Need help figuring out if I can afford an FR-S.

[BrianFRS]

Ok, so my current situation is:

• Drive a GSXR-600 (Still owe ~$5k)
• Monthly income ~$650 (after Rent, Bills, Groceries, etc.)
• 24yrs old/ 2 tickets/ 2 minor accidents
• Looking to get a 6MT Whiteout FR-S (New or Used, depending on cost)

My question(s) is, based on your experiences, would it be best to buy an FR-S used or new? I've found used ones for ~$15-19K. But I'm worried that they won't have the factory warranty and included maintenance that new ones come with.

And also, I've heard that interest on used are more than new, and equal the same in the long run. Plus the reason some of these are so cheap, is due to a Salvage title, so would that be something to trust or not?

All that being said, what do you guys think would be best in my situation. New, Used, Wait?

Also, I want to know if I could manage the payments, plus insurance. I've seen rates vary for these cars, from $50-200+/month. Obviously, you guys can't give me solid figures, but I just want to know if anyone has a similar situation going on, and what you pay.

And as for my bike, I would be selling it before getting an FR-S. But not sure how hard/easy it would be to get it off my hands, since I still owe on it.


Thanks in advance to any replies. I'd greatly appreciate any feedback.

[suaveflooder]

Credit cards? School loans? Anything like that? You are more realistically looking at a payment of $450 or so on a new one with nothing down, give or take. Used, probably around $350.

You have a savings? $650 is not a lot of play room and with the car it would go down to about $200-$300. I'm going to assume worst case and that you can't get rid of the bike for a couple months.

Obviously the decision is up to you, but I wouldn't suggest it.

[snoflewis]

i think the general rule is if you have to second guess, you probably can't afford it. also, just because you can afford the car doesnt mean you can afford driving the car. insurance living in LA w/ your history won't be cheap. also depends on where in LA you live too. moving zipcode with teh change of one digit boosted up my insurance a few hundred a year. not really sure where you stand in terms of modding, but seeing that you're on this forum, im going to assume you're not going to leave it stock.

im in the same boat. gonna be needing a new car soon, but trying to see if i should hold off and drive my ep3 into the ground or not.

[hur1ey02]

If you have to ask, chances are the answer is no.


Don't strain yourself financially for a vehicle if you already have a good reliable means of transportation. You'll be using considerably more fuel, and depending on your state laws, your insurance will likely be a lot higher than on the bike. (The insurance tidbit is based on VA coverage laws so it may not apply). Maybe sell the bike if you aren't upside down in that loan, and then see what you're looking like.

[Zed]

Addition to all the others' list. Any savings built up currently? You should be accumulating disaster fund roughly equivalent of 3-6 paychecks worth (depending on how paranoid you are).

As for a benchmark: I am also in LA and I currently pay ~160/mo on the insurance as a single vehicle insurance owner. I put down a 10k deposit, so my financing on a new car is similar to your used car route (financed ~19k on a new BRZ). This comes out to around $350/mo due to low interest rates, so yours may be even higher per month.

[thill]

You are not going to find a used FR-S for $15-18K range I suspect unless it has a salvaged title or there is something wrong with it. Or is has tons of miles.

Since you are in LA, you also realize you have high taxes and fees on a new car. Factor in almost 10% of the purchase price. So let's just say you score a used FR-S that is under warranty still for $19K. Add almost $2K for taxes and fees. That brings you close to $21K. If you finance the whole thing at say, 4% (don't know your credit) you are looking at $386 a month on 5 year loan (which I don't recommend for a used car) and $474 a month on a 4 year loan.

If your credit is not good, your interest rate could be much higher than 4%, but could also be better if you have excellent credit.

Factor in insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. I don't think it makes sense unless you could put a sizeable downpayment down on the car. I would recommend saving up so you can put a nice downpayment down ($5-10K) and also get your motorcycle paid off. If you have credit cards those carry high interest rates typically and you want to focus on paying those off first.

If you come up with a good plan you could have the car in 12-24 months easy.

[J_kennington]

I would honestly say no. You have 650 left monthly. Add in 150-200 a month for insurance, then anywhere from 300-600 a month for payment. You now have nothing or less than nothing left for gas.

What's your payment and insurance on the bike? Obviously if you get rid if it you now have a higher monthly amount to use.

How much would you put down on the car?

For reference I pay 157 a month for full coverage on the frs after my multi car discount since I have my truck on the same policy. I put down 650 on the car when purchased and make a 530 a month payment.

[Basket Case]

No.

[teamturbo]

Absolutely not, you're the definition of broke. Save for your future, the car will still be there.

[fender9530]

You should not. And I would sell the GSXR too...financing toys always means paying too much.

[Jyn]

Knew the answer before even reading the thread.
Read the thread and answer is still unchanged.

I don't mean to sound rude, but I've dealt with a lot of people in similar situations. I hope you're not one of the people that came here looking to get affirmation for an answer you already decided on in your head. You realistically should not purchase this car right now. Enjoy what you have, work hard, save and sacrifice a little right now, so that later on you can enjoy a lot more.

[continuecrushing]

well, as far as the bike goes resell value is only going up haha.

The closer to summer it gets, the more people start riding...the more people start riding, the more their friends want to buy bikes...the more people wanna buy bikes, the more you can sell you bike for.
...however, I just saw that you owe on it, so depending on the year, you may or may not pay it off.

I wouldn't buy a salvage title, but used might be okay. Since you're in LA, theres plenty of guys that would probably go to the dealership/seller and check out used cars with you. Included maintenance isnt too important to me, as I do all my own stuff-plus "included" maintenance is only oil change and small bs for 25k. Warranty might be thrown in for you, depending on how much they wanna sell a used car. If you plan on going crazy with mods the warranty might not even matter haha.

As the hype dies down on this car, the values should drop...plus 15' models will be out before you know it, and so that should help you with picking up a decent 13' or 14'. Hell, theres guys on this forum that have traded in a 13' just to get the few random features some of the new cars got, so getting one of those cars would be ideal.

In the mean time, you can at least check out insurance costs for yourself, to help with cost calc.

I know its a ways away, but if you want me to check out used cars with you when you're looking at buying, send me a pm on here.

[Kimsey47]

Good things come to those who wait. You sir, sound like you need to wait! The good will come eventually!

[n2oinferno]

If you really don't know, go ahead and do what I did.

Set a budget that takes into account the cost of the car, fuel, insurance, etc per month. As soon as you get paid, put that money into a savings account and do not touch it. If you can still live comfortably for several months, why not? I'd really recommend eliminating any existing debt first though. No longer owing a debt to someone is a great feeling.

edit: also keep in mind a lot of financial institutions will not give you a loan for a salvage vehicle. So I wouldn't count one of the really low cost vehicles.