Looks like GM had a great year. This got me thinking, did GM ever payback the govt loans? Now, I know there were commercials and Obama saying they did; however, that was just political speak seeing how GM used TARP funds to pay back TARP funds. I haven't heard much more about this topic and was wondering if the debt had really be repaid and if the gov't still owns 61% of GM. If either of those are still true, it seems a little naive to be paying large bonuses.

GM profit triggers worker bonuses up to $11,000

snippet:

Quote:General Motors earned $6.3 billion in the fourth quarter, more than five times the $1.1 billion from a year earlier.

The company said its hourly workers, who are members of the United Auto Workers union, will receive profit sharing of up to $11,000 based on the company's 2016 pre-tax profit in North America of $11 billion.

I don't know why anyone would buy a vehicle from those lines of turds.

They paid it back in 2014 IIRC.

(02-03-2016 01:01 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  I don't know why anyone would buy a vehicle from those lines of turds.

Agree. Safety issues and reliability aside, they're just not good looking cars IMO. GM has the blandest looking cars on the market in my opinion.

I just traded my Caddy in for a shiny new Chevy truck. Thing rides smooth.

(02-03-2016 01:58 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  I just traded my Caddy in for a shiny new Chevy truck. Thing rides smooth.

You'll probably get a good three years out of it before it begins its quick death.

I just recently bought a new Jaguar but I thought long and hard about either a CTS-V or an Escalade.

GM builds great cars.

I'm glad our profit sharing goes straight into my 401k. If these Union guys were smart that's what they'd do too.

(02-03-2016 02:00 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 01:58 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  I just traded my Caddy in for a shiny new Chevy truck. Thing rides smooth.

You'll probably get a good three years out of it before it begins its quick death.

Who needs a car for more than 3 years anyway?

(02-03-2016 02:11 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:00 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 01:58 PM)firmbizzle Wrote:  I just traded my Caddy in for a shiny new Chevy truck. Thing rides smooth.

You'll probably get a good three years out of it before it begins its quick death.

Who needs a car for more than 3 years anyway?

People who make good investments in vehicles and pay cash for them.

I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Collectible cars can be, but in general, you're right.

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Paying cash for a reliable car with good resale is pretty good starting place.

(02-03-2016 02:15 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Paying cash for a reliable car with good resale is pretty good starting place.

Still a piss poor investment...

You buy a car and you lose money, it's just a matter of how much. My way of thinking is simple; do I want to lose money while driving something that sucks and isn't cool--like a Toyota or a Lexus--or do I want to lose money driving something I like?

(02-03-2016 02:13 PM)Niner National Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Collectible cars can be, but in general, you're right.

That's true.

The only person I know who drives a car and never loses a dime is a law school classmate of mine. He buys a new Ferrari every other year and never loses a penny because he sets himself up on the buy lists for a desirable colour combination or certain packages.

He drives it for 5k miles or so and gets a new one, often times making money on the transaction because certain colour combinations are rare and can fetch 50k more than sticker, even at a year old.

He's only been burned once when a Prius rear ended him and that year was a 75k loss.

(02-03-2016 02:18 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:15 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Paying cash for a reliable car with good resale is pretty good starting place.

Still a piss poor investment...

You buy a car and you lose money, it's just a matter of how much. My way of thinking is simple; do I want to lose money while driving something that sucks and isn't cool--like a Toyota or a Lexus--or do I want to lose money driving something I like?

Well, in relative terms there are good investments. Obviously, cars don't increase in value over time unless maybe a line is discontinued so you're never going to make money on them.

Say I pay cash for a 2016 Honda Civic (2016 Car of the Year). That is a much better investment than me paying cash for a 2016 Dodge Dart (similar price ranges, the Civic is a bit more). Yes, I still lose money on resale, but not as much as I would if I bought a turd Dodge. Now, financing brings whole new aspects to it, but the fact remains.

(02-03-2016 02:23 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:18 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:15 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:12 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I don't think there is such a thing as a good investment in a car.

Paying cash for a reliable car with good resale is pretty good starting place.

Still a piss poor investment...

You buy a car and you lose money, it's just a matter of how much. My way of thinking is simple; do I want to lose money while driving something that sucks and isn't cool--like a Toyota or a Lexus--or do I want to lose money driving something I like?

Well, in relative terms there are good investments. Obviously, cars don't increase in value over time unless maybe a line is discontinued so you're never going to make money on them.

Say I pay cash for a 2016 Honda Civic (2016 Car of the Year). That is a much better investment than me paying cash for a 2016 Dodge Dart (similar price ranges, the Civic is a bit more). Yes, I still lose money on resale, but not as much as I would if I bought a turd Dodge. Now, financing brings whole new aspects to it, but the fact remains.

From a purely financial standpoint you probably save a few bucks; that's certainly true.

At the same time there is a lot more to buying a car. Who in their right mind wants to drive a Civic, especially if you are a Mopar fanatic?

I'm a big believer in buying the car you want. The line between best and worst is too thin these days. Even the worst car out there today is better than the best from 15 years ago.

(02-03-2016 02:26 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Who in their right mind wants to drive a Civic, especially if you are a Mopar fanatic?

Me. It's perfect for my situation and even more so now that I'm going to Germany. Great car, great gas mileage, affordable, reliable, great resale. It's just me, my wife, and my baby. Once the family grows and the Civic is no longer practical, we will invest in an SUV of similar quality and trade-in the Civic to take a big chunk out of that cost. Always paying cash of course.

(02-03-2016 02:32 PM)shiftyeagle Wrote:  

(02-03-2016 02:26 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Who in their right mind wants to drive a Civic, especially if you are a Mopar fanatic?

Me. It's perfect for my situation and even more so now that I'm going to Germany. Great car, great gas mileage, affordable, reliable, great resale. It's just me, my wife, and my baby. Once the family grows and the Civic is no longer practical, we will invest in an SUV of similar quality and trade-in the Civic to take a big chunk out of that cost. Always paying cash of course.

Well there you go. You want it. That's as good of a reason to buy a car as any, even better than potentially saving a few bucks.

On today's road it's the other guy half the time that ruins your plan. God forbid somebody hits you out there and it won't matter if a Civic holds its value a little better than a Focus, or a Dart. A wrecked car just went to the back of the pack.

I'm just not a believer in the whole resale game. There are too many variables on the front and backends. If you like the car and it works for you buy it. If it is a great deal then buy it.

Like I said, the difference is too thin these days to call one car a piece of **** and put another on a pedestal.

BTW, there isn't anything wrong with financing something. If you can get a low rate you may as well keep your money in the bank or working for you elsewhere.

There isn't anything wrong with it, but even with a low rate you're paying way more than you should for the vehicle. Takes a while to chip away enough to actually have equity in it.

Financing only becomes dangerous when the payment is too much for someone's debt/income ratio and they become slaves to a car payment for a car they really couldn't afford and/or didn't need. I have a few friends whose truck payments are $600-800 a month. With good credit. They aren't married, have no kids, and nothing they need to pull or transport that requires such an expensive vehicle. That's just absurd and pointless to me.