I received a letter from my local credit union over the weekend, informing me that I was pre-approved.
According to the letter, my credit union is always looking for ways to save me money and now they’re happy to present me with an excellent opportunity to save, when I buy a new auto; and to think, I wasn’t even in the market for a new car. My current car is seven years old and has a hundred and ten thousand miles on it. I thought I was happy with it. My wife’s vehicle is twelve years old and has two hundred twenty thousand miles. She tells me, she will be very upset, if it doesn’t make it to three hundred thousand miles.
Anyway, the letter says the new auto loan will be with the people I know and trust, where I am treated like family. Then, what is this small footnote and little writing on the back of the letter? Well, the actual Annual Percentage Rates can range from 1.99% to as much as eighteen percent and the length of the loan can be for as long as eighty-four months for a 2017 or newer model.
Wait a minute, are they kidding, seven years! Ever notice how even mothers stop referring to their children’s ages by months, once they’ve reached the age of three. Can you image, saying,” yes, my son here is eighty-four months old”. Really?
Other options, according to the letter are 72, 60, 48 and 36 months. The more I read, the less I was impressed that I was pre-approved for this money saving offer and that I should “act today”.
There’s a better solution to the financing of an automobile. Buy right, Hold onto it for as long as possible and finance it yourself. Yes, finance it yourself. Cash is king. Aren’t you getting tire of helping add to the profits of your credit union or bank? Squirreling enough cash away allows you to act as your very own bank. I squirrel my safe money away in the cash values of my life insurance policies which are guaranteed by the issuing life insurance companies and it is there when I need it. I like to call it my emergency and opportunity fund; because you never know when you might have an emergency or when you might have an opportunity. Both require cash and like I said, cash is king.
