How do you make your payments?

[ozmdd]

Good lord! Some of the payments here don't hardly seem worth it! I financed $9000 at 4.00% through my CU, and paid the other $4000 down cash from selling my 1997 CRV privately (Trade-in is always the worst way to go. My dealer offered me $500!). I know we all need reliable transportation, but buying used can really save you money. If you look online, you can find 06 and 07 Yarii for $7-8K, and a good Echo/Corolla can be had for $4k.
Kudos to the folks here who mentioned paying off their credit card debt; its the single best thing you can do for yourself. I learned the hard way too, but its been really satisfying to live debt-free since I bit the bullet and paid everything off. It took over a year of living on a shoestring and skipping ALL fun spending, but you'll never regret it. Once that Yaris is paid off, drive it till at least 200,000 miles! That's how you get your money's worth. My CRV had 190,000 and ran fine. Wife's 2000 Accord has 160K, my 92 Chevy p/u has 205K, all run perfect. Today's Hondas, Toyotas and Mazdas will easily go 200,000 with simple maintenance. OK, no more preaching...just wanted to share that you don't have to spend $500/month to own a good car like the banks/car companies want you to believe you do.