durka

I'm 18 and just got a new job making $9.75 an hours 40 hours a week(1560.00 a month)
I want to get a new car because all I think about all day are cars. I narrowed it down to an srt4 or a cobalt ss/sc. The cobalt is 06 g85 6k miles for 16.999 and I'm sure i can get it down 500 or more ($285 a month). I could get an srt4 for 13k and have more money to mod($230 a month). I'll also have $1000 down because I'll trade in my 06 ls that i owe only 7k on.


I don't have any bills other than car right now and I'm sure I will be paying my insurance with a faster car and a few bucks for rent to live at home. I plan on going to state college next year and I'll get a part time job then

Should I get a car I'll love? or think about having a ss all day?

bgbearcatfan

im not sure i would risk the ss/sc. You always wanna be able to have money for other things or any problems that arise...

plus that is before taxes, and insurance for you will probably be pretty high...

halfj99

id save the money and get a sports bike!

an0malous

save it for college.

if your not earning enough to support yourself on your own 2 feet, you shouldnt be commiting all your money to a "toy"
Im surprised your parents even let you consider it.

REIGN SS

they are going to look at your length of employment too, and if you just got a new job, its probably not a good idea to go out and increase your car payment... Stick it out with the LS for a while, save some good money to put down... and a 13k loan is going to be more the $230/month... it would be more like $270... I had an LS that was $12k, put $3k down, had 7% interest & my payment was $226/month

bgbearcatfan

besides, your car is just gonna get nicked up parking it in the student garage. Fight through college, get that triple digit paying job, then buy 2 ss/sc's :-)

EceSSiveMod

it is possible, im 19 and i deliver pizzas making only about $1250 a month and i paid 18k for my ss/sc. zero down and its 340 a month 72 months. Its not the easiest thing to do but its absolutely possible. The srt4 is gonna be about 120 a month more for insurance because turbo cars are more for some reason

JimHarr18

at $9.75/hr, your best bet, if you want to get a new(er) car and don't mind not having a whole lot of money for fun, try and get BOTH car payment and insurance under $500/month. when i got my cobalt i was making $12.08/hr, and i really had to get my head on straight to afford the $300 car payment and (at the time, insurance has since gone up $40 a month and i havn't been pulled over or in an accident) $225/month. also, make sure the job is sound and that you will be there for a while. when getting a loan for the car the dealer or bank is gonna be a littl worried that you just got a new job.

just for perspective, i put $2,000 down on my lease (lease was all i could afford). i'm basically paying over $700 a month for my car, with car payment, insurance, and gas, and i have a group rate discount through work on insurance.

dunno if that helps or anything, just good to know.

an0malous

must be nice to be able to spend every penny you make as play money.

Onyxd04Redline

Get something CHEAP. Look for something late 80's, early 90's 4cyl and turbo. They can be had for cheap and be made very fast for cheap as well.

REIGN SS

id be in trouble if i had $1000/month to just blow after i paid car payment & insurance

bgbearcatfan

^^^^ haha we'd both be in the same boat.....

KillerBee

SRT 4 would be my choice

EceSSiveMod

hm well thank you

L.P.

I don't see how you can say that anamalous..considering the cobalt ss/sc is typically a car built for the late teens to mid to late 20's how can you say its not a car he can afford? If it is something you enjoy go ahead and buy it...we arn't on this earth forever is the way I see it. Enjoy the time you have while your young is the view point that I live from...and well I have made it through college just fine making my $240 a month car payment.

durka

Thanks for the input... I just gave my two weeks to my job that I worked two years at, would they consider that? My credit score is 700, so what interest rate would I be looking at and is that a good credit score for an 18 y/o?

And no my parents won't support me w/ this decision an0m, but I might be able to get them to not kill me for buying it.

I figure it this way, I'm making $750-900 a month now(22-30 hours a week at $8.00) and I'm living life good w/ a car payment and a few other small bills I payed off like community college classes and I spend $100+ dollars on food and junk a week(I'm not fat), so that extra $700 dollars I will be making a month can go to a nice ride, so I'll have some fun before I dedicate 4-7 long years to college, sex and beer.

Onyxd04Redline

10 years ago when i was 18 i drove a 89 cutlass ciera and saved every penny i made. At 27 i'm on my 4th corvette. Do yourself a favor and just save, attend college THEN splurge. You have plenty of time in life to get the good things but you won't get anywhere without an education. God i sounded like my father right there.

Black07LS

You need to remember the higher maintence cost. Stick with the LS for now.

roadrage06

Not gonna like the answer, but seriously I am the exact same way. So listen to me. I think about cars 24/7, but there was so much I didn't take into consideration before I bought my SS/SC. I loved it. I can totally identify with wanting that nice car to turn heads and show up the ricers. But you're payments are the least of your worries... that's what I thought... "well, I can afford the insurance and the payments". But also look at these facts:

1. You're MPG WILL go down.
2. Still say so what? You WILL need Premium fuel.
3. Repairs go up. A more expensive car has more expensive parts.
--- you can't run cheap tires on an SS/SC or SRT-4
--- ex.2: oil for the SS/SC is Mobil 1
--- performance tires wear quicker
4. Will you be able to move out on your own.
--- food + rent + bills

I didn't take those things into consideration. I bought my car when i was on a 28,000 salary. I realized quickly that my car was preventing me from moving out and doing other things. I changed jobs and I'm finally looking to move out and I'm still gonna have to budget liike hell.... and I'm now salary'd at 35,752/yr (pennsylvania).

Just make sure you take EVERYTHING into consideration, otherwise the only thing that will make you happy is the car itself. But you'll find you'll grow depressed when you realize that the only thing you have is that car, because you don't have money to move out, buy mods, pay school loans if you move out, go on vacation... etc.

Blue_Balt

iTrader: (1)

^^^^

I make just enough at the moment to pay for my LS and I'm 18 At the moment. I currently work for UPS making $9.00 an hour but I only get 18-20 hours because I'm part time. I'll probably be getting a second job on weekends so that I'll at least be a lil more comfortable. I also don't have any other major expenses at the momet so it does work out. I would stay with the LS if I were the OP.

celicacobalt

mod the hell out of the LS

nathanW81

You wont really need a nice car in college and I would stick with the LS

1. you should be drinking alot and going to class
2. cars in university lots get broken into/dinged all the time
3. Money will be better spent on normal expenses
4. If youre working a part time job, that means less time to study and have fun
5. You'll easily work yourself into further debt (in addition to student loans/credit cards) by buying a more expensive car.

I know exactly what youre going through. I went to BGSU and worked full time in college so that I could have my 04 SRT-4 (new back then). I missed out on alot of fun and should have saved my money for things like a down payment for a house or pay for some of my school without the use of loans.

Fortunately I have a very good job with excellent pay, benefits, and security. Not every college grad is as lucky. I racked up nearly 100k in student loans over 5 years at BGSU.

Be careful and realize that a nice car doesnt really mean squat in college because youll really be too busy to have fun in it....Plus if you get busted doing dumb **** (like doing twice the speedlimit-like I did...) it may put college in jeopardy. I got lucky and realize it.

c0baltic

i've always been told "dont be car rich"... dont put ALL your money into the your car.. your still young focus on school and saving up... cause what if in college you cant get a job or one that pays as well...

Not to mention being 18 and having a fast car.. your unsureance payments will be more then your actual car payment

nathanW81

being dead broke for 4 years and making 50k+ afterwards is much better than working for 15-20 years w/o education and maxing out at 50k a year

Onyxd04Redline

Couldn't have said it any better myself.