We had gone through a few headaches with two old beaters and wanted the consistency of a known monthly expense. Paid it off in three years and owned it for 8 before selling it to buy a minivan.

The other two I bought new within the last two years and paid cash. One is a truck that I will keep as long as it will run since there's always a reason to have a truck around. The other was basically to provide something nice for my wife to drive - paying for the new car smell.