It’s expensive buying a car and it only gets more so as time goes on. Over time, the price of new cars has increased faster than the rate of inflation. This isn’t entirely due to greed on the part of automakers; cars are also more complicated and useful than they used to be. Sure, they were cheaper in the 1960’s, but they didn’t include air conditioning, air bags and video systems. Convenience and safety comes at a price.
With the increase in price comes an increase in the length of time people are taking to pay off their cars. Few people pay cash; most people take out loans and pay over time. The average car loan, which used to be repaid over a period of three years, now averages about six years in duration. That’s a long time to pay for a car, especially if you have no plans to own it for that long.
Taking six years to pay for a car has its advantages, as the payments are lower than they would be over a shorter loan term. Such a long loan does have a significant disadvantage, though – you can find yourself in a negative equity, or “upside down”, situation. This can be a serious problem – if you should total the car in an accident, your insurance company will only pay you the value of the car, and not the amount you still owe.
A buyer is described as being upside down when he or she owes more on a car loan than the car is worth. It’s easy to find yourself in an upside situation, and it can occur under any of the following circumstances:
Insufficient down payment – Cars depreciate as much as 25% the minute you drive them off of the lot. If you haven’t provided enough of a down payment to cover that depreciation, you may find yourself upside down immediately.
Trading in too often – Buyers like to trade cars in and roll their outstanding balance into a new loan. These unpaid debts can contribute to negative equity.
Too long a loan – Five and six year loans often lead to negative equity. You can often avoid it by keeping the length of loans to three years or less.
In order to avoid a potential problem in the event of an accident, you should contact your insurance provider to make sure that you have “gap insurance.” Gap insurance will make sure that you are protected should you have an accident while in an upside down situation. Without gap insurance, you may find yourself still making car payments even though you no longer have a car. That is the last thing any car owner wants.
Tags: Air Bags, Air Conditioning, Automakers, Car Loan, Circumstances, Convenience, Depreciation, Duration, Greed, Insurance Company, Length Of Time, Loan Term, Loans, Long Time, Negative Equity, New Cars, Rate Of Inflation, Six Years, Unpaid Debts, Video SystemsRelated posts
Cars loans do not require any preface; they are widely popular in the financial market and especially among those who cannot afford cars directly from their own. Cars are the easiest way to commute from one destination to another but not every one is capable enough to purchase a car. Hence, car loans may be a good alternative for you when you urgently require car for your various household usages.
Car loans may be secured or unsecured; you can opt for any one of these depending upon your financial capabilities and circumstances. Secured car loan suits those people who possess a property and wish to offer it as collateral. Presence of property minimizes the risk of lender and he is comfortable to offer low interest rate. You get all the benefits in secured car loan such as long period of repayment, small and affordable monthly instalments and flexible terms and conditions. However, the only thing you have to take care of is to make regular monthly instalments to avoid repossession of property in case you fail to repay the amount.
While unsecured car loan does not have any risk of losing your property because it requires no collateral from the borrower. However, you are burdened with heavy monthly charges with short repayment time and heavy interest rate.
However, buying a car is a big time investment hence, before you shop around for your dream vehicle it is for your benefit if you take into consideration your budget and other financial issues. A fierce competition among lenders may help you get the best car loan deal. You can explore the market on the Internet and approach lenders directly online.
Tags: Best Car, Big Time, Car Cars, Car Loan, Car Loans, Circumstances, Collateral, Dream Vehicle, Easy Loans, Financial Capabilities, Flexible Terms, Household Loans, Instalments, Interest Rate, Lenders, Loan Deal, Preface, Repossession, Suits, Time InvestmentRelated posts
With the price of a new car getting higher and higher each year, many buyers choose to buy used cars instead. The price of a new car can easily equal a year’s pay for many people, so buying a used car makes sense. But there are risks associated with buying a pre-owned vehicle. What if is defective? What if it is a lemon law buyback? Once should always be a bit suspicious of a used vehicle. After all, if it is a great buy, then why did the original owner choose to part with it?
To resolve some of these issues, as well as to compete with volume dealers of used cars such as Carmax, the major auto manufacturers have introduced the concept of a “certified used car.” These cars are inspected for problems, repaired if necessary, and offered for sale with a warranty that is better than the one typically offered with sales of used cars. In exchange for this added peace of mind, the buyer pays a higher price than he or she otherwise might.
This program is good for dealers, who find the cars easier to sell, and for the manufacturers, who get a fee from the dealers in exchange for certifying the vehicles. The problem for the consumer is that there are cars being sold as certified used cars that may not really be certified. Worse, some of these cars have problems that are so severe that they possibly shouldn’t be sold at all.
Some states have rigid laws that prevent cars with certain types of damage, such as from fire, flood, or a severe accident, from being sold within that state under any circumstances. And yet there are reports of such vehicles having been transported to neighboring states, where their titles can be “laundered.” Some of these cars have then been sold as certified used cars.
There are several lawsuits pending in California over the sale of such cars, and the problem will continue to exist as long as there is no national standard regarding the sale of used cars. Does this mean that buyers should steer clear of certified used cars? Of course not. What it does mean is that buyers should exercise caution when they shop for a used vehicle, whether it is certified or not. And that is just plain common sense.
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When It Comes To Buying Car Finance Look Online First
When it comes to buying car finance your first port of call should be online. By going online with a specialist car finance website you are able to access some of the top UK car loan providers to determine which would be the cheapest option for your particular circumstances. Car finance comes in many different forms and it is imperative that you understand your options and what each option entails so when it comes to comparing you know which is better for your personal needs.
The most popular type of car finance is hire purchase, this is simply a loan which you take out after paying a deposit against the car and then pay for the remainder over a certain period of time. The monthly repayments will depend on how much you wish to borrow, how long you wish to take the loan over and the deposit you are willing to put down. Of course your credit rating will be taken into account as well and you will be putting the car up as security against the money you are borrowing in case you find you cannot afford to keep up the repayments.
An alternative method when it comes to buying car finance is to go for a popular choice called personal contract purchase. Again you will put a deposit down to reduce the amount left to borrow on the car and then take out an agreement which will last for a specified term during which very low monthly repayments are made, after this there will be a lump sum left which will mean you have choices to make. If you decide to pay off the balance left owing then the car is yours, if you want to part exchange for a new car you can or you can give the car back and you owe nothing more.
A lease or credit purchase is very similar to the personal contract purchase method of buying car finance but you do not have the option of changing cars or of giving it back, you have to find the money for the balance left owing. All finance options suit different circumstances and information and advice can be found with a specialist website regarding all options. Understanding what you are taking on is essential so you have to not only compare the rates of interest and deals but also unearth any hidden charges, these are usually found in the key facts which should come with the loan.
Buying car finance is never easy and it is not something which should be rushed into, never be tempted by what seems to be very low interest rates without first reading the small print. Hidden costs could be associated with the finance option which could boost up the cost considerably. By reading the small print you can determine how much interest will be added onto the loan, the total amount you will pay and the rate of interest, also how much would be left to pay up at the end of a personal contract purchase or lease purchase.
Tags: Buying Car, Car Finance, Car Hire, Car Loan, Cars, Choices, Circumstances, Credit Rating, Finance Options, Finance Website, Loan Providers, Lump Sum, New Car, Period Of Time, Personal Contract Purchase, Personal Needs, Port Of Call, Remainder, Repayments, Uk Car