Car loan assistance

[JoeP]

This is an important point. The dealer finds out from you how much you can afford to pay on the vehicle each month, and builds a finance package that matches that payment. They extend the life of the loan until it equals what you can afford to pay each month.

What they fail to explain clearly enough to you is that you will be making that payment for six years (plus one month), and just how much you will pay in interest expense.

Nicely put. That's exactly why you discuss vehicle price as opposed to "how much you can afford to pay per month" when negotiating a vehicle price.

There are plenty of free apps that allow you to enter the vehicle price, how much cash deposit you will bring (at least 20% here), your credit union's interest rate, and the length of time you want to be in the loan (not to exceed 3 years). If it spits out a monthly payment that exceeds what you can afford, then you cannot afford the vehicle.

The solutions are to: negotiate harder, select another vehicle, or come up with more down payment.

[snafu]

$ 25,550. for a 2014 Focus? Will you drive it until the wheels fall off? What do you imagine it will be worth in 2021? Going the other way, what would you pay for a 2007 Focus?