Can I afford the BRZ?
 

I'm 21 years old currently driving a 2003 Lancer. Nothing special about it. Been delivering pizzas on it for years while im working on a career on the side.
Anyways, I got myself a better job for the mean time that pays 17 an hour (about 35k a year).
I've been jonesing for a new car for a long time and with this job I think i can finally afford one. I'm not too knowledgeable about cars or purchasing them but I am extremely interested in the BRZ or the FRS.

Over the next couple months I plan to save a few thousand to put a down payment on the BRZ, probably around 7k. What do the monthly payments for this car look like? and Insurance payments?
Im gonna make about 2k a month and my other expenses are about 650 a month. I want to be able to get this car without the only 1400 being completely sucked dry.
Think I can afford it?

Can I afford the BRZ?
 

I'm 21 years old as well and I make about $2000/mo. Just picked up the Brz last week and I ended up putting 3k down and got an interest rate of 4.49% (due to short credit history). My monthly payments are $435 for 72 months.

Find a way to do it! The FRS/BRZ is worth every penny IMO, after nearly 3 years I still love mine to death!

Normally if you have to ask you can't afford it. But you're making okay money seems like you could afford it go to the dealer get a quote on payments.


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1400 a month towards the car, yea I think you can afford it lol. My payments are 400 a month for a fr-s. 20k out the door with 17k miles and 5k down. I haven't seen what my insurance quote is yet because I just bought mine this Saturday. I make 15 an hour full time. I'm 20 years old as well so I'm in a similar position as you. I think it really depends on your circumstances and how much of a priority this car is to you. To me I would rather have a car I enjoy driving then wearing fancy clothes, eating out, etc. if you feel the same way man go for it! Just Avoid getting speeding tickets, that's money you can use for parts lol.

Putting 7k down is way too much. It would be better to save that money and use it toward payments. IMO


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You'll be fine if you have around 1400 left over. With monthly and insurance you'll still have a chunk of change left over. Personally id use them for parts. :thumbup::burnrubber:

i agree with slammesteve.

depends on your situation and your priority.
you're still young and i would enjoy it. if you cannot afford it later, sell it.
just don't get too excited and drive recklessly

The car payments, you should be able to.
But this is a big part to consider, the insurance payments. It'll vary depending where you live but on my plan with collision, comprehensive and liability, it's 375 a month. And I have to infractions either. It's the young driver thing. If you really want to be conservative, can you afford to pay for the car and its expenses 1.5x? Because unexpected things can happen like breakdowns and such.

When I was 21 I was making about the same as you, except I was living with my parents so I didn't owe any rent, and was single and loving life. My car payment was around $300 + $120 for insurance (This was an 05' 330Ci mind you). I enjoyed the shit out of it and (to me) it was worth every penny. I learned a ton from working on that car and that's something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Look at it this way .. in 5-6 years, you'll be at an age where you will (hopefully) have your own place and have a newish paid off car. Just one less bill to worry about later. A lot of people find that mindset foolish, myself included, but as you age, you inevitably will have more financial responsibility. I am at a point where I sometimes wish I kept that car so I don't have a car payment right now. But that's life, I am making twice as much and can afford more things - so it kind of balanced out I suppose.

I bought my FRS on feb 2014 .. it was a leftover 13 model with 40 miles and got it around 22.5K with 100k warranty. I never buy brand new cars because of the insane depreciation in the first 2 yrs but in this case the price was right and they tried to get me with financing but I had my own thru a CU. In the end its all personal preference but those first 2 yrs suck for everyone that buys new specially if you're paying interest on that.

Just my 2 cents

never ever ever agree to a 72 month loan...

Also, later in thread this guy says not to put 7k down.

Monstar may be a smart guy, but his financial advice is shit.

A rule of thumb on on 60 month loans is...every thousand dollars will equal about 20 dollars a month.

So, 7k down saves you 140$ a month in payments. Also avoids interest.

As a younger person, you most likely will get a bad interest rate...we all have been there.

It sucks, but you should pay interest on a car you like and will enjoy...not a POS.

I bought a slightly used 2013 FR-S that had 24k miles. I'm in the EXACT same boat as you but I was a DJ before I got an actual job (project coordinator). I'm 20 years old and will be 21 in october:happyanim: and i can afford an frs. I made sure that my expenses for the frs (payment and insurance) didnt exceed 1 paycheck (i get paid weekly). Anyways I was able to put down $2,500 and get a 2.57 apr on the car (crazy I know huh?) and I'm financing it myself. You can have a co-signer to help with interest. I have previous credit history due to the fact I took out a small loan of 2k for a wrx about a year ago. I paid that off and then sold the wrx. I'm financing the FR-S for roughly $320 a month and my insurance is roughly $150 a month. 20 years old, live in CA, 1 speeding ticket on my record. I afford this car just fine.

Take your monthly payment (whatever the payment is, whether it's 2 years or 10 years)

Add your insurance broken down by month.

Times that by two.

If your monthly disposable income is more than that, yes you can afford it. If it's less, you will put yourself in debt.

-alex