What would you rather own..

[z1ggy]

Assume that you own an 07 impreza N/A, with 20k miles on it. You could sell it private for 13k. You live in the Virginia area and you make approx 60k a year gross.

 

[BassBomb]

I'd keep the car

 

[Bignate603]

Keep the car.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I'd keep the car or, if it's a base Impreza, conisider exchanging it for a WRX of similar vintage. Insurance on any of the other options you've listed will eat you alive at your income level. I am not one of these guys who says you can't have any fun and have to save every penny, but $60K is not a lot of money to be driving a $40K car.

EDIT: Also keep in mind that a 2005 M3 may be quite costly to maintain. I am a BMW guy myself, but I would only own one out of warranty if I could afford a lot of costly routine maintenance and the occasional sudden, unexpected $3K repair bill every now and then.

 

[jlee]

'01 Cobras are still $30k? :Q

 

[Bignate603]

If you really want to change your car start saving for it. A big down payment will help quite a bit by lowering your monthly payment. Of course, it's pretty likely that a year into saving your money you'll find something you want more and go spend it on that

 

[jlee]

Why do you want a new car?

 

[ayabe]

Ought to add a CPO 335i in there as well, you can get an '07 with low miles in the low 30's, plus you can get 0.9 APR thru BMW.

But if you don't own a house, I would be saving towards that instead.

 

[StageLeft]

All of those are financially inept decisions except for the motorbike which replaces financially inept with wanting-to-live-past-30 challenged.

but $60K is not a lot of money to be driving a $40K car.

This is true. At $60k I would literally feel sick to my stomach having just bought a $40k car unless I was otherwise debt free (mortgage notwithstanding) and had a good bit of money in the bank.

 

[dirtboy]

Keep the car. Pay it off and save money for a house. Are you still living with your parents?

 

[ayabe]

Some of you guys are just pissing in his cheerios - it would certainly be irresponsible to finance something for more than half of what your yearly salary is. So up to 42K OTD with 12K down if he wanted to max that out.

Sure if you have a family and a lot of responsibilities, 60K may not sound like much money - but a single guy can live quite well on that.

 

[BassBomb]

Eh the OP has had alot of buyers remorse in previous threads about his car... its clear he is still dissatisfied

 

[yh125d]

STI option. Get 13k for your car (which is high, I was looking at an identical car in my area for 11k from dealer. Put it all down on an STI and get a 12k loan for the rest over 2-3 years

 

[jlee]

Sell the Impreza, get a $10k Accord and a $10k MR2. You can get a very nice turbo for $10k.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Buying a new car is nice, but I agree with don, $30k to $40k will take a lot of change out of your pocket with a $60K salary. Here is how I look at car buying. First of all I don't finance car purchases. I make monthly payments to myself until I can pay cash for a new car. Then, i sell whatever car I own to get more cash and rent a car close to what I think I want to own. I'll have at least 3 different cars I'm interested in buying. I'll rent the one I think I like the best. If I like it, great. If I don't like the car, then I've saved myself from buying the wrong one and I'll then rent the next car on my list until I find the one I liike. The most I've ever spent was around $900 in rentals, but I knew I had the car I wonted when I finished the process of elimination. Also, with buying a car with cash and not having a trade in, I'm in a better barganing position with the dealerships . I will visit at least two dealerships, work out a price with them, then leave. I'll contact the sales person by phone and start playing the two or three dealerships against each other until I get the best car for the lowest price possible. Another thing you might find is that once you've saved up the cash, and seeing it sitting in your bank account, you might find out that you don't want to part with as much of it.

The top car on my list was a Lexus GS 460. Sticker price including the options I wanted pushed the price around $60K. The best price I could negotiate was around $54K. Even though I could pay cash for it, I had second thoughts about spending that much cash on a sport sedan.

My second choice was a BMW 535i. I was hesitant about owning a BMW simply for the fact of the cost of ownership after the warranty expires is extremely high, but I went for a look. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice car, but I just don't care that much for wood grain in the interior. It drove and handled great, but it just didn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it. Part of it I contribute to the salesman. I think he prejudged me because I wasn't dressed to the T. Blue jeans and sneakers are what I wear on Saturdays, and it doesn't matter where I'm going. I just left.

On Sunday I went to a Cadillac dealership and looked around. They were closed so I could only look in the windows. I liked the look of the CTS, so I decided to rent one. I went and rented a 2008 Cadillac CTS for a couple of weeks. It was a base model CTS but it wasn't too bad. I liked the way it handled, and it had good acceleration. I went to Sewell Cadillac and looked for a CTS with equivelant options to the Lexus GS 460 and the BMW 535i. Sticker price was around $45K. I negotiated a price, left this dealership and immediately went to Frank Kent Cadillac. What was nice about Frank Kent is the salesman wasn't pushy, he didn't pre-judge me, and since it was a Satuday afternoon, the dealership let me take the car for the rest of the weekend. I knew it was the right car but it was the wrong color. They told me they would call when they got the one with the options and color I wanted in stock. A week and a half later the saleman called and I went to check it out. The negotiations started and I let them know about the CTS at Sewell I was also considering, and that I was paying cash with no trade in. With negotiations, discounts, and rebates I got the $45K CTS for a little over $33K. $12K less than sticker price and $21K less than the Lexus. I've had the CTS since January and I have to say it is the best quality automobile that I've ever purchased. I got this CTS with the same sport suspension package that comes with the CTS-V and I absolutely love it. If Cadillac can keep building such a quality product, I can honestly say I won't be buying a foriegn equivelent.

I guess the moral of my story is save your money, pay cash, and try several for yourself before you buy. You might be surprized at what you end up with. AND, don't care what others opinions are of the car you choose. It is your car and that is all that matters.

 

[yh125d]

Limiting yourself to ONLY paying with cash, ALL the time is silly. Not everyone is in a position where that is an option. And for people who don't have a long credit history, financing can be a nice boost for them. (Although I definitely understand that people with the requisite income and plenty of credit history would want to pay cash only more often)

 

[MiataNC]

Keep the car.

Buy a bike ONLY if you have already taken an MSF(http://www.msf-usa.org/) course and are sure you want to become a motorcyclist.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
I'd keep the car or, if it's a base Impreza, conisider exchanging it for a WRX of similar vintage. Insurance on any of the other options you've listed will eat you alive at your income level. I am not one of these guys who says you can't have any fun and have to save every penny, but $60K is not a lot of money to be driving a $40K car.

depends on how old he is. insurance on a mustang GT wasn't any more expensive for me at 30 than anything else.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Originally posted by: yh125d
Limiting yourself to ONLY paying with cash, ALL the time is silly. Not everyone is in a position where that is an option. And for people who don't have a long credit history, financing can be a nice boost for them. (Although I definitely understand that people with the requisite income and plenty of credit history would want to pay cash only more often)

I disagree. There are other ways to build credit than paying interest on an auto loan. Using a credit card and paying the full balance at the end of each statement period will do more for your credit rating than getting a loan on a car. My wife is a Financial Credit Analyst for Apex Capital Corp. Too much of an auto loan vs. income will do more harm to your credit rating than you will imagine. The credit agencies will think you are over extended and your credit rating will drop.

I'd have to say that almost everyone is in the position to pay cash for cars. Sure, you may have to drive your older vehicle a couple of years longer, or start off with a good used vehicle, but you always have the option to save.

Have I ever financed an automobile, yes. A few years back when my wife wanted a new SUV, we financed. We were going to pay cash, but at the time we decided to take advantage of the 0.0% financing for 48 months.

 

[z1ggy]

For those wondering if it makes a difference..I will be 22, single living on my own. I won't have any outstanding debts ( like school loans, etc. ). The only payments I will have will be on my impreza, which I would have approx 1 year of payment left. I would also be getting goverment benefits form my job as well. Also, if I did go with the new mustang/camaro, I would lease.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: Cepak

Originally posted by: yh125d
Limiting yourself to ONLY paying with cash, ALL the time is silly. Not everyone is in a position where that is an option. And for people who don't have a long credit history, financing can be a nice boost for them. (Although I definitely understand that people with the requisite income and plenty of credit history would want to pay cash only more often)

I disagree. There are other ways to build credit than paying interest on an auto loan. Using a credit card and paying the full balance at the end of each statement period will do more for your credit rating than getting a loan on a car. My wife is a Financial Credit Analyst for Apex Capital Corp. Too much of an auto loan vs. income will do more harm to your credit rating than you will imagine. The credit agencies will think you are over extended and your credit rating will drop.

I'd have to say that almost everyone is in the position to pay cash for cars. Sure, you may have to drive your older vehicle a couple of years longer, or start off with a good used vehicle, but you always have the option to save.

Have I ever financed an automobile, yes. A few years back when my wife wanted a new SUV, we financed. We were going to pay cash, but at the time we decided to take advantage of the 0.0% financing for 48 months.

Building credit with a CC is fine, but it you only use your CC for a few hundred a month it's going to build very slowly. Getting an auto loan that matches your income when you're starting out gives a nice boost to younger people with only a couple years history. And I never said taking a too-large loan for your income was good


And no, *not* everyone has the option to save. I know I didn't. My old car broke completely and I had nothing for my 50 mile commute to work, and only a coupld grand in the bank. I didn't really have any choice other than financing. While YOU may have the option to wait a couple years saving and pay cash, You have to realize that most people aren't in a position where that's a reasonable option.

 

[dirtboy]

Free rent? You should take advantage of that and save money towards a down payment on a house. Having a cool car at your age is... cool, but long term you will be in much better shape with cash in your pocket when it comes to get your own place.

 

[z1ggy]

Originally posted by: JLee
'01 Cobras are still $30k? :Q

No maybe not an 01' but an 03 or 04 with low miles and good condition will run you like $25k or so..

 

[DietDrThunder]

Originally posted by: yh125d

Originally posted by: Cepak

Originally posted by: yh125d
Limiting yourself to ONLY paying with cash, ALL the time is silly. Not everyone is in a position where that is an option. And for people who don't have a long credit history, financing can be a nice boost for them. (Although I definitely understand that people with the requisite income and plenty of credit history would want to pay cash only more often)

I disagree. There are other ways to build credit than paying interest on an auto loan. Using a credit card and paying the full balance at the end of each statement period will do more for your credit rating than getting a loan on a car. My wife is a Financial Credit Analyst for Apex Capital Corp. Too much of an auto loan vs. income will do more harm to your credit rating than you will imagine. The credit agencies will think you are over extended and your credit rating will drop.

I'd have to say that almost everyone is in the position to pay cash for cars. Sure, you may have to drive your older vehicle a couple of years longer, or start off with a good used vehicle, but you always have the option to save.

Have I ever financed an automobile, yes. A few years back when my wife wanted a new SUV, we financed. We were going to pay cash, but at the time we decided to take advantage of the 0.0% financing for 48 months.

Building credit with a CC is fine, but it you only use your CC for a few hundred a month it's going to build very slowly. Getting an auto loan that matches your income when you're starting out gives a nice boost to younger people with only a couple years history. And I never said taking a too-large loan for your income was good


And no, *not* everyone has the option to save. I know I didn't. My old car broke completely and I had nothing for my 50 mile commute to work, and only a coupld grand in the bank. I didn't really have any choice other than financing. While YOU may have the option to wait a couple years saving and pay cash, You have to realize that most people aren't in a position where that's a reasonable option.

I completely understand where you are coming from. I was there, I know. I had a crappy job making less than $17K a year, I had a crappy car that I had to keep nursing along. It finally got to the point where fixing it wasn't an option so I bought a less crappy used car. It took me 6 years to save for that first new car, and I drove it for 10 years before I bought another new car. I never said it was easy, but everyone does have that option, just most choose not to take it. The car I sold before I bought the CTS we bought new for cash as well in 1993. I drove it for 16 years, simply for the fact the car was in too good of condition to get rid of, and it just wouldn't die. Here is how it looked prior to selling it in January.
http://i423.photobucket.com/al...n%20Sport/IMG_1444.jpg
http://i423.photobucket.com/al...n%20Sport/IMG_1438.jpg

As far as leasing an automobile goes, in my opinion, unless you have so much disposable income that you want a new car every 3 years and want perpetual car payments, it isn't worth doing.

 

[exdeath]

03-04 Cobra & E46 M3 are both around $25k and make the most sense. A $12k used car loan for a car of that caliber isn't bad for your age at all. And you really shouldn't lump the 03-04 Cobra with the 99-01 Cobras, completely different animal and completely different price range; 03-04 Cobras go for about twice what a '01 goes for.

Depends what you want. The 03-04 Cobra is the fastest in the list stock, and also has the most potential, if that's what you're looking for. M3 is a better all round cruiser if you don't want to visit a chiropractor and suck a 1/4 tank of gas every time you go for a gallon of milk. Both have some serious rear suspension issues that need to be resolved with aftermarket parts, but it's worth it.

Though since you already have a Subaru maybe you are happy with your car and wouldn't mind if you could improve the car you have. In which case the STi would be perfect. Hmm...

As for the '10 Camaro/Mustang, I have a problem with $40k for a side grade with no real performance advantage over cars that are 7 years old, and all they really have going for them is the whole "new car fresh look thing" IMO.

What is it about your Impreza that has you thinking about another car? Start there.