I think that anyone who is making a $60,000 Gross Annual Salary has a better chance of being able to afford and pay $400 and $450 per month for a 5 year auto loan. I agree with you that one has to put 20% down (AT LEAST 20%) to be able to bring the payments down to $400 per month. BUT what I DON'T LIKE here is the amount of years of the loan. I would rather have a 4 year loan than a 5 year loan. When I bought my 2001 GT, I signed up for a 4 year loan. I beleived that me paying $288 for 5 whole years was too much for such a long period of time. I think that 5 years is too long. Especially, if you now have to continuously pay $450 per month for that amount of time.
I want to be realistic about this. I figure that if I can wait until 2007 for the new body style Cobra, that I can sell my current 2002 V6 Mustang and use the proceeds as a downpayment for the new Cobra. In 2007, I don't know what I will be able to get for my 2002 V6 Mustang. I am hoping that I can get at least $9,000 and then put down another $4,000 to $5,000 in cash to buy the Cobra. If the 2007 Cobra will cost $34,000-$35,000 then I would be financing about $21,000 to $22,000.
BUT if my current 2002 V6 Mustang can be sold for more than $9,000 in 2007, then I will have more for the downpayment. I'm hoping that I can get top dollar for my current V6 Mustang in 2007. I look at the current prices that people are getting right now for an AVERAGE MILEAGE 1999 V6 Mustang and it's around $10,000 to $12,000. If I too can also get between $10,000 to $12,000 for my 2002 V6 Mustang when it becomes 5 years old, then I will have AT LEAST $10,000 to put down for the brand new Cobra. And if this happens, and I can also put down another $4,000 to $5,000 more then my loan will go DOWN to $19,000 to $20,000.
What really worries me here is my income. I hope that an income of between $40,000 and $50,000 by the year 2007 will be comfortable enough for me to be able to afford the payments for a brand new 2007 Cobra. I would like my monthly payments to be less than $400 if possible and the loan period to be 4 years. Do you think that this will be possible if I can sell my current 2002 V6 Mustang for around $10,000 in 2007 and if I also put down another $5,000 towards a brand new 2007 Cobra? WHAT DO YOU THINK?