Can I afford the FRS/BRZ? Please help me decide.
 

I had absolutely no idea what this car was when I first saw it. Never even heard of it! Design wise, it blew me awayyyyyyy! I immediately fell in love with it. The last time this happened was the 1999 Eclipse GST (Never owned it- Still lust it). After seeing the scion logo, I thought, OMG! I might be able to afford it…

Anyways, I’ve been going back and forth about this car and asking myself if I can afford it. I am just going to lay down everything about myself and it’d be nice if someone can tell me whether I’m more than ready to buy it or to wait, or I’m poor as hell.

1) I’m 26. BS Degree in Computer Engineering/ Neuroscience with 18K student debt paid off.
2) Currently employed (3 yrs) in a stable job making $2,400 a month
3) Rent total is $700
4) I only have $5,000 in the bank in total.
5) Occasionally like to go out to restaurant and movies (~$50)
6) Spend around $150 every two weeks for food/etc.
7) Living with significant other.
8) Don’t know what my credit score is, but I’m sure it’s better than 650. Let’s just say it’s 650 for now.
9) Currently drive a 1999 Honda Civic. Paid off.

Can I afford this car and still live comfortably or will I be scraping by, while being careful about how I spend money?

My current car is in great condition, engine wise. I really take care of it (Amsoil, etc).
But its exterior has met idiot drivers with dents and car-door dings.

How can I afford the FRS? Can I get a great APR below 2%? What about 1%?

This car is a WANT more than a NEED. And I definitely want to own it and not lease it. Later, I want to put a aggressive exhaust, lower springs, and body kit on it.

Could you afford it, probably, should you....eh, maybe not yet. Granted, I don't live life on the edge, but at this point, the more important thing to do is worry about paying off the student loans, looking to start putting away for retirement, and build up the savings for emergency/down payment later. This, instead of adding more debt. Is the car fun to drive...HELL YES!! but at the same time, you have a reliable means of transportation that is PAID off... The thing with retirement is that its compounding...the more you put in now, the more you'll have later. Its always important to have a long term plan...

I am 32, and have done all of that, and finally this year, luckily, i was planning on getting something fun, and happened to coincide with the release of the FR-S.

Too many things play into figuring out the answer. I do have one rule though and I think it has served me well over the years. When in doubt, don't.
:burnrubber:

If you have to ask, I'd say no. But that's just an off-the-cuff reply.

You need to figure out what kind of monthly payment you can afford. Factor in the additional cost for insurance. Gas should stay the same or maybe even drop.

Factor in the fact that you're already looking to mod it -- that's more $.

If you aren't contributing monthly to your 401(k) and other long-term investments, you should prioritize that. Given that you've only got $5k in savings, I assume that you aren't.

You can't ask strangers, though -- you have to ask yourself. And my gut feeling is that if you have to ask - you can't afford it.

I kinda hope that I'm wrong, though. ;)

Save your money. You can buy a used frs/brz if you want eventually or get the 2015++ models

I'm gonna play the devils advocate for the time being. Technically, if you have to take a loan out for the car, you can't afford it. It also sounds like its going to be a play toy as well and in that case, the car should be paid for in cash for sure.

That is me being an adult and paying for things as they should be paid. Put aside a "car payment" every month and then sell the TL and pay for the car in cash in a year or year and a half. Like mentioned above, these things will come down in price pretty quickly. I think a used one will be had pretty cheap in a couple years. I think you will feel a lot better owning the car. Just my two cents.

Sorry to correct you, but my school loans are already paid off.
At this point in time, I have absolutely no debt besides my credit card which I pay off in full each month.

I guess the only reason I don't know if I am ready is that my first car was bought as a gift for me (I don't care of it, but I care FOR it) My daily driver and must be reliable.
Therefore, I don't know how to buy, finance, or fathom living a life with a brand new car.

I don't plan to mod my car any time soon. Maybe within a year of owning the car I'll do something like, get new wheels or shark fin antenna, etc.
Major changes are down the line.

Thing is, if I am going to buy a brand new car, I want to make sure that I am going to keep this car for no less than 10/15 years.

Don't forget significant other expenses. This could easily drain you.

Let's do some math.

Assuming $2400 is post-tax
Minus 20% saving (let's say 10% 401K and 10% your investment of choice) = $1920
Minus rent and food = $1920 - 700 -300 = $920
Minus insurance = ~$200 = $720

Ok, so, can you get a monthly payment of $500 for 60/72 months with a reasonable credit score? I would say Yes!

Is it risky? YES! You can afford it but it leaves you only ~$200 or ~300 per month in the black.

I go by the credo "live life by the day" as long as you can afford it because no one can predict tomorrow.

That made me fly to NJ and drive back 600 miles just so that I could have this car right now and not wait till Oct. 2013.

But make sure you think long and hard whether you have saved enough for a rainy day and eventualities.

Relax! There will always be others! (machines)

Im pretty much in the exact same boat as you minus the having a degree part. All of my numbers are almost the exact same as youve posted, kinda creepy Even the first car being a gift part...

I am very able to own my frs, picked it up in december and I havent stopped smiling yet. If you love cars, and have since you were young, please buy this car. If you just want a new car, now might not be the time.

Edit: you shouldn't be scraping by adding the car to your expenses, just stay strict on your budgets and you can still bank some big chunks of cash. That's how its worked for me and im quite pleased with my finances.

Save up a bit more for a down payment, check your credit score (and repair any issues), and start to cut down on bs expenses like going out to eat so much (remember you crap it out some hours later...a car lasts much longer) :)

Then see where you are...

i would never pay more for a car than 6 months of net pay. so 12k for you.
keep the acura. scratch the sports car itch with a nice used miata or something in the 5k range. leave the new cars for us fat old rich guys :)

in a few years, you'll be fat and old and buying the 2nd gen frs.

22 year old software engineer with good credit. Payment is 285 a month plus 140 a month for insurance. I can afford it no problem. You seem to be in a similar situation as I am, so if you are good with your finances it shouldn't be a real issue.