. A good F&I guy makes $100k to $150k a year. Some even can make as much as $250k at a high volume dealer. The F&I guy makes this because they generate a lot of profit for the dealer.[/quote]



Can you even barter on price anymore? You can't go across town and get another competitive offer to barter with anymore as all prices are posted on the internet. All the dealers already know what each other has.

Cash

There was a time when money market checking paid a much better rate and some car manufacturers offered zero percent loans. I once took the zero loan and then put the same amount of money in a money market checking account. I got free checking. Had GM draft the account each month until the loan was repaid. Interest earned was going to be mine at the end.

Downside was the free checking stopped when the balance fell below $10,000. At that point, just pay off the loan balance. All the interest I earned probably bought a hamburger and small fries.

Currently yes. But if you bought a used pickup the last few years, it wasnt a bad investment at all.

If you can get 0% interest then finance it. Reason Stock market is doing so well is people are borrowing against homes cars and anything and investing in stock market. 2-3 % loans and returns of 10-20 % . But as soon as interest rates rise it will crash.
Another thing is IF you use your savings and something happens you need the money then you are in trouble. Finance it for as long as you can !!!

NEVER EVER pay off a % percent interest loan !! NO up side Take the money and invest it in ANYTHING that will make you a buck. Flip kids bicycles , lawn mowers anything . Because every dollar made on a trade is more than you will get from paying off a ZERO percent loan.

If your buying a new car lots of the car dealers are offering 0% financing.

we just bought a new outback and got it for 0% for 63 months could of paid cash but figured we would leave money where it was and draw interest on it and just make payments on the car

I like your style!

I pay cash and sleep real good at night.

Did you ever notice one if the first questions a salesman will ask you us " How much do think you want to pay per month?"
This does a couple things. One it establishes you are not a cash customer and the salesman knows his commission is higher on a financed sale vs cash. Also if you reply for arguments sake , say $400 a month. The salesman has not put up any barriers to selling you the most expensive car on the lot. Even a $100k car can be had for $400 a month if you put down a crazy amount and extend the payments way out to say a 6-7-8 or more year loan. Also the salesman will try to put you into a $450 a month loan " It's only a little bit more , you can afford it , right?" It plays on your ego. The salesman will not put you into a $350 a month car.

Friend of mine was finance guy, he quit cause he couldn't live with sticking it to people.
Read and believe every word cragar typed. Financing big money making scam.

A rule of personal finance is, "never borrow money to purchase a declining asset". Your home is an increasing value asset. Real estate usually increases. Rarely does the value of a new car increase in value.

Cash or 0% financing only for me.
Jim