Alright, so I have an '01 CL-S, have had it for the past 8 years now. Now that I'm out of college into a decently-paying job, I think it's time for a change. The car's falling apart and I'm starting to get VERY bored with it.

The thing holding me back is, I've had to pay for a new transmission out of warranty, and I owe a little over $3000 on it through a bank loan. Oh, and there's the insane amount of student loans I'm going to start to pay in the next few months.

So here are some options on the poll, lemme know what you think. Of course, I won't let this vote decide my fate here, I just wanted input on what you think would be the best idea here. Of course, if you have other ideas, lemme have 'em.

 

Some further details.
Probably gonna buy instead of lease, I may decide to mod. Max budget, $27k-ish.

Some cars I'm thinking about, not limited to ..
MazdaSpeed 3
Hyundai Genesis
Subaru WRX
used BMW M3

Is this considered a "useless thread" around here?

 

Why take on such a huge debt when your student loans are coming due? That makes no sense. I would wait at least a few months into paying your loans to see how comfortable you are with money.

I'm not saying don't sell it at all, just not right now. If at that time you will be comfortable with a larger payment go for it.

 

I know you're bored but I would drive that car until nothing worked right on it. $3000 every few years is still better than a car payment.

I would put every nickel I could into your loans. Stick it out now and in the not too distant future you'll be able to buy a much nicer car.

Or you'll meet a nice girl and she'll ruin your life by marrying you

 

Mazdaspeed 3


actually whiskers

 

I would save the money keep the car and mod the CL and start liking it again.

 

Fixed.

 

I'm starting down this path right now, modding and repairing stuff that needs fixing.

@Dallison, yeah, I should have mentioned I'm probably going to stick with the student loan payments for a couple months before I do any serious shopping around for a new car. I have some credit cards to pay off in the meantime.

 

Get your debt house in order first....then move on to another car.

 

The advise is to keep and mod? NO.

If you truly have a cash flow, purchase something that will provide years of stress-free use with easy maintenance.

If you are tight on the money, keep the CL, dont invest into it, ride it for as long as you enjoy it. It's a unique car.

 

The longer you keep a car the more money you save! If you just spent money on a transmission repair, it's going to be good for at least another 50K miles! If you put good fluid on it, a cooler and baby it I'm sure it can get to 100K without falling apart!

As well the less debt your in, the better! It's going to be a LOT less stressful if you can pay off the 3K car loan and those student loans over the next few years vs. having a fixed car payment for the next 5 years + those student loans!

you have to remember with the economy the way it is right now, you have to plan in for the worst case scenario! Save your money up and spend it on the things you need or things that'll prolong what you have. For example, rather than spend 200 dollars on an intake, spend 200 dollars on some tools to fix the car up in the future. For 200 dollars you can get a set of tools that'll last quite a long time, probably past the time you have kids with a car that needs an oil change!

 

by the way... The Japanese auto industries have announced today that due to the stagnate production because of the plant closings; they will LOWER pricing on all vehicles, including better lease/finance programs to regain the lost market values.

But I would still stick with the CL... Have they placed that TSB spray tranny nonsense i your car for 2nd gear? I changed tranny 3 times on my 00 TL-P.. POS.

 

Pay off your debts first. Your paying off student loans and credit cards and you want to add a car payment to that list?

If you get bored with it, do a couple mods to keep your interest up, at least until you get your debts in order. It's no fun paying interest only.

 

financial wise keep the car. But also consider that it will probably require more $$ maintenance down the road. Another factor is what kind of job do you have. If you have take your client out with your car get a better one.
Personally, I think it is reasonable to get a better one to just "reward" yourself from graduating and got a job.

 

as much as i want to tell you to get a new fun car, in your situation, i would just repair it and try to payoff the loans asap first.

 

Oops I voted after only reading the first sentence. Voted to sell but you should keep it like others have said. Get as far out of debt as possible.

 

Keep the CL and dump every extra penny you have into your loans and CC bills. As MR1 said, get as far out of debt as possible. When you have no student loans and balances on your credit cards, look for a new car.

 

Credit card debt, student loans, and a $3,000 debt for replacing the transmission and you want to take on another $27,000??!!? :thumbsdow

Why put even more stress on yourself? In your words, just the student loans alone are an insane amount to pay off. If you *needed* a new car at this point, it wouldn't even be wise, financially, to get something new and/or worth $27,000....I'd be looking used. Very used. But the amount of money to spend on a used car, which I think would be smarter (but who am I?) probably wouldn't get you a car any nicer, newer, or as well taken care of as the CL you have maintained yourself.

Pay off your loans either in full or for at least the next year and get them way down before you spend a fortune digging yourself another hole. Debt-free and being financially and emotionally-stress free is a much more satisfying feeling than what any mod or $27,000 car will give you over the next few years as you try to establish your career and life outside of school, including possibly wanting to own your own home (not sure if you do yet already).

 

Hang on to the car.

I know how enticing a new car can be and how easy it can be to get bored with a car but sometimes it's best to stand strong, especially in the face of your existing bills.

 

Take it from someone who has been where you are. I am the king of delayed gratification. I didn't buy a nice car for myself until I was well out of my medical training and well on my way to paying down my massive student loans.

Keep your CL-S and pay your loans down. Trust me, your 30-year-old self will thank both you and me.

*Bob gets into CTS-V that he was able to pay for easily because of paying off debt first and does a burnout *

 

do what i did, buy a civic. i sold my TL for dirt cheap and used the money to build my 92 CX

 

I was in your shoes just a year ago. I was bored with my TL and wanted something nicer. But it was still running like a champ even through my long work commute.

I hate having any type of debt. I saved religiously and put everything into my loans. I paid them off in less than a year. I'm really glad I did it this way. One car payment is a lot easier to manage.

*Andy gets into GTI that he was able to pay for easily because of paying off debt first but can't do a burnout because it's still under break-in period...*

 

Sorry to say it but pay down the debt.. I can recommend some good transmission guys here if you need.

 

3k to rebuild an AT? can't you swap in an MT for about that amount and it should last you until that car dies (should be a really long time!!!)

keep the car, pay off your debts... you are still young.. you have plenty of time in your life to get another car...

 

* Andy buys a previously abused Mazdaspeed3 and go zoom zoom boom after owning for 2 months.

 

Hey, man... I going to share the best advice by exboss told me when I got out of college and started working. "don't change your lifestyle for the next 5 years keep living as a broken college student before you've a family" I did it and thanks to that I'm able to afford private school for my kids and still eat once a day! Hahaha

 

or a wrecked MS3



but on topic, keep the CL. no need to drown in debt

upkeeping the car is better than making payments+upkeeping the new car

 

Great advice.

 

This is late, but thanks to everyone for the advice .. Yes, I've been bit by the post-college want-car bug and now that I think about it, it's a foolish thing to do to be buying a car and still be in a good amount of debt.

So I'll kill the credit cards and see how my student loans go. As a soon-to-be traveling programmer, I may not be able to enjoy a new car that much anyway. Might as well be Jewish with my money until I retire.

Last I heard, it was more like $10k and up to change to MT. If I could change it to MT for cheap, best believe I'd keep my CL-S and never be bored with it.

 

I doubt it costs $10k to switch to MT, but if you want to rebuild your tranny lmk. Also.. I suggest paying down the CC first unless you have a smaller debt than them. Pay the minimum on your SL until your CC debt is clear.

 

Good choice!

6spd swap is around +/-$3k. Finding the trans is the hard part.

 

Nope, its around $3-5k. You can check up on fsttyms' write up in the TL section.