Car :(

[lifesaver]

So I gotta buy a new car. The Stanza took me 170K but no more. The cylinder Head is cracked and with the other reapairs cost more than the car is worth (even doing the work myself) so I gotta buy a new car. not a problem, except I gotta finance the thing, aand that is just thefirst of the "adult" commitments. I finally have a good job wheres I can afford the payments, but I am still scared. Big responsability. I don't even know what I want. OK, GC, throw out some words of encouragment.

[dc1]

Hey, Lifesaver, no big sweat on the car...
Trust me: it is no big deal. Just make sure that
1) you don't go crazy and buy a car with payments that will strap you down (my friend bought a car with $600/mo payments and now can't go out to eat, buy new clothes, go on vacation... but he's got a killer car.)
and
2) try to finance with a local credit union... cheap interest rates are a godsend. Your payments are less, and more of the payment goes towards the principal balance (which makes it less "upside down" should the time come to trade it in)

Seriously, don't worry about the whole "big responsibility" thing, it is just one of many (MANY MANY MANY) steps to becoming an adult.

Best of luck


------------------
Faced with the Divine, I was asked; "What one gift do you seek?"
I answered ever so meekly; "I seek Honor, Truth, Integrity, and Wisdom, yet those are four. How am I to choose?"
The answer came as a pounding whisper; "The four you seek are but one. I grant thee Compassion; for without it the four make none."
Author - me

[Miami1839]

I have a 98 Dodge Neon and got it a year old. It was purchased at a dealer and I found out that a rental car agency had it. So it had a great service record. That might be something to keep in mind. I've heard often times when you get a year old car the price goes down and its a better deal because your just not paying the "new car" price.

Kevin

[Allie_XO]

OK, this is kind of obvious, but I'll say it anyway.
1. Pay has much as you can in down payment. That way you'll have smaller payments and you'll have to pay not as much interest.

2. While you shouldn't have too high payments, make sure you're payments are not too small. If they are too small, then you'll be paying as much in interest as you are in car.

3. Make sure that you can pay off everything in full without a penalty fee. My cousin got an inheritance, and had about 3 payments on his car left. If he paid it off early, they would still charge him the interest and then a penalty. (Don't ask me why.)

4. Get a car with good gas mileage.

5. Call around to find out what financing charges are and don't be afraid to say, "Oh, well So-N-So Bank had it lower."

Used cars rule. I have a 1992 Mazda MX-3 and it is still going good. That is the best car. Anyway, hope that helps and good luck with everything!

Allie

[SoCalGirl]

Definitely check out the hondas! Especially the civic. Great gas mileage. And we all know how important that is.

Check with you bank/credit union and see if they have any car buying services working for them. When we buy a knew car we pick out all the features we want one a specific model and then the bank will find the cheapest one. Our last car had to be brought to SD from Irvine! About an hour away. No dealer in SD could beat the price.

Start surfing the internet. Find out all the stats on the models your considering. After gas mileage and all the can't live without features I'm concerned about crash test results and theft rates. (But not too much about theft--my car is the #1 type stolen in San Diego!!! I'm always lucky it's where I left it.)

Finally, call your insurance company BEFORE you buy the car. It's not worth it to save $2000 on a car if it's going to cost $500 more a year to insure it!!!! Get some comparisons. (But do make sure you know everything about the cars before you call them up or the rate is meaningless.)

Leases--If you decide to go this way, call your insurance comp immediately!!!! Leases have to carry very high limits on the liability as well as full coverage. This is another case where you could easily spend more on insurance than what you save!

[carnation]

Lifesaver, my husband and I have gotten some fabulous deals on cars that were leased for a year and had fantastically low mileage. The best deal we got was in 1996 on a 15-passenger van that had been used only to transport athletes during the Olympics!

The formerly leased cars have great service records too.

[G8Ralphaxi]

I spent the last two years working as a paralegal in a law firm that did a lot of personal injury/auto insurance cases. And I too have bought several used cars. So this advice has some experience behind it ...

1. The ideal situation is to buy a car from someone you know. Cheaper than a dealer and you can trust the source much better than some random classified ad. I got lucky once by just basically telling (literally!) everyone I knew that I wanted to buy a reliable used car. Think about everyone you know - chances are one of them has a neighbor, parent, friend, someone selling a car.

2. Consider buying a car that maybe isn't the "coolest." Yes, Hondas are popular and get good gas mileage, etc. but they are also much more expensive than many other cars. Popular sporty cars get stolen more, cost more to repair, and the insurance can get ridiculous. The nicest car I've owned was an Oldsmobile Delta 88 sedan. It may have been a "grandma" car but it was a luxury car too. That car drove soooo smoothly, had more gadgets than I knew what to do with, and the A/C was fantastic (a necessity in FL). My friends all loved my car and it was great for going out,roadtrips, etc. because it had so much room. A Honda with the mileage and options my Olds had would have been thousands more.

3. On that note, check with your ins. co. to see how much your premiums will be! No use getting a car you can't afford to insure.

4. A final note regarding insurance - this is my experience from working at the law firm - all of you reading this, RIGHT NOW GO LOOK AT YOUR INSURANCE POLICY. Make sure you have something called "UM" coverage - it stands for Uninsured/Underinsured motorist. I have seen too much tragedy caused by not having this coverage. Many students decline this coverage, wanting to cut costs on high premiums, but DON'T DO IT! I know in Florida 1 out of 5 drivers on the roads has NO INSURANCE, and many others have only minimal coverage. Other states have similar problems. This means that if they get in a wreck with you, there will be no $ to pay your bills. Trust me, even seemingly minor accidents can create medical bills in the thousands, plus your damage to your car. It doesn't matter how good of a driver you are or whether the accident was your fault. If they have no insurance, trust me, they have no real assets you can sue for.

OK, off the bandwagon!

[bucutie02]

Hey lifesaver,
well i dont know how much you can afford- but i know for a fact that toyotas are really good cars, and they just came out with the Sequoia and its awesome!! If you havent seen it- its kind of like a cross between the 4runner and the land cruiser. Actually its probably up there in price too. Anyway, just making a suggestion. I dont know anything about cars at all. When i got my car, my dad did everything about checking it out. He paid it all in full too so i dont know much about payments and interest. Good Luck though, and keep us posted!!

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"He is not perfect, you are not perfect. The question is whether or not you are perfect for each other"

[Miami1839]

G8RAlphaXi

I always carry uninsured motorist. Mine is through USAA which is one of the cheapest insurance the country. Anyways, I have a legal question that I was wondering if I could email you about?

Kevin

[lifesaver]

I am all about the USAA. their offices are here in SA and they employ about 15,000 people locally, including my roomate and best friend. EVERYONE from school at one time or another has worked there. They are a great company to work for, and were named one of the 50 best by Forbes. The sucky side of USAA - their office is right by campus and in the middle of ALL the apartments everyone at school lives in AND NONE OF THEM FOOLS CARPOOL!!!!! But alas, that is another thread.

[Rain Man]

Lifesaver,

I am going to show you the BEST way to buy a used car and pay ALL CASH-No financing.

This will require some patience and discipline, but I guarantee you will save a bundle.

With the $ you have, buy the best used car you can buy ALL CASH. In the meantime, figure in your head a $ amount "monthly payment" you can afford. Each month, deposit that amount in the bank (hereafter referred to as the Bank of Me). After 6-9 months, use that money and the proceeds from the sale of Car 1 to buy the best used car #2 you can--All cash of course.

Meanwhile, Keep making those monthly payments to the Bank of Me. Depending on your monthly payments and your car trade-in or sale proceeds, within 2-3 years you should have enough to buy a late model vehicle all cash with no depreciation costs. Or you can just keep parlaying the $ into the best used cars you can find.

And best of all, NO INTEREST TO PAY

Hope this helps
RM

[Miami1839]

Lifesaver,

Wow, sounds like a good deal that they live where they work. The closest USAA for me is in Reston which is about an hour and half north of me. Of course most people in my area commute to Northern Virginia and D.C. for work anyway. I have noticed that USAA has been listed with one of the better places to work for, so I emailed my resume to them today.

[lifesaver]

Well, after much MUCh searching, haggeling, stressing, trips to the bank, and calls to the ins. agent, yesterday, I bought a vehicle!

I am the proud owner of a 2000 Ford F-150 truck, with 14K miles. WHEWWWWW HOOOO! Its Burgundy, with all the features I could want. I still gottta tint the windows and have the alarm installed. It was a lease vehicle, and I got it at CarMax. I paid 13,500 for the truck and My payments are $340 a month for 48 months. My ins. is $80 a month. All an amount I budgeted for. So it was exactly what I could afford. I am so excited. I am now terrified I'll wreck it or it'll get stolen.

Thanks to EVERYONE on GC who posted words of encouragment and advice. So I didnt have to go into it blindly. Thanks you guys!

[Miami1839]

Sounds like you got a great deal. Congratulations Glad that I could help.