All totally valid points. If used responsibly across all those elements, within someone’s budget, with the ability to tolerate the risk… I can see the case for

All totally valid points. If used responsibly across all those elements, within someone’s budget, with the ability to tolerate the risk… I can see the case for financing. I just think most people don’t quite use car loans that way… hence the proliferation of 72 month+ loans. (But then, they’re adults who can make their own decisions, so fair enough. They would probably say I’m risk averse, anyway.) > Hey, an extra 1% a year for the duration of one’s working life adds up quite significantly! I agree - but in this case, you’re not really netting an extra 1% per year forever… in that example, you’re saying you’d have a car payment for your entire working life! And a long period of buying depreciating assets I think is going to hurt a lot more in the long run than the 1% spread :) That being said, I get that purchases are not always spreadsheet math. So maybe someone is willing to spend a little more over time to drive newer cars, and that’s up to them.