0
npgraphicdesign

Purchasing a car witih no money down.

Recommended Posts

Quote

Take that from someone who has two paid off vehicles in the garage and likes not having payments.



I only have one but I have to agree - no car payments is a great feeling.

To the OP - you know you're going to be unemployed soon, in a shit economy. Not everyone gets the luxury of that information when they're making financial decisions. I had a similar situation when I was starting graduate school - knowing that was coming up, I paid off my car a couple months early while I was still working so that when I started school, I had a 3-year old car with no monthly payment. Since the car was still very new, it was still reliable and had predictable expenses, so I didn't have to worry about a huge maintenance expense on a grad student's budget (in a town where a car was pretty much a necessity). I also didn't have to carve car payments out of my limited budget.

Even now that I could easily afford a new car every few years, I am driving a 10 year old car because having money for other things is more important to me, and though my car is old, the mileage is still fairly low (under 80K) so it's still pretty low-maintenance. I now have more money available to 1) do stuff 2) put away in my retirement account and 3) put away to my rainy day fund. Each of those three things is more important to me than a blingy brand-new car.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

What is your income?

Life is short, I usually go with my wants, if I can still pay the bills, BUT, that is not a smart way to live..

BUT, I do have a lot of toys!B|



yep! same here! i do the same thing. i like my toys :)
Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ohh and for a real answer, if it were me i wouldnt look for a BRAND NEW one, get one thats say, 3-4 years old with still low miles. they are MUCH cheaper, and you can pay it off that much faster, since the second you take it off the lot, the price drops to hell on new cars. :( right now im driving a 95 del sol. she gets me from point A to B, my next car will prolly be a 02-05 model something. . . just cant justify a brand new car due to the depreciation value

Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

the problem is my full-time job contract expires in June. I'll be job searching starting in February, and relocating IN june, but.



That's your answer right there. Until you have a long term employment situation, don't enter into a long term financial obligation.

Your old car will be paid off, and yours for $0 per month soon after your employment contract ends. It also won't be that old, and being a Scion (Toyota) it should run reliably for many more years.

Trading in your car at the dealership is 99% guaranteed to lose you several thousand dollars in value, so unless you have money to burn or some reason you cannot privately sell your car, it's a bad idea. If you insist on buying a new car, sell your car yourself to get the most out of it. Even if you are in a rush to sell, just mark it down to below market price, which will still be well above trade-in value.

How about this, pay off your old car and bank $400 a month into savings like a car payment. If you can keep up the payments until you get a new job, then buy the new car and use the savings as a down payment. After you sell your old car yourself and add the savings, you'll have $7k or $8k to put down. You'll be financing less and in turn paying less interest (do to the lower loan amount).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

the problem is my full-time job contract expires in June. I'll be job searching starting in February, and relocating IN june, but.



That's your answer right there. Until you have a long term employment situation, don't enter into a long term financial obligation.

Your old car will be paid off, and yours for $0 per month soon after your employment contract ends. It also won't be that old, and being a Scion (Toyota) it should run reliably for many more years.

Trading in your car at the dealership is 99% guaranteed to lose you several thousand dollars in value, so unless you have money to burn or some reason you cannot privately sell your car, it's a bad idea. If you insist on buying a new car, sell your car yourself to get the most out of it. Even if you are in a rush to sell, just mark it down to below market price, which will still be well above trade-in value.

How about this, pay off your old car and bank $400 a month into savings like a car payment. If you can keep up the payments until you get a new job, then buy the new car and use the savings as a down payment. After you sell your old car yourself and add the savings, you'll have $7k or $8k to put down. You'll be financing less and in turn paying less interest (do to the lower loan amount).



Words of wisdom (being serious, not sarcastic.) Thanks. After giving it a lot of thought, my biggest deterrent would be my (theoretical) unemployment starting in June. Who knows? I may get lucky and get a job right away...but until that happens, I will probably stick with my Toyota.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Well, I have a decent rig with a good main/reserve now



While the Vector 2 is a decent container - it was a very fine container back in it's day - I find it difficult to understand how any jumper who learned this century would prefer it when they have the financial ability (and desire, judging by some of your previous posts) to be jumping something built this century that is safe to use for all types of modern skydiving.

That's like driving a 1995 car today. You're in a position to get rid of monthly payments, have a reasonably new car and have $400/month available to put away toward a modern container or spend on jumps. Seriously... at 100 jumps, how can you not be already filling out the order form and dreaming about stacks of jump tickets? :P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Those payment will only be 50 dollars more than what I pay now...the problem is my full-time job contract expires in June. I'll be job searching starting in February, and relocating IN june, but....:S

Then the last thing you need is a new car. Sorry that you're single and want a pimpin' ride for the ladies, but that's a false front for your current financial situation. I would definitely keep what you have. My newest car, out of 4, is 11 years old, 120K on it, and is doing fine. The money we'd spend on car payments goes into the bank, and when we do buy a new car, we pay cash. Being married with joint everything does help. Neither of us are really into cars much.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Quote

Those payment will only be 50 dollars more than what I pay now...the problem is my full-time job contract expires in June. I'll be job searching starting in February, and relocating IN june, but....:S

Then the last thing you need is a new car. Sorry that you're single and want a pimpin' ride for the ladies, but that's a false front for your current financial situation. I would definitely keep what you have. My newest car, out of 4, is 11 years old, 120K on it, and is doing fine. The money we'd spend on car payments goes into the bank, and when we do buy a new car, we pay cash. Being married with joint everything does help. Neither of us are really into cars much.


John, you make a good point. However, I'll make one correction to your statement. I've had my heart set on this car since before I knew women existed :P and if I were to get it (now or in a few years) it wouldn't be a 'pimpin' ride for the ladies' but rather a great AWD car that I willl possibly autocross and rally in some amateur events. I really am buying solely for my own driving enjoyment, not to sully up the back seat. ;)

In all other regards, most of you are correct. Damn it. :D:ph34r:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

if I were to get it (now or in a few years) it wouldn't be a 'pimpin' ride for the ladies' but rather a great AWD car that I willl possibly autocross and rally in some amateur events. I really am buying solely for my own driving enjoyment



I don't do Autocross, but I do track my car during "DE open lapping track day" sessions and it is a total blast. In 2010 the good news was that I made it to the race track 17 times, I did over 1000 laps, I learned tons about car control driving at the limits and I had tons of fun. But the bad news is, not only did I spend money on track access fees, money on oil and gas. I also went through two sets of high performance tires, had to replace my front brake pads/rotors, had to replace my rear brake pads and also had to replace a broken drive belt. And I got off lucky compared to some others who crashed their cars.

Nope you can't win with a car when it comes to money. They are money pits. But you sure can have a lot of fun with them. However if you can't afford to do the maintenance on them, then you should reconsider. My daily driver is a beater and I plan on keeping it for many more moons to come. :)


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Dont do it, Pay off your car and drive it for another yr or so. Save the money up you would normally be paying for that new car payment and put it in a savings acct. In a yr you can buy the car you really want out right. What is another yr in the car you have been driving?

Once i get my car paid off I plan on driving it till it is dead. I hate making a giant payment every month when I could be using that money for other things.
TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Yeah. And when you walk in with a big stack of cash and tell them you want XXX for the car or youre leaving they tend to start cuttin you a GOOD deal. Got 9grand off a year old car with low miles because we had cash and it was near the end of the month :)
Thanatos340(on landing rounds)--
Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
hmmm, all my tenants have car payments, and we dont, and never have. gee, wonder why we own the houses they rent. car payments are for suckers. pay cash. yet some do drive newer cars then us (we have 250,000 miles on our year 2000 jeep).... but, the borrower is always slave to the lender. its all a matter of choices. i choose to owe no one.


________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Words of wisdom (being serious, not sarcastic.) Thanks. After giving it a lot of thought, my biggest deterrent would be my (theoretical) unemployment starting in June. Who knows? I may get lucky and get a job right away...but until that happens, I will probably stick with my Toyota.



Other than initially getting a Toyota, you 've made a wise choice...

good man.
Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
This point may be a bit moot now since you've said you're planning to keep the Scion... But when you are ready to buy a new (or new-to-you) car, negotiate the price on the car you want before you even tell the dealer that you have a car to trade-in. If dealers know that you have a trade-in, they'll take that into account when offering you combined prices on both the new car and the trade-in (e.g. they'll make the price on the new car sound quite low, but they'll also be low-balling you on the price of your trade-in, as well).

Instead, know the book value of the new car and the book value of your trade-in. Don't even tell the dealer that you have a trade-in. Get as low a price as you can on the new car, then, once that is finalized, tell the salesperson that you have a car that you'd like to trade in toward the purchase of the new car. You know what your car is worth (book value), and since it is a separate negotiation at this point, it will be much harder for the salesperson to conceal any gross underestimation of your current car's value. You'll get a fairer deal.

Or better yet, if you're willing to put the effort into making an extra grand or two, sell the car yourself to a private individual. The buyer gets a great deal since there's no dealer mark-up, and you make more money because the dealer isn't offering you less for a trade-in to maximize their profit when they re-sell your car.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0