JABCAT

Would you buy a 5 year old F150 for $70k at $950/month?

For most people, the Corvette is a toy, not their DD. With big discounts on new Stingrays, this particular car doesn't seem like the best deal for the OP at that monthly payment.

Re: paying cash vs financing, there is no right or wrong answer. I've paid cash for some, I've financed a lot. My current M2 I traded in a vehicle that was paid off and the equity left me financing 1/2 the cost of the M2. My wife's vehicles are always financed because she receives a company vehicle allowance plus mileage. That allowance more than pays for her X3MC plus insurance for 3 vehicles.

I wouldn't finance a 5 year old vehicle without a b2b warranty & almost out of powertrain warranty for $950/month for 72 months.

mefly2

My annual 1973 contract for teaching was $4500 and I still bought a new silver Corvette...

BandDirector

...and I thought I had it bad! My 1st year teaching was '95-'96 and I made $23,500! I did buy a new '96 Camaro that first year though! My car payment was more than my rent!

dohabandit

Let me ask you this... do you have any credit card debt?
If the answer is you have multiple cards and carrying month to month balances on those cards, you do NOT need a C8. You need to get control of your finances first!

if you are already having trouble figuring out if you can afford one, have you considered the LIFECYCLE / SUSTAINMENT COST of ownership yet?
Oil changes, DCT filters, DCT fluid, air filters, tires, wheels, brakes, etc etc. Everything on this car is more expensive than a standard vehicle.
People ask me if I have a problem with the cost of gasoline since I have to run 93 octane and top tier fuel. I also do not run in V4 mode very often so my fuel economy is around 15MPG avg. (or less). I always tell them if you can afford the car, you can afford the gas. If you can barely afford the car, the gas might be an issue for you because it's not cheap and only getting worse. Couple more refineries inside Russia were just hit in the last 48 hours.

One Vettey Boi

literally what I did, people think any debt is bad debt. That isn't the case. I got my C8 in 21 when money was cheap because interest rates were so low, 2.3%. I took what I would have paid for the car, and bought a large amount of stocks with it (hello Nvidia).

Almost 0 rich people ever pay cash for anything they own because of this mentality. Why drop $4m on a car when they can take the $4m, invest it, and make 5x that?

One Vettey Boi

good points about the CC stuff and also for the maintenance of the car. I was going to say gas is a definite cost consideration, someone like me who daily's my C8 and it's my only car. I got a Costco membership just for gas because I can save more than the cost of the membership in about 3-5 months of gas use

Corvette03051

sounds good if you hit the market but on the other hand if things don’t go well you lose your money, have a car debt on a depreciating asset and go broke! Take the older people’s advice we know from experience. We have money and just buy things while living debt free as a bird. Maybe that’s better but maybe I’m old and stupid

Victory2024@

Trust me a Honda wouldn't even compare to a C8,I have a brand Accord 2023 Touring Hybrid top of the line Accord .
When I drive my 2024 C8 2LT HTC,
Next day I don't feel like driving my accord anymore .

Vrrooom

I don’t know why everyone is on the bandwagon of pay cash or you can’t afford it. Well I understand why that’s their opinion but not why they believe it’s suitable for everyone.

If you have all your required obligations covered (food, house, savings, retirement, etc.), you’re buying the vehicle for a fair market price, and you can comfortably afford the cash outlay monthly to make the payment, then go for it.

3LZR21U

Retirement is almost never covered. Maybe the average Corvette person is a bit different. For the vast majority of people in the USA--retirement is not covered. Not in the least. I would venture that at least 90% of people in the USA are completely fucked if SS doesn't give them a monthly stipend. Sure, you may have paid into it. It isn't solvent and eventually it is going to hard-break. And if that's a key part of your retirement plan--you are going to get screwed.

FWIW, I don't think "revenue streams" in general may be sufficient. We're rapidly approaching "freezers full of game meat, backup generators full of diesel, and tripwires to guard your underground bunker".

Corvette03051

Did you forget it is never smart to pay 8% more for a depreciation heavy item? Plus nothing is guaranteed period other than taxes and death. We know plenty about your future that you don’t think will happen to you. Good luck owing money as a game plan.BTW I’ve had 45 corvettes, 21 collector cars and 30 +- Luxury daily drivers. It may be wise to not owe money. Debt free for me!!!

rackemup

Amazing stuff here but what always seems to appear in these cash vs car loan discussions where the Wall Street movers and shakers burst forth with their wisdom.
I am sure we would all enjoy hearing the details on exactly how one beats car loan interest not by just a few percent but a 500% spread. We are not too far away from 8 figure net worth and would love to know how to get this 500% return in the same time frame as the usual car loan. Please also include where I can purchase the same crystal ball that guides you in the direction of these fantastic returns that 99.9% of us never see in a lifetime. 500% returns indeed.

jimmie jam

[QUOTE=One Vettey Boi;160777540Almost 0 rich people ever pay cash for anything they own because of this mentality. Why drop $4m on a car when they can take the $4m, invest it, and make 5x that?[/QUOTE]

This statement is nearly 100% not true...not even close. Sounds like a late night infomercial on how to get "rich"......very few people acquire "real wealth" by servicing debt.

Samuel Clemens

I can tell you without question that your statement “0 rich people ever pay cash for anything” is definitely not true. Sam

GatorsJMC

True
But there is a balance in life. If you have ALL your money working for you, you have NO money deployed in the benefit of it's use. That's where a Corvette may come in,- or not. It's entirely YOUR priorities.

Didier9

Check insurance rates, it will be a non-negligible part of your monthly outlay

Didier9

I agree. Considering that the OP could apparently not afford a significant repair without a lot pf pain, getting a 4 years old car with all the options and no warranty seems like a suboptimum choice.
Get a recent 1LT with few options and warranty, and enjoy the peace of mind. My wife's car is a 1LT with fancy wheels and dark windows and you know what, she enjoys the heck out of it, every single day, almost 3 years later. So much so that I had to buy my own because she would not let me drive hers. Even though we bought it in '21 with a substantial markup, it stickered at 63k.

rackemup

Exactly!
Call a spade a spade here and understand that the majority of guys who are floating 90%(or more) with a car loan on a Corvette do so because they really cannot aquire it any other way, plain and simple but what folks do who spend their lives working for the bank.

QuickSilver20

of all the personal finance books I’ve read financially literate people ask “how much” vs “how much per month”. I could care less about how much a monthly payment is assuming I can make it. But more concerned about how the purchase impacts my overall financial goals both short term and long term.

another thing to consider is everyone has difference preferences but right now some of the larger corvette dealers are selling new corvettes at 4-6k off sticker. I would much rather have a brand new 1LT then a used higher trim that is approaching the end of its warranty.

rackemup

Payment buyers are usually folks with little long term financial literacy or self control. Unfortunately there are millions of Americans whose lifestyle is totally dictated by "payments". This is financial suicide over the longer term and a great way to end up 70 some years old, retired, and broke outside of some home equity which is a brutal situation.