MY NAME IS ADRIAN I JUST TURNED 20. I have a 2004 NBP 6MT, with the camel interior! i have been wanting rims, (tenzo, or volk) for the longest time. along with an Exhaust. ive had money for them but, it seems like a lot of money for little gain. I LOVE MY TL THO... i have the aspec kit on it, with the stock chromes. heres the deal, i bought this car when i turned 18 (i was supposed to get an RSX-S) but fell in love with the 3G. my credit wasnt the best (at 18, and no CO-SIGNER) so, i didnt exactly get the best APR. I put 5k down (sold my 240sx, which i know regret) my montly payment is $486. THE PROBLEM IS i MY SISTER AND I JUST PURCHASED A HOME. (good deal) I dont live with my father. my mother does not have a job. im the only income for my mother, 8yr old brother and myself. I PAY $1000 for the house (sister pays $1500)

i want to keep the tl, but i really want to mod it!!!
i dont think i can afford it anymore! (specially to mod)

my expenses
house $1000
car $500
insurance $120
other expenses including but not limited to (phone bill/ cable, gas, groceries, giving mom and brother money for their needs...i basically pay for everything)
NO CREDIT CARD DEBT!

ive come to realize some of the older, and younger members on here are well off.

WHAT IS YOUR SINCERE ADVICE...TRADE IT IN? FINIFH PAYING IT OFF?

note: i make about $3300-$3700 everymonth before TAX.

i realize i was a stupid decision to buy thi car at my age and income but (i didnt expect to be buying a home so soon)

THANKS GUYS!

 

you are driving a car (much) nicer than what most 20 yr olds are driving. so you dont need to do anything to it to be considered doing well for yourself or having a nice car. i take it you're 2+ years into the payments? 5 yr plan i presume? if you get rid of it you'll have to buy something else, or no? again, assuming you will need a car, i'd say keep this one, pay it off ASAP. probably doesn't make sense to start payments all over. maybe your sister can even help you pay this down since you guys are kind of in this together. btw its great how you are looking out for your fam. very admirable.

 

Well finish payin the TL... if not sell it, but do not get into another CAR DEBT!

if ur gonna get into another car loan, might aswell stay with the TL dont u think?

thats my advice

 

i'd say refinance

 

how long do you have on the loan?

at this point, my advice is to suck it up and just keep the car. the TL is a fine car and you will not find a better alternative without spending more than you did with it.

unless you are in a bind where you cannot afford to continue what you are doing, there is no point letting go or trading the car. skip the modding for now if you feel tight on the budget.

 

you are right! i am driving a very nice car. i have a little over 3 years to go!

 

3 years...

 

yes this is wahat i fight myself back and forth about. if im gonna be paying for another car, i might as well keep the TL, even if its an exra hundred or two...

 

BTW, thanks guys...

 

stick with the TL i got the same car and im 18 nothing bad about it Acura is highclass

 

Much respect on thinking about the family first and foremost. I agree with all stated above...the TL is already a beautiful car and mods are always fun and add a unique style but they aren't MUSTS. Take your time and wait till everything is in place

+1 for refinancing. Sounds like you've got great credit.

Good luck!!

 

Also do u mind if I ask what ur doing at 20 to be making that kind of money?

 

i run a PRIVATELY OWNED AT&T store.

 

Gotta give you props for taking care of the family first ..... once you have the house down in your name (and your sister), maybe you can get a line of credit to pay off your car loan (remember the interest is tax-deductable on your LOC).

3G is nice enough IMO so keep it till you find a better-paid job, then you can MOD or get another car ... good luck !

 

If you're gonna have a car payment, then just keep the TL. Any extra money you don't need after helping the family I'd put towards the car instead of modding. Its better to pay it off faster so that if anything happens you would have one less payment. You can start modding as a celebration of paying it off. haha

 

I say hold off on all of the mods and whatnot until your finances are more stable, assuming they aren't right now since you just got another bill.

Wtf? That doesn't make any sense.

 

Wow you and I are in similar situations, although you make WAY more money than me.. lol

I too sold my beloved 240sx to purchase my TL, and I also put 5K down on my TL...

But where we differ is that I go to school full time, and work at a restaurant part time..
In my opinion you should definitely keep the TL, as you will not find a sportier four door in the same price range as our 3G..

If you bought a TL for the same reason as I, which is the drop dead gorgeous looks of the car, not to mention the performance of the car bone stock. We have all these perks without the compromise in practicality or reliability, which my 240sx definitely did not have. I agree with the previous posters as if you are going to keep the car, then you should take a look at some refinancing options. Interest rates should be pretty darn low considering our economic situation, But your credit must be in superb condition.

Just wondering, and not to threadjack but got any pics of your 240? I am still partial to them and will buy one again in the future.. got any pics, or specs??

 

Stick with the TL, keep it clean and nice. Don't worry about modding your car, you should spend your money elsewhere...

 

I say stick with the TL, if you sell it your going to be upside down and loosing money, then you will have to buy a new car thats cheaper than the TL and you'll still be in the same situation.

Your best option:
See if you can refinance the TL, you own a home and a AT&T store, i'm sure its better now. Also pay extra for the monthly payments instead of putting it towards modding. If you pay an extra 100 dollars on a mortage per month, you save up tons on intrest, same works with the TL's car loan. Pay 500 a month if you can, you'll save money on interest in the long run.

 

+1 (this guys says Acura is highclass, what does that have to do with anything)

If the car is becoming a burden. Pack it away for a while in a garage and take the insurance off for a couple of months.
Now you saved 200$ a month plus gas

 

budget urself and keep it. don't mod it, know your priorities which is ur family, i'd drop anything and everything for mine, if you must sell to get a cheaper car then do it. life isn't fair, but you got yourself a house at a great time, this is a good time for you don't do what's right...

 

I agree with almost everything everyone has said but if you still feel like its going no where; just hang in there becuase you'll be inclined to feel the same way when you sell your car and buy another one.

now here is an alternative, you can still mod your car and pay for everything else you've been paying for...

I heard the blacked out headlights can be done with as little as $30 and TONS of labor lol

An aftermarket intake on ebay is average $30-$50 with some labor. (might not be as good but its still a mod for now. and future reference you can do big ballin and go for Injen CAI or something)

Last one (for now) is the led interior and exterior. An awesome mod for just a low price and VERY little labor. I found some for as little as $6 dollars a pair.

Ok last alternative is... hope for the best and around the corner is christmas so maybe in a month or two your awesome sister can get you something for your car (ask for the comptech supercharger then cross your fingers)
j/k... in the end. im just saying keep the car and keep doing what your doing and everything will work out on its own.

 

It's admirable that you're taking care of your family but you're stretched very thinly AFTER taxes. If a car isn't necessary, maybe you should consider selling it to save $600+/month? If a car is a necessity, keep it but don't spend any money on modding it. And if you still have 3 years left on payments on a high interest rate, maybe a year down the line, you can get a HELOC and pay of the car instead?

Either way, hope all goes well.

 

DEFINTELY keep the TL. its a great car all around. It will take you a long way! Plus you have got taking care of the family as being a #1 priority (which means you chose to be a man). I would say budget a little better and try to get your loan refinanced (credit union??)...if not, you will have to make a choice and sell the car. just my $.02

 

For those who dont understand what i meant to say by saying acura is highclass is that id rather have an acura car than a Geo, Subaru, Kia it totally makes sense so he should be greatful for what he is driving...

 

^ Man, punctuation would be nice! "High class" is definitely a relative term... IMO, a $30K car isn't high class but I'm not complaining about my TL either.

OP, like stillhere said, refinance! The rates are pretty low right now... my CU at work offers 4.25% for 36 months. I know CUs offer lower rates than banks but you should be able to lower your monthly payments, especially if you have good credit (I hope you do!).

IMO, you should stick with the car... avoid this site so you won't catch the mod bug. If you sell the TL and buy a "lesser" car, you'll probably end up buying something new in a couple years and be in this same situation again. The market isn't great right now for selling a V6 anyway. I sold my 05 Civic LX for a couple G's over KBB value because everyone wants a fuel efficient 4 banger.

18 year old who pays for his own shit, supports his family and owns a house... thats some serious shit right there. Congratulations!

If you want to mod, do the cheap shit for now... I see you've deleted the mid muffler. 3rd cat delete is cheap too

 

For real yo!

 

everyone here is basically on the same page keep the car. i go to school full time and work full time in the evening and believe me it gets hard at times. ive been wanting a tl since i was old enough to get my learners permit n i finally got it i started to save money for about a year and some change and about a couple of months ago i finally got my tl paid it off. got a good deal paid 19k for an 05 w/navi and only 35k miles on it. In all i think ur doing great in helping ur peoples out n hey if ur interested in making a little extra money ill be interested in buying ur a-spec body kit.

 

^ Vulture!! Haha

 

I would keep the car and maybe do a CAI first and hold off and any other mods.

 

 

You can also throw your annual tax return into paying off the car a little earlier. Keep it, I know you love the TL.

 

IMO, not a good $/whp mod...

 

I would definately consider refinancing your car you may be able to get lower payments it might stretch out your payments a little further but you may qualify for a lower interest rate since you have shown that you pay your car payments.
I would quit racing your car around as well because gas can go fast these days and it isn't cheap to fill up.
As for getting a new car I don't know if that would be a great idea because you have to consider the value of your car and what you can get for it and then what kind of car do you plan on replacing it with. If your talking about something simple such as a civic or integra for like 5 grand then that isn't a bad route at all.
Is there a reason why your mom can't find like a small job to keep her busy and money in her pocket?
I know that we all want to be there to help out our parents and stuff but that is alot of responsibilities to take on and you do not want to put yourself into financial hardship trying to take on the role as the man in the house.
What kind of work do you do that you make that kind of money especially be 20 years old? Reason why I am asking is because of job security.

 

You did not mention the interest rate that you pay on the car. Considering that you provided a lot of other details you might want to throw that one out to the gang as well.

For now, resist the temptation to mod the car or get something different unless you can completely get rid of car payments. Instead, pay a little extra on your car whenever you can and try and get it paid off sooner.

You are doing the right thing by helping out your family. Keep it up and put your personal desires on the back burner for now. Determine what you need compared to what you want. Hold off on the stuff that you really don't need.

 

i got a killing 14% inerest.... i had just turned 18. no credit. no co-signer.

 

get your butt to the bank and see what they can do for you, 14% is insane

 

14%....jesus. Refinance it, and keep the car. You should have no trouble getting that interest rate under 5%. Do not mod it. Write a check for the total amount of $$$ you were going spend on the mods to pay down the loan even more.

 

Getting it under 5% is very unlikely but you are probably looking at around 6%-8% depeding on what is on your credit. Give me what you owe on your car and I will get you your exact payments a month for a new 5 year loan at the lower interest rate.

 

Defiantly pay it off asap if you can! That interest rate is burning a hole in your pocket as we speak.
Do not start modding, it will quickly be come an expensive addiction with no return.