I’ve never had a car payment or bought new either. There’s an ex-car salesman in the family and he’s always said that cars lose a third of their value as soon as they’re driven off the lot. I think that’s okay if it’s a company car and you can write off the loss but makes for bad economics otherwise.
I appreciate fast cars so will rent one now and again, or a big saloon if I need the space and comfort. Otherwise I buy privately and with cash, and save what I would have spent on too many holidays.
Four vehicles, no payments. My spouse and I decided about 12 years ago that we no longer wanted car payment(s). We pay cash for an older vehicle and drive it until it dies.
Took out our first ever car loan last year for a new 2012 Mazda3. This was our first car purchase in 15 years, and, though we could have paid cash, the loan rate was <2% for 36 months, so we financed a little over half the cost just for cash flow purposes.
Payments are a little less than $350/month. If my wife is able to go from part- to full-time teaching, we’ll pay it off more quickly.
I have bought 8 cars going back to 1960, all for cash. Four were new, including two before my kids went to college and two after they finished, those last two in 1990 and 2007. While they were in college I drove a couple of clunkers for which I paid about $500 and $1000.