Is it a good idea..
 

So I am currently set on buying a new 2014 BRZ limited. The dealer will give it to me for around 26,200 before processing, taxes, tags, etc. So I'm thinking with 6% tax + other fees itd be around 28,500 on the road.

I currently have a `04 bmw 525i and `06 cbr600 rr. I would be selling both and believe I would be walking away with around 11.5-12k to put towards the car, put a little more money with it and owe around 15k. Subaru has 0% financing right now (would co-sign with my dad). I was thinking this would help me build credit, plus I make around 800 a month with no expenses (parents pay for mostly everything) and the car payment would be 300$. This would be my first new car and the sound if it, plus the car itself is very exciting, but I was wondering if anyone else could share their first new car buying experience or provide any insight on what I should do.

Also, if I do decide to get the car, what are some of the lower costing mods (cosmetic or performance) that are easy, but increase the appearance/performance of the car (I know it is relative to the person, but just suggestions, etc would be awesome!).

Thanks everyone in advance!

Assuming you have this car for a few years, what happens when you move out and start life on your own? Will you be able to continue to afford it? $800/mo is great when it's all spending money, but it's not enough to live on.

That said, i got my new 2014 limited for about $2K more than your price, so I would think that's a good deal.

Cheap mods:
Shorty or shark fin antenna
LED fog lights
BaysonR lip kit
Energy suspension shifter bushing
Energy suspension steering rack bushings
Whiteline transmission insert
Whiteline rear diff and subframe inserts
MTEC shift springs
Motul 300 transmission/diff fluid

Do they have an '13's left in stock? Could be a great way to save a few extra grand

my advice is to save your cash, sell one of your current cars, and drive the other until the wheels fall off. Invest the extra cash you have for the future and don't spend it on a new car.

I will be able to afford it. I will be living with my parents for a year after school, after which they will be moving to the south to retire, while I will get to stay in their current house for the cost of their utilities. I have a job lined up for when I graduate in December for ~$52k a year, so it won't be too bad. As the BRZ / FRS are new, I figured there would probably be someone else that was in my position or even previous cars to provide a deeper insight. I greatly appreciate the responses thus far!

after all my bills, i have $1500 to spend. i still think its to expensive to afford another vehicle, insurance and gas.

Without a doubt, but my parents, thankfully, pay for insurance and gas and I will be selling my current car + motorcycle.

If you will be make $50k a year right out of college than you will have ZERO issues affording this car...

Making that money, you could pay it off in one year like nothing.

Here is my story and then my recommendation.

I bought my FRS 1 year after graduating from graduate school. I had student loans, a tC (paid for), and an 07 CBR 600RR (paid for). I really wanted the FRS so I bought it. Got new grad discount and employee discount through a family member.

Going back. I should have kept the tC and the bike. Held on buying the FRS until my student loans were paid off. Not having a car payment is beautiful. Now, I have the FRS only. Sold the tC and bike to buy my fiancee's ring. Student loans will be finished in 6 months or so. FRS will be paid off in 3 years. APR is 2.4%. I can make larger payments toward the FRS when student loans are done to pay off the FRS quicker. That low of an interest rate does not bother me in terms of making the minimum payment.

If you have 0% APR then you have nothing to worry about at 50k per year. As long as you don't have student loans. And you sell the bimmer and bike. Don't modify your car until it's paid off. It's not worth the headache if something happens. Dealerships will find anything to use against you. Just tint the windows and leave it that for the time being.

I will have 0 student loans and it would be 0% APR with my dad co-signing. I believe that if I sell the bike and bmw that I would be able to afford it, but I appreciate your story, which field did you graduate from, if you don't mind?

Physical Therapy School.

Good luck with that. I appreciate your advice, just need to convince my dad now and I should be a BRZ owner (for some reason I just prefer the BRZ limited vs the FRS, but if you can sell me otherwise I'd be open to that too haha).

Question for you. My wife is looking at this right now. What's the job market like? Is it worth trying to start your own practice, or should one look at hiring with an existing practice? Or working at a hospital?

Sounds to me like you can afford it, but only you really know for certain. If it were me, I'd probably go for it. But then, I love this car, so I know what I would be getting.

Good quality window tint. I waited several months to tint mine, and I wish I had done it right off. First, quality ceramic tint helps with heat in the car. Second, this car just looks 100% better with tinted windows.

Also look into getting clear bra or something similar put on the car to protect the paint on the bumper and hood. The paint on this car is pathetically thin. The tiniest rock or wood chip will take a chip out of the paint. I wish I had done that, but now I have several chips in mine.

Also, I recommend getting a Bluetooth OBDII dongle and running Torque or a similar app on your phone. Unfortunately the car doesn't have all the gauges it should, but you can display most of them using Torque.

Another thing that made the car surprisingly more comfortable to drive was a set of Emdom seat belt pads. The position of the seat belt on this car caused it to cut into my neck. It was very uncomfortable. I had a set of $5 pads I picked up from O'Reilly, but one of the members here went to a company that makes rifle slings and asked them to make him a custom seat belt pad. They made extras and sell them for $45. They look and feel like they came with the car.

Those are my must-haves. Once you get into exhaust, lighting, rims and tires, you're talking about a lot more money.

I would go BRZ limited over FRS all day long. If I didn't get a discount through Toyota. I would have bought a limited BRZ.

Job market/outlook is excellent and will continue to grow. Starting your own practice is most lucrative yet you have to be willing to put in the hours. Everything depends on you in that case. Reimbursement is decreasing for all medical services. But there are still ways to thrive as a private practice owner. I work in a private outpatient orthopaedic clinic.

Ultimately it's your decision but in your position I wouldn't as it could limit your options and put you in a bad place.

This plan depends entirely on you living with your parents, having them pay gas+insurance and actually being able to get a job right out of college. At some point don't you want to be independent? Even if you get a job at 50k a year right out of college that wouldn't leave you with much spending cash after housing, insurance, food, internet, electricity, phone, etc etc.

Seems like a lot of risk for a less practical car and having to give up your bike.

This is the type of devil's advocate advice I was looking for, on top of the "I would get it for x,y, and z reasons as well. Since my parents are moving about 10 hours away in a year, I am definitely going to live with them for the next year, which will in conjunction allow me to save money as it would be rent free. Also, for saving money I will stay on their plans, but pay them my share of what it costs since it is cheaper to be on their insurance until I am 25 on top of the cell phone service. I greatly appreciate it the advice, definitely gave me things to think about!

Yeah it sounds like you could make it work but it would also mean completely relying on them. Personally I like to be independent and make my own way.

I'd never be happy owning a vehicle and knowing I could only afford it because of someone else.

Will your parents adopt me and pay my mortgage?? PLEASE!!!

buy one used. Cost of living sucks in Maryland...I lived there for 6 years. 800 a month is not a lot to spend. I make 3200 a month and I do not have a lot of other things to spend money on and I still do not like my 251 dollar a month payment. It is almost paid off though thankfully. As people have said. Drive the current car into the ground, save the cash, and if you get a nice paying job and can safely afford it even if you somehow lose that job, then I would pursue the BRZ. What are you going to drive in the winter? Black Ice in Maryland runs rampant all over the roads.

Do it if you feel confident enough to afford it, but 800 dollars a month for a 30000 dollar car is not enough, sorry.

Do not... I repeat... DO NOT pay a single penny more than 25,600 OTD for a 2014 Limited BRZ. Got mine for like 25 5 through the costco dealer program for under invoice. If anyone in your family has a costco card, then search costco auto program, put the card number in, search for a participating dealer, ask at the dealer for the costco price sheet, check 2014 BRZ (should be 3 or 4 hunderd under invoice), buy car, win, thank me later

@Droid - You seem to already have your mind made up. Some of these users are mentioning things that are paramount to the "Adult" thought process. Things like, I *WISH* I had $1500 / mo. extra at the end of bills. After paying for my roof, food, insurance, gas, and the rest of life. There are weeks I scrap by with $50 left until Friday.

What they are trying to say is "Consider the life after the year with family". If you have really and truly thought it through and still want to buy the car, Do it. But understand there may be complications to your plan because that's life.

If you don't want to listen to the advice of the forum though, I would recommend not asking an objective question. -- I paid 21,151 out the door, tires on the floor and mine. My payments were sub $300 before gap & extended warranty and are now slightly over $300. I bought because I had a 2.5i that suffered extensive damage due to chrapnel from a collision I wasn't even in. Would I have bought without that? No. But since I needed a car, and this was actually cheaper than getting a corolla, for example, then I'd buy it all over again if I could. just from a different dealer. haha

Hope it helps.

Right now I have a quote of 28k OTD, but the invoice on the costco program is 27k, how does one get 1500 under costco invoice OTD, that is insane.

I do have my mind for sure, but from the first time I saw this car, I knew I wanted it and now that I have a job lined up for 50k straight out of school, and I'm renting a room of my townhouse for 500 (which will cover the payment without touching my income of 800 a month) I really want to, and think I can do it while building credit. I know it probably isn't a good idea, but after reading how much you guys love these cars, it is killing me =/.

Yeah, mostly this. There are so many hidden living costs that you'll run into that really add up quickly. I couldn't even pay all my regular monthly bills and car payment on 50k/year after taxes.

I've also had many of my friends "promised" jobs after college that almost all fell through.

Droid, may I ask what field you will be going into?

As another recent graduate who quickly bought a BRZ after school I will say that I partly wish I had waited before buying mine. I had a choice of two jobs, not just a promise but actual offers of employment, that put my gross at well over 52k. I took one, did that for 5 months then bought my BRZ. I decided that I didn't want to be with that company and went job searching. It took me 6 months before I worked again. Now I'm trying to dig myself out of a hole. I do have debt from school but my bills are only $1500 a month.

Remember that 52k a year turns into a reality of 35k in your hands pretty quick. Also double check your insurance rates. It was cheaper for me to be on my own insurance rather then be on my parents.

I reckon you are correct and as sad as everyone may think, I am banking/overheard my dad tell my mom he would pay for most if not all of it when I graduate from college in December, so long I keep my townhouse where I went to school and keep that little "business" going. I was thinking if not, I would still be able to make the payments/extra payments since I will be living with my parents at least a year after I graduate come December. I have never been a car nut since my last car my dad wouldn't let me touch since it was my first car + he bought it, but this car makes me want to get into the "scene." This would also be good because my Dad loves working on cars and what not, so while I may be taking slight advantage of the situation, I don't think it will have me financially strapped.

Based on what you told us, you most certainly can afford it -- especially if you have that job secured. Be thankful to your 'rents for all the support they've provided so far. Trust me, if you wait, it will only get harder as you get older -- when you start paying for health insurance, auto insurance, taxes as an independent, etc.

Your mind is already made up... now go find the best deal available!

There appear to be a few different option packages for the limited. The one I am getting a quote on is the "top of the line" (going to the dealer tomorrow, not exactly sure what else that entails) and that quote is 28.5k out the door and on the road for a 2014 BRZ limited manual. I live in Maryland, any opinions on that?

I don't see why not.

Look, work up a realistic budget and see if the payment fits. If it does, buy the car. If it doesn't, don't. If you find later that you can't afford the payments, sell the car and use the proceeds to get something cheaper.

A lot of people on this board really seem to get off on telling other people they can't afford the car. Maybe it makes them feel special, I don't know.

The way I look at it is that there is an enjoyment factor with this car that one does not get from other cars. That enjoyment factor, in my mind, has monetary value. You're paying more for this car than a shitbox economy car, but you're also getting more for your money.

Life is full of enjoyment opportunities that make it worth living. Of course, they have to be balanced with responsibilities. But you practically have no responsibilities. I'm assuming you're not married and have no kids, and you don't have a lot of debt to service. In a sense, you could afford to lose everything, because you wouldn't be taking innocent people down with you.

I say if you want the car and can afford it, buy it, with the understanding that if everything goes sour, you also take personal responsibility for that.

I am not married, no kids, and have 0 debt or any responsibility for anything for that matter. I appreciate the honest answer and can totally afford the car, especially with the 0% financing. How did the price sound to you?

Get it while your parents still support you, sounds like they will be there to bail you out if you get in over your head. Better to make those mistakes while you have loved ones around you to give you a helping hand.

Your parents pay your insurance and gas and you're considering a new car.

Okay then. Your priorities are way out of whack. Become self sufficient before you get a new car.

I agree, but doesn't sound like he's ready to be independent yet. We all reach that age eventually, some sooner than others. I just hope he's not gonna be a douche about having the car, like trying to stunt or flex on other guys with cars that are not as nice (but who are at least financially independent). In other words, OP be humble because without help from your parents this car is not in your price range right now.

I am not trying to preach how he should live or sound douchey but I guess he doesn't find it weird that he has a BMW and a SS bike with his parents still paying for 3/4 of it. Gas and insurance are the expensive part of car ownership.

So with that in mind can he even afford car ownership?

And now to consider a new one? :iono:

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Without a doubt, I never try to flaunt anything that I have. Parents aren't rich, but we are well off and I am very thankful for that! They never had anything like this when growing up, so I've been spoon fed my whole life and I will be the first to admit that. I've "lived" on my own at college in my own place (granted everything was paid for) and am graduating a semester early (worked my ass off to take that many classes) and do try to save them money wherever possible because I am fortunate for what they give me. My dad told me about the BRZ when it was a concept and I've loved it since then, but it has only been possible now due to graduating in December and having a self sufficient job for what I need aside from what they give me. I appreciate the advice and even the harsh words from others, I really do. I just wanted to bounce the idea off of others as I think (have crunched the numbers) to where if I live with my parents, I could pay gas, insurance, etc while living under their roof, while creating a nest egg to move out with on top of getting the car.

I completely missed this very informative post, my apologies. I am going into the Cyber Security/Assurance field. I leave near all of the major government agencies along with a wide variety of cyber intelligence contractors here in the DMV area. I will definitely double check the insurance rates!

I personally don't think you sound like a douche, haha maybe OP will feel differently tho. But I'm right there with you, if he really wanted my advice, I'd say build a savings account, slowly try and pay your own bills and expenses, once your able to be mostly self sufficient, then and only then would I think about buying my a new car. It's annoying sometimes to see others get things with other people's effort/time that we work hard for, but hey, that's none of my business :iono:

I completely agree with this statement. I could NOT afford this car at this moment (still in school, working 20 hours a week). I mean I probably could, but it would greatly cut down on my spending money. However, it is not the case as I do not have the burden of paying for these.

Well OP, I'm glad you're humble cuz many of us weren't that lucky. Be thankful to your parents, treat them with respect, and enjoy the BRZ, it's an amazing car.