Paying off you mortgage early if you can is not financially dumb at all. It is smart. Re financing and taking money out of your home just to buy stuff and paying more money for a house over a longer period of time is dumb. The money you save on a mortgage payment can be used to invest especially when the economy/market takes a dump which will be even more lucrative. Paying for a car and owning it for a while and not having a constant lease payment so you can save and invest more money is also smart.

 

I don't agree. I have no intention of having a paid off mortgage until such time as I have no earned income to deduct the mortgage interest from.

The equity you'd have in a paid off house can be used to invest too, and with the MID the net interest I'm paying on my mortgage is maybe 2.5%. That equity does way better invested.

As for the lease payment, the actual cash impact of my monthly lease payment is so small compared to my monthly allocation to investing its simply a non factor. Its like telling somebody they should cancel their cable and invest that money instead, its just not going to have an impact.

You have to live your life now too, if you plan things property and start early enough you don't have to worry about not doing things and buying things you want "so you can invest that money instead". I have my monthly allocation and the rest is mine to fund my lifestyle. No guilt.

 

The A8 is an interesting flagship because it sits a notch or so below the S class and the Bimmer depending on which aspect is being compared. The other finance/lease/image calculus has nothing to do with the vehicle itself other than future value for a lease/purchaser. That's for people who think about money or marketing and image all day long vs people who look at the car honestly for its pure driving pleasure, in it's particular aspects.

So much obviously depends on who buys/leases but at the end of the day it's about the driving experience, the tech, the luxury. And of course the understated beautiful clean shapes.

The constant here is the A8. It looks the same as it basically did in the mid-2000 years. The only thing really competing against the A8 is a version of itself. The A6. Many features available on that car too.

Infiniti and Acura flagships don't resemble themselves at all these days compared to what they started out as in the 90s. Neither does the LS.

 

Back then, though it wasn't a big seller, American-market Acura Legends could be had with three pedals and a 5MT.

(I'm not sure, but I think I actually test-drove one)

Can you just imagine an Audi or Acura flagship like that today?

 

Manual trans Legends were pretty rare but the Acura Legend was a good seller in the US. The 2nd Gen Acura Legend was the best or one of the best selling luxury car in the US for a couple years.

 

Yes, I know that 4AT Legends sold pretty well......in spite of he fact that Honda/Acura automatics, in those days, had a reputation for bumpy shifts. A friend of mine bought one for his wife because he was concerned about her safety....and their toddler son. He felt the engineering on it was superb, though Mercedes and Volvo products probably did better in actual crash-tests.

 

Yes those were the glory years of Acura. Legends really had it going on. Honda engineers going nuts without worrying about appeasing accountants. The Germans responded with DCT/SMG of course despite the fact that even the 1977 Accord coupe could be had with a semi-auto-clutchless manual shifter. And eventually F1 cars is where the real shift to automated lighting quick shifting took over.

The A8, though is timeless and that's the real story, so is the S class or a big Bimmer. What stops them in their tracks is their ridiculous reliability reputations for being troublesome after warranty. And of course, everyone else caught up. The Legend became an alphabet soup car which disappeared into obsurity. Sad. The Audis and Benzes and Bimmers kept going in various forms.

 

Never have I heard anyone say this before. Why could it be a financially dumb move?

 

For the majority of people, whatever that number is, (perhaps its 90% or 95% or even 99%, I have no idea what the number is), paying off one's mortgage is the best possible option. Renting is no win game for most of the population.

 

Thanks. I am glad you agree with me. I have adjusted my point of view on the issue ever so slightly. If one is looking at a new A8, and they have the money, what difference does it really make? But my more rigid stance on the subject has more to do with the every day person, sure leasing might work for some, but the vast majority of people cannot save money and getting a car paid off is one less stress point of issue for most people.

 

One must also remember that many people lease cars like the A8, rather than make an actual purchase, became they simply can't afford the monthly payments on a purchase. In a lease, they are only paying for the 2-4 year depreciation, though, at the end of the lease-contract, they don't actually have a car anymore (unless they choose to buy it out), and have to go back and hand in the fobs. Also, on a lease, one must also remember that one is always paying for the steepest depreciation....the first two years. After the third year or so, the depreciation curve starts to flatten out, until by the tenth year, it is very slight. So, by leasing, you'll be continually getting a new vehicle every couple of years.......and paying for it in the highest depreciation period. However, those who use the vehicle for daily business (that may be the case with Steve and his real-estate clients...I'm not sure) can deduct the lease payments on their taxes...a big help each year.

 

That, I could not tell you.