It was a good run

[Gixxersixxerman]

Originally Posted by Celica00

just for the situation to be more clear, i lost my job (no, not fired). it was a bit higher paying than pretty much most of what i can get around my county (and go to school simultaneously. that coupled w/ living expenses, tuition and insurance, makes the situation brutal. i was living paycheck to paycheck as is, so less income means i'll just get in debt every month.



seeing as how my current loan is a 6 year. if i got a 10k loan for say, 4 years. would my payments be only a difference of ~$100? if thats the case, i might just have to work overtime every week when i get my new job to maintain ownership of my car instead of getting a cheaper one.

worst case scenario of getting a miata isnt so bad, but snagging a RSX or Integra type s wouldnt be so bad either.

so question is, with going to school and getting a less paying job. my best bet would be to just work overtime? is the FRS worth having a 80+ hour work week? i guess thats a decision i'm gonna have to make

edit: also, my tax refund is looking like it'd be 3k+ and wouldnt i get my warranty money back? i was thinking if i spent 8-10k on a used car then i'd be 8k in debt instead of 20k in debt. thats my reasoning

As of right now I'm unemployed.. Contract didn't get renewed.. And I run all over and do contract work here and there when I can find it.. My unemployment benefits are about 500$ less then my bills.. But my last two jobs I made enough to put away, in case I can't find anything more permanent I pay 535 on my FRS.. I paid 400 on my xterra.. That was with my bad credit and high interest.. If I had the credit I do now my payments would've been around 250 at the most I'm sure.

It's hard for me to find work that pays the 30$ an hour I was making.. Hell unemployment pays me equivalent to about 12$ an hour.. So just to "make" the same amount that I am sitting home I'd have to make over 16-17 bucks to cover the tax and gas back and forth and stuff.. Then I'm still short.. Out of the three month is been un employed I've only had to use a month of it, because of those temp contract jobs.. Which is good because I travel all over to do them.. Bad because lining something up is not always easy..

Like what was meantioned.. Your best bet is, maybe to sell the car break even then b a cheap 2k car so you won't owe anything.. Get situated then buy a 2015 FRS or what ever

[Duff_man]

And 1.5k civics are alot of fun as well! My winter beater is a 97 acura 1.7el and I'm having a blast in snow pulling the handbrake!

Forget loans, get a cheap ride!

[Ft-86 Please]

That's sad to hear but as others said: Miata, You can get a pretty decent Na for under 4k

[Celica00]

wow guys i really appreciate the advice. sometimes i need 'older and wiser' ideas. looks like there are several routes to go, some keeping the car, some losing it. but regardless thanks for the input.

if i do go used, i'll get something cheap such as a 4k miata or the like.

[Ingen]

Originally Posted by Celica00

so because life happens and being a college student, it can also be unexpected. but life bit me hard in the ass recently and i might have to give up my FRS which quite frankly eats me up inside. so 2 things

1. my car has 10,000 miles and was purchased in may. what is the depreciation? i also have about 2200 dollars in aftermarket parts. does that matter? i've paid about 4.5k of it off so how much will i be upside down.

2. what are some good cheaper (8k to 10k) cars that i can get in it's place that will maybe lessen the blow of losing it?

hopefully life will get allow me to keep my FRS but odds are low.

Trade the car in on a used 04 mazdaspeed miata. Close enough for the time being.

You should be even on the money, sorry about those parts though, you might swap back to stock and sell the parts on here.

Edit: assuming your 10k budget is a pipe dream, I would go with a 1999 miata because I love NB style miatas. If not that then an old gti or a civic hatch if you don't gag at the thought of fwd.

[lazyluka]

My advice.

Either keep the FR-S with it's new car warranty, and the fact that it will last you the years.
Or, get a cheap ~$3K car. Spending $10K on a car that can potentially have the same faults as a $3K one will just mean you will be worse off.

[ashtray]

6yr loan - don't know the rate or your down payment, but lets make up some figures:

You're paying $500/mo for 72 months? That's $36,000 in payments. So if you paid $25k plus $1k tax/tags, you're at about a 13% interest rate? The payments you've made since June - 8 payments - were $4k, but at this point in the loan, lets be conservative and say half of that was interest. So you still owe $24k on a $25k (new) car.

Sell the aftermarket stuff - 50 cents on the dollar, should put $1k in your pocket.

Now you'll never sell your car with 10k miles on it for $1k less than a new one. Best case, all your local dealers are adding extras jacking the price up to $28-30k, making a used one more appealing. You could probably try to get $22k for it.

Now, you owe $24k - so you'd have to PAY $2k when you sell it. If you don't have $2k, then you're stuck with the car.

Lets say you can walk away clean - after selling your mods you can cover the gap and you're left with no car but no debt.

Student loans? Or do you have those already? If you can get student loans to cover tuition and cheap living costs, then a part time job at $10/hr - you can save up some money over time and then buy a $4k Miata in cash. Until then, you ride the bus, walk, get rides with friends, live close to campus, etc.

After you graduate you can get the "real job", make some money, but a new car, etc etc.

It's all about making smart financial decisions. Paying $36k for a $25k car is not so smart. Putting yourself in a position of living month to month with no safety net, not so smart. (But that happens to a lot of people!). Maintaining a lifestyle you can't support without a job that you admit you can't replace at the same salary - not wise. If you were making $30/hr, but really could only replace that job with one at $17/hr, then you should set up your finances around the $17/hr budget. Anything extra you took in goes into a savings account.

Looks like you jumped the shark buying the FRS. I drove $800 pieces of junk in college. When I graduated and got a real job, I bought a CPO BMW as a reward.

[SUB-FT86]

S2000 can be had for around 10k and it will still be quicker than the FRS.

[Burrcold]

Dude you're still in school. Cut your losses, buy a beater, and ENJOY your college years! You'll have plenty of time (and money) when you graduate to do what you want.

I would be beating myself over the head if I had worked 80+ hours a week for a freakin car!

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by Celica00

wow guys i really appreciate the advice. sometimes i need 'older and wiser' ideas. looks like there are several routes to go, some keeping the car, some losing it. but regardless thanks for the input.

if i do go used, i'll get something cheap such as a 4k miata or the like.

Since you're directly asking for the advice, here's some:

When you make your next big purchase you not only have to be able to afford it, but you also have to plan for the unintended events, namely losing your job. If that event occurs you must have enough money saved up from each month you did have a job to carry you over at least 1 year while still paying all bills.

If you cannot do this, then you do not buy the item you are wanting because you cannot afford it. What if this was a house instead of a $25k car for example? You'd be financially screwed by a factor of 10.

Another example: you have a brand new car with a 5 year payment, does that mean when it's paid off that you can now freely spend the money you were using for monthly payments on other stuff? No! What about the next car? You keep making those payments(saving account, etc.) past the 5 years as if you still had payments to make, so that when the car is dead you have enough for the new one rather than starting from scratch like everyone else in America that is $10k in debt because they do not follow these examples.

[ayau]

Banks aren't going to loan any money if you don't have any income. Don't be surprised if you can't even buy a 8-10k car.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by fistpoint

Since you're directly asking for the advice, here's some:

When you make your next big purchase you not only have to be able to afford it, but you also have to plan for the unintended events, namely losing your job. If that event occurs you must have enough money saved up from each month you did have a job to carry you over at least 1 year while still paying all bills.

If you cannot do this, then you do not buy the item you are wanting because you cannot afford it. What if this was a house instead of a $25k car for example? You'd be financially screwed by a factor of 10.

Another example: you have a brand new car with a 5 year payment, does that mean when it's paid off that you can now freely spend the money you were using for monthly payments on other stuff? No! What about the next car? You keep making those payments(saving account, etc.) past the 5 years as if you still had payments to make, so that when the car is dead you have enough for the new one rather than starting from scratch like everyone else in America that is $10k in debt because they do not follow these examples.

You'd walk away from the house like every other American in 07-08.

[comic0guy]

Originally Posted by ashtray

It's all about making smart financial decisions. Paying $36k for a $25k car is not so smart. Putting yourself in a position of living month to month with no safety net, not so smart. (But that happens to a lot of people!). Maintaining a lifestyle you can't support without a job that you admit you can't replace at the same salary - not wise. If you were making $30/hr, but really could only replace that job with one at $17/hr, then you should set up your finances around the $17/hr budget. Anything extra you took in goes into a savings account.

This is awesome advice. Just like if you get a raise, push the extra money to a savings account, you are already used to living off the old salary.

Originally Posted by ashtray

Looks like you jumped the shark buying the FRS. I drove $800 pieces of junk in college. When I graduated and got a real job, I bought a CPO BMW as a reward.

I would even go one step further. I've always hated debt. I was a bit lucky that my dad help me buy my brother's old celica while I was in my last year of college back in 2006. I had been working an internship and made some okay money. It had 188,000 miles on it.

After I graduated and got a job at the same place. I kept the celica. My first priority was to build a "rainy day fund." Typically around 3-6 months of living expenses. If possible, just get the college done without taking on those expenses that aren't necessary. I still drive this car @ 260,000 miles, and I also drive my Evo X, that I took years to save up to get. So before even buying a new car, build that rainy day fun.

Things to avoid:
- When living paycheck to paycheck, buying the unnecessary car (in my opinion).
- On top of that, buying expensive mods(anything that is not needed for the car to operate) to a car that you can just barely afford.
- Not building some rainy fund, you can start with $50 a month, but just start it.

Best suggestion I can give you. Take what you know you could make and figure out a livable budget, that includes a small savings (hopefully). Right now, you need something reliable. But since you are in your situation, selling the mods, and keeping the car might make the most financial sense. Because the hole a trade-in/sale would make might hurt more. Make a list of what you need to live and go from there.

[86'd]

I don't want to be that guy....

But wasn't there anyone in your life to tell you financing over $30,000 at this point in your life was a good idea.

Not to mention spending over $2000 in parts.

I'm worried about spending $150 for an ebay lip, and my wife and I make very decent money.

----

Let's say you break even on selling your FRS....OK...

Now, finance a (Miata) under $5k for 100 bucks a month. Then keep that 3K tax return and 1K ($.50 on the $1) for those parts (4K total), for emergency savings.

Get a new job. Save money each month. Put that away.

Finish school.

When you get a decent job after college, buy a used FRS for under 20k, and sell your Miata what you bought it for.