<prompt> Human: My wife and I just purchased our first ever new car. Weve always bought used cars in the past. But her current car, a 2001 Honda Accord, that she has had for the last 14 years is not so reliable anymore and the necessary repairs to keep it running for the next few years are more than the car is worth. Plus we have a baby on the way, and we both just want something more reliable.We both have excellent credit, so I dont foresee us having any issues getting the 0 financing. We ended up buying a new 2018 Ford Escape SEL 4WD for 24.5k - after taxes, fees, a 700 trade in value for the Accordcarmax only offered us 400, etc. we were out the door at 26k even. I had done some research and we got a really good price on her car...the MSRP on Fords site lists out trim level at 29,900, but due to some dealer and manufacturer incentives plus a 2k cash rebate, we were able to get it at over 5k less. Plus this car finally had the interior leather color my wife wanted, which was pretty rare interior color, so finally I got her to be excited about a car.My question is - we could have gotten the car with 0 financing for 60 months at 28k out the door. I know that mathematically, investing the 26K and averaging around 2-2.5 returns, I would do better than the 2k discount for cash. However, I didnt really want to invest this money in the market and probably would have just put it into a CD or high yield saving accountwhich are generally 1.75-2.5 right now. I didnt feel like going through the whole finance approval, yadda yadda, pain in the butt process, so do you think it was a major mistake not to take the 0 deal. We have plenty of savings and are currently holding a good amount of cash looking for house soon. I know on average, I should be able to get at least a 6 return in the market, but for something like a car that is a necessary utility for us, should I not be risking that money. At least that was my thought process. Anyways, I was wondering what PFs thoughts on this are? Thanks.  <response>: It doesnt sound like you made the wrong decision. Yeah, its possible to achieve a higher return, but it sounds like you are more at ease owning the car outright and not investing the money. 