I get a lot of questions from people about car financing. And it makes me wish that more people were educated on how owning new cars can be the biggest destroyer to their personal net worth. I dont mind automotive manufacturers earning a lot of profit, and I know of one that earns the majority of their money by financing and leasing cars. It just doesnt have to be your money, all the time.
There is a spectrum of two extremes that you can follow for car ownership. You can hold brand new cars for only a couple years (buying or leasing) or you can hold each vehicle for well over 5 years (and maybe buy them used in the first place). You can already guess which one is financially healthier, but it will help if you know why.
It is my observation that owning a brand new car for less than 4 years is the biggest destroyer of anyones net worth. I have a lesson plan for you if this is your preference of car ownership. Each year, you should be forced to withdraw the cash equivalent of the amount that your car depreciated over the last year. Then you take that wad of cash, and in front of your parents, spouse, kids, and financial planner you feed it all into an industrial...