How many of you OWN your car - no lease, no payment?

@mommyboo (13174)
United States
December 2, 2012 3:54pm CST
I am surprised at the amount of people who don't. Isn't this considered one of the wisest things to do, other than paying off your house? Now I definitely do NOT have the house paid off (probably never) but we have two cars and no car payments, plus a non running car with no car payment. If you lease, how do you justify paying and paying and paying, even if it means you get to always drive a new car? I have no desire to drive a new car
5 people like this
18 responses
• St. Peters, Missouri
2 Dec 12
I just finished paying off my car. I'm so happy. But of course, now I'm considering getting a different car for better gas mileage. I just want to enjoy no payments for a while, though.
1 person likes this
@andy77e (5156)
• United States
2 Dec 12
Getting another car for gas mileage, never pays off. I would encourage you to not follow that line of thinking. It simply doesn't pay off.
• St. Peters, Missouri
2 Dec 12
Really? My car gets 21 miles to the gallon and I drive it at least 50-60 miles a day for work 5 days a week - some days closer to 100. You don't think it would make financial sense to get a different one? I love my car and really don't want to get rid of it, so it would actually be very welcome advice to learn I should keep it.
• United States
4 Dec 12
I dont undersand leasing either its like renting an apartment, you pay and pay but it will never be YOURS so basically you are just throwing your money away I dont own my car YET but I will next year and I cant wait we did own our last vehicle and we drove it till it jut wouldnt go anymore it was nice not having to pay a monthly payment I dont need a NEW car it just needs to get me where I need to go
• United States
4 Dec 12
just want to add we bought my car used :D
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Dec 12
Leasing a vehicle is a viable option for business owners as you get tax write offs for the payments and you are always in a reliable and modern car, which not only should not break down, but also gives a more professional image for your business than having an older vehicle.
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
27 Jan 13
I'm happy to say that my husband and I own both of our cars outright. We've always paid for our vehicles in full. Okay, so none were ever brand spankin' new, but at least we've never had a car payment, thank goodness. That's one hassle neither of us ever want to deal with if we can help it. Happy mylotting!
@4mymak (1793)
• Malaysia
6 Dec 12
maybe the 'car-buying-culture' is different between our countries - but i rarely hear of 'Car Lease' in our countries - we usually practice Monthly Installments. Cars ARE expensive in our country - i dont think anyone can buy them in cash.. the installment plans are usually for 5-7 years.. of course you can opt to have a shorter-term if you can afford to..
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
8 Dec 12
I have never financed a car at all in the 22 years that I have been driving. I have always bought the car outright and have always had used cars too, never new. The newest one that we have ever owned was only two years old when we bought it. Having said that though, I am currently considering a new vehicle on finance only because it will be bought and owned by our business and there are more costs that are tax deductible doing it this way. Plus financing a car will leave capital in our business allowing for further growth of the business. It sort of makes sense to not put the funds into a product that will cost us money, when we could put those same funds into products that will give us income. If I was just a wage earner and not a business owner, there is no way that I would consider financing a car or buying new either.
@asliah (11137)
• Philippines
22 Jan 13
hi, i don't like to drive a car or even to learn driving a car because i am afraid,but the most i hate here is very expensive to have an own car because here in my country we need to pay the registration of the car,and also the crude and maintenance of it.
@34momma (13882)
• United States
3 Dec 12
i don't drive, but if i did, i would want to own my car. leasing is like renting and that's expensive. i would want to own it and not worry about monthly payments
@derek_a (10874)
3 Dec 12
A few of my colleagues lease a car and say that they think it is better because they don't have to pay for the servicing etc. But they are still paying considerably more than the car is worth and a lot more than I am who has never leased a car at all. I always buy my cars a bit older but for considerably less and I worked out that it would coast me far too much to lease. In fact it would be a drain on my finances. _Derek
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
4 Dec 12
Oh no...I am not one to go for the lease option. I feel like you do about that. I guess it might be ok for someone that trades their car in every year but it isn't my cup of tea. It really does seem like a waste. I got the newest car I have ever had two years ago. I gave my other one..the paid for one to my daughter. I do have a payment now but it took a lot for me to go that route. I haven't had a payment in years. Now my payment is not a high payment and my car is a modest car. Noway I would do a payment as much as a house kind of payment.
@anklesmash (1412)
3 Dec 12
I own my car,I bought a cheapish used car that I could to buy up front.I don't think i'll ever get a car unless I can afford to buy it outright even if meant having an older car.Usually if you buy a car on finance you usually end up paying more than the value of the car.I could never justify that to myself.I also know someone that had a car on finance and wrote it off in an accident.His insurance wouldn't cover the value of the remaining payments so he had to keep up the payments every month for a car that had been scrapped.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
4 Dec 12
For us, it has actually been almost six years since the last time that we had a car payment. We bought my car brand new when my daughter was a baby and it did result in our having a pretty sizable car payment. However, we were able to pay the car off in four years instead of five years and we haven't even thought of having a car payment since then. Now at some point, I know that we would like to be able to have another new car, but our hope is to be able to just save up money until we are able to buy our next car with cash.
@Cutie18f (9551)
• Philippines
3 Dec 12
In our country majority of the people do not own a car. We used to have one which we got on installment plan but it was difficult to keep up with the monthly amortization so we gave it up after two years (it was on a three-year plan). Besides, the cost of gas now makes it impractical to have one, but I do hope to own one in the near future.
@deazil (4723)
• United States
4 Dec 12
I own my own car. Got it in 2006. It's a 2006 Dodge Charger, bought brand new. Never had payments. It was a gift. We have two other vehicles, bought brand new, all paid for. It helps to not have car payments. Never have problems with these cars, low maintenance. The other two are a Ford cargo van and a Chevy Monte Carlo LE. Nice vehicles.
• United States
3 Dec 12
I always buy used, and pay as much up front as I can. I hate being in debt. I paid for my car within 6 months, but my next financial goal is to stop paying rent and buy a house.
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
2 Dec 12
I own my car. I bought it in 2003 as a used 1998 Nissan Sentra GXE Mileage 57k. I still am driving it and other than front Brakes and a muffler pipe 3 weeks ago at 117k I'm doing fine..although I now need a fan belt as it is squealing a bit. I hate having a car payment. When I bought my first new car in 1989 I swore I would never buy anything but new...well 3 new cars later..all totalled by ignorant drivers... I bought used...probably will never buy new again lol. Unless of course I become suddenly wealthy. Brightest Blessings, Mari
@MandaLee (3756)
• United States
2 Dec 12
Hi, The last car I bought was an outgoing model year car. I got a good deal on it. I paid cash for it. I own my car. I have no need for another vehicle anytime soon. I, too, was taught that owning your car is a very wise thing to do.
• Valdosta, Georgia
2 Dec 12
We have a vehicle with no payments thank God. We got a used car BUT it runs like brand new! =) It is a 2004 town and country, we got it off Craigslist. So, we have no payment on it. I am grateful for that as we don't need anymore added bills to what we have already!
• United States
2 Dec 12
I never wonne to make payments on a car so I sold my bike and got a jeep my dream car my hubby drives a van also paid. We don't have a lot money but we save for things that are nessecery so we don't have to make payments