# What is your monthly car payment? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876 "2013-05-09T09:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/21 "2013-05-09T13:42:16Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > See, I just looked up the cost of the base model with automatic transmission, and the total price here in Ontario is $22K. > > Man that pisses me off. I got an awesome deal in general. I went to four dealers and with three of them, the price would have ended up being over $18k. But this one is about 25 minutes out of town, so it’s a bit of a haul, and to attract people, they often lower their prices. They were great. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/22 "2013-05-09T13:45:43Z")
Nothing! 🙂 I paid off my Prius in March. The payments had been $343.45. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/23 "2013-05-09T13:49:40Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Never had a vehicle loan. > > I received advice early in life to start out with a cheap used vehicle, learn how to do the fixes it requires, and make car payments in the form of saving money so you can afford to pay cash for the next vehicle. This has worked great and has avoided the need to pay a ton of money to banks in the form of loan interest. I see, you’re one of _them_! 🙂 I had as car paid off once for 3 years. The whole 3 years I was itching for something new. Then last year I paid off my car on Tuesday and bought a new one on Saturday. Owning a fun new car is one of the pleasures I get in life. I figure if I can swing it, fine. Only live once and all that. Though at times I wish I had your mentality. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/24 "2013-05-09T13:52:37Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I see, you’re one of _them_! 🙂 > > I had as car paid off once for 3 years. The whole 3 years I was itching for something new. Then last year I paid off my car on Tuesday and bought a new one on Saturday. Holy moly. I mean, if you can afford it, more power to you, but I run my cars for at least ten years. This Fit is my first new car ever; every other car I bought was either given to me by my family or bought for very very cheap. I really wanted a new car, even though I knew about the depreciation, but I figure it doesn’t matter as much since I don’t care about resale value. Replacing a car every three years is something my family in India does, go figure. (Dad’s side - mom’s side is too poor.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/25 "2013-05-09T13:54:06Z")
Both vehicles (2000 Nissan Frontier, 2003 Saturn Ion) are paid for and have been for years. When we get the new truck later this year it will be a cash deal. I too am a person who drives a car until it dies. The last truck I traded in had over 230,000 miles on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/26 "2013-05-09T13:58:04Z")
Paid off, so zero. Payments were around $150 for five years. Now it’s eight years old, but since I barely have 20,000 miles on it, I figure I’ll keep it for awhile (no, I don’t drive much). ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/27 "2013-05-09T14:07:05Z")
$0 now, but at the time (a bit over 6 years ago) it was $360 or so. It’s an 05 and I paid it off in 07. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/28 "2013-05-09T14:12:46Z")
0-50. More specifically 0. I haven’t made a car payment in years. I don’t buy cars anymore unless I can pay for them in full. ---
**Author:** ![AlaskanMatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@AlaskanMatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlaskanMatt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/29 "2013-05-09T14:22:32Z")
$291/month for 48 months (including 3.5% finance rate) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/30 "2013-05-09T14:56:16Z")
$0! Made my last car payment a few months ago. Up to that point I was paying $280/month on a 3-year loan for a used Mazda3, and a few years prior $220/month for about half the cost of a new Fiesta. My wife and I are brokeass grad students so I’m pretty proud of completely paying off two cars in three years. Editorial aside: it’s pretty amazing how comfortable finances are if you have enough to meet basic necessities and then live within your means. By comparison, my parents have 4x my income and are always struggling to make ends meet… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/31 "2013-05-09T14:56:43Z")
Mine is $811. But I only have one because I got zero percent interest, so I financed it for 36 months. It seemed to make the sales guy happy. I usually pay cash for my cars. Even at 0%, I’m uncomfortable having car payments, so I’m paying extra each month to get it paid off early. We will be done in a month or two I think. ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/32 "2013-05-09T15:03:45Z")
My car has been paid off for a couple of years, but the payments were $212 per month. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/33 "2013-05-09T15:06:49Z")
Bought a new Impala in December, paid cash for it. Same for Harley Davidson Fatboy. Owe 5k on Silverado which is paid ahead 6 months at 150 per month because I put so much down on it…I do not pay it off cuz someone told me you need o keep credit up with some kind of payment As a rule I pay cash for everything. And since I started this, my savings are massively more than ever Young folks, please take note. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/34 "2013-05-09T15:07:06Z")
I pay $302 a month for 60 months at 0% interest. 2009 Toyota Camry. I tend to keep cars about 7 years but I’m going to convince myself to keep this one for 10 so I can save money for another new car with a lower payment. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/35 "2013-05-09T15:09:02Z")
Also paid cash for a late model Volvo that I gave to a needy nephew ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/36 "2013-05-09T15:12:24Z")
Our vehicles are all paid for - we bought the last one for cash + trade-in and that felt sooooooo nice! But if I recall, our last auto loan was over $400/mo. I need to point out that it was a 3-year loan on a $15K car with no money down. And we paid it off early. The goal now is to have enough in savings to do cash + trade, altho if we’re careful, we may only need to buy one more car before we can no longer drive. We shall see… ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/37 "2013-05-09T15:22:41Z")
Mine’s $378.something but I round up to $380 on a 2012 Fiesta. I traded in a 2007 Impala that I still owed on and rolled that into the new loan (back-ended it). I’ve paid 13 months and have 47 to go. Take note kids, this in NOT the way to do it, but I get tired of cars quickly so I’m pretty much always trading cars I still owe on. I think I’ve actually only paid off about 3 or 4 vehicles. Although, to be fair, I bought one for $50 and sold it a week later for $75. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/38 "2013-05-09T15:23:33Z")
$620/mo for a 2011 Honda Accord V-6 coupe (the car + some of the remaining loan associated with the lemon I traded in), with 0.09% financing. The amount I actually pay each month varies: usually $700/mo, but sometimes things are a little tight – like right now, because I just moved and have a whole bunch of related one-time expenses – and then I just make the minimum payment. Well, _my_ minimum: Honda says that I only have to make a payment of a couple hundred dollars, because my account is ahead, but I never pay less than $620. I’ll probably trade it in as soon as I’m no longer upside-down on the loan (hopefully within the next year): it’s a fine vehicle, but I kind of “overcorrected” after my sports car turned out to be a lemon…I’ve been wanting another sports car ever since. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/39 "2013-05-09T15:26:04Z")
$0. My 2005 Saturn Ion III is paid off. It’s nice not having a car payment. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876/40 "2013-05-09T15:56:55Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > $620/mo for a 2011 Honda Accord V-6 coupe (the car + some of the remaining loan associated with the lemon I traded in), with 0.09% financing. > > The amount I actually pay each month varies: usually $700/mo, but sometimes things are a little tight – like right now, because I just moved and have a whole bunch of related one-time expenses – and then I just make the minimum payment. Well, _my_ minimum: Honda says that I only have to make a payment of a couple hundred dollars, because my account is ahead, but I never pay less than $620. > > I’ll probably trade it in as soon as I’m no longer upside-down on the loan (hopefully within the next year): it’s a fine vehicle, but I kind of “overcorrected” after my sports car turned out to be a lemon…I’ve been wanting another sports car ever since. Look at the Subaru BRZ! I just bought one and love, love, love the ride! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-monthly-car-payment/657876.md?page=3)