Is $242 a month for 60 months a good deal on a 2003 car for someone with no major credit history?

Question

The only credit history I have is revolving credit (credit cards). I owe about $5000 in credit cards so far (past debt). This will be my first car note. Is this a good deal for a 2003 Toyota, Camry? The car is 10,900. I can't get a new car because I am still in school. I know car dealers and banks are only concern about how much they can make off of you. But is this a good deal for me?

Answer 1

Really need to know the loan amount to give the best answer. However, if you are borrowing $10k for 60 months for $242/mth., then your interest rate is nearly 16%.  Considering your a 1st time buyer and the car is 5 model years old, the deal is average.  You could probably get the interest rate down to 10-12% if a parent or other adult with good credit would agree to co-sign with you.  Although the loan rate is high, your not paying a secondary (bad credit) rate which would be in the 18-22% range.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

I can't say if it is good or bad.  From your info (assuming you financed the whole $10,900), you are paying

Interest   12%

total paymt  $14,520

total interest $3,620

Good Luck...

Answer 3

Well, yes and no.

Would I finance a 5-yr old car for 5 more years? No. Not a chance. If you have even $3500 or more in the bank, I would have purchased a used Civic, Corolla, etc. You have to keep in mind that when you pay that Camry off, it's going to be a 10-yr old car.

However, it doesn't sound like you have much choice in your credit situation. So, with that in mind, I would say "Yes, buying a Camry would be an ok deal if I was in your position." Sounds like you're going to a "buy here, pay here" lot, which I would not recommend, but it might not be a choice for you. The interest rate is high, which you cannot avoid. However, you chose a decent car.

So, with this in mind, I would offer this advice: take good care of that Camry (it will hold its resale value), and do what you can to double-up on payments. Pay that thing off as fast as you can.

Answer 4

What's the percentage rate? Is the loan 10,900 with taxes and everything? If so it's decent. I am paying $238 for my Grand Prix that was 11,300 after taxes for 60 months. I am paying 9.9% APR on my loan.

Answer 5

I agree with some of the people on here.  I don't think I would want to pay almost $11,000 for a used car.  You could almost buy a new car for a few thousand dollars more, it almost seems like a waste of money.  Plus you could get a full warranty on a new car as well.  I bought my 2007 Toyota Corolla for a little over $14,000 last year and it's on a 5 year plan too and I also bought the extended warranty which covers it for a total of 7 years.  You have to remember that once your 3 month warranty is over you would be stuck with any major mechanical bills that happen to come along and making your car payment on top of that!  If you are like me I usually don't have a few hundred dollars laying around so I would be in a major crunch not being able to get it repair right away.  That is the reason I got a full warranty so I wouldn't have to worry about repair bills along with making my car payments too. So my overall opinion is I don't  think it's a great deal for a used car, but I understand it if it's your only option in getting a car so good luck to you!

Answer 6

I would pay more attention to your interest rate rather than you payment amount.  If you are getting a really high rate that will affect your payment as well.  Try checking with a bank rather than going through the dealer's.  Some banks will have a first time car buyer deal.  Check the value of the vehicle on Kelly Blue Book and compare that to what they want.  If the bank doesn't have enough value in the car, you can still get it but you will have to put money down. And who wants to pay more for something than what it's worth.

Answer 7

Sound high, if your cedit history is good, try a credit union, you'll get a better deal.