I'm sort of in your shoes... No, not really. lol

I would like to get a 15-16g car now that I have my tC paid off... But being 23 and making monthly rent payments... I'm going to be spending my saved money elsewhere.

See, I can throw away $600/month on rent, or else I could get a house in about 8-9 months and start putting my money towards an actual asset. Yeah, the housing market is DOWN, but it's going to get a lot worse, and is going to be a sweet deal for those people looking to buy. $225,000 houses are now going for around $100,000. It's insanely awesome, and I'm not going to throw away my hard earned money anymore, and neither should you.

Stick with the tC for now until you can get it paid off . Get yourself out of this mess instead of digging your hole deeper. I have a feeling the economy is really going to get bad. We haven't even seen the start of it. Be prepared.

 

^^ very good points.

 

I didn't realize this topic would be popular. Once again I thank everyone for there input on the subject.

So in short - pay it off completely ( or at least get it to direct trade value), save for a deposit, then look for a new car if one wishes - correct?

 

Yup. The days of easy credit are over... probably.

Being upside down on something (house, car, etc) sucks, as you're usually stuck with whatever you have, and at the terms of your loan. If you're upside down on a house you can't refinance, and until recently if you were upside down on a car loan you couldn't get another and just roll the first into it. Build up some equity in the car (or at least break even), and you'll be in a much better position.

 

If you really want an 09 mustang, wait until mid next year when they release the 2010 mustang. Ford has redesigned the mustang again and when the new body styles come out, they will be tryin to push the 09's off the lot. So not only will you get a good deal on the mustang, but you will have made more payments on your tC and the payoff amount will be less.

 

ehhh, sounds good without money being involved, but in reality, i would still pay it off and save for a down payment. figure out the monthly payments on that when you have 0 down. i personally wouldn't be able to afford it with the cost of living and the direction in which the economy is going.

i have to save up like 7 grand in order to get a 15-16k car in order to have affordable payments. then again, i would only finance for 2 or 3 years because i hate throwing away my hard earned money to interest.

not being rude or anything, but it sounds like the OP doesn't have anything really saved away if a financial crisis were to come along. what if he lost his job, could he get by for a couple months or no? i have a friend who lost his job and it took MONTHS for him to find another. he lived off of his credit card, and he's still paying it off.

debt (i don't care which kind) is NOT a good thing. i deal with issue seriously on a daily basis. my bf is 80+g in debt from college and he goes out and buys 1g+ wheels, and all this other crap instead of putting it into his debt. i don't get people like that. who the he!! wants to be in debt, and yet, get FURTHER in debt? it just boggles my mind. you would think people would want to get out ASAP in order to continue on or even START a life, but i guess people have different views and so be it. i'm just not one of those people.

there's much more to this life than a car, and at age 25, i can only hope you realize this by now. by how the economy is today and how much your loan is on your car, who honestly cares what ford comes out with in 2010. if you really want an 09, wait until the tC paid off and you have some money to put on a downpayment. who cares if it's used. look around, and you will find a good match when the time comes. and maybe by that time, you'll desire a different car. who knows/cares. deal with the issue when the time arises, not when ford puts out their new redesigned model.

 

^^ wow u need to come to the dealership. i get people that want to be negative. and even if i wanted to be selfish the loan wouldnt even get approved. people dont listen and say, just throw it on to the new loan! haha yea. pay it off,take care of it, and maybe by then you'll be blown away with the new tc haha.

 

Na, I am going to wait regardless - but you are right about the last sentence. When the Scion Fuse or xP comes it - I may get it instead. People change, and interest change...

Also, you never know what may happen in a few years. My wife and I may have a child and I may have to get a minivan instead

 

There is no point where you will ever break even with a car. Unless you are getting a very rare car, they are a very poor investment.

I would first wait until your car is paid off, then drive it for a year or so after to make it worth while. Which means, your stuck with it for another few years. I'm sure by then you would rather dump that extra money into a house.


Extending the topic, It doesn't seem that many people here put much money down on there car?

Makes me happy I waited a year and just saved cash and bought used. Never had but one payment, I do how ever regret buying so many mods the first 6 months.

 

$700 monthly payment
$200 monthly insurance payment (if you're god)
$100 weekly payment for gas
your total is


TOO MUCH IF YOU CONSIDERED A TC IN THE FIRST PLACE

 

^ lol, I pay $400 a month for insurance for my car, a 2004 Jeep and a 2004 Jetta, plus coverage for my parents. More than half of that is coverage for the tC though .

 

Thanks all for the help. Like I said - I will save for the next car as well as keep it a little longer than planned to break even

...or just mod the hell out of this one

 

eff your dealer i sold my tc 1.5 years old with 30000 miles for 15,500 to a dealer ship. and no they didnt screw me on the car i got cause i got a fj cruiser brand new and 4x4 and fully loaded with roof racks and all that for 24,566 with taxes. so be more persistant and dont let them use that stupid book trick

 

^ Even if they did give him a few more Gs, he would still be way under in debt so it doesn't matter if he's persistant or not.

 

^ exactly. i know a car isnt a amazing investment if you look at it totally like that, but thats why you get best of both worlds. if you dont put alot of money down, get a car who's risidual value is high. i mean like i said before look at scions and mini coopers value after 5 years compared to a kia? but yea. yea dealers know used scions hold there value, i mean ive seen what we bought a used tc at aunction for and holy crap! i mean no wonder sometimes you see used scions going for as much as a new one or more! i dunno we should all be proud we picked a brand that actually holds there value extremly well.

 

^well said.

 

^^^ thank you. all i know is people just need to be smarter with their money. and do there research.

 

i only put down 2 grand i owed 12 when i got the 15,5 for it

 

Wow, love this topic & to go & think i was the only 1 paying $400 & $260 for insurance, i bought the 08 BSP back in sept. 07 coz i loved the car but didn't think about putting anything down at the time although i had about $500 to spare in my account even the dealership didn't push for it, so i let it be, after i signed for everything drove off the lot with 0 down, $400 monthly payment for 5 yrs,12% apr( that was alrite coz i have been in the US for 3 yrs) & went & looked at the lemon law paper which basically said after 5 years i would be apying roundabout $30 g's after five years for the car although this was my first new car i purchased i mean don't get me wrong it was an exciting feeling to rolling out of the dealership with a brand new 08 Tc with projector lights & all the differences from the previous model, even before 07 was over, i was told i was the 2nd or 3rd person to be driving it at the time & the 1st with a BSP, but after about 4 months or so i again fell in love with dodge magnum R/T, i was ready to go buy it but was told about how i would be paying for 2 cars & just owning 1, so i let the idea go, & startedworking on the car litle by little & fell in love again,but during the whole time i spent with my car i realized i was cutting back on alot of stuff that i wanted to do but couldn't coz of my car,i mean being 22 i love goin out on fri & sat nite & on sun either goin to the range or skydiving but had to cut back,as i have said it's a good feeling to have tht 08 or 09 car while other ppl are in their 01or 02, but u always gotta remember what you r willing to give up for it, i mean i thought i was ready to but getiing ur paper just to pay of another bill is not for me.