I am looking to buy a used car here in California, a 2020 mazda 6. The car is advertised for 19500. I have 10,000 to put down. Should I put the full 10,000 down or should I only put down 20% then put the rest down after starting to finance the car to ensure the money goes to the principle? Is what I am saying making sense? lol. I purchased a new vehicle before and to this day I am still wondering what happened to the down payment I put down. Someone please help.
Your down payment reduces your total loan amount. If you put the full 10k down, you would have lower payments. Typically if you pay a large chunk later, and you apply it to the principle, you would have a higher monthly payment, but would pay it off sooner. So ultimately, it comes down to do you want lower payments for the duration of the loan, or do you want to pay it off sooner with higher payments
Def need lower monthly payments.