Some Day Soon: The Crave for a 17+ BRZ

[Ernest72]

Do yourself a favor and do not listen to people on a car forum about money advice. Find someone you believe you can trust who is an expert in finance or read as much as possible about the subject so that you can at least make an informed judgement.

Now for my opinion based on life experience, which you should take lightly as I am no finance major. But I am 44 years old, a scientist, with a family, , 2 kids, a house, two Subarus (4 cars all together) and relatively debt free.

Paying off debt is pretty much never a bad idea. Yes some debt that can provide tax relief (like mortgage interest) can be fine, but not having that mortgage interest would be better.

As for the car, it is really a want so only you can decide how strong that want is. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with living a little and taking a chance on yourself.

Also with your savings you are way ahead of most your age, so it tells me you are sensible.

Also make sure you are contributing to your 401K. Find a way - compounding works.

[Xxyion]

Originally Posted by BaatLuk

I was/am in a similar situation. Thank you for bringing up this topic! It resonates with me and I am sure with quite a few people on this forum as well. BRZ/86 being an inexpensive, impractical sports car, the targeted audience inevitably faces similar financial situations. Not convinced? There is a video on YouTube showing wife reactions to guys buying an 86:

.

I've been thinking about getting a BRZ in the last 3+ years now. Only recently I made myself create an account on this forum to start posting and asking people how much they paid for theirs. Why I have waited so long and so patiently? I make enough $ to afford a BRZ comfortably but I put other priorities first e.g. paying off my student loan, buying a house, paying my parents back for their down payment help, putting my son through pre school, saving for retirement, investing for future, and putting aside enough $ in a rainy fund. I am turning 30 this year and I am using that excuse to buy myself a BRZ with PP.

I am impressed by the quality advice offered by this community! Thought I was reading some serious personal finance forum for a minute. Almost every point I would have made has been pretty much covered. I am just going add 2 more points here:

1. PenFed offers 0.9% auto loan for 36 months. Email all the dealers in your area for the best price, let them fight for your business.
2. Please don't take this personally but you are underpaid for being in IT. Assuming you have a degree in computer science or equivalent, you should get paid much more, easily 6-figure. If you are interested in working for a Fortune 15 company, drop me a PM and I can refer you.

Good luck!

Eh...systems admin wont be making 6 figures unless you are in a lead position. But he is still underpaid. At the same time his location might be part of it. I do basically the same and make significantly more than he does, but i'm also in California so realistically we make the same lol.

[BaatLuk]

Originally Posted by Ernest72

Do yourself a favor and do not listen to people on a car forum about money advice. Find someone you believe you can trust who is an expert in finance or read as much as possible about the subject so that you can at least make an informed judgement.

Now for my opinion based on life experience, which you should take lightly as I am no finance major. But I am 44 years old, a scientist, with a family, , 2 kids, a house, two Subarus (4 cars all together) and relatively debt free.

Paying off debt is pretty much never a bad idea. Yes some debt that can provide tax relief (like mortgage interest) can be fine, but not having that mortgage interest would be better.

As for the car, it is really a want so only you can decide how strong that want is. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with living a little and taking a chance on yourself.

Also with your savings you are way ahead of most your age, so it tells me you are sensible.

Also make sure you are contributing to your 401K. Find a way - compounding works.

You started off by telling OP not to listen to anyone's advice here but went on to give him your advice?

I might add one more point: if OP ends up getting a BRZ, do not mod it. You will save $ on mods and have a much easier time selling it. I've learned this with my Evo. With the BRZ, at most I will only add a few STi pieces here and there.

Originally Posted by Xxyion

Eh...systems admin wont be making 6 figures unless you are in a lead position. But he is still underpaid. At the same time his location might be part of it. I do basically the same and make significantly more than he does, but i'm also in California so realistically we make the same lol.

To get the most accurate numbers, check glassdoor, neither of us are salary experts here. I am also in CA so the salary number seemed low to me. Last time I checked Maryland/DC area isn't exactly that much more affordable than CA.

Invest the cash, find a higher paying job, and find the balance in life. Life is short but you still have to live it responsibly.

[Xxyion]

Yeah let me clarify. In no way am i encouraging you to be irresponsible. Live within your means and dont live like you make twice what you actually make.

I just wanted to give the other side of the coin as everyone else is talking about paying off debts or buying a house first or whatnot. There is something to say about enjoying your youth at least a bit before you settle down.

[Ernest72]

[QUOTE=BaatLuk;2934281]You started off by telling OP not to listen to anyone's advice here but went on to give him your advice?

/QUOTE]

Yes, but I said don't listen to me

[Psilox]

A couple of quick things for OP:

• First, what are your student loan interest rates? If they're low (~5%), you'll probably just want to pay your set payment plans rather than paying them off early because...
• ...of my second point. Take the money sitting in your bank, minus a nice cushion that can handle unexpected expenses, and invest it. You could be making anywhere from 5-10% returns on that money annually. As long as your rate of return beats your student loan interest rate, you're better off investing any money instead of putting a lump sum toward your loans (since you're making more money than you're paying in interest). This brings me to my last point...
• ...If you do decide to get the BRZ, make sure you pay whatever down payment which brings your payments to a doable level, then finance the rest. Again, if you're financing at 1.9% (like me, who is younger than yourself), you're better off investing the money you'd spend paying entirely in cash, and pocketing the difference between your interest rate and your investment rate of return.

Can't really tell you whether to get the car, but I can say my 2017 with PP is amazing fun to drive. Very happy with it. Hope this helps!

[towch]

Originally Posted by BaatLuk

You started off by telling OP not to listen to anyone's advice here but went on to give him your advice?

I might add one more point: if OP ends up getting a BRZ, do not mod it. You will save $ on mods and have a much easier time selling it. I've learned this with my Evo. With the BRZ, at most I will only add a few STi pieces here and there.



To get the most accurate numbers, check glassdoor, neither of us are salary experts here. I am also in CA so the salary number seemed low to me. Last time I checked Maryland/DC area isn't exactly that much more affordable than CA.

Invest the cash, find a higher paying job, and find the balance in life. Life is short but you still have to live it responsibly.

THIS!
If i get the car i only plan to get the sti pack mod. I am done with modding after the mr2.

[towch]

Originally Posted by Psilox

A couple of quick things for OP:

• First, what are your student loan interest rates? If they're low (~5%), you'll probably just want to pay your set payment plans rather than paying them off early because...
• ...of my second point. Take the money sitting in your bank, minus a nice cushion that can handle unexpected expenses, and invest it. You could be making anywhere from 5-10% returns on that money annually. As long as your rate of return beats your student loan interest rate, you're better off investing any money instead of putting a lump sum toward your loans (since you're making more money than you're paying in interest). This brings me to my last point...
• ...If you do decide to get the BRZ, make sure you pay whatever down payment which brings your payments to a doable level, then finance the rest. Again, if you're financing at 1.9% (like me, who is younger than yourself), you're better off investing the money you'd spend paying entirely in cash, and pocketing the difference between your interest rate and your investment rate of return.

Can't really tell you whether to get the car, but I can say my 2017 with PP is amazing fun to drive. Very happy with it. Hope this helps!

For those wondering what my loan rate is, I attached it. I plan to use my bonus and tax return to pay off one of the $5000 by the beginning of next year, leaving me with 3 loans to pay and on.

I am thinking of a plan to pay 3k to 4k cash not including monthly payment every year.

[BaatLuk]

Originally Posted by towch

For those wondering what my loan rate is, I attached it. I plan to use my bonus and tax return to pay off one of the $5000 by the beginning of next year, leaving me with 3 loans to pay and on.

I am thinking of a plan to pay 3k to 4k cash not including monthly payment every year.

Pay off the unsub'd loan. The rest don't look too bad especially if you can deduct the interest from your taxes. If I were you, I'd still pay down majority of the loans before pulling the trigger on a BRZ.

[Adam_L]

Originally Posted by BaatLuk

BRZ/86 being an inexpensive, impractical sports car, the targeted audience inevitably faces similar financial situations.

In comparison to other cars/trucks the BRZ/86 is less practical on some levels, however in the sports car world it's more versatile / practical then most other sports cars (in that it gets good MPG…. low/mid 30's better then most sports cars, and you can at least fold down the rear seats and get something big in the back- bicycle, etc). A true 2-seater sports car, they've got the worst versatility (NSX … or most Porsche cars ) and lower MPG.

[BaatLuk]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

In comparison to other cars/trucks the BRZ/86 is less practical on some levels, however in the sports car world it's more versatile / practical then most other sports cars (in that it gets good MPG…. low/mid 30's better then most sports cars, and you can at least fold down the rear seats and get something big in the back- bicycle, etc). A true 2-seater sports car, they've got the worst versatility (NSX … or most Porsche cars ) and lower MPG.

Great point! But most people don't cross shop the twin with NSX or Porsche. Most likely they are also looking at Civic Si and other hot hatches e.g. Focus ST, Fiesta ST, GTI etc. Those are FWD but can be used as an everyday car. If BRZ was my only car and I had to carry people/stuff all the time, I'd think twice as well.

[Adam_L]

The only cars in a similar category ( RWD, sport coupe) and price that I can think of off the top of my head in the last 15 years (all V6… less MPG) are a 350z / 370z (not so sure how much back seat room they have, probably similar or less then the BRZ/ 86) or a G35 (hard to find in Manual). Also a IS300 , that is a I6 … supra engine… less MPG , but has good back seating.

The one that I suppose comes to mind would be a IS250 (they also made it AWD) , but that is a heavy car, 4cyl , good seating.

[Adam_L]

sorry, strike that… all of the IS cars are 4-door, ….. not sure if the IS350 os also 4dr

[nikitopo]

I believe it is wrong to give most of your money for a car. You'll have a property on the road which will be devalued very quickly and there is always the danger something to go bad. If I were you, I would buy in the best case a used one. Try also to pay off your student loan quicker.