I agree, you should be able to have a very good idea of your costs and payments
Contact your insurance company and get a quote.

See if you can get a co-signer to take advantage of the low APR
Don't pay insane interest rates, I was young and dumb on my first car.

Get you payments down as low as you can
And then pay more if you can

The answer is always a miata. Instead of a down payment you get the whole car that's just as fun.

Here's my two cents....

Save your money. Get a beater. A cheap one. Pay cash. Work hard for a few more years and then get a used car. Nothing feels better than having no debt and socking away the cash.

Sure, be irresponsible, don't worry you'll regret it later.

You should call your insurance company and get a quote. There are so many factors you cant just base it off what other people are paying.


This is a perfect alternative. You could get an NA or NB miata for 5k, save a ton of money on the car/insurance, and still have a really fun car

If you don't need back seats
(I convinced my wife they were useful)
A used Miata would be as much fun and you could pay cash

I wanted this car. I wanted it bad. But I made sure beforehand that I had a decently paying job.

After all was said and done, I put a 9k down payment and at 393/month. Rate sucks (8%) but that doesn't matter since I make more than enough to where I can pay the whole car off by this time next year. Those numbers was the best anyone could give me due to my lack of credit history. (23, btw)

If you can afford it, go for it! I am glad I didn't stick to my original plan and wait till next year to purchase. The fun I've had, buddies I've made, memories that have been created, smiles per gallon has all been worth it. No regrets of the risk I took.

I'm 22 and I sell Subarus, and I learned a ton from my dad who has been in the car business for 20 years so let me share some of my experiences here...

My opinion is to not get the car through an auto loan. You said you don't have credit history so if you end up financing long term and something unfortunate happens that prevents from advancing your car payments, you face the risk of voluntary or even involuntary repossession, therefore you're going to end up worse than you started in terms of credit.

You absolutely need to get two quotes before even considering the purchase. The first quote is the quote for the vehicle. Find a dealership and talk to their internet sales department and ask for an out the door quote for a 60 month loan with either 5.49% or 8.49% APR. Make sure to state the amount you plan to put down for the down payment.

Then get an insurance quote. Those are free with no obligation. This is the most important part because it will really influence if you can afford the car. I had a 22 year old customer sign the contract and find out later that his insurance was $4,800 a year on a 15' BRZ limited. He couldn't cancel the purchase since he already signed the contract. So you need to make sure the insurance fits your budget.

Lastly, if you really want the car, you need to consider leasing a BRZ premium. If you can readily put 7000 down on a car, then you can put 1000-2000 down on the lease (that includes the first month payment) and have the 5000-6000 ready for the monthly lease payments. In total you'll be spending about $12k-$14k in 3 years and then if you really like the car, you'll probably have enough to buy it. People knock off leasing all the time, but in this case it's the smartest choice because you're borrowing less money and you have to save for the car. If you have anymore questions on leasing, ask me directly and don't necessarily listen to the guys who will tell you not to lease.

I know someone personally who leased their car in high school with no credit history and now they have tier 1 credit. If you drive less than 15000 miles a year then this is the way to go for a young person like you.

Let me know if you have anymore questions!

I'll tell you right now that Subaru Motor Finance (JPMorgan/Chase) and a lot of other banks will only allow you to finance up to 10% of your gross monthly income.

Thus, if you get quoted for a $500 monthly payment for 60 months, and you write that you make $2000-3000 gross income per month on the credit application, you probably won't even make it into the finance office because the dealership won't risk the credit inquiry.

It won't be, it will be an financial anchor. That is $6,000 to $8,500 a year out of your income. As others have suggested, you'd be better off taking the money you have, purchasing a used car outright (Car A), put the equivalent payment aside for 10 to 12 months, flip Car A, and money to it and purchase Car B. At that point (next summer, 2017 model year) you would be very close to being able to buy a 2013 FR-S or BRZ for cash.


You can buy a pretty nice used car for the cash you have on hand.

I think you can afford it, but I don't think it's a great idea. You're going to net $2000/mo. How do you arrive at expenses of $650? Does that include mortgage/rent, utilities, cable/internet, phone, groceries, insurance, fuel? It seems very low to me, unless you're living rent/mortgage-free.

You also need to pay yourself every month - at least 10% of your income needs to go into your savings account, so that's another $200, minimum.

Do you enjoy hanging out with friends, going out and doing things? Other hobbies that cost money? Enjoy taking sexy young ladies out on dates? Entertainment is at least another $300/month. Having a cool car is no fun if you have to stay in all the time because you can't afford to go out.

If you didn't factor insurance, on a BRZ for a young guy it isn't that cheap. The average around here seems to be about $1800/yr, so I'd be surprised if you could get that. I just quoted a 21yo male through Geico and it returned $220/mo. Oof.

With the three things I added, your disposable $1350 is now closer to $630. If you put the $7k down on a new BRZ Premium, that'll mean you're financing around $18k + taxes and fees. If you're trading the Lancer, that'll probably cover taxes and fees, leaving $18k financed. In a five year note at 5%, that'll be about $340/mo. However, if you don't have any credit and can't find anybody to co-sign, your rate may be closer to 10% and result in payments of $380/mo over that same term.

So, after your car payment, that'll leave you an additional $290/mo leftover. That's not a ton of wiggle room, in my opinion.

However, you know your bills/expenses better than we do. Frankly, if I was you, I'd use that $7k and go trade the Lancer in on a nice, used Miata and pay cash. $9k should find you a pretty nice example.

*Unless you get 0% financing. I would have never signed for a 72 month note until Subaru offered me free money.

Calculate living expenses as if you have to go it alone. With such a long loan, you really need to account for that possibility.

My rule of thumb is no loan longer than the shortest warranty, at least until it doesn't matter (i.e. financing is a choice not a requirement)

Yes, I'm saying you don't seem to be able to afford it right now, without significant risk. There's not enough wiggle room in that budget. You can help yourself by saving the amount this be out of pocket for the car every month (including insurance premium increases) - this let's you are glue right the budget really is, and builds a down payment in the process.

The lease suggestion is legit. Your budget doesn't leaves room for mods, so the restriction of a lease shouldn't hurt.

Saving is your best friend, as is assuming you plan short of reality.

I'd wait until the fall and then look at getting something moderately used. You should find some clean examples from people who know they won't keep it next year and don't want to store it over the winter or lease returns on the 2013 models.

If you wait like I suggest, you should be able to find a clean 2013 with ~20000miles for about 18k and you might be able to talk them down to 17k. Suddenly, you are now only needing to finance 10k if you can put 7k down on it which is a much easier pill to swallow than the 20k for a new vehicle. You can get a 3 year term at ~360/yr and have it paid off by then.

Also, other people have already suggested this but get auto insurance quotes and factor the cost of that into your budget as well.

Edit: Whoops just noticed you are in Arizona so I guess my advice is probably terrible for you. If I was in your boat, I'd look at getting a used Miata if I didn't need the back seats.

Skipping other posts, buy a used frs with lower miles for around 17,000 and you should have no trouble affording it if you put down 7k.

Expect something like 200/mo in insurance too. Being you're a younger person and it's labeled a sports car.