# Should I pay off my car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827 "2022-04-14T15:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/21 "2022-04-14T23:18:54Z")
Good choice. Sounds like you’re doing fine; whatever couple hundred dollars you may or may not have earned by investing that money instead isn’t going to make or break you at all. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/22 "2022-04-14T23:22:16Z")
Thanks everyone for the input ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/23 "2022-04-15T10:01:19Z")
You’re welcome. Loans at rates you’re paying now are quite likely to become a thing of the past so you may want to consider that. We’re probably an interest rate hike away from GIC’s paying more than what you’re paying on the car loan. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/24 "2022-04-15T10:31:03Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > In normal times I’d figure my investments would return \> 3.74% so just keep paying the car loan, but the market has been flat for the last 6 months. I have the cash to just pay off the car. Should I do that or keep shoveling the money into my Schwab/Vanguard/etc? Something to think about: any comparable investment would have to give a guaranteed return of 3.74% per year for the next 4 or less years (you didn’t say how many years were left). Savings accounts won’t get it, money markets won’t get it. A dividend stock _might_ pay out over 4 years without decreasing in value, but it might not. I don’t know of any investment that can make that guarantee (unless you have another loan with an even higher rate that you haven’t mentioned). ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/25 "2022-04-15T14:54:30Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > You’re welcome. Loans at rates you’re paying now are quite likely to become a thing of the past so you may want to consider that. We’re probably an interest rate hike away from GIC’s paying more than what you’re paying on the car loan. Meh, I’m just going to drive the car for 5 more years, at which point it’ll have only 60k miles on it. Who knows what the landscape of 2027 will be like? ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827/26 "2022-04-15T16:51:42Z")
That’s a very good point. This is one of those situations where there really isn’t a “wrong” answer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-off-my-car/962827.md?page=1)