Car Trouble, Need Advice

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by Angry

I will never buy brand new again because the car has you by the balls. You owe way more than it's worth and you have to hold onto it beyond it's prime unless you want to loose money on the deal. Buying a brand new car is a terrible investment.

You might say that holding onto it until it's paid off might be more beneficial but the truth is that you can buy a used car much cheaper, pay it off sooner and still enjoy no car payment like the guy who paid twice as much and had to wait twice as long to do so.

Depends on the car you buy. Buy a car with high resale value you should come out ahead if you keep it the life of the loan. Done it all my life never been upside down in loan. Buying a used car you lose value as soon as you drive that one off the lot as well.

A car (outside of classics and exotics) is never a positive finical investment. New or used when you go to sell it you will never recover your original purchase price.

[SolidSnake84]

Drive Free. Retire Rich.

I dont know if any of you have heard of Dave Ramsey, but this pretty much summed up our strategy for paying off my truck and setting up a "vehicle replacement" fund for the future. He is actually right and if you can afford to save the money each month, you basically have enough cash every 2 years to buy a good decent used vehicle without going in debt.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

Drive Free. Retire Rich.

I dont know if any of you have heard of Dave Ramsey, but this pretty much summed up our strategy for paying off my truck and setting up a "vehicle replacement" fund for the future. He is actually right and if you can afford to save the money each month, you basically have enough cash every 2 years to buy a good decent used vehicle without going in debt.

I have seen this guy before Dave Ramsey, he seems like he is around for the finical challenged. His plans have a lot of assumptions in them, even this car one. He is completely forgetting or omitting maintenance/repair bills.

Also sorry but their is not a new or used car that I will drive that the purchase price is $6k or even $11K. Plus to think your $6k car is going to be worth anything near $6k a year later is full hearted. Do a search for $6k cars, I willing to bet most won't make it through the year with a major reapir expense.

This guy is so full of crap, I hope you didn't buy any of his stuff or go to his lame classes like my co-worker, who now also agrees with me that his plans are fair fetch.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

Drive Free. Retire Rich.

I dont know if any of you have heard of Dave Ramsey, but this pretty much summed up our strategy for paying off my truck and setting up a "vehicle replacement" fund for the future. He is actually right and if you can afford to save the money each month, you basically have enough cash every 2 years to buy a good decent used vehicle without going in debt.

They had a Dave Ramsey class here in town back during the summer. I wanted to go to it, but couldn't at the time. I hear he can definitely change your life financially.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

They had a Dave Ramsey class here in town back during the summer. I wanted to go to it, but couldn't at the time. I hear he can definitely change your life financially.

You lucked out by missing out.

[skinsguy]

Is he actually on the up and up or is this a scam? I haven't heard anything bad about the guy, although it does cost $100 to take the course. (Well to buy the materials for the course.)

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Is he actually on the up and up or is this a scam? I haven't heard anything bad about the guy, although it does cost $100 to take the course. (Well to buy the materials for the course.)

It is not like he is scamming anyone it is just common sense stuff; to me at least.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by mredskins

It is not like he is scamming anyone it is just common sense stuff; to me at least.

Yeah I mean there are no magic tricks when it comes to being smart about your finances. Live within your means, don't carry stupid debt, max out your savings for retirement with a 401k and an IRA. Common sense stuff, but it's crazy to think what is common sense for some is greek for others.

[skinsguy]

Well, they do have car facts where you can look up vehicle history.

It is true that buying certified used vehicles is the way to go, although I'm not so sure about spending $20-$30k on a used vehicle.

[SolidSnake84]

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

I think your car purchase much like your home purchase is dependent on your income and staying with in your means. So you have to pick one that will last you the longest but yet not brake the bank.

For some a $6k car is out of the question and for others $60k car is going cheap.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

As soon as I pay my Mustang GT off, I want to get a good, used, pick up truck. Nothing full size, but something decent enough to haul a few things. Something around $12k.

I suppose it's what people are used to according to where they live. In my area, the economy is...well...we hardly have an economy! We have the highest unemployment rate in the state, possibly the country. So, you tend to see a lot of very used, very old, and even wrecked vehicles on the road. So, a used car for $20k in my area is probably expensive, even for the higher up, well to do residents. So if people decide to spend that much on a vehicle, they would much rather buy it brand new.....for the full warranty.

Back when I bought my Mustang, there was no way I was going to buy a used one, simply because I know a lot of people buy those to race. So, I didn't want to get one that was ragged out. Plus it was in the second year of the new body style (when they went with a more retro look in '05) and I didn't want the old body style mustang.

But, if it comes to a truck, I can deal with a good used truck, as long as it gets me from point a to point b and I can at least haul trash or mulch with.

[mlmdub130]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

But, if it comes to a truck, I can deal with a good used truck, as long as it gets me from point a to point b and I can at least haul trash or mulch with.

now thats where you have to be really careful, because chances are that used truck has been worked hard. trucks are a dime a dozen it's hard to buy used cars in general but if you have patience and don't mind waiting deals are out there.

i bought my 03 ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 with a towing package used in 05 with about 30k on it. i used carfax and took my time and found that truck for 15k. i'm a gerneral contractor and use my truck for work and personal use, i just sold it two weeks ago for 6200 straight cash. now i am saving some $ and am going to buy another 2 to 3 year old truck in the spring, most likely a 2007 or 8 gmc serria.

everyone has their preference some like new some like used some like beaters some actually take some form of pride in how their car looks and runs, to each his own. the main thing it comes down to when trying to find a new car or truck is do some research on what you want first, and have it checked out by a trusted mechanic before you buy it, if it's used. the people that blow my mind are the people that just drive to carmax and pick out a random ass car not really caring what it is. for me a car purchase is an investment granted it's a shitty one and you will lose money in the end the trick is not losing all of it

and off topic but kinda crazy when i was selling my truck one guy in richmond was really serious and wanted it bad but couldn't come up with enough cash. the reason he couldn't come up with enough cash is because even though his credit card limit was 7500 the most he could get in a cash advance was 5600. when he told me this i almost said to him do you know what the f you are doing. you wanna talk about a pretty crappy idea i would say taking out a cash advance on a credit card to buy a used truck is on the top of the list.

[CRedskinsRule]

I will say this. I paid $5000 for a 1999 Honda Civic in 2005, it had 98000 miles. It now has 223,000 miles, and is starting to act quirky (although it could just need a basic service). $5000 may get you an older car, but if you are diligent in looking for a good buy (only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady kinda thing) you can get a lot of mileage for a little bit of cost.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I will say this. I paid $5000 for a 1999 Honda Civic in 2005, it had 98000 miles. It now has 223,000 miles, and is starting to act quirky (although it could just need a basic service). $5000 may get you an older car, but if you are diligent in looking for a good buy (only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady kinda thing) you can get a lot of mileage for a little bit of cost.

Actually that is a myth, that kind of stop and go driving is actually hard on a engine.