I have been wanting a TL for years but I can't afford one. I drive a 1999 chevy malibu that I bought for $900. I work part time but all my money goes toward my tuition (electrical engineering) and I can barely even afford the insurance and gas on the car I have now. Every time I see a TL I get really jealous because the owner has one and I don't, especially if it has the a-spec kit or type-s. What should I do?

 

Welcome to the forums sergei. My advice- there will always be people that have things that you want. Be smart- finish school and get your degree in EE. In time, you will have what you want. The TL is a nice car but your education is priceless.

 

Patience bro, patience. That degree will get you a lot more then a TL so finish strong. They will probably have a 6MT TL-S SH-AWD when your done with school and that's gonna be one hot ride.

BTW My first car was a 1999 Chevy Malibu No shame in that.

 

You'll notice that many of us, not all, are out of school. Just keep your eyes on the prize and use it as motivation to finish up school and get a great job. Once you got those, you will be able to comfortably enjoy a new TL.

You dont want to have sleepless nights and have a TL...You want to sleep well and have a TL. It will all come together, but just be patient.

 

I wouldn't recommend going out and buying a brand new car when you land your first job either. Get a couple years expierence, and save your money for awhile. Then worry about a car.

 

Sergei, I'm glad you joined the forum too. While you'll look great driving a TL, you'll actually get even farther with your school degree in hand while driving your future TL. Best of luck in school! We'll always be here....

 

x3 on not buying a new car when you get a good job. hold out and save. then you can afford it comfortably.

 

School first, car second. Enough said.

 

The one thing that car enthusiasts like all of us here have in common is that we're never satisfied. I have a TL-S, but every time I see an Audi S5 drive by I get jealous. It's the nature of the disease.

Finish school, get a stable job, and the nice cars will come along in no time.

 

100% school first to build the foundation for your future !

Then hopefully a good paying (and stable) job in your field to build on the foundation. When you are finally able to buy the car (a 3G ?) later on you will feel immense satisfaction because you worked hard to pay for it.

Remember the golden rule of financial planning : "Live within your means". Sad to say, look around and see all the sorry news of people extending themselves with huge amounts of debt.....

Good luck with your future endeavors !

 

Well from the sounds of it if you can barely afford gas and insurance on your current car I dont see how it would even be possible to get a TL right now.
Hold off and like people have said and in time getting a TL will be easy. I know its tough because its something you want now but it will pay off later.

 

I feel your pain....I drove an '89 Calais in college (mid 90's) and drove a '99 cavalier (bought new in '99) up till me buying my '05 TL last year. Just gotta drive what you can afford.

 

Hey Sergei!

Fellow EE.. when I was in school I could barely afford my rent.. I survived on roughly $5 a day for food & misc expenses, my transportation was a 21sp boulder mountain bike that I bought for $50 (eventually stolen on campus my sr. year, good thing the gf had wheels). My advice is to finish your undergrad degree.. in your last year.. take the GRE and get into a graduate EE program, talk to your professors and see what research they are doing and see if it suits you, the profs can get you into their program if they wish.

I don't know how far you're into the curriculum but you should really focus on your studies. If you focus on the rewards or external crap like what kind of car you drive you, you may have a tough time getting through the program.

My professional advice is the analog & semiconductor industry is tanking. I have almost a dozen friends who graduated at the top of their class with a MSEE who have been out of work for 6 months. Communications has bottomed out, I mixed my specialty between comm systems & electro-physics.. The jobs right now are catered towards experienced hardware programmers, I think the comm industry will pick up but it'll be a while. It's a real domino effect, a federal job is the safest and most fruitful bet for employment unless you niche in a small tech company or work for a university.

Best of luck on your studies, trust me.. the rewards will come but be patient. Make it a goal for when you get your first job.

 

everyone here is 100% right. Actually they are 90% right. School should be your first priority, but instead of making a hot car your next priority, you should make hot college girls your second priority.

I'm 36. I have a house, a 2007 MDX, a 2000 boxster, and I'm about to buy a lightly used 07-08 TL/TL-S. NO way I could afford ANY of this stuff when I was your age. I drove a beater in school. When I was in school, back in the mid 90s, my "dream" car was the 3rd Gen Mazda RX7 Twin Turbo. I had a big poster of that car plastered over my desk - the reason was to remind myself that at the end of school, I'd have the education/job to buy that car.

I know how much you probably want a cool car, i was no different at your age. BUT, nothing in life is free, and it takes hard work and patience to get the things that you want. Keep your nose to the grindstone and you too will be there - it just takes time and hard work.

Not to take the focus off cars, but having the benefit of now being slightly older, I can look back on my college days, and compare them to my life now. Let's say I'm at a different "stage" in my life than you - roughly 10-15 yrs ahead in time. Now I have hte money to buy the car YOU want. But now I'm "older". I get tired at 10pm from chasing my kids around, I have a stressful job, and I can't just come/go/do whatever I want whenever I feel like it - I have a family and the associated obligations.

You don't have any money b/c you're a broke college student- but unless your a spoiled rich kid at USC, that's how it's supposed to be! The upside is that you are surrounded by young girls, who haven't had kids, their bodies are perfect, they are away from home for the first time, and a lot of them are probably horny. You don't need money to get THAT - if you play your cards right. I'm married with kids - THOSE days are over for me..but I remember.

Tell you what, I'll let you borrow my TL AND my Boxster if you let me borrow some of your little hottie girlfriends.... hahahahaha

enjoy what you have - the "stage" in life you are at has it's pros/cons. Enjoy the pros and make plans/decisions NOW so that when you get to my point in life, you can enjoy the pros that come with age/experience/income.

go drink some beer, study, play with the co-eds, study some more, work out, study some more, more co-eds, study, more co-eds, study.... repeat.

In 5 yrs or so, longer if you do grad school, you can get a job and buy the car. there will always be something cool to buy/spend your money on.

I know you said you're jealous of the guys in the TLs, but some of them are older guys, who look over at you in your POS, and see the 21 yr old hottie in the passener seat, and you never know, they just might be jealous of YOU.

 

DUDE! I just graduated in June with an Electrical Engineering degree. I bought my TL 2 years ago and was working a part time job as well, but then could not handle the car payment so I had to get a full time JOB. Let me tell you, it is hard to focuses on school and working a 10-hour shift. Just take these guys advise. Trust me after your graduate you will get paid big bucks.

 

^ hey.. hot college girls goes without saying.. Sergei - tutor in math & physics trust me.. best thing is the eye candy is free. I really hope you're not a dweeb Sergei.. I had some classmates that had no social skills at all.. and a hot car isn't the key to hot girls, your personality, attitude, personal appearance, and verbal game are the key. If they respect you, shit happens.. My close friend & classmate was broker than me and he had 3 jobs & his transportation was a moped, he was the top student of our class, yet he got int'l pussy.. he had girls flying in to see him. He's still to this day pulling in hot chicks. lol.. Stay in school Sergei.. working & making money is overrated.. I'd trade it in for the good days being a poor college student.. but of course I went to school on Hawaii..

 

Hey another EE.. f*ck there are too many of us.. no wonder the job market is so bleak.. lol.

 

Dude dont listen to everyone...walk down to the nearest car lot and find the TL-S trade in the malibu and 30% interest sounds about right. If you have trouble making the payments you could always open up credit cards to pay the note.












haha everyone is right

 

TL= your graduation gift.

 

I drove a beat down malibu throughout college. Graduated, landed a job right away, and bought my new 07' TL 1 month later. If you land a for sure job right away, I figured why not treat myself.

 

We always want what we can't have, it is human nature, and once you'll have it, you'll want something better. I switch cars every 1-2 years... I'm already focused on the new E-Class...

You should be glad that you at least have some wheels; many people cannot afford such luxury...be grateful you are not smelling armpits all day long by using public transportation.

Sooner or later with your degree and strive for greater things may lead you to an even better car. All the best!

 

stay in there!. im doing the same also. im still searching for my tl! i sold my 97 prelude to get ready to purchase a tl. im still in college and at 20. its hard work. i sometimes cant stand working and going to school back to back. but eventurally it will pay off down the line. i know it! think positive and positive things will come. im driving a pos accord, and my sister car if she doesnt use it. that isnt holding me back! btw gotta love beaters because u dont have to worry about it getting damage from the school parking lot. i had this happened to my prelude and boy was i mad. i had it all modded out from highschool as i had a job back then also. just stay in there man!

 

How bad do you really want a TL? I mean, if you're losing sleep over it, then that could mean it's serious. Quit school immediately and get a great paying job.

I don't know what kind of advice you've come here to get. I'm not trying to be a dick, but I'm 23 with a business degree and a very shitty job. My trick was saving over 10g's for a downpayment and getting low notes by being straight up with the salesman. The car isn't for everyone, but anything is possible if you know what moves to make.

 

To put things in perspective... It's great to have a nice new reliable TL with all the bells and whistles but, $30,000 is a lot of money you can do a lot of things with.

It's a constant struggle between living a little while you are young and saving money so you can live a little when you are old.

My advice, try to take on as little debt (student, car, home, credit card) as you can and get rid of the debt you incur as soon as possible. Interest kills and making minimum payments will keep you in debt forever. Watch the documentary Maxed Out and it'll open some eyes.

 

^ what they all said. i drove my 97 accord until i could afford mine and i didnt even buy it new. its worth the wait. no use putting yourself in a tight spot when its not necessary... soon you'll be in one.... give it time...

Patience grasshopper

 

I did the same thing. Drove a dodge neon while I was in school. I interned last summer and got a job offer. I just graduated in December and then worked for 7 months then bought my TL.

Definitely finish school first. Classes are enough stress, let alone making rent if funds are tight. Having a car payment will only make things tougher. Wait till you are out of school and land a good job. It takes a lot of patience but it will come. Good luck.

 

Dont' feel bad. I have had quite a few cars cars including ones that I regretted buying.

84 cavalier $500 (1 year)
83 isuzu impulse $2000 (1 year)
92 eclipse $6000 (3 months)
90 accord $12000 (1 year)
84 300ZX $3700 (4 years)
00 civic (new, 5 years, first car after degree and job)
(a house)
06 BMW (new, 3.5 years)
08 TL-S

I wish I didn't buy that eclipse or the accord. The eclipse and accord were "the sh*t" at that time for people around my age and I love cars. They put me in very bad financial situations as a full time student with a part time job even though I was making $800 to 1k a month. Going from a 90 accord to the 84 300ZX was the best decision I made at that time and I loved the Z. It allowed me to concentrate on school and finished college and the U. Once you have a degree and a job in EE, you'll be able to pay cash for a TL in a year.

 

:thief:

 

Or find a rich uncle to loan you money to buy one
like me lol. I was lucky for a understanding uncle but if he didn't I woudlnt have a car at all while being a medical student (harder and longer than a ee IMO) thankfully this is my first car and I love it!!!

 

Welcome to the boards, I'm sure one day, we'll see you on the forums, and all of us here will say, "Hey that was Sergei! Dang look at that TL!" Kind of corny, but also keeping it real, finish up engineering. That stuff is tough, I'm a doing info sys. management which is another branch of engineering.

 

some wise words from a variety of different people! the consensus seems to be unified - listen to what everyone here has to say! i'm not really one to talk, but a lot of members are offering, dare i say, imperative life lessons (boy i feel retarded saying that). patience is a virtue. wait a bit now and walk proud when you're done hell, you'll probably walk away with an even better car than the TL! lol good luck with school...u almost done?! EE's though man...I have 5 or 6 more years for dental -_- fml for sure.

 

I have 2 friends who are in their 2nd & 3rd year of med school in Hawaii and Illinois.. They both say med school is easier compared to their undergrad & grad studies. Both did premed fulfillment & mcat's while doing their grad degrees in EE (undergrad EE as well). The only thing hard about med school is getting into a good med school.

 

You could just shoot Majofo and take his TL...

 

^ lol.. well.. with two mass murdering EE's this past year.. doesn't sound improbable. Babnik.. I'm so sick of looking at that gay avatar.

 

If your friends say med school is easier than their undergrad/grad studies, then they're doing something wrong. Everyone i know, including myself, says that med school is much much much much harder than undergrad. And the people i know graduated from Ivy Leagues, so you know they're not slacking.

Undergrad sciences are usually broken down into 2 semesters; and these classes are so general. Med school classes cover specific topics: neuro, physio, endo etc. in detail and the whole topic is covered in a matter of a few days if not a week or two.

To the OP. Finish up school 1st. Don't even worry about cars. There are those that are fortunate to have rich parents who will spoil their kids w/ a TL (or better) when they get their license. For the majority of us, it was working hard during HS, college, grad school, a well paying job that could afford us a TL.

Plus, getting a TL now, and joining this forum is only going to empty your wallet even quicker!

Getting the car is easy, it's keeping up w/ payments, insurance, maintenance, and mods that make it hard.

Hope you make the right choice.

 

I can see this getting spun back and forth.. The general consensus from my friends is they are always busy and consumed with school, but the general feeling of abstractness that we had in many of our courses is not apparent in their studies, plus at that point, the realization that you need to study with each other to survive is well understood. I realize everyone is different and someone who is strong in one area can excel in one field yet find another field of study difficult. Math is money.. the more you know the farther you'll go..

I doubt the OP is coming back.. pretty random to come onto the board and say I want a TL but there is no way in hell I'm going to get it any time soon - what should I do?? I wish someone would have said quit school, get three jobs and buy it! I think a member here has a quote in their sig that says the trick is wanting what you got.. outstanding advice IMO.

 

Haha... chicks don't dig guys like me with no money.

A hot 21 yr old babe is far more likely to choose a 40 yr old guy with a nice car and tons of money to spend on her, over a broke guy her own age who can't buy her anything. Girls only care about money, at least until they are older and begin to lose their beauty then they are ready to settle and have a family.

 

I found it on bittorrent and watched it. Very interesting...

Unfortunately I am already in debt. I have to work part time AND take out student loans just to afford my tuition.

 

yeah, i can see where he's going with at. at larger universities, the required science classes (g chem, o chem, p chem, bio, physics, etc) are all WEEDED. not only that but 2/3 of the doctors that i speak with recall zero of their undergrad sciences -_- sure is encouraging ain't it? lol

 

i know this may be a tad redundant but have you tried applying for scholarships? i remember i had a few bucks here and there that covered my first year of tuition from getting decent sat scores. that and fastweb is a good source for scholarships as well. what about fafsa? that's always a good option!!! financial aid is awesome!!! don't forget, all tuitions are INCREASING this coming quarter/semester EVERYWHERE. ...i KNOW