You obviously don't know how the other 90% in the country live. For us people without money to have the "American Dream" the question isn't "what makes the most sense financially?", it's "can I afford to make that payment?" I am fortunate enough to have been able to claw myself away from living paycheck to paycheck and have paid off all of the 20% interest credit accounts that I carried minimum payments on for years (banks work super hard to take money from poor people just wanting a small piece of the good life....). For some prospective, I grew up on welfare and have had 0 financial help since I moved out at 18. My childhood home was worth about $2000, I live in a $275,000 house. My wife and I have made a hell of a life for our family.If you have to finance longer than 48 months you should be looking at a less expensive vehicle.
Depreciation is not relevant to someone who plans on keeping their vehicle for 10+ years. And a vehicle is never an investment unless it's an appreciating classic.You are missing a key piece of this puzzle. Depreciation. Your investment must out pace the depreciation of the financed asset. Take advantage of the cheap loan rates but you must consider the depreciation for the equation to work.