I just wanted to know how many people on this site have spent most of their money buying their Zs. I've noticed that quite a few people are young (meaning 18-24) I don't doubt that there some young guys make really good money but how many people have made the Z their sole expense (i'm not even considering the expense of modding the car) and how do you justify it? Personally my car is my only real expense that I work a steady job, so I'm only half car poor.

Just curious

 

Yep very car poor, make 1200 clear a month, pay 1114 a month for plates and car payment.......and 81 for bike plates tryin to sell the bike as we speak, thank god for lovin parents who give me party money

 

im 22, i cant afford much FOR my car after paying for the Z every month, but i have enough to pay my rent, bills and have some extra cash to do stuff on weekends and buy a few small things every paycheck. I put $8000 down so my month payments are only about $370

 

I put $10,000 down on my Z, payments are about $470 a month. My old car payment was $288. I wouldn't call myself car poor per se but that added cost is noted. The "Z" was my reward for finally finding new work after being unemployed for over a year. I also hold down a mortgage payment, insurance, and other household expenses (cable, phone, electric, gas, etc..).

In the end it boils down to priorities. I am surprised by the number of teenagers/folks living with their parents that own the car because either their parents bought it or bought it via paying for other expenses (housing, food, etc). Something I both envy and would never do for any kids I eventually have.

Then again, its nothing new. I used to drive a Subaru Impreza 2.5rs, when the WRX's came out in the U.S. it was "the" car to have mommy and daddy buy as graduation gifts etc. The "Z" is starting to become something similar. Let's hope it doesn't raise insurance rates too much.

 

Anyone here trying to pay off their car within a year like me? It's just that somtimes I can't justify the cost of paying a whole chunk of it off at the same time. I'd much rather save that money up for something more important.

 

Priorities are different for different people, i want to enjoy things while i'm young, when i can enjoy them more, so that when it comes my kids time, i can do the same for them. I'm blessed to be so lucky as to have parents that help me out. It was not my intention to buy the "Z" and have my parents pay for my fun, but when i bought the car i was able to afford the car, bike, fun, rent... etc, but since that job is no longer, i'm workin a job for enough money to pay the bills till something better comes along....

I'm just curious why u would never do that for your kids?

Maybe not a Z, i started out with a 81 t/a i payed for half of it, but then i was movin 10 hours away for University so my parents bought me a GTP, i can't see if U could afford it, why u wouldn't?

 

I'm really f**ing car poor. People think I'm rich when they see my cars. I have a '02 RSX type-S and an '03 SS Enth. Z in my 2 car garage. What they don't know is that that's where ALL my money is going!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Im not...yet. Still shopping.
Im getting scared though...I have a super low car payment now, but have had freakin $2100+ in unforseen expenses in the last 9 weeks or so. If that crap keeps up, I'll never get my Z!

 

sort of car poor here. I have a SS ENTH and it's the first car I've bought. I'm paying about 400 a month which i'm not used to even though i make decent money. But my girl friend just lost her job and I've been dropping almost another car payment on her lately. Proof i should ditch the girl and Z and go buy a 911.

 

...not really. I was driving a POS 92 Mercury (college car I "inherited" from my parents when my high school car died). I've wanted a 350Z since they first appeared visibly around 2 years ago, but other expenses (LASIK, buying home, etc) prevented me from purchasing one until a couple weeks back I got the black Enthusiast I'd been wanting. I make decent money for a young single guy, so while I was going from 0 monthly payment, anything under $500 a month wasn't going to hurt me much. Fortunately, when I moved to CT after college I just "cloned" the insurance coverages on my POS..and when I went to see how much the Z would cost me I realized I had $200 deductibles on a car worth $500...so after "adjusting" the converages, taking the POS off the road for the summer (and vice-versa with the Z in winter), I end up paying slightly less for insurance than I was before.

Unfortnately this car seems to attract the unwelcome glares of law enforcement, so I probably should have included tickets and corresponding insurance hosing in my original cost estimates...

 

Not sure how anyone living on their own could be "car poor." I'm 23 and single, so a Z to me is a pretty practical purchase I put down $7k, so my payments are about $550/mo (lack of long credit history doesn't get me the best rates). I've heard that your car payment shouldn't be more than 20% of your monthly net, and the payment is a lot less than 20%.

 

Am I car poor? Hell yes!!! I found me a young thing to help make my house AND car payments. I just don't know how I could do it without her.

My advice, you want something? Find a women to buy it for you.

NissanCar

 

yep, I now live in my Z. Thank god it summer and I can sleep on the floor next to my Z. Was pretty rough in the winter time, had to turn on the car for heat every hour or so. Man, really hate sucking gas out of out of benz and beemers, but hey they can afford it. Hmm, guess I'll go to states where front plates aren't require. That way I can take one from one state and just slap it on the back when my insurance runs out, hehe

 

yea i think i am car poor... im 23 , 3 cars , 98 accord , Z , and 89 stang , my insurance is 5500 a year , just finished "hooking up " my accord i've spend over 10 k on it just because i did all the work myself , now the car is in the shop for paint job which will cost me another 3 k , when its painted - out the door bye bye honda, after that im starting with my stang , to make it run like i want it to i will have to spend around 12 k , in the mean time im looking for a house and a place to open up a bar in queens - brooklyn , im not counting any bills i got cuz everyone have bills to pay , am i car poor ? sure , but that was my decision and i knew i would be working 60 - 70 hours a week...

 

yea im poor as well, dropped 7,000 down and my payments are $338. i mean they r reasonable and im not complaining, but thats where my money went to as well.

 

I would have to say that I am partially car poor. I put down $13,000 so my payments aren't too bad, but now that I have had the car for a while I've been thinking of trading down to something cheaper so I'd have more money. Restoring the Buick is very expensive too. If I was smart I would sell my Z and make a little profit and finish the Buick and drive my '85 Accord I got for free and have a $0 car payment and a $50/month insurance payment.

 

wth Nissancar? Is that really you and our gf? No offense, but wth is she doing?!

 

23 here. Dead broke. I wouldn't say dead broke. I have a healthy amount in my checking account since I didn't want to drain it in the purchase. I took a five year finance term in case i got layed off. I keep looking into mods which kind of sucks.

$800 - clear bra
$190 - tints
$700 - alarm/remote starter
$200 - Zaino products
$200+ (upcoming rim repair)
$220 - aluminum floor mats

 

My car is a lease so I don't mod it. I know for sure though that I would like to finance my next car because it gets boring leaving it stock. The only reason I took the lease was I didn't have much money to put down, but I wanted a nice car. So in a way, I didn't spend any money on mods necessarily, but paying for the car itself, and other things on a low income would make me poor like the rest of you guys. BTW, my Maxima is the only nice thing I have.

 

23, live at home.....gf's parents won't let us move in, even though we've been going out for 4 1/2 years. (Really old fashioned, we need to be engaged first).

So instead of living on my own, I've pulled the Bud Bundy routine and live in my furnished basement and commute from the Princeton area to NYC everyday. Sucks, but I can afford my Z ($460 a month, and put $8,500 down!....stupid credit) and don't have to throw away $1,500 on a one room apt in the city.

So the rest of my money after the car expense is mine as long as I help out around the house. Good way to save for the engagement ring and a townhouse...