Yes sire, you are absolutely correct. I couldn't have said it better myself. It's all about individual needs.
The main reason long loan terms become problematic is because many drivers get way upside down in their loans and try to get a fair trade in value only to find that they owe $4,000 more than they can sell the car for.
A long loan term is perfectly fine IF... the driver plans on keeping the car for the entire (or most of) the loan term.
If you are the type that likes change... loves to get a new car every few years... or gets bored with cars and needs to swap 'em... BEWARE those long loan terms.
The banks love 'em because they can bleed you dry.
My revised statement is this: If you can afford to pay higher payments to get your car OWNED, by god do it! Put your cash into a fixed asset (your car) which will certainly pay you back in the future... rather than paying the minimum and then throwing the rest of your disposable cash on non-fixed assets that you will never get your money out of.
To each his own... well, OWN after 84 months, that is.