Well, I graduated college and landed my job, and am FINALLY making good money after a few years of debilitating financial down-and-out. A few months ago I posted that I was going to buy an 07 Z once I had achieved these goals. That time has come, but I think I am going to hold off for a few months before signing the purchase agreement.

I have a few reasons which have lent to my decision.. 1st, my credit is sorely dinged up due to my last Z purchase/ repo a couple years back. My credit has improved substantially since then, but I think that even with decent credit, having a repo on my record will disqualify me And, I haven't worked at my job for more than 6 months, which I also know hurts my worthiness.

Second, I have a nice, reliable car right now that I want to keep as my daily once I purchase my Z. It is not paid off, and I will not make a mistake and find myself paying for 2 cars at a time. Aside from the car, I have some other debt I want to catch up on.

Last, I want to wait and see what happens with the 08 and 09 Z in a couple of months. Who knows, it may be well worth the delay!

So in the end it comes down to financial responsibility. I plan on having my current car and debt paid off by tax time next year. But damn it if I am not tempted to just stop by the dealership after work some night and see what there is to see!!! Or consolidate the small debt I have into one lower payment and getting a Z! MUST........ RESIST...

Give me some support guys, I need some assurance that I am making a right decision!

 

<---- me at work

 

dude wait, pay off your debts and then wait for the new Z to come out, if you end up not liking it you can buy a used Z for much less anyway

 

Nearly same issue with me.

I could get the car, but then I would not be able to save for other things... like a place to put the car in

$600 gas bill + college loans + all other debts FTL.

I’m thinking 2008 will be a better year

I still want my SMB though

So if I can hold out since 2003 and live with a 12 year old SUV that gets 14 mpg as of late... I think you can hold off a bit knowing you at least experienced a Z Keep it strong pal and pay off or save some for your car

 

You guys rock. Thanks for helping me to resist the impulse to purchase! But since I was on the topic of my finances, I think I am going to re consolidate my various debts, and save about $200 a month in payments. When I do that, I could easily afford a monthly Z payment along with my other expenses. Yeah, I will be paying off my college loans too not a bad rate of repayment though (~200/mo for 10 yrs).

As for being at work: Gotta love it! Though I am dragging ***, I'd much rather work and make money than **** around in worthless classes and be broke. Is it just me?

HardTech; $600 in gas?! WTF mate, thats a crucial gas bill. Just think, thats a car payment right there, and then some!

 

For sure wait. If it has just been a couple years since a repo you are going to get hit with high interest rates and more limited choices in who you get your loan. That is not even factoring in your short term job history.

Pay off your "beater" then save a good down payment and pay early on all your bill from now till then and you will be golden.

A new car should be a blessing not a curse. If you bought now it would be a burden.. save till its not.

Also, by the time you get all that done, the redesigned Z will be out on the market for a while so you will get to see if they are decent or have some bugs.

Plus you will have work history and a better credit rating which equals you paying less for the same thing.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I agree with your reasoning 100%. I am not pressed to buy the car at the moment. but one benefit to having a new car loan is that it will improve my credit score even more, even if I have to take it up the bung for the first few months before I can refinance it to get a better rate Thats about the only thing which would be beneficial to getting a new car (aside from driving my "Eleanor" ) And I checked out insurance on owning both my cars, and its pretty steep: $1050 a month! Is it this bad for everyone else?

 

 

With your repo, shaky credit, no real job history, and debt...etc....you might not even qualify for the Z. I was in the business for a while and I know how those things can really limit what you can spend monthly as allowed by a bank (that is unless you have a SUBSTANTIAL down payment).

I don't know what you make on average monthly so here is where you do the math:

Using 2nd chance financing #'s, which you are under a 2 year repo(usually a full 3 years), take 18% of your monthly income(usually 16%). That # is the most a bank will loan a 2nd chance customer per month on a vehicle. Also, your interest rate will be anywhere from 16-22% depencing on what your state's limit is.

A quick example:

-Base Z w/taxes and fees included around $28,000 (I'm not sure but this sonds about right)..

-16% interest rate and maximum 60 months (2nd chance cannot get over 60 months)

-MONTHLY PAYMENT = $680

Bank will also take into account your current debt which will take more away from what they will loan you.

I didn't make it my plan to burst your bubble or anything but I thought you might want to know what you are looking at. If I can answer any questions for you I will.

 

Yep, 25% of my take home goes to gas

I travel 100+ miles a day around trip, and spend 4 hours a day in my car in traffic. But yet my company doesn’t think I like working for them

I’m on contract so getting into a apt bill (still cheaper to commute than a $900 apt bill), or a car loan would be dumb. This was supposed to be a contract to hire. It was supposed to be 4 months (16 weeks).Its been 18 weeks now and I am starting to get ticked off.

I don’t get benefits, I am sorely underpaid, and I don’t get to do anything with the company (they are out from 9am to 2pm for lunch and a movie). I get to sit at my desk all alone on my floor and "work". *rant could keep going but I wont bore ya*

So if I can stay in my SUV for 24+ hours and 600 miles each week, you my friend should be able to hold off for a few months.

FYI... 200 for college loans paid in 10 year?! I am paying 400 in college loans paid off in 20 years

You got it good man.... You will get your Z in way less time than me. I have yet to be in a Z doing more than 20 miles an hour

My goal is 2008, but my wits tells me 2009/2010 at my current rate.

 

Take it from a sensible old guy. WAIT.

You have no business incurring a lot of debt at your age. There are lots of other things you probably need to be buying other than a NEW car.
Avoid credit like the plague.

And now the advice you don't want to hear and probably won't heed, straight from "the compound interest" discussion --

The time to start saving money is when you start making it.

I saw a recent stat that said only 40% of people aged 55 have even $100k in a retirement account. Jeez, that's like 3 bucks a day they needed to have saved. Try to be smarter than that.

 

definitley pay off your daily driver first. It is nice to have both, thats what I did. I have a temporary storage shelter until I get a garage built later this summer.

 

Where did you come up with that math? Let's say that he worked for 30 years before retirement. If he saved $3 a day that would be roughly $33k saved over those 30 years. I'm not sure what the interest gained would be compounded but I don't think anywhere close to $100k.

A great 401k plan can get you there easily but it'll be more than $3 a day I'm pretty sure.

 

Nope you are wrong. If you put 3 bucks a day (1068 a year) into a roth IRA for 30 years with a 7% rate of return (very conservative) you will end up with almost 108k

The power of compound interest is huge if you get started early.

 

Waiting out is a good idea. If you make plenty, pay off everything you owe and save like 35k, or around there, and go out a couple years from now and buy the Z straight up. That feeling will make you not regret waiting at all.

 

I didn't know about the compound interest as I mentioned. Seems high but that's great. Thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, I need some reassurance at this point because I am all of a sudden alot more better off than I have ever been, and I feel like its time to reward my hard work in a proper way.

First off though, Petey, I second your words of wisdom, and have already set up my 401K 10% of my income is being saved and invested, with 6% of that being matched by my company. Thats sad that there are those who retire with barely anything to live on. Not going down that road!

I am 26, have been living independently since I was 18, served my 4 years in the Marine Corps, and just finished my bachelor's degree, with NO help from anyone but myself. Made a big mistake along the way with the repo, and am just now at the point where I can take bigger strides to "finish what I started" and pay off everything I owe, which is (aside from student loans) about $13k (car, 2 personal loans). Then I will have my Z again.

So yeah, I have been living poor for the past 3.5 years and felt like it was time to reward myself I guess I can wait a few months longer.

 

A repo stays on you credit record for 7 years. So no borrowing for a car is a given.

 

Granted, this may be the case, but I have researched and found that after 2 years out, you can be considered for financing, though the rates will be **** rape-age. And a big downpayment is necessary. This is the one thing, that stops me from even trying at this point.

 

True. I had a repo on my record, and found a credit union that would help with financing. I bought a $12,000 Honda Accord with $6,000 down.