i am looking at getting a almost new 350Z(working just for a car?)

at 19, working that much for insurance and car payment, plus gas, plus tires (which will go quickly), it isn't worth it, ESPECIALLY since you are only working 15-20 hours a week and going to school. while upkeep is minimal, it is just like another sports car - it needs some care. it also will cause worries for you in school as to parking at various places.

if you really want it, do the calculations. figure out how much insurance would be by calling up your insurance agent. ask. never know what it might run, it could be 1200 a year, it could be 3400 a year. get a number. then figure out car payment. then figure out gas and estimate miles driven. got all of those numbers? okay, next, figure in tires. add ~600-900 for every 12-15 months for tires.

save your dollars for something better - your education. save your time for something better - your education. pick up a beater. if you want something fun, get a bike or some other sporty beater. heck, get an alfa on the side.

 

As someone who is 27, and wanted all the toys when I was your age, I would suggest NOT digging the hole you are looking at.

At 22, I was making more money then I am now. I had a 99 Mustang Cobra, brand new and a 93 Cobra. I was living the "high life" in comparison to all my friends driving beaters. They are now all driving cars a lot nicer then mine and owning houses a lot nicer then the one I RENT a room out of. Invest in your future , not in right now.

Buy something you can afford (3-7k) and make small payments on, and save, and buy a house. Real Estate. I wish I knew then what I know now. Then by the time you are 25, you can have whatever car you want.


Good Luck

 

there were a lot of bugs that needed to be worked out with the 03's......04's are MUCH BETTER............but I agree with the above statement. At 19, get a 5000.00 civic, keep it stock and it'll run with no expenses for 10 years. Good advice from people who have been there/done that.

 

If you are swapping dollars for hours working then no it's dumb. But, if you are working smarter then you'll be able to afford it. Figure out how to buy a property that you can flip and make $50K off of to pay for your car and then some, for example. The quicker you learn to leverage your time the richer you will be. Good luck.

 

Lots of good advice here, I hope you take it. Buy a beater instead.

There is nothing like the realization that the bank owns more of your pride and joy than you do to take the wind out of your sails.

 

A beater doesn't need to be boring either. You can get some decently well handling cars for less than 5K. Miata, Prelude, etc.

 

Best bet? Find the person who knows the difference between the word then and the word than and follow their advice (not they're advice).

p.s.: What model year MR2 did you have such a bad experience with? All in all, the MR2 is a great car for the money in any iteration.

 

Yeah, please tell us some more about Mr2. I own a '91 w/36K on it and it rocks; granted that's low, but I think those cars are a blast.

I agree with all the advice here; don't strap yourself into a big car payment at 19 - in 5 years you'll be glad you didn't.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I'm with the others here.. save your cash and make time your friend. There's more important things than cars. I should've socked away every dollar possible between 18-25 (hindsight is always 20/20) but at the time I was wrapped up in the tangibles I could purchase instead of planning ahead.

On a side note, you can save a ton of money by learning to do repairs yourself, be it a car or a house. I've done all of the work on my own cars, and it adds up.

-Chris

 

I not only see your side, I lived your side. Now at 27, I wish I would have looked a the side everyone here is pointing at. When I say beater, I do not mean 100 geo metro, not that there is anything wrong with that, but like I said, a 3-7k car. There is NO need at 19 to have a 25k car imho. Money can be put to a better use. It is hard advice to swallow, and I did not listed to people who told me otherwise, and I still pay the price.

My last 2 cents.

 

Most people I know who have 350z are idiots who abuse the crap out of them. That is why i would never buy a used Z or S2000.

IMO for the money I would buy a Prelude SH or used infinity (assuming german cars were out of the picture)

 

There is an endless list of cars that will do exactly that, and won't be a bottomless money pit.

You seem to be saying "I don't want a beater because they're unreliable” And since that is generally seen as untrue by most people it appears to be a rationalization for "I want what I want, I'm right, I don't care about any differig opnions."

Do you really want to be working a job for years to pay off a car worth about half of how much you will of paid for it when its all done with?

Who by the way, is taking out the loan? You? I have serious doubts that anyone will give you a decent loan for a car. Your parents? Have you even discussed the idea with them yet? Are they willing to take out a twenty-five thousand dollar loan so you can buy a car you can’t really afford? Think about their perspective, do they really think you can pay off that kind of money?

I also don’t see why a bike wouldn’t work. If all you want is something to breeze away the time, buy a cheap reliable car. Old Volvos, Civics, Accords, things like that and a cheap bike to learn on. You’ll find it will be cheaper, and probably more fun, to have a good reliable car to drive to school, and a bike to ride for fun than to dig yourself a pit with a 350z.

 

*Hole


Someone on dtmpower once told me (and i will never forget it)

You gotta start off with **** to appreciate good stuff.

You're 19, don't blow all your money on a car. Sure, i would want to do the same but save it up, you'd be surprised how much it comes out to. That way you can have a little money for other stuff. You would get wrecked by insurance, car payments etc. Wait a few years man.

 

Learn the benefits of compound interest. Then you can buy what every you want...

 

O.K. Heres some more advice.
Buy a old muscle car i.e. camaro, mustang, etc.
You wont lost a dime on depreciation, there cool as hell, and you can and will learn the art of wrenching.

 

When I was your age, I bought a 1980 BMW 633CSI over chosing a brand new 1990 ACURA Integra GS. During those years I was in college & the BMW about wiped out my savings for all the things that later went wrong with it. I was making a car payment on something that didn't run when I wanted it to. Sure the car was fast, looked great, but it drank gas like crazy. I learned the hard way & I would never want want anyone to go through what I did even if they could afford to. Your better off buying a beater CIVIC or ACCORD during your "lean years." These are easy cars to work on so you can also learn about most basic to some complexed repairs. Just read what people here are telling you. Finish school, save your money, get a good job & it will all come.

Good Luck

 

So drive a '95 BMW M3, a Miata, a WRX, a 300ZX TT, a Volvo 850T5R (got to pimp the wagon) or a Volvo 850R. There are multitudes of cars out there that will be reliable enough, will be cheaper and will end up saving you a lot of hard earned cash.

There is no reason to dip into a 25k debt. I thought about the same idea as you (though for a different car) and I decided that I could handle driving a free beat up volvo and a bike while saving my money. 10 years from now I'll end up with a nice pile of cash sitting in a bank account instead of a nearly worthless car.

Think about it.

 

I'm doing just what these people are suggesting. I have a 95 NA MR2 right now and I'm selling it and buying a 4 door civic to use. The MR2 gave me no problems whatsoever and it's a fun car, no regrets. I had a bike, but I sold that too after a friend of mine passed away in a motorcycle accident just recently. After everything is said and done I will have a couple thousand sitting in the bank and a paid off daily driver. I haven't yet decided what to do with the money, but I may just hold on to it and start saving up for a house now (I'm 20). No way am I going to just blow it on something. After seeing my brother just starting to save up for a house and how hard it is (he's 24, started working full time about a year ago and is making about 50-60k I believe) because he has to pay rent for an apartment, car payments, and other random expenses such as his golf addiction I figure I should start now to make it easier for the future me. I've always heard from people who I see as successful, say that buying a house is one of the most important things to do. So I figure I'll follow their advice Cause if you think about it, by the time you pay off that $25k car in 3-4-5 years, that's how much money you could have saved and put as a down payment for your house. In 3-4-5 years you'll have a paid off car that has depreciated a lot in value and you'll have to start to save money for a house then and it's a lot harder when you have living expenses. Right now you don't have to pay for your own food/clothing/shelter, so you can save money a lot faster now. But whatever, it's your money so do what you want. Buying a new car has definitely crossed my mind and I'm sure I would be able to pay for the s2000 I wanted to get, but thinking about how all my hard earned money would be going towards a car, just doesn't seem too smart. I may have a car that I enjoy a lot, but I would be working constantly to pay off the car and I probably wouldn't have any extra money or time to just have fun and relax.

Cliff notes: Follow the advice of the responses so far.