Finances

[Tonavi]

Hello to all,

I bought my Yaris in 2007 (I just discovered this forum!) within 10 minutes of seeing it, and love it to death. But I recently took a cut in pay to keep my job, and was wondering how anyone else financed theirs while keeping their payments low. I bought mine with $0 down and the bottom line was $13,768 after all taxes, $12,660 for the car itself. I had a 5 year loan at 6.79%, then refinanced to a 4 year loan at 4.99%. My current balance is +/- $10k, and my current payments are $260.

What are you paying for your Yaris? Is there any realistic way I can get lower payments without increasing the finance charge?

[Forrest]

My son recently did a refinance on a nissan he purchased a couple of years ago. He got a lower interest rate and shortened the loan by a year. Payments are similar but paying less interest on borrowed amount.

[Tonavi]

I did that, too, when I went form a 5 to a 4 year loan. Would cosigning provide a lower rate at least do you think? My mom bought a Lexus ES350 at 2.9% interest for 5 years, but I do not qualify for that. Both of us have excellent credit if that helps.

[SpaceShot]

Your refi rate isn't too bad. I got 3.99%, but it was with a Credit Union that is associated with my employer. I shopped around 4 other deals before taking this one, the catch is that it is a very self service kind of deal. No payment book, envelopes, or anything. I paid $12.5K for the car and put some cash down anticipating what I was selling the old ride for.

As for the reduced pay, I took a hit on my retirement to get through a similar 6 mos period, 3 jobs ago. Then the company was bought out, and I made it up by maxing out on the new company's plan. (NOT a recommended gamble, but one way to keep from defaulting on the home and auto)

[Tonavi]

I guess I'll turn off the cable, phone, and internet to help out, maybe stop eating for the sake of the car.:smile: