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business Wednesday 1 June 2022
Millennial Money: Don't let your first car be a $30K mistake

By COLIN BERESFORD of over 25%, so a year after
NerdWallet taking one on, you can try
Buying your first car is al- to refinance for lower rates.
ready an intimidating ex- PICK THE RIGHT CAR
perience; in the midst of Finding a cheap car used to
historic supply shortages, it's be easy — or at least easier
easy to feel overwhelmed. than it is now. If you have
In March of this year, the a $10,000 budget, your op-
average price of a used tions are limited, but that
car was $27,246, according doesn't mean there aren't
to Cox Automotive — an options.
automotive marketplace With a limited budget, most
and data company — or choices will be older, used
28% higher than it was a cars, and that increases
year ago. With those price the annual cost to maintain
increases, monthly pay- your car. A 2021 Consumer
ments have also swelled. Reports study found that
Average payments for 2016 model year vehicles
used cars reached $488 cost $205 to maintain over
in the last quarter of 2021, the previous 12 months,
according to Experian. On while 2011 model year ve-
top of that, the average hicles cost $430.
loan term for used vehicles In addition to maintenance
was just over 67 months, or costs, there's also fuel, insur-
more than five years. The Nissan Z has brought joy and excitement of sports car ownership for over 50 years. ance, registration and tax-
For many, cars are a ne- Associated Press es that all add to the cost
cessity. If you have little or of owning a vehicle. As you
no credit, no co-signer or can afford and the total give you a loan. Getting look are banks and credit search for a car, look into
just a limited budget, it can loan amount that's within preapproved for a loan be- unions, particularly institu- the cost of ownership, since
be easy to accept a loan your budget. fore visiting dealer lots can tions that you have an es- it will differ from car to car.
that pushes your budget or Aim to keep your monthly give you a better negotiat- tablished relationship with. The total cost of owning
binds you to a car for six, loan payment below 10% ing position, keep you from — Search your area for your vehicle, including your
even seven years. of your take-home pay, going over budget and re- lenders with first-time buy- loan payment, shouldn't
Not being ready before and if you're buying a used duce what you pay in inter- er programs, which put exceed 20% of your take-
stepping onto a car lot can car, keep your loan term est. With little or no credit conditions on the amount home pay. Although some
open the door to making under 36 months. If you're history — especially since you can borrow and the costs can't be significantly
a purchase you'll later re- looking for a new vehicle, you have not had a car vehicles you can buy but reduced, you can minimize
gret. Set your limits before keep the term under 60 loan before — your best dispense with some of the others — such as future
you ever stop at a dealer- months. Limiting your loan shot at being approved for credit requirements. maintenance, repairs and
ship; with the right prepa- term will save you money a loan at the lowest inter- — You can also look for fuel — with the right car.
ration, you can keep your on interest and will lower est rate possible is to apply loans from online lenders "The most important thing
purchase from becoming the risk of your loan becom- with a co-signer. But if that's that offer bad-credit auto to look for is a car with good
a burden. ing upside-down — owing not a possibility for you, loans, since they will often maintenance history," Joey
SECURE A LOAN more than the car is worth. there are still financing al- have low or no minimum Capparella, a senior editor
Your first step is calculating Numbers in hand, start ternatives available: credit scores. These loans at Car and Driver, said in an
what loan payments you looking for a lender that will — One of the first places to can carry interest rates of email. q
Canceled flights mar first weekend of summer for travelers

Associated Press mer's delays would not be Various forecasts of high
The unofficial start of sum- repeated this summer, and numbers of travelers over
mer over the Memorial Day yet, it was not to be," said the weekend proved to be
weekend offers a troubling Helane Becker, an analyst accurate. The Transporta-
glimpse of what lies ahead for banking firm Cowen, tion Security Administration
for travelers during the who blamed the disrup- reported screening more
peak vacation season. tions on bad weather, air than 11 million people at
U.S. airlines canceled more traffic control delays, airline airport checkpoints from
than 2,800 flights from crew members calling in Thursday through Monday.
Thursday through Monday, sick, and long security lines That was down 9% from the
or about 2% of their sched- at some airports. same days in 2019, but an
ules, according to tracking "We expect a busy sum- increase of almost 25% over
service FlightAware. mer, and are concerned last year. Crowds of just
Delta Air Lines, usually about the industry's ability under 2.4 million on both Travelers queue up at the north security checkpoint in the main
among the top perform- to handle the demand," Thursday and Friday nearly terminal of Denver International Airport, Thursday, May 26, 2022,
ers, had the worst record Becker said. matched the pandemic in Denver.
among major carriers with The good news was that high set on the Sunday af- Associated Press
more than 800 canceled cancellations were down ter Thanksgiving last year.
flights over the five-day sharply on Tuesday. FlightA- Delta, when asked to com- last week. The Atlanta air- cases among workers, and
span. ware reported only about ment Tuesday about its line said it was being chal- it trimmed its July and Au-
"This was a chance for air- 60 by early afternoon on weekend troubles, pointed lenged by several factors gust schedules in an effort
lines to show that last sum- the East Coast. to a statement it issued including rising COVID-19 to improve reliability.q