if you have half a brain and already have a car then you will leave your money in the stock market and not buy a depreciating asset where the money could be gaining in value.
at work, whereas im just about the only person who doesnt have a car payment in my dept, im also the only person who has reasonable disposable income to spend on things like travel and enjoying life. my co workers have lebrons fancy new sneakers, nice phones, expensive name brand t shirts and so on. they buy lunch on just about a daily basis, have no problem getting expensive haircuts and so on, but they never go anywhere, their version of a fun weekend is staying home and buying cheap tickets to dodgers games. coz thats about all they can afford.
i dont have a cell phone, i wear old rugby jerseys and soccer t shirts most of the time, wear cheap name brand shoes (i buy for comfort, not style. i stick to name brands coz ive gone down the generic route and thats a mistake i wont make again.) i cook my own food (im single. no mom or girlfriend in picture to cook for me) and take a sack lunch to work most days. i drive an old reliable 1990 mercedes 300E. i didnt buy it for any status/ style points. i bought it coz i used to wrench on them as an apprentice motor mechanic way back in the day. they are relatively simple, roomy, capable, cheap to run but expensive to repair. i do most of my own work. i bought it knowing it needed near- future expensive work (cylinder head gasket leaking. redid cylinder head while there), did that and have spent all off $3000 on it in 4 years with it. avg monthly cost of $62.50 so far. compare that to a car payment. and every month that i dont spend any money on repairs, that avg gets lower. this cost doenst include maitenance, as maintenance (oil change, tuneups, brakes, etc) is required for any car, new or old. just repairs.
a car is a tool for getting from point A to point B. its not a chic getting tool, and frankly doesnt make me think any less or any more of you for having it. although, if you still live in an apt (or worse, at home!!!!!) and your car payment is nearly as much as your rent, then i might disparage you.
you leave that $20K in the market at 8% a year and you have exponentially more money in 25 years than if you put $30K in that same account at the same rate in ten years time. i dont have to show you all the links to all the finanacial sites that echo what im saying.
i put as much as i can in my 401K plan. it sometimes appreciates at a snails pace, but this year alone its appreciated 33% including my normal contribution. and the year isnt over yet. 33%. 8 months. it had been slow, at about 3% until about february when company stock started climbing from about $50 per share to its current ~$60 per share. it helped that i shifted some funds (20%) from a stable value fund (read as very slow growth, but you dont lose your money!) to company stock at about the same time.
im fortunate to be able to loan myself money from my 401K. i pay interest on it, but since the account is mine, the funds are mine, its a loan taken by me, underwritten by me, with interest paid to me. by taking half my available balance to buy a boat, motorcycle, invest in a business, whatever, i add half that interest payment to my balance over the 4 year loan. so at 10% i add 5% value to my acct by simply paying it back. ive made sure to keep my contributions the same and not cheat myself of the time value of money.
one guy in my dept has about the same balance as me, but has had his account longer, and has worked full time longer than i have. ive only started working full time in the last year, and by aggressively putting money in it, ive caught up and surpassed him in less than 5 years. we both put our contributions mostly to company stock.
food for thought.
for the record, in addition to the 300E, i also have a 76 BMW 2002 and a 69 BMW 2002. the 76 was a daily driver, casual cruiser, but im taking its drivetrain and installing it in the 69 which will be a track rat/ daily driver. im planning to get a BMW R1200GS Adventure later this year or early next year. so i do still manage to enjoy my vehicular life. i just dont pay much for it. nor do i see the need to. only collector cars appreciate. i invest accordingly