Auto Loans Archives

My old minivan may have been a beater, but it just wouldn't die.  This made it hard to run out and buy a pricey new car. I would drive my 2000 Honda (HMC) Odyssey, with pride, I told myself, while chuckling at the newer cars whizzing by. The other drivers can have their fancy rides and their big monthly payments. My clunker may have been showing signs of wear, but it was costing me zero dollars a month with nothing down.   Read more»

You might think you can boost your cash flow by refinancing your car loan.  But such a move might not improve your cash flow by as much as you might think --- and it also could increase the term and overall costs of the loan. "There just aren't a lot of situations where refinancing [an auto loan] makes sense," says F. John Deyeso, a certified financial planner in New York City.   Read more»

It's gotten harder to get a loan, thanks in large part to the subprime mortgage crisis. Part 1 of this two-part series offered advice about how to maintain a strong credit score. Here are some other things you need to do to increase your chances of getting a mortgage, an auto loan or a home equity loan in today's credit climate.   Mortgages   Read more»

Leasing a car is typically easier on your wallet than buying.  But lessees are much more likely than buyers to be taken advantage of, for the simple reason that it's difficult to understand what you're paying for. By law, auto loan contracts must disclose the amount being financed, the interest rate and the size of monthly payments. So it's relatively easy to see if you're being billed correctly.   Read more»

If you're in L.A., you see celebrities driving everywhere. While their cars aren't always clean, they're almost always new, with essential accessories like black DUB-rims or DirectTV satellite.   Read more»

By Christopher Sahl Leasing has become a way of life for many Americans.  In the early 1990s, one in 10 new cars that left the dealer lot were leased, according to Lendingtree.com. By last year, the number had increased to one in five.   Read more»

By Eileen Gunn/TheStreet.comREYKJAVIK -- Owning a car not powered in any way by gasoline seems about as likely as using a jet pack to fly to work. Sure, it might happen, but not anytime soon.   Read more»

By Jeffrey Strain With gasoline prices nearing record levels, many drivers are trying to adopt ways to reduce the amount of gas their car uses. That's a noble goal, but don't fall for some common myths that, in some cases, will end up costing you money. Read more»

Taking a date out for a drive is something Steve McQueen might have done. In today's attention deficit-disordered times, though, dates usually require that a drive has a destination. That's not necessarily so if you're riding in the 50th anniversary edition of the Mercedes SL 550 roadster from DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX) Mercedes-Benz division. Read more»