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
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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
I would recommend not to do what I did - my sister gave me a car for free, but it was 17 years old, so it failed the MD state inspection. I drove it illegally for about 6 months and got a job that required a car (either that or 6.5 hours of public transportation), and then when the car finally kicked it, I had to buy an emergency replacement car. It sucked. And I didn't have enough money to get one, so I had to take out a huge honking loan - and I had a lot of trouble finding a bank who would give me a loan
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it doesn't really matter how badly you need/want a car. it basically just boils down to: can you afford it? can you afford a car + maintenence + insurance + GAS (this is the kicker, i'm up to $100 in gas this month ALONE) while still living comfortably? the car might be a major convenience, but if you find that you're bending over backwards to afford the thing you might be better off waiting.
alternatively, you could wait it out for a bit and hope that someone you know/your family knows (and is trustworthy) sells a car. then you can swoop in and get a good deal. keep your ears and eyes open. it's amazing how often things just kind of fall into place.
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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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alternatively, you could wait it out for a bit and hope that someone you know/your family knows (and is trustworthy) sells a car. then you can swoop in and get a good deal. keep your ears and eyes open. it's amazing how often things just kind of fall into place.
muah!
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