Current Events > If a person has $10,000 in the bank.... smart to buy a new car?

(+) Yeah! (+)

and use that $10,000 as a down payment?

or better to buy used and avoid the monthly payments? (at the same time risk a used car having problems)
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If it were me, I'd just go used.
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No, because you don't earn credit by paying everything off immediately. If your credit is fine, and you have well more than $10,000 at your disposal, then go ahead and put that down payment down on it. Otherwise, it's just a short started and foolhardy exercise in down payment.
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Brand new cars lose so much value in the first year it's unreal. You can get really good cars with low mileage for a fraction of what you'll pay for a brand new car.
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Alucard188 posted...

If your credit is fine, and you have well more than $10,000 at your disposal, then go ahead and put that down payment down on i

Credit scores are overrated. I don't know why people care about them so much. The idea that people seem to aim to be able to get into as much debt as possible is just insane to me. Especially if you're the sort of person that can save up 10k.
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I also Echo the sentiment that you don't need a new car. Used cars are just as good, and you can get them for a lot cheaper.
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Bought a CPO Acura almost exactly a year ago. Going the used route gets you more bang for your buck. Imagine that the money you spend on a brand new Corolla is enough to grab maybe a late model Infiniti G.
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Izual_Reborn posted...

Credit scores are overrated. I don't know why people care about them so much. The idea that people seem to aim to be able to get into as much debt as possible is just insane to me. Especially if you're the sort of person that can save up 10k.

Wholeheartedly disagree.

Building credit is easy and does not require you to go into massive debt. The goal isn't to get into as much debt as possible either. But having great credit opens so many doors down the line. Home ownership versus renting is a great example. If you rent you're always losing. If you own a home, sure you might run the risk of problems or depreciation. But the opposite can also be true. It's certainly more of an investment.

But the vast majority of the world cannot meaningfully save up for a home in a reasonable amount of time. Unless we're talking trailer park status, or years to decades of saving. Credit is a tool, and so is as good or bad as you are able to utilize it. I find someone scared of credit just as dumb as someone who runs themselves into huge trouble from credit.
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I don't know how it works in the US but in the UK a mortgage is secured against the home itself and so the only important thing about a credit rating is making sure you aren't shown to be unreliable when it comes to debt.

Credit ratings are more for unsecured debt rather than mortgages and conflating unsecured vs secured debt is disingenuous, to say the least.

Everyone has been brainwashed that it's all about credit ratings but if it's a mortgage then affordability and a decent deposit is more important.
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bump
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b.u.m.p.
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I agree with shopping around for a good used car instead.
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Why were you looking to spend all your money? That's something that children do.
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i don't think it's wise to liquidate your entire savings account for anything aside from life saving medical expenses. you should always have some disposable cash for emergencies, preferably enough to live on for ~6 months.
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buy a used car for $5000 cash