"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> wrote in message
news:1183384638.876415.284850[at]z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

The payments will not. If you follow the instructions in the FAQ, the
initial loan balance is $0. The, apply a negative principal transfer from
the loan to the asset. That increases the asset and loan balances. Future
loan payments decrement the loan balance.

I prefaced all of this by saying that expensing the down payment is
totally appropriate. Unless you plan to sell the car at a profit, it's
more of an expense than an asset.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

What I would do: just expense it. (Category Automobile:Payments or something
similar.)

Reason: the value of the asset will decline 20% the moment you drive it off
the lot. Why worry where the down payment went? It's part of the expense of
transportation. It's gone. Into the ether.

Alternate: reduce the value of the Asset Account beginning balance by the
amount of the down payment. Setup the down payment as Transfer:[name of
asset account].

"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> wrote in message
news:1183390658.650097.81270[at]z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

On Jul 2, 7:56 am, "Dick Watson" <littlegreenge...[at]mind-enufalready-
spring.com> wrote:
- quote -

Yes - I understand the above. I'm just not sure what to do with the
down payment.

The Loan Principal goes to reduce the liability. (Loan balance.)

Say you buy Item X worth $10,000. You take a loan for the entire $10,000.
You create an Asset Account and a Loan Account. You use Chris's method to
transfer the loan principal from the Loan Account to the Asset Account. You
now have a $10,000 asset and a $10,000 liability. These add to $0 or no
change in net worth. Assuming the asset doesn't depreciate and the loan
payments are made, the liability balance steadily declines. Your equity in
Item X increases as the liability balance decreases. Your net worth also
increases by the exact same amount.

"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> wrote in message
news:1183384638.876415.284850[at]z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Hello Brett,

I would think that the downpayment is a transfer from your bank account
towards this asset, which is an "increase"in the worth of your car. The same
goes for the loan you have for this car. The transfer from your loan account
to your asset account car is also an increase. The asset account now
reflects the worth of your car (initial purchase price). Payments towards
your loanaccount go from your bank to this loan and should lower your debt.

If you want to, you could have a monthly automatic transfer from your car
account to an account "depreciation" so that your assest account shows a
value that's more accurate than yout initial purchase price. In net
worth-reports, this works better.

Good luck,

Eric
"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> schreef in bericht
news:1183384638.876415.284850[at]z28g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

On Jul 1, 7:24 pm, "Chris Cowles" <spam_mag...[at]remove-me-
bellsouth.net> wrote:
- quote -

Ok, that's done. Are the loan principal payments supposed to show up
in the asset account? None are right now. I have the asset value at
zero. Then I apply the down payment to the asset. The asset equity
is the loan amount minus down payment. Does that sound correct? It
doesn't look correct.

Using the above method, the car will only be the worth the loan amount
and not the purchase price. The down payment is approx. half of the
loan. That's the equity amount showing on the asset.

Thanks,
Brett

"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> wrote in message
news:1183339295.063591.287890[at]i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Create the asset account without a starting balance. The down
payment is a transfer to the asset. The loan proceeds make up the
remainder of the asset value.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

- quote -

That's doing something very different. I'm not making a principal
payment against a loan. The down payment occurs before the loan is
created.

"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> wrote in message
news:1183314672.520520.88660[at]i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

Read http://umpmfaq.info/faqdb.php?cat=23#Q86

On Jun 30, 11:43 pm, "Eric" <E...[at]delthistiscali.nl> wrote:
- quote -

I do have an asset account for the car. It works with the loan. In
the car asset account, current value is the car purchase price and it
shows the equity amount as well. The equity amount includes my down
payment and recent loan payments. I can't find where exactly the down
payment was entered for the asset account.

How can I change the down payment from an expense and use it as the
down payment in the car asset account? I want the down payment to go
from my bank account to the car asset account. I can't find the down
payment used in the asset account at this point.

Thanks,
Brett

"Eric" <Email[at]delthistiscali.nl> wrote in message
news:46874d27$0$37743$5fc3050[at]dreader2.news.tiscali.nl...
- quote -

I do as you suggest, and have a rather complicated process for
attributing the loan proceeds to the same asset account. It's
described here: http://umpmfaq.info/faqdb.php?cat=23#Q86 by Dick
Watson. While his FAQ refers to mortgages, the general principles
can apply to auto loans, as well. But expensing the down payment on
a car, and subsequent loan payments, is a valid approach for
individuals.

Unless you intend to sell the car at a profit, vehicle ownership is
simply a transportation expense. Recognizing those cash flows as
expenses when they occur is not GAAP, but is reasonable for personal
accounting.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

Why didn't you set up an asset account for your car. You create this account
with the value of the car from your downpayment and the other part is the
loan.

Good luck,

Eric
"brett" <account[at]cygen.com> schreef in bericht
news:1183230401.344025.231840[at]o11g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
- quote -

In microsoft.public.money, brett wrote:

- quote -

That's the best way for most, tho there are more complex ways
available.

I recently purchased a car. The down payment went directly from my
bank to the dealer. Then I financed a portion. I have the car loan
setup correctly in money. But what happens to the down payment? I
have it categorized as an automobile expense for the moment.

Thanks,
Brett