Prepare for a sermon from me here..ladybeckaJune 11 2007, 21:12:16 UTC
I'm going to be buying a car, but I also had to save for a year, and I am limited in what I can make monthly payments. I understand your firstration, but you have to keep in mind, you're likely to have to make payments for years, and you have to account for the fact that unless you move back home, your housing costs are likely to go up and maybe not so much your salery, depending on where you go. You also would have to pay for car insurance. Currently, with a 98 saturn, I will be paying an estimated $1250 a year, or about $100 a month on top of car payments. How much money are you saving a month currently? Because your car payment plus insurance cannot be over that amount. You may want to stick it out for a year and save enough money to make a significant downpayment. Otherwise you will have to buy a car so old that you may end up paying lots in matinence. Sorry to depress you, but I've been thinking about this and saving for it all year, and I still can't buy a car until I know if I will have a roommate next year, and I make more than you do. For Christmas and birthday ask for money instead of gifts, might help you get to a goal downpayment sooner. Try setting aside a certain amount of money a month, even if it's small, and give yourself an amount you have to have for downpayment, and a maximun car payment you can make, then go on carmax and use their little "how much car can I afford" calculators. You also may have to get a higher paying job before you can consider it.
Re: Prepare for a sermon from me here..ellisdsmeJune 12 2007, 12:38:17 UTC
I dont think you meant it that way but that felt a little condescending. Im not making much, but Im not a total idiot either. My rent is low and will not rise in the near term (honestly, the landlady would be a fool to raise it and lose the current tenants with a house like that). I am the only person in our group of friends who saved all through college and never owned a car. Ive done lots of research and have been saving as much as possible, but it is tight. I will check out the carmax page though, havnt looked there yet.
I also would not be driving the car very much, so my biggest input I think will be insurance. I am not roped into keeping the car either, because I dont need it, so if repairs are out of reach, I can just dump it. A deal similar to what laura is talking about might be coming my way, hence the question (no car payments), so we'll see.
Thanks everyone for your comments! I will ponder some more
Good luck!
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I also would not be driving the car very much, so my biggest input I think will be insurance. I am not roped into keeping the car either, because I dont need it, so if repairs are out of reach, I can just dump it. A deal similar to what laura is talking about might be coming my way, hence the question (no car payments), so we'll see.
Thanks everyone for your comments! I will ponder some more
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