Not to beat a dead horse, but assuming you are planning on paying the loan back, the tax advantages of the home equity loan are significant. For example, assuming the rate on you car loan and home equity loan are the same, then a car loan effictively cost you more by an amount equal to your marginal tax rate times your annual interest cost. Also, using a home equity loan does not reduce your potential profit on your home, as you still own all the upside (and downside), you just have to pay the loan back. The cash versus loan analysis requires a review of your opportunity cost on your money if you pay cash versus after tax cost of the loan. If you are going to earn less on the money after tax than the interest cost of the loan after tax, then you should pay cash. Of course this assumes that you can fairly estimate your marginal after tax return and the rate on your loan, which in the case of a home equity loan will be variable. If you parse all the numbers, it is probably best to pay cash, second home equity and third auto loan