How much can you afford to spend on a car?
A good rule of thumb: your monthly auto loan payment should not be more than 20% of the money you have available each month after you pay for your usual living expenses ? rent or mortgage, utilities, food and transportation, credit card payments, etc. When reviewing your budget, you should also take into consideration other associated costs including fuel, license, registration, personal property taxes and insurance. Call your insurance company before you purchase your car to determine what the monthly insurance cost will be. If you’re taking out a car loan, figure on a down payment of at least 10 percent. Lenders might be skeptical otherwise. If you have enough cash available to boost that percentage, do so. Cutting the principal of your loan will do more to slash payments than getting a lower interest rate. If you have ailing credit, which can result from a pattern of late payments, you may find yourself in the “subprime” financing arena. If you have credit problems, you should first
