Well, your car's value plus your disposable assets.

But I agree. A lot of these problems are solved by not buying such expensive cars.

Being expensive is not so much an issue as it is buying a car that will depreciate faster than it can be paid for, because that's how people get in over their heads.

It's not just expensive cars, people are putting tiny down payments on cheap new cars financed for long terms and they're under water for years.

Not everyone buys a car to sell their car though. Some of us buy vehicles to keep, collect, race, trade, etc. I could not care LESS what the value of my 2 sports cars is in 15 years unless it soars to the moon for some reason and I become a millionaire.

This isn't /r/frugal fwiw.

I know, I have a few vehicles without plates in my garage :)

I’m talking about the people buying cars for transportation who are in a financial situation for which GAP insurance might be a concern.

Unless you’re going to put 40% down, you’ll have a day when the loan balance exceeds the value of the car.

My last car loan was at 0% (meaning the only cost of financing was the insurance company profit on the collision policy that I had to take because of the loan). No way am I putting down 40% on a 0% loan.

I could have charged the car on my credit card for the points and paid it off 45 days later; it’s not a matter of being able to afford it.

Not at all, something like a used Tacoma on a short financing term will not need anywhere close to a 40% down payment to stay above water.

I have a 3% loan on one of my $25k cars I race because my money makes 8-10% in the markets and having $25k sitting in them vs giving to a leinholder dropped me 3-4% yoy on it (3% loan), but it still isn't 0, or negative it's in the +4-8% range. I also take tons of 0% loans year through year. You can utilize debt and credit to your gain it becomes more of a "Ok I will pay you $30k in 3 months instead of right now because my money sitting here makes more than you charge me to borrow or less than the money makes sitting in my account paying you 3%." You know, those 4.5%+ SAVINGS accounts right now?? I make TWICE that in the market.

It's not smarter to bypass Apples 0% interest financing on a $3500 macbook or VR headset than drop the $3500 that will now make %0 interest for you immediately.

Some of you (all of us?) were taught some moral/ethical line about not incurring debt by our ignorant boomer parents who follow the "don't ever be in debt!!!" mantra, which is literally impossible nowadays. And they are INSANELY in debt. Almost every boomer home owner has a reverse mortgage!! Your boomer parents were rich at $50k. We are not. My boomer parents had a $150k 3500sq ft house. I have a $3100/mo 1300sq ft townhouse.

Learn financing.

I pay my boomer parents rent now because they royally fucked up their finances. Do not listen to boomers for financial advice. And I mean the bobbleheads on TV as well. I guarantee a LOT of you will be paying your parents rents soon. My moms 71. They were stupid beyond belief with their money. Just remember all the trash they bought in the 1990s, 454 cubic liter 2500 HD suburbans? Hummers? Massive houses?

Go torch your Kiyosaki books and everything else and throw that $1500 Camry you've driven for 35 years in the trash and spend the whopping $20k on a new car that can survive a collision and enjoy your life. Who gives a fuck if you're rich at 75 when you can't do anything.