Buying a new car the year out of college, dumb or not?

[chickdigger802]

Originally Posted by hanabie

No offense. This is a simple life decision. A grown-up man should make the decision without posting a thread like this over here. I find it is quite an embarrassment.
Also, you are buying a 30k car, not a Ferrari. If the decision is really that hard, you should probably consult first with your mom and dad. If they can't decide it for you, we will be happy to tell you what to do.

Sorry I'm harsh.

sorry that I offended you

I just tend to like doing research for any kind of purchases, big or small. I mean i won't go read up reviews for a pack of gum... but about anything more than $10 I tend to research a bit

Is it wrong to get opinions from a big pool of resources and opinions before committing to anything?

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by chickdigger802

sorry that I offended you

I just tend to like doing research for any kind of purchases, big or small. I mean i won't go read up reviews for a pack of gum... but about anything more than $10 I tend to research a bit

Is it wrong to get opinions from a big pool of resources and opinions before committing to anything?

The thing is, if you can do it and you want to do it - do it. People on the internet aren't you, don't let them live your life for you. I can afford my FRS working part time, so I bought one. Life is short. If I couldn't have afforded it, I wouldn't have bought it. You just have to make that decision for yourself.

[mush]

u can easily afford the frs/brz
if i was u, i would get the 2014... that gives a few months to save for a down payment/back up money

i was in the same boat, except i graduated 2 years ago
i still live at home. i have no reason to move out ATM, i save so much money living here... i do plan on buying a house in a few years
i give my parents $$
i waited almost 2 years before i bought a new car(that new car itch was not fun), now i have a nice chuck of money in the bank and im actually paying more than double the car note so i can pay it off faster

o yea im stingy with my money too! nothing wrong with that

[zipfizz]

I'd wait til you've been in a stable career for a year or two. And have your student loans paid off.

[s2d4]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

I can afford my FRS working part time

Weird concept of afford.

[shawnperolis]

Originally Posted by s2d4

Weird concept of afford.

yeah, it's very weird being able to pay your bills and have plenty of cash left over. Judging people on the internet is really easy, bro.

[howsouknow]

Have you ever driven down the road saw a badass looking sport car, so you decide to speed up to see who is driving this awesome looking car.. shockingly, you end up seeing a really old man driving it. You could wait for all your finances to clear up, or you could enjoy life as you go. Money can be made as long as you're competent, even if you lose your job, consequently you probably lose your car and you can go back to an old beater, but at least you enjoyed it while it lasted. Wait and who knows, you meet a girl and get a baby and boom, no more car until ur that old man sitting in a sport car in 2063. Just a thought.

[hanabie]

Originally Posted by howsouknow

Have you ever driven down the road saw a badass looking sport car, so you decide to speed up to see who is driving this awesome looking car.. shockingly, you end up seeing a really old man driving it. You could wait for all your finances to clear up, or you could enjoy life as you go. Money can be made as long as you're competent, even if you lose your job, consequently you probably lose your car and you can go back to an old beater, but at least you enjoyed it while it lasted. Wait and who knows, you meet a girl and get a baby and boom, no more car until ur that old man sitting in a sport car in 2063. Just a thought.

^that! Life is fragile. Enjoy while you can. I know there is a guy working for little ceasar and he is driving an frs. I would not think anything bad about the guy, but Im quite impressed that he is able to enjoy the car while making barely above minimum. I would give hims thumbs up.

[hanabie]

Originally Posted by s2d4

Weird concept of afford.

You know.. there are people working part time and getting paid way more than regular full time employees. Some people are just rich. They dont need a job because the family is just loaded with full of cash. The cash could feed them for at least 3 generations. So working oart time aint a bad thing at all. Sorry if you are being jelly. That is life.

[chickdigger802]

Also, it doesn't help seeing kids from my local highschool driving fr-s's

Anyhow, gonna save up cash, wait until I'm sure if I got the permanent position... than drink a lot and roll a dice :P

A lot of interesting insight here!

Waiting for 2014 should be a smart thing... but aren't all scion's gonna have some crappy touchscreen unit this year?

hmmm....

[kajun]

Originally Posted by chickdigger802

Is it wrong to get opinions from a big pool of resources and opinions before committing to anything?

It's not, but I guess one of the points people are making is that no-one here can say what is right for you or not. Generally speaking, it's better to clear all your debt before committing to more, and given the price of the car is more than your current student debt, it's wiser to consider clearing the debt, or in turn paying for your car in cash, assuming you can wait. Your loan costs would be at least as much as your student loan, leaving more than half your monthly salary committed to debts - more than 30% of after-tax income committed to debt is considered debt stress.

There may be used ones on sale now as the car is nearly a year old, so you'll get better value for money there - your parental advice comes from experience, after all.

However, as others say, there's nothing stopping you from going ahead with it. Is it dumb? Objectively, financially, sure, it's not the brightest idea; subjectively? these cars are fun and if you want to have fun while you can truly enjoy it, no-one is stopping you!

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by shawnperolis

haha so I am I the only person who bought their car before they graduated?

There's always that guy.

[shirker]

Originally Posted by Zaku

My only advice is pretty universal lol, Don't add on to your debt if you have any, and it's the best feeling in the world to not owe anything to anyone.

cause who here whats to keep a debt, especially in these shaky times.

With all due respect, I (conditionally) disagree with this line of advice. Debt in general is bad, but debt can be good.

If you have the cash to buy a car outright, instead of paying it in full, you could finance it at 2 or 3% while investing an equal amount in a mutual fund or investment vehicle of your choice earning 5%+. You'd end up having your money working for you, and would be better off in the end than paying in full and never taking on the auto loan debt.

In short, being in debt can be a good thing.

[Purdue FR-S]

Wow pretty emotional/hostile thread here :P

I went ahead and financed my FR-S a month ago and I'm about to graduate in a couple weeks. Start the job in June. I went ahead and did it b/c it's cheap money, i'll start building credit right out of the gate, and (most importantly) i'll be able to drive the thing with zero obligations other than class for a few months. Not having to work, being able to take it out at 10:30am on a tuesday and just enjoy it ... is (to me) something that's worth more than the $300 interest charge (max) I might accumulate.

As long as you've got a solid job lined up, I don't really see the issue here. Sure, you're going to be top heavy initially. But with the right investment portfolio you can outpace that interest rate or at least match it in the future. ENJOY THE MONEY WHILE IT'S CHEAP!

Best of luck in making your decision, and while I'm just a young whipper-snapper like yourself... I haven't regretted getting it early for a second since I drove it off the lot