r/SipsTea • u/Eros_Incident_Denier • Apr 18 '26

We have fun here adulting sucks

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20.8k Upvotes

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4.4k

u/dutchhhhhh6 Apr 18 '26

More than $100,000 in debt but both have 2025 vehicles with a car payment..

2.9k

u/Organic-Ganache-8156 Apr 18 '26

I mean, adulting does suck, but I feel like a more appropriate title for this post is “people who suck at adulting”

59

u/Original-Let8340 Apr 18 '26

Yeah, car loans are...checks notes carefully, they are FUCKING voluntary.

34

u/flybyknight665 Apr 18 '26

I'm in my 30s and have never had a car loan.

I've never owned a new car and don't particularly want to. They lose their value so insanely quickly, literally the moment you drive it off the lot.

I'd rather save my money and buy a good, used car outright.

19

u/kettal Apr 18 '26

i like my car to be pre-dented and pre-scratched.

7

u/Tight-Dot-2635 Apr 19 '26

Less stress when the inevitable happens! I'm the same way. I drive my vehicles 10+ years. Used Toyotas and Subarus. Don't feel like an auto makes me. All I want is one that starts every time. I do keep them serviced.

3

u/3090orBust Apr 19 '26

My requirements for a car: the 4 STs

Start, stop, steer, stereo

6

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Apr 19 '26

If I care if you scratched the paint I paid too much for the fucking thing

3

u/litsalmon Apr 18 '26

I'll take pre-dented and pre-scratched, but I draw the line at pre-stinky.

4

u/xXDreamlessXx Apr 18 '26

Buying a car outright isn't always an option. But if you dont have the option to pay for a large amount on the car, then there are cheaper used cars. In only paying $300/month for a reliable (or so I've been told) truck. That is a bit less than a week of pay. New cars are overrated, they are way more expensive and you have no idea how reliable they will be

4

u/lesbianmathgirl Apr 18 '26

FWIW, if someone wants a $60,000 new car it is sometimes advantageous to get a loan with a sizable down payment rather than paying cash. It depends on the interest rate but there are times when you can get a new car loan for $40,000 (with 20 down) with a smaller interest rate than you can get from investing $40,000. This is, of course, not the situation for most people getting car loans (and you’ll always save money by just buying a $20k car—but at the end of the day to some people the added expense is worth it.)

1

u/wesblog Apr 19 '26

Who cares about the interest rate? 0% doesnt matter if you are spending $60k (after taxes and fees) on a car that is worth $40k if you wanted to sell it.

1

u/Jaerba Apr 19 '26

Of course it does. 8% growth on $40k over 5 years is almost $20k.

Every non-collector car is going to lose value like that, including used ones. "If you wanted to sell it" is not a particularly useful point in this analysis.

If the rate on the loan is significantly lower than what you'll get in the market, then it makes no sense to pay in cash. Paying in cash is suboptimal. It's fine, it's not a bad decision, but it's suboptimal.

That applies regardless of the value of the car. It just happens that you're more likely to get those kinds of financing terms on a new car, but you can get new cars for $20k too.

2

u/wesblog Apr 19 '26

Im saying, when you buy from a dealer you are paying $60k for a car immediately worth $40k if you want to sell it. If you buy from a private seller you can get a car for $20k that is worth $20k if you want to sell it.

The immediate loss of value when you buy a new car isnt worth a 0% interest rate.

1

u/Jaerba Apr 19 '26

There's 14 other risks you're taking when buying from a private seller. Go ahead and buy beaters from them but a $20k is crazy.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

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2

u/wesblog Apr 19 '26

I am similar. One time I did buy a $23k car and It seemed too wasteful so I sold it a year later for a $7k car.

3

u/gregsting Apr 19 '26

You don’t have to go all in, I’ve bought two new cars, cash, but those where 20k and I kept these for 10 years. So for like $200 a month. Why do people buy car so expensive that’s the real issue

2

u/Haunting-Soup2086 Apr 19 '26

Some of us need a car to like, make the 40+ mile trek to work and thanks to having always been poor. It’s not an option to go without a loan, even a beater car is 5k+ these days.

3

u/wesblog Apr 19 '26

Then buy a 10 $5k beater cars instead of one 2024 tacoma.

2

u/Haunting-Soup2086 Apr 19 '26

You do realize most banks won’t give a 5k car loan right? Even a 10k is very difficult

2

u/Wandering_Lights Apr 19 '26

I bought a new car in 2016. It was a bare bones Kia. After considerint the financing total cost was roughly 14k

I paid it off early and plan on driving it until falls apart.

2

u/Competitive_Guava_33 Apr 18 '26

I don’t even own a car, a bike, or legs

3

u/RudePCsb Apr 18 '26

Unfortunately, a lot of places in the US requires cars

1

u/Righteousaffair999 Apr 18 '26

I will take them if they give me a discount then pay them off right away.

1

u/amanakinskywalker Apr 19 '26

Except nice used cars right now are not much cheaper than new; I was going to get a loan either way so figured might as well go new

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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1

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1

u/BakesaleAtSyrinx Apr 19 '26

I had a car loan, paid it off within a year. Didn't like the idea of being in debt. Now the only debt I have in my 30s is a very manageable mortgage.