Thanks for the input.

Just to clarify some stuff before my other post closed. I've driven at least two cars that broke down on me. A 2nd generation acura integra rs and a early 90 accord.

right now i'm driving a 94 honda civic hatch lowered with the stock motor.

i've saved up a lot of money since i was 16, i have a mutal fund that i invested in when i was 16 and i'm currently doing very well at the university i am attending.

my parents are not rich, but they work very hard to get what they want and to support their 4 children. Also they are not going to help me with my payments, but are willing to co-sign the finance.

[peace.

 

hey! can someone also tell me how much is the upkeep of the TL if it's too high I might just do a motor swap on my hatch and maybe wait until i graduate until i get a new car.

 

throw a CLS 6speed in there

probably won't fit, i have no idea what i'm talking about

 

im glad that you started a mutual fund when you were 16 but why are you spending cash now like its not important.

if you were smart enough to start saving via a mutual fund at 16, why not continue that now.

 

I'm not spending my mutal fund, but 14 years ago when i was little my parents were involved with in a car accident and they some money from the insurance company and they stored my cash in the bank. the interest makes the total come out to be about 10,000.

The reason I want to buy this car because it's a such a DEAL! 25,000 for an almost new TL with about 10,000 miles on it. and it takes me about an hour to commuting school (a college) and my hatch is on the verge of breaking down.

I know i can make the payments to the car, which comes out to about 430 a month, and add to my savings account/mutual fund and hopefully start a Roth IRA account.

but I don't expect to work at the dealership forever. So I expect to begin my career next summer with an internship and start a Roth IRA account somewhere.

 

nice job saving the money, I did, the same but I started out when I was 16, and bought the car when I was 17, the 3g Tl's are a great car...
~Jason

 

I'm actually going to say go for it.

a) the TL is a good long term car. It will serve you long and well for a long time.

b) If a worse case scenario happens and you need to get rid of it - the TL retains its value very well, and you will take a minimal hit. (basically you could consider the depreciation = the value you derived from the car while you had it)

 

 

I'm going to have to agree w/ leedogg on this one. if you plan on keepin the car for a while, then do it. Also, look to part out the hatch. you'll be surprised how many tuners are looking to find hatch shells. I say sell engine to junk yard, then sell the shell to a member on some civic/tuner website. I've seen some clean hatches go for about $2000 w/ no engine.

 

These folks that are telling you to go for it are nuts.

Do your folks proud and use that money for college so you can actually comfortably afford a $25K car when you start working for real.

Enjoy life while your young and carefree... certainly don't encumber yourself with a heavy car-note during the best years of your life. Nothing like working every spare minute you have when you should be out chasing girls and enjoying life. There will be plenty of time for driving whatever car floats your boat when you hit the workforce, and all that fun dries up as you pursue your career.

Your drunk idiot friends you roll with will just trash it anyway.
Your TL will be old news in a few years anyway, you'll want something newer and better by the time your graduate...

Reward yourself with something nice when you land that money job.

[nostalgia]
Spoken from experience. My beater 87 Nissan hardbody ruled the campus... So glad that I didn't care about that truck... yet strangely, I miss it a lot now because of all the fun we had in the blue monster.
[/nostalgia]

 

Anybody who tells you to 'do it' is being stupid......

How much do you make in a year???

The 'suggested' cost of a car is 1/3rd of your salary... many spend up to half... you seem to be spending all...

It is NOT about the payments.... but the TOTAL cost of a car..


Don't just work to own a nice car... spend money wisely and it will grow for you.. and in time the cost of a TL will be 'small'...

 

Not only do I agree with ^, but you are only supposed to spend 1/3 or less, but you plan on spending all of your investments in it...if you were going for a house, then that would be smarter because you would own it, in most locations it will increase in value (especially with some work), and it goes towards your net worth unlike cars. You seem to be very smart starting off the way you are, so I say keep being smart and by the time you graduate college, maybe you'll be considering an S-class with all that money that grew instead of a TL. :twocents:

 

I SAY GO FOR IT! You saved and you deserve it. Great car. Just start saving after you buy it. DON'T start doing all kinds of expensive MODS like me. I excepted that I will work until I can't walk. Thats the future for many people now-a-days. Not many places offer a pension anymore. Its up to you to save and invest in a mutual fund A.S.A.P. if you ever want to retire in decent comfort. Save and invest at least 25% of your net pay. With health insurance, property taxes going through the roof, and possibly NO social security in the future, SAVE and Invest NOW! Spending MY social security from 30 years of working on A FCK'D up war pisses me OFF BIG TIME. Bush is SATAN!!!!!!!

 

Keep your current car for college...Its only gonna get beat up no matter how much you try to take care of it over there (I tried hard to not to get my parents parents' car messed up over at college, but you cant control the actions of others...people get drunk and do stupid things, and its out of your control) If you have a beater/old car, your "soul" wont be hurt if something happens to it, cuz its already a beater...oh, and by the way.. Good Job the jump start on saving money!! (honestly, when you first posted, i thought you were gonna get help from your parents to get a new car and thought it was just boiling down to making a decision between the three cars you had listed...but if you can live with your current car for 3-4 more years....do it dude!) Any new car you choose, the RSX, S2000, or the TL will bring you immediate happiness for the short term, but financial woes can bring grief for long haul.....some fortune cookie S**t LOL! Be smart in your decision....

 

Just get something reliable with great gas mileage. If your commute to school is an hour, your going to be spending a grip at the station everyweek. Just get a gas friendly newer civic for $11,000 pay for most of it an finance a few thousand to help out your credit through college.

 

thanks guys. i think I might just stick it out with the hatch for a while and stick in a new motor.

 

Well, a combination of this one and Kennedy's post.

When you are young, cars will have the same characteristics as your women: interchangeable. You get this car now, spend all of your money on a car note, and then in a year or two, you will see something else you like and want that. Just because you can afford it is not the best reason to get it. You will tie up funds you could have used for something else. So just buy a nice, used car that suits your commuting and extra-curricular needs, save your money, and then get what you want after you finish setting yourself up! Trust me, you will really appreciate that you did.

By going this route, you will have money, car, and credit! How can you go wrong this way? Good luck to whatever you choose to do, but this route impresses creditors, mom and dad...and will even impress you when you reflect on it later. As for the chicks part that others have referenced, girls will always be there. 19, 20, 30, 40...whatever...they will ALWAYS be there! But what will your pockets/life be like while you chase them? The TL won't stop you from doing what you want, but it will slow you down from getting there faster (I'm talking about EVERYTHING, not just a part). Think about it...

 

Plus...when you graduate..you can be the man with the Brand New TL!

 

I see that you already decided to stick it out with your current car. Thats a good idea. If I was you I would stick it out with the hatch if it still runs good. Also If your engine is fine just keep that money in the mean time and save it up when you do decide to buy that car. IMO monthly payments + insurance should equal too 300 range +/- 50 bucks. I see alot of peeps on here with 450-500 payments (plus insurance) and thats just too high for me. Well it looks like your doing the right thing. Mutual fund... IRA... wow your better at savings than me. lol

 

very surpised none brought up living expenses. At 18, do you live at home or on campus? Also, who pays your tuition and living expenses? What are you making now? What exactly is wrong with your hatch and its engine?

Dude, at 18 everyone is young and stupid. I was there, too. Thats why you may think that your 10,000 account is a lot of money, and that you have been invested for 2 years gives you credibility of an avid saver. By the way, the money you have now is not something you have earned but something that was given to you by your parents, so it looks like you have not saved anything yourself. 2 years is really nothing when it comes to investing in mutual funds, or in any kind of savings account, especially if you started out with 10 or 25 grand. You may get some five hundred dollars at the best. It will take decades for those 10K to grow into something you could refer to as a "lot of money". Next, when you move out, like really move out- get a place of your own, off campus, no roommates place etc, you'll be struggling to get decent furniture, nice TV, so you wont be ashamed to invite chicks for a lay party, dig? The savings you have may get spent on household items, because starting on your own is a lot of dough. But at 18 none wants to think about it. Regardless of intended use, this savings/invstmt acct makes you more fortunate and better off than most of your peers, so dont blow it away on BS, like cars.

Dont waist $ on a new motor for your hatch unless it really needs it. If you wanna go faster then remove all interior and get NOS kit for half the cost of new motor.

 

I'm not sure where the 1/3 of your salary on a car comes from. I'd think that would be a good figure for a home mortgage, but not on a car.

When I was 18-19 I spent majority of my income on my car payment and the rest on having a good time. I was of course living with my parents at the time. When I look back on it now I don't really think I would do anything differently. I had a good time when it was the time in my life to have a good time. I say go for it and have a good time. Just don't stretch yourself too thin.

Later in life you will learn that it's better to not waste money on cars, but enjoy it now.

 

I would advise that you get a car under 18k because at colleges, they ding and scratch your car up like crazy, at least here they do in gainsville. Anyway, Get a car with some goood MPG and that has a pretty good history of reliability and drive that when the hatch breaks down or when you sell the hatch. Then celebrate graduation from college with a new TL, and by then the 4th Gen TL will be out

 

I don't think 1/3rd is that bad, if that number also includes insurance and gas. I put my loan on a 4 year time period making $550/monthly + $150 insurance + $50/week gas = 1/3rd of my income

But I agree that if the payment itself is 1/3rd then its bad. If your paying that much, what happens if somethign comes up and you need B service for $150 or you get in an accident and have a $500 deductable to pay. You are going to be in real financial trouble. Stick with what you have, just make it work for a few more years.

 

There is no need to explain yourself or justify on why you want the TL. Just do the math carefully and figure out if you can afford the payments. Nothing wrong with a 19 yr old COLLEGE student owning a 3rd gen TL. Good Luck.

 

I got mine at 19. I don't know what you mean about upkeep but I'm more than a year and a half in and the TL has been the most reliable of an Audi TT and 350z. Zero Serious probs so far. So if thats a concern, you can at least feel confident the TL will serve you well.

 

Hey man, I got my TL when I was 20 years old. My whole life my family was never really rich but towards the end of my senior year in high school, my parent's business really took off and they're pretty well off now. They wanted to do something really nice for me so they bought me a brand new '06 TL last year (my sophomore year of college).

Let me tell you this, I really regret buying a TL. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the car. It is amazing. But to be honest, there is no reason a person at my age should be driving a TL. I should have gotten a new civic or something. I keep thinking, when I graduate, I'm going to have to drive this car for another 4 or 5 years. If you get something cheaper now, you can something you really want when you graduate. If it's still a TL, then so be it. After driving a TL, there isn't a lot of room to move up in terms of luxury. Plus, you say you're going to be driving an hour to go to school. If that's the case, you're going to be driving a TL with a lot of miles on it for a long time. Might as well get a used car, put the miles on it, and wait for a nice car where you can keep the mileage low.

Recap:
Get a used, reliable car right now that will get you through college.
Once you graduate, get the NEW car of your dreams.

 

smart man.

 

Yeah, but how many people right after college can afford the "car of their dreams"?

I couldn't afford the car of my dreams so I bought the TL.

Realistically if your parents bought this for you, I don't understand why you wouldn't suggest one. If he can make the payments, and it not put him in a financial hardship why not. Also when I say financial hardship, I mean don't get any car that you can not afford it or still save money every month. I could afford the car of my dreams when I graduated, but I wouldn't be putting any money in the "Matt needs to buy a house fund"

I guess it all comes down to priorties.

 

I guess it depends where you are in life. I guess if we're talking in reference to this thread then I agree with your figure. If you're older and have your own family then you don't want to be putting 1/3 of you income towards a car. If you do it doesn't leave much for mortgage, retirement, and other assorted bills.

I think you meant in reference to a 19yr. old, so I agree. When I was 19 all my money went towards car, motorcycle, and partying.

 

Very true, that was just my thought process when I was 22 two years ago when I purchased this vehicle. I actually have a 2nd job bartending that 100% goes towards partying and vacations. I don't figure that into my income, since it flux's soo much and I don't consider it reliable. You know all work and no play. Its 15 hours extra a week that yeilds me $400 to play with.

I always look down on my friends that say they don't have money to do something when they have soo much free time that they could easily get a second job to have all the things they want.

 

I think we've clarified it enough.

If you want to talk about this further please continue this discussion in Ramblings.