Do you have a car loan or own outright?

Thanks to my ex, I've had a horrid credit history and was never eligible for a car loan or such.
I then met, and married my DH and have had to use him as my guarantor , but finally at the age of 25 and a half, I'm paying off (through a brilliant finance company) my first ever car, a 2001 Toyota Corolla Ascent liftback.
It's on a 5 year loan, and was $9k..
And even though it's not a brand new, expensive car, I'm proud of the fact that it's mine and I'm ALMOST at a year of paying it off without missing a payment :)

Ever since I can remember I've been 'financially challenged' - never being able to pay for things outright that I want so badly, and having to layby things and extend laybys so I can have extra time to pay things off (even though I work full time, all money goes into bills and maintaining/feeding my DS and DH and trying to save up for bubba 2s arrival) so for me to even get this car loan (on a guarantor loan, regardless) is a huge thing for me, something that, for myself, I'm so proud of :)
(sorry for the babble)


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We have a 2010 Mazda CX7. We bought it outright using money DH got from his work redundancy. Previous cars to this one have always been via novated lease through my work.


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We have a Mazda 6 and a GSXR750 (Road Bike) and paid cash for both. We're about to buy a CX7 and a new bike of his choice for DH will pay cash for them as well, then sell the other car and bike and put that cash back into our savings account...

I've never had a car loan, or any kind of loan, have always paid cash outright. I'm only able to do this partly because I earned and saved alot of money early in my career and then also received inheritances from my parents who both passed away when I was young. But I sort of see this as fair as while other people may have their parents chip in for their first car or house, pay part of their wedding, have them live under their roof until they are ready to move out, pay their education costs, give them $50 here or there, buy things for their babies or children or even mind the kids for them a day or two, I never have and never will have any of that, my Husband is the same, we do it all completely on our own with no help from anyone, nothing to fall back on.

If I didn't have it this way I still wouldn't have a loan, having that debt hanging over your head and paying that much extra money for something that is only losing money just doesn't make sense to me. I understand people need cars and can't always afford to pay cash outright but I don't understand people who cry broke or neglect their bills yet have a flashy $40k plus car in the driveway courtesy of the bank either..

I've never had a car loan, and this is just because (and I know I'm in the minority) I can't justify a loan on something that is losing value and really, a cheap car always does the same job.

I LOVE my car. I have never loved a car before, but I now have a Toyota Regius (8 seater) - it's like a Hiace but has seating etc. Just so good, so reliable, every mechanic who has looked in it says it will last forever (was imported from Japan). Room for 8 people (incl 3 carseats) PLUS my gigantor pram for 3 kids and a full load f shopping. And uses less petrol than my previous car (a commodore, admittedly).

i have a 2002 magna wagon and i own it out right. As does my DH

We have currently have a Ford wagon and DH has an ugly 1990 Landcruiser ute which we paid cash for both.

We have had quite a few cars between us and all have been paid outright for except a brand spanking new 2005 Holden Astra which I bought with a 22k loan over 5 years. We sold it about 1 year later as we were getting married and fell pg.

I'm curious... this is to those who say they would never get a loan and the thought of owing money scares you, is a mortgage excluded from that statement?

DH owns his car outright, paid cash. We got our current family car through a loan. DH is about to upgrade his car and will run a chattel (sp?) mortgage, which means that the business pays for it. Much better deal financially, according to our accountant.

I think a house mortgage is very different. It's an asset that is (usually) increasing in value, and will put you in a *better* position financially.

If you can't afford a $40K car outright, a $7 K car will do the same job for you. It's just not the same deal at all with houses.

If your debt on your car has a tax advantage for you (or your business) then that's different.

we own both our cars. bought mine with cash- it is a 2002 commodore. this was the most we could afford at the time.

OP- in answer to your question about mortgages. i can't speak for everyone else who has mentioned it in this thread but i can give my personal opinion- i don't think that a mortgage is the same as a personal loan as a mortgage is paying off an asset. the house is also appreciating in value and paying a mortgage saves us from having to pay rent, as we have to live somewhere. we would prefer to have no mortgage at all, of course, but i would much rather be paying a mortgage off on an asset than paying out money on a personal loan on a liability(car) itms?

isnt a car anasset in some sense aswell?

Not all cars decrease in value..

I think you're almost always better off putting the money elsewhere (IMO).

which cars don't decrease in value?

The ones made out of gold

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which cars don't decrease in value?

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None, unless you plate them in gold :lol:

Ausgirl, I took out a small loan to pay for a 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer, which I paid off a couple of years ago. We have another personal loan of $15k from our wedding (NO, my parents didn't pay because they don't have a spare $20k in the bank) that we are half way through paying off so I will probably re-draw on that for another car which would be second hand, of course. And then when we finally have a mortgage, whatever we have left to pay will all be rolled into it.

So pretty much yes, mortgages are excluded from statements about never owing money?

I get that, I see mortgages as a kind of "good" debt... ITMS!

As for cars that appreciate? My DH has a fully restored 1967 Chevy Impala, in immaculate condition... Pretty sure that'd be worth more now than what his grandfather paid for it in 1967...!

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I'm curious... this is to those who say they would never get a loan and the thought of owing money scares you, is a mortgage excluded from that statement?

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I wasn't one who said I would never take out a loan (except for that I doubt I would for a car as for me, personally, I don't see it as something that is required or neccesary) but did say I never had done so and the thought of owing money scares me and yes, a mortgage is included in that sentiment; possibly even more so due to the large scale. Loans are a big responsibility and I don't think a little aprehension is unwarrented or odd. A mortgage is different though in that it is something I would do and plan to eventually but I would be wanting a substantial deposit first and be beyond comfortable with the repayments. I think it will be a few more years of savings before that is something we even start to think more seriously about and it definitely will be for a modest amount although last time I was at the bank they tried to 'sell me the dream' and I was pretty shocked how much they thought was appropriate to borrow. The main difference is you do need somewhere to live and the alternative has its own financial drawbacks. A car, to me, is more of a luxury (others see that differently, half the reason we rent is because it means we can afford to live somewhere where walking to the shops, park, doctor etc is a reasonable option and we want that to continue when we do look into buying a home) and the fact they depreciate so quickly are the reasons I would not go into debt for one and can see myself always opting for pre-loved versions.

Some cars do increase in value. Dh is very into ok'd Volkswagens and they certainly increase in value - infact all the VW's we have owned we have made money on.. Old cars that are sought after increase in value...

Oh yeah, I forgot about old cars! My dad had a 1970 Ford panel van in which he has restored, looks amazing and it was my wedding car :)