Reading Topic: Reading Topic: How much did you put down?
These days you might be better off holding onto your money and doing a financing deal.
Let's see...
Current lowest auto loan rate is 3.9% (Pentagon federal credit union, penfed.com I believe). This is what I applied for and was approved for.
Current savings interest rate is 2.2% (ING Direct.com)
So you're really only paying around 1.7% tax on that money, plus you have 25K in cash, liquid, available to you. You can also assume (or hope) that eventually that 2.2% will be right back up to the 4% it was at a couple years ago, then you're actually making money instead of giving it away.
Lots of people are afraid of debt, but if you know how to work it, you can get something really great (like a new car) and not put a huge meteor through your life savings. Plus, making timely payments on an installment loan will do wonders for a young person's credit file.