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^The risk is that very few people actually do drive their cars to the ground.
Situations change, feelings change, and 7 years is a pretty damn long time.
You're severely limiting your options in case something happens - not just a write off, but say you impregnate your girlfriend and she is having triplets, and you need a bigger car. You want to sell it, market value is $4000, but you owe $7500.
I think the general rule of thumb is if you can't afford monthly payments in a 5 year (maximum) term, then you can't really afford the car.
That said, a lot of news articles say a huge percentage of people are in fact financing for 6, 7, and some for even 8 years. It may work for certain people, but generally, it's considered poor financial planning.
Especially for a cheap car like a Lancer.
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