LeVeL
Forum Addict
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2007
- Messages
- 13,246
I was listening to a podcast today and the discussion revolved around people financing car parts. Basically people who really want to modify their cars but can't afford to do so go through finance companies such as Affirm to take out high-interest loans for their parts list.
The podcast hosts did a challenge where each one picked a brand new car to buy, came up with a mod list, then got rid of the car after two years. Taking into account depreciation, interest rates, etc they were then able to determine how much money they lost during that two year period.
This gets a bit mathy (can't wait for narf to pick this apart) and you have to do some research but I think it's a fun game to play. Feel free to take mods off and sell them before trading the car in to recoup some costs, use different interest rates or loan durations, etc - do this however you'd like. Obviously a big part of it is vehicle depreciation, not just money wasted on mods, but that's part of the game.
Here's my build:
2019 Lincoln MKZ Reserve II
Base Price: $44,995
Price w/options, including AWD and the 3.0 Ecoboost: $53,339
Car Financing:
Term: 5yrs
Interest Rate: 3.5%
Monthly Payment: $970
Cumulative Total at Loan End: $58,217
Total Paid after 2yrs: $23,288
Amount Still Owed: $34,929
Blue Book Trade-In Value after 2yrs and 24k miles: $24,193
Amount Lost: $10,736
Mods:
Livernois Tune: $600
20" MRR wheels + Pilot Sport 4S tires: $4,210
Steeda Rear Sway Bar: $185
Window Tint: $380
TOTAL: $5,375
None of this stuff would get removed when trading the car in, yet the mods won't add any value to the vehicle - they basically never do.
Mod Financing:
Term: 2yrs
Interest Rate: 20%
Monthly Payment: $273.56
Cumulative Total at Loan End: $6,561
Total Paid after 2yrs: $6,561
Amount Still Owed: $0
Blue Book Trade-In Value after 2yrs and 24k miles: $0
Amount Lost: $6,561
Total amount lost: $17,297
Lost per month: $721
Lost per week: $166
The scary thing is that people actually do this. I can't wait to try this with a Wrangler
The podcast hosts did a challenge where each one picked a brand new car to buy, came up with a mod list, then got rid of the car after two years. Taking into account depreciation, interest rates, etc they were then able to determine how much money they lost during that two year period.
This gets a bit mathy (can't wait for narf to pick this apart) and you have to do some research but I think it's a fun game to play. Feel free to take mods off and sell them before trading the car in to recoup some costs, use different interest rates or loan durations, etc - do this however you'd like. Obviously a big part of it is vehicle depreciation, not just money wasted on mods, but that's part of the game.
Here's my build:
2019 Lincoln MKZ Reserve II
Base Price: $44,995
Price w/options, including AWD and the 3.0 Ecoboost: $53,339
Car Financing:
Term: 5yrs
Interest Rate: 3.5%
Monthly Payment: $970
Cumulative Total at Loan End: $58,217
Total Paid after 2yrs: $23,288
Amount Still Owed: $34,929
Blue Book Trade-In Value after 2yrs and 24k miles: $24,193
Amount Lost: $10,736
Mods:
Livernois Tune: $600
20" MRR wheels + Pilot Sport 4S tires: $4,210
Steeda Rear Sway Bar: $185
Window Tint: $380
TOTAL: $5,375
None of this stuff would get removed when trading the car in, yet the mods won't add any value to the vehicle - they basically never do.
Mod Financing:
Term: 2yrs
Interest Rate: 20%
Monthly Payment: $273.56
Cumulative Total at Loan End: $6,561
Total Paid after 2yrs: $6,561
Amount Still Owed: $0
Blue Book Trade-In Value after 2yrs and 24k miles: $0
Amount Lost: $6,561
Total amount lost: $17,297
Lost per month: $721
Lost per week: $166
The scary thing is that people actually do this. I can't wait to try this with a Wrangler