FreeBaGeL

Hi there, recent college grad here. Being such, I'm working full-time now, though as a recent grad I'm making only a moderate amount. I've gone through all the calculations and whatnot and the Z seems pretty affordable to me, but being new to the whole new car process (most I've ever spent on a car is $4800), I figured I'd ask a few more general questions first.

First off, what price car can one generally afford compared to their yearly income. My yearly salary would be just a bit more than the total price of a new '06 Z, is that pushing it too close (although I've also saved up about 8k-9k to put down on the car)?

If that's too general, we can break it down monthly. After my down payment, my car payments the next 5 years would be about 1/5th of my monthly income. Is that a fair amount to be allotted to a car payment?

Thanks in advance fellas, I just want to make sure I'm not getting in over my head here.

BhashaZ

iTrader: (18)

Hey, I probably can't answer that question as well as other people, but do you have student loans, rent, or any other expenses?

BTW: good to see someone seriously consider their finances before making a purchase

davidv

iTrader: (2)

The cost of a 350Z can fool you. Not the monthly loan payments, but insurance and routine maintenance. When you start paying $800 for tires the costs can add up quickly. Popular posts on this forum include:

My rent went up. I have to get rid of the Z.

My wife is having a baby. I have to get rid of the Z.

I'm short on spending money. I have to get rid of the Z.

I'm buying a house. I have to get rid of the Z.

cessna

Yup I agree!
What might be affordable for one in a perticular income braket, might very well be consitered too expensive for someone else in the same braket...

Afford what you can, prefferably without getting yourself in too much initial debt, is all I can say.

Some like to live on their "line of credit" be it with a Bank or a Credit card company..... I on the other hand have problems sleeping if I know I owe money... but thats just me

PoWeRtRiP

a good rule of thumb is to keep car expenses below ~25% of your monthly income. this includes insurance, budgeted maintenance, and fuel.

rxtrom

iTrader: (1)

If you are trying to be budget and finance minded. Another extreme is if you cannot pay cash for it then you cannot afford it. A car is a deprecable asset, a loan on top of that is a double whammy. I wish I could live by that.

Unfortunatly I do own a Z and owe on it. A couple of books I have been reading lately have made me feel that I should sell it and drive my beater around till the wheels fall off. Then... buy another beater.

Id have to say though if I had saved up 30k I am not sure I would drop it on a Z or any car for that matter. Its just too much money for me. Alot of people hide behind the monthly payments. (I am one of them) The interest alone on the car adds up to about 10k. Thats a turbo w/ a nice list of mods. Some people put their mods on a cc, but that's another story.

Anyway that's my .02 and I am in cheap mode b/c I am at work. =)

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

My opinion: If you have 8-9k to put down on a car, I would not be buying a car over $16-20k.

1/5 monthly income is a lot to just spend on car PAYMENTS. Because as davidv said, you will have other expenses.

Like if you get brembos (track / Grand Touring model) you will be surprised when you need brake pad and rotors that it's going to cost a couple grand.

Tires are going to be expensive as well, and that's if you keep the stock rims. My tires for 19's were like $1100.

I know you might "REALLY REALLY" want a nice car, but it's just not worth it to be living on the edge of your means. Put more money into fixing up your house. If you don't have a house, maybe you should think about getting one before getting a fancy car...

absolutg

even that's high imo. should be 10-15% of your gross income, no more. at your salary range, shop for something under 25k including TTL. civic si?

Sean

as long as you keep it as your only "payments" car for ten years you will make out, the car will be paid off after 4-5 years, should still be in very good shape and you get to save up money again for whatever..

HarvesterUT

iTrader: (10)

100%

FreeBaGeL

Awesome input so far guys.

To answer some of the questions that came up:

-No I don't have any student loans. College was all paid off through work and scholarships.

-For expenses I've got the usual. Medical and dental insurance are covered by work, then I pay the usual rent, car insurance, usual bills (cable, phone, etc). All that is split with my girlfriend (though I usually pay a bit more since she's in school). A house is not really in my immediate future because of the next point

-I have a serious girlfriend that I've been with for a while. Marriage is most likely in our future though not our immediate future if I have anything to say about it (which I do). She is in her first year of medschool and after that we will be heading to wherever she ends up for her residency so it doesn't make sense to think about home ownership at this point.

-I understand expenses like tires, but I already pay for pretty expensive (read: big) tires on my Jeep (which has a lot of miles and has become rather unreliable as of late, I would be selling it as part of the down payment if I got the Z), so I'm used to paying a lot there. I know the Z needs premium gas but the Jeep doesn't exactly get great gas mileage so I'd imagine that would be a wash at worst. I imagine I would catch the mod bug pretty quickly as well and would like to go FI at some point, but I have no problem waiting until the Z is paid off to see if I can afford that. I'm also calculating things like a radar detector, tint, and clearbra (~$1k+) as something I'll have to pay up front right after getting the car.

-Another car like a civic si isn't really something I'm considering. I don't NEED a car perse (though it could certainly help), but I've been a huge Z fan for years and as a college student I could nowhere near afford one, I guess now that I'm in that area it's just getting hard to say no .

-As far as car insurance goes, I do tag along on my mother's insurance so that I can get the multiple car discount, and I just pay her (the one thing I'm still someone clingin' to home on ). It's pretty cheap right now, $54 on the Jeep and I realize that it would go up with the Z but I can't imagine it'd go up too much. I'm 23 with one ticket on my record.

I've actually (since I got the job) been putting away my estimated car payment every month into savings (to put into a down payment) to see how much that leaves me with and I haven't been cutting it close or anything when pretending I don't have that money, and I know I probably sound pretty paranoid here, but it would be my first real major purchase (beyond computer, TV, older used cars, etc) and I just don't want to dig myself in deep.

Thanks a ton for the input so far.

Sean

if your GF is rich, marry her and dissregaurd anything we said

FreeBaGeL

Heh heh

Well she's not rich now (quite poor actually) but ideally the whole medschool thing will turn that around in 7 years or so . Still, not really a consideration here I don't think.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

I was in the exact same situation as you. I'm 23 also, recently graduating from college a little over a year ago. I had a decent job after graduating, but the pay wasnt the best. Last August, I started at my current job. Once I was there, I knew how much my monthly expenses were going to be. Since my first paycheck, I began putting away the money in my savings account as if it were for a car payment (like you). Along the way, I have had to replace some parts on my current car (brakes, rotors, etc). I was still able to go through the holidays, birthdays, weddings, and I even moved during these past several months, and I was still able to stash away the money every month. By doing this, I have becomed accustomed to not having the money every month. Now, I feel comfortable in my ablitly to pay for the car, and I recently placed my order which will arrive in approx 1 month. I think you should work at your current place of employment for atleast 6 months. There are several reasons for doing so:
-make sure you can afford the payments
-make sure you are settled into the job before making a big purchase like this (you dont want to be unemployed and still trying to make car payments)
-save up more money for a deposit

Good luck with your decision. I hope you are able to make the right one.

ClaytonC01

iTrader: (4)

if you have 8-9k down on the Z, you shouldnt be too bad on payments, probably around 400 or so for 5 years, depending on what finance rate you get. if you want a Z and can afford it, do it. i bought mine on impulse and my bank account wasnt prepared for 11k down, but i did it, and brought my savings back up since i bought the car.

Hraesvelg

iTrader: (1)

That post is in my near future.

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

Why not just take out a little extra when you get the home loan, use it to pay off the car? Like a few grand will make a huge diff in your mortgage payment...

if I catch you in a Tiburon, Imma slap you

Hraesvelg

iTrader: (1)

That's a good idea! Can I do that though?

PoWeRtRiP

depends on how you structure the deal. ive seen all kinds of magic worked with 80/20's (combo mtg). let your broker know what you want, and he can usually figure out a way.

Anthony Mantovani

You definately sound like you are in the same situation as I was. Here's what I did:
First off I graduated from college without any loans like you in May '03. I was also 23 at the time. I told myself for my grad gift I was gonna get myself a Z. I went shopping around to every dealership and went thru Costco auto also (they gave me the 2nd best price) A friend of mine was the GM at a nissan dealership and he got me into my Z. I leased it for 39months at $359mo. I had to put down a total of $3,000 which covered all the fees including tax. My buy out after 3 years is 13,000 or 15,000 (i forget). My salary was 45K right out of college. I had around $14k in my bank that I was going to put down on the car and after getting advice from other people I decided to lease instead, and it has worked out perfect for me. No worries at all!! Last year, being that I kept my money that I was going to drop on the car, I was able to buy a $400K house together with my gf. This year I was able to save $10K to buy her a ring. The only thing now is that my car goes back in July and I won't have my Z. I would really like to get another one, or I might buy this one if the payments are right. I was also thinkin of the Civic Si for my next car to save a little, and its a bit more practical with front wheel drive. (i drive the Z everyday so if it snows i'm screwed) Jus noticed u live in FL so for get that last comment. The reason I was able to still save after buying the house is b/c we are renting it out until we get married, so while someone else pays most of our mortgage, my gf and I are able to save for our wedding. Today with the prices of houses especially on LI it makes sense to do things a little backwards. If I put that money on the car and paid for 5 years I would have never been able to buy the house and afford the closing costs. Well anyway good luck and I hope i was able to help u out. BTW if u get the Z u won't regret it!!!