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asmallrabbit
Dec 15, 2005
So I'm looking at buying a new car, an Audi A4, and wondering what I should do to get the best deal I can. This will be the first new vehicle i've ever bought. I am aware that it's not a great decision financially. But i basically have two passions, computers and cars, and a car is one of the things I've been saving for.

Right off the bat I think I'm going to be somewhat limited with my bargaining since I'm looking at their 30th anniversary edition and there aren't a lot of those around. I'm looking to put either 20kish down with a trade in, or about 15k down initially and sell my current vehicle privately and try to get a little more for it. Totaly value on the car is ballpark 48-49k and I can get 3.9% financing through the dealer for up to 7 years.

Now I don't want to have a contract for nearly that long, but if I can get the rate for a 7 year term should I take it for the lower monthly payments and then just pay extra on it anyways and get it paid off in 3-4 years or just go with a 4 year term initially?

Initially I was just going to save for 3-4 years and buy the car in cash, investing and earning interest in the meantime but the special edition comes with the packages I want for about 4k cheaper then usual which seems like it would somewhat offset the interest i would make saving for the next 3-4 years instead, which isn't even a guaruntee with the current markets. Thoughts?

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sanchez
Feb 26, 2003
That's a ton of money for an A4, I can't imagine how it could be worth it over a BMW 335i or something with a little more performance.

The Wormy Guy
May 7, 2002

asmallrabbit posted:

So I'm looking at buying a new car, an Audi A4, and wondering what I should do to get the best deal I can. This will be the first new vehicle i've ever bought. I am aware that it's not a great decision financially. But i basically have two passions, computers and cars, and a car is one of the things I've been saving for.

You're going to get a lot of people saying, well what's wrong with your old car, why do you need a Special Edition Audi? Blah blah blah. I feel you man, car guys want their cars, and their willing to do what it takes to get what they want. So I won't even touch on the fact that you want a $50k car.


If I were you, I'd spend the time to sell your car privately to get the most out of that. If you were willing to wait 3-4 years to save money, surely you can wait a month or two to play the craigslist car selling game. Once you get that, take the proceeds and the $15k and drop it as a down payment.

I definitely would not go with the 7 year, it sounds like you have the cash flow to put a big chunk of money to car payments every month though. I would get the 5 year, and do as you initially planned and put more towards it every month. The 5 year will keep your payments smaller than a 7, but in the event that you need to put a lot of money towards some sort of emergency, you should easily be able to handle the monthly payment.

Lastly, yes I would purchase now with the 4k savings, there is no way you'd make that much in interest over 3-4 years, especially with this market. You'd be better served utilizing that cash now instead of having it sitting for that long. Plus if you really are a car guy I guarantee you won't be able to wait that long and somewhere in between you'll say gently caress it and buy the car.

In conclusion, post pictures of that fucker when you get it and enjoy!

asmallrabbit
Dec 15, 2005
I should have noted that these are Canadian prices. I have looked at BMW as well and I just did not like them as much.

Sorry, I made a mistake, the max term i could get 3.9% for would be a 6 year term, not 7. Although regardless I would not plan on actually taking that long to pay it off.

The special edition offer requires me to take delivery by the 30th ( if the car is even available that long, only 200 in canada) so I do not have the time to sell my vehicle privately and include that in the downpayment. Would it still be better to sell it privately and use the proceeds to put extra on afterwards vs a half decent trade in offer from the dealership?

How do I go about negotiating a good price, I feel like I am going to be at a disadvantage in that they know I will want the car, there are limited ones available and because its a special edition I don't know if i can figure out what the wholesale price is for the vehicle. I'm still willing to walk if I feel like I am getting screwed so there is that at least.

alreadybeen
Nov 24, 2009
This is BFC, can you at least post your income and expenses? It is certainly a poor financial decision, but if your pulling down 150k you can afford to do it. If you are a couple years out of school making 50-60k it really is a terrible idea.

Jagershot
Jun 7, 2004

RIP Mike V, 1989-2007. Have fun mounting Bear Bryant up in heaven.

asmallrabbit posted:

How do I go about negotiating a good price, I feel like I am going to be at a disadvantage in that they know I will want the car, there are limited ones available and because its a special edition I don't know if i can figure out what the wholesale price is for the vehicle. I'm still willing to walk if I feel like I am getting screwed so there is that at least.

You are screwed. If you walk in there with the mindset that you "have to have" this car, you have zero leverage. The only thing you can hope for is finding multiple dealerships that have the ability to sell you the car, and get competing bids from them.

asmallrabbit
Dec 15, 2005
Well I am a couple years out of school making around 60k.

Monthly income is $3200 after taxes, and my average monthly expenses for the last year have been a little under $1600. That is rent, utilities, eating out, discretionary, everything I spend any money on. All the rest curently goes into my RRSP, TFSA and just a regular savings account.

With a down payment of 15k not including trade-in I would still be sitting on $10k as my everyday + emergency fund.

I am well aware of the fact its not the smart thing to do financially, which is why I haven't 100% committed to it yet. Sometimes I just wonder what the point of saving so much of my money is if I never decide to buy myself things that I want and would enjoy.

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

asmallrabbit posted:

I should have noted that these are Canadian prices. I have looked at BMW as well and I just did not like them as much.

Sorry, I made a mistake, the max term i could get 3.9% for would be a 6 year term, not 7. Although regardless I would not plan on actually taking that long to pay it off.

The special edition offer requires me to take delivery by the 30th ( if the car is even available that long, only 200 in canada) so I do not have the time to sell my vehicle privately and include that in the downpayment. Would it still be better to sell it privately and use the proceeds to put extra on afterwards vs a half decent trade in offer from the dealership?

How do I go about negotiating a good price, I feel like I am going to be at a disadvantage in that they know I will want the car, there are limited ones available and because its a special edition I don't know if i can figure out what the wholesale price is for the vehicle. I'm still willing to walk if I feel like I am getting screwed so there is that at least.

Here's a thread detailing the deals on Audis in Canada. There was a "suppliers discount" a while ago but I don't know if it's still on. The plain fact of it is that Audi is largely a Chinese car maker and the majority of their sales are in China, they really don't give a poo poo about North America and especially not Canada. The last gen RS4 had a MSRP of over $100,000, compared to about $63k for a C63 AMG or $69k for a BMW M3. They're that good. You'll be paying top dollar. but if your lifelong dream is a $50k 4 cylinder FWD compact car, who am I to argue with you.

alreadybeen
Nov 24, 2009
I see your point and you have been saving but I just want to make a few points.

1) You have the income to make this purchase without going bankrupt. However it is going to cost you tremendously in the long run. Due to the power of compounding interest if you put that in savings now and make this purchase later in life you will be much better off.
2) I also understand the car passion so while you certainly will be spending more than BFC would ever recommend, why not come down in price? You could still pick up a number of nice slightly used luxury cars. I'm thinking an 08/09 Audi/BMW/Acura.

If you do end up buying a new car the usual suggestion is to email/fax asking their absolute lowest price on x car with xyz in color and options.

asmallrabbit
Dec 15, 2005

Throatwarbler posted:

Here's a thread detailing the deals on Audis in Canada. There was a "suppliers discount" a while ago but I don't know if it's still on. The plain fact of it is that Audi is largely a Chinese car maker and the majority of their sales are in China, they really don't give a poo poo about North America and especially not Canada. The last gen RS4 had a MSRP of over $100,000, compared to about $63k for a C63 AMG or $69k for a BMW M3. They're that good. You'll be paying top dollar. but if your lifelong dream is a $50k 4 cylinder FWD compact car, who am I to argue with you.

I don't agree at all with your description of it as a 4 cylinder fwd compact car, but you are right, who are you to argue with me?

@already

1- I agree, it's really the draw of having it now as opposed to 4-5 years from now (who knows) I know it is much better to use compound interest to my advantage. I wouldn't have considered it except that it seems to have 3-4k in extras rolled into the cost compared to the ones I was looking at before which would somewhat make up for the lost interest. Not totally of course which is what i'm trying to weigh + the fact I would go into debt for it which i really dislike.

2- It's a matter of being nitpicky, with used unless I could find something that was exactly what I wanted, I would always feel dissatisfied with it and think that it was money that could have gone towards the car that I actually wanted.

I've done the email thing already, unfortunately as their are limited dealers around here and it's a special edition they don't seem to want to budge much. As much fun as it was to drive I probably won't decide to go through with it considering they don't want to budge on the price much and there are a lot of features on the special edition that I don't actually like that much compared to the regular one.

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost
Those 3-4K of extras will be worth next to nothing in a few years time. Honestly, I can't imagine blowing a year's worth of income on a car, and I'm a car guy.

sanchez
Feb 26, 2003
Another thing to think about, these are fairly unreliable cars and you'll still owe money on it once the warranty is up. I'd strongly recommend not buying anything you can't pay off inside 48 months. Don't get too hung up on the whole special edition thing, there will be another similar deal soon enough.

asmallrabbit
Dec 15, 2005
Although I was looking at longer terms I still intended to pay it off sooner then 48 months. The longer term was just for flexibility on monthly payments should I need it.

Regardless I've decided to not purchase it. I like having my savings, earning interest, and being debt free too much even though the car was a blast to drive. I'll wait a couple more years.

Thanks for all the advice and opinions.

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

asmallrabbit posted:


Regardless I've decided to not purchase it. I like having my savings, earning interest, and being debt free too much even though the car was a blast to drive. I'll wait a couple more years.

Good for you :) You made a good financial choice.

Bob Log
May 19, 2004

Hey, It's Bob Log
I'm basically looking to get a loan for 10k (I've understood this is the minimum, don't need more than 7.5k). For a private party used car purchase.

I'm curious how to best go about this financing, my Bank doesn't finance private party sales (chase), I don't have a credit union and I'm not a big fan of hitting up family for money. I've applied on Lending Tree but haven't gotten any loan offers and other sites I'm looking at seem highly shady/suspect.

Any advice at all would be appreciated.

I'm looking at a new car as well, but overall I can pick up a very similar used version of the car for 7k less total price from a private party.

My score is ~750 but I have no credit history to speak of and Experian has incorrect information on it that I've disputed (specifically credit card accounts I paid off and closed that are showing as Charge offs). The other two agencies do not show this.

artard
Sep 11, 2001

Bob Log posted:

I'm basically looking to get a loan for 10k (I've understood this is the minimum, don't need more than 7.5k)

?? No bank that I've ever used has a minimum for a car loan.

Bob Log
May 19, 2004

Hey, It's Bob Log

artard posted:

?? No bank that I've ever used has a minimum for a car loan.

When applying online, chase required a Minimum of 7500 to loan you and looking at most sites online that claim to do auto loans they all say they will not loan less than $10,000. 10,000 is fine for the loan really.

The main problem is I'm trying to find someone who will loan me the money to do a private person-to-person sale as they all seem to prefer I go through a dealer.

artard
Sep 11, 2001
Find a credit union that will let you join, they are always the most accommodating for these sorts of situations

Tales Of Desire
Nov 5, 2009
Greetings, car financial thread! I'd hoped not to be posting anything like this until my 1996 Honda Civic exploded after 300k - but about a week and a half ago, it was stolen at 186k. Probably ripped off for parts, neither cops nor insurance sounded hopeful of its recovery...and I've heard nothing since then.

So I'm in a rental car covered by insurance for a couple more weeks, and if my car isn't miraculously recovered by then I'll be getting a small chunk of change for a new ride (but I'm also going to go ahead and upgrade slightly - I can't replace it with the same for that amount anyway). The problem is that I'm in a little town set back from Raleigh/Durham, and the used car market here compared to my hometown (Atlanta) is crap.

I'm most comfortable spending between 6k and 9k for a new used car, would like it to be within 6 years old, automatic, less than 140k. I like the 2004 and 2005 Honda Civics, but to get one at a decent price it's looking like I'd have to hop back to Atlanta and pick one up there. I can do that for cheap (yay Delta hubs!), but I'm wondering if there are cheaper, comparable cars anyone would look at for fans of the 04-05 Civics? If I can expand my search a little, I may be able to get something up here, and that would save me some trouble.

I plan on hitting up a couple of dealerships in the coming week to try and get a feel for some other cars, but I don't want to waste their time or mine randomly driving things, especially since the clock is running (in terms of rental time).

Bob Log
May 19, 2004

Hey, It's Bob Log
I really have to tell you, if you have 6k to put down on a car, buying a Mazda 3 for ~10k would be a way better bet than any used car.

If you still want to look used, look for 07/08/09 Mazda 3's, the older ones were actually a little nicer but still run like a clock. Subarus of all type from 05+ are in that pricerange as well and a good choice.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

He could also get a new Hyundai, or a used one in the 05+ years. They're not exactly exciting performance machines, but the newer models are extremely reliable and have been getting great reviews.


Hyundai accent. I think it looks pretty nice, not that different from a civic hatchback, great mileage, cheap, extremely reliable, and doesn't carry the "honda tax" that the used Honda market seems to have.

Read the Wikipedia page. The 2008 won J.D. Powers' "most dependable" in the subcompact category.

If you do go for one, get an 05+ (third generation).

E: or if you want a larger car the (06+) Hyundai Elantra is more comparable to a civic.

Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Oct 10, 2010

Bob Log
May 19, 2004

Hey, It's Bob Log

artard posted:

Find a credit union that will let you join, they are always the most accommodating for these sorts of situations

I did find a couple of choices, a local Credit Union called Sierra Central and Chevron's Federal Credit Union. I'm kind of torn between the two, they're similar in membership size but I think overall Chevron is the better choice but I'm thinking I have a better chance getting my loan through the local credit union. There's also "The Golden 1" which is a credit union I can join but it's very large compared to both of those unions.

The reason I think this is the local credit union requires face to face loan applications. Chevron's applications are online and The Golden 1 seems like it's too big. Is this just a logical fallacy on my part or should I stick with the local union?


Edit:

Sierra central info:
http://creditunionaccess.com/cu68053.htm

Chevron:
http://creditunionaccess.com/cu24326.htm

The Golden 1:
http://creditunionaccess.com/cu61650.htm

Bob Log fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 10, 2010

Cortel
Sep 9, 2008
So I'm a dumb college kid that has (some) money (from a job) that wants a new car, specifically a green Kia Soul, manual. My credit union denied my application for a 16k$ loan for it because I have no credit history. I haven't even tried at Chase because I just opened an account with them and they denied my application for the student credit card :(. My current car is a '95 Mercury Cougar XR7 that doesn't start (my dad has been working on it in his off-time for three weeks now) and my roommate's car died Thursday. I fully plan on keeping whatever car I get until it explodes/my needs require something ridiculous like a minivan.

1) how dumb am I for wanting it (e.g. what's everything that could go wrong with it?)
2) if my CU won't give me a loan, will the dealership?
3) it comes in four models (base, +, !, and Sport), which should I get and why (Sport is too gaudy for meeee)?
4) I've gone to the website of a dozen or two dealerships within 50 miles (Chicago) and none of them have the colour/trans combo I want, and the only dealership I've talked to seems to be jerking me around; is it because I have no history or what? Can I even get a car?
5) I don't really have a down payment, and assuming my car gets fixed I'll probably give it to my girlfriend so she doesn't sit outside her work for an hour in the snow waiting for me to pick her up. Does this stop/hinder me from getting a car?

Saltin
Aug 20, 2003
Don't touch

asmallrabbit posted:

Well I am a couple years out of school making around 60k.

Monthly income is $3200 after taxes, and my average monthly expenses for the last year have been a little under $1600.

You made the right decision not to buy it because you can't afford that car, straight up. You don't make anywhere near enough money to be considering a $50k car. I make triple what you make and only lately got myself into something like that. Cars like this are not cheap to run - everything is more expensive. If you go for 60 or 72 month financing you're going to have a car payment forever. You won't spend extra on downpayments because you're going to be tying up 33% of your disposable income in payments minimum anyhow. Smart move exercising some patience.

Tales Of Desire
Nov 5, 2009

Bob Log posted:

I really have to tell you, if you have 6k to put down on a car, buying a Mazda 3 for ~10k would be a way better bet than any used car.

If you still want to look used, look for 07/08/09 Mazda 3's, the older ones were actually a little nicer but still run like a clock. Subarus of all type from 05+ are in that pricerange as well and a good choice.

Leperflesh posted:

He could also get a new Hyundai, or a used one in the 05+ years. They're not exactly exciting performance machines, but the newer models are extremely reliable and have been getting great reviews.

Now I'm looking at the Mazda 3's and the Elantras - I'm going to try and get out to a dealership with a couple of those in stock. The only very local dealership has a Sentra, a Honda, and a Ford Focus that I'm going to go and try out tonight (hopefully), but I should be able to make it further afield this Saturday.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Cortel posted:

So I'm a dumb college kid that has (some) money (from a job) that wants a new car, specifically a green Kia Soul, manual.

You can probably get a new car with dealership financing but you will definitely get absolutely raped on the loan. No down and bad credit = license to completely ream you.

You need to spend a year or two building up a credit history first. You also need to prove (to yourself) that you're capable of saving money. A down payment will save you money on interest and can help qualify you for better loan terms. And your car payment is going to add to your monthly costs; if you can't save money, then there is zero room in your monthly budget for a car payment.

The truth is that most college kids shouldn't be buying brand new cars. Unless their parents are wealthy and are going to pay for it.

My recommendation is to spend 6 months or a year saving money and then go buy a used Kia Soul, if that's the one car that really turns you on. Even just going with a two year old car will save you thousands of dollars.

NOTinuyasha
Oct 17, 2006

 
The Great Twist

Cortel posted:

1) how dumb am I for wanting it (e.g. what's everything that could go wrong with it?)

A dealer will offer you some sort of loan but there will be a down payment and your parents will HAVE to co-sign it.

$200-250/mo financed is the zone where you've at least matched the potential month-to-month repair costs of an old junker.

You'll save a shitload on insurance just by driving a liability-only junker around, get quotes before buying anything.

I don't like your choice of car a whole lot, consider other dirt-cheap cars like Versa, Yaris, Fiesta, all of those will have better resale down the line.

necrobobsledder
Mar 21, 2005
Lay down your soul to the gods rock 'n roll
Nap Ghost

Bob Log posted:

When applying online, chase required a Minimum of 7500 to loan you and looking at most sites online that claim to do auto loans they all say they will not loan less than $10,000. 10,000 is fine for the loan really.
It's possible to get Chase to loan you less than $7500, it's just that even with basically perfect credit they'll still charge you 10% and some fees. The overhead of the loan will exceed what they get out of you on it probably, so they're not particularly willing to lend anyway. I'm expecting to pay off the $5k they loaned us with less than $300 in interest, and I'm pretty sure they incurred a good bit more than that to provide the capital.

Jealous Cow
Apr 4, 2002

by Fluffdaddy
I'm terribly risk adverse when it comes to debt so I need to run this by the BFC Car Commission before taking any action...

I make 80k a year, take home about $3800 a month. My only debt is my current car loan, which I owe $2500 on and have 10 more payments. My monthly expenses are around $1900 (including the current $275 car payment).

This car has over 170k miles on it (put 30k+ miles on it per year for a few years) and has several looming major repairs (Axles, transmission is gonna blow, full brake job, new coil packs, idle control motor and relay) plus it has some body damage (scrape + dent on left rear fender from taxi hitting me while parked and the right rear bumper plastic is busted). It's on it's last legs and could easily take $3k+ in repairs to get it back to "ok" condition.

I'm looking at the Fiesta. SEL Sedan. Every factory option except the bigger wheels. Total MSRP+destination would be about $20460.

My credit score is 670ish from MyFico last month. I'd probably put $1000 down.

Thoughts?

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Jealous Cow posted:

I'm terribly risk adverse when it comes to debt so I need to run this by the BFC Car Commission before taking any action...

I make 80k a year, take home about $3800 a month. My only debt is my current car loan, which I owe $2500 on and have 10 more payments. My monthly expenses are around $1900 (including the current $275 car payment).

This car has over 170k miles on it (put 30k+ miles on it per year for a few years) and has several looming major repairs (Axles, transmission is gonna blow, full brake job, new coil packs, idle control motor and relay) plus it has some body damage (scrape + dent on left rear fender from taxi hitting me while parked and the right rear bumper plastic is busted). It's on it's last legs and could easily take $3k+ in repairs to get it back to "ok" condition.

I'm looking at the Fiesta. SEL Sedan. Every factory option except the bigger wheels. Total MSRP+destination would be about $20460.

My credit score is 670ish from MyFico last month. I'd probably put $1000 down.

Thoughts?

Even though this is unrelated, you should be bringing home more than $3800/m. You should be getting closer to $5000. Do you have 401k/insurance being taken out?

As far as the car, for $20k id probably wait for the focus to come out. The sedan is going to start at $17k and should give you more room and comfort than the fiesta.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/focus/2012/

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

The Fiesta is a great car and sometimes a smaller car is exactly what you want.

I think you can probably afford it. You should work on that credit score though, 670 isn't terrible but it could be better.

LorneReams
Jun 27, 2003
I'm bizarre

Don Lapre posted:

Even though this is unrelated, you should be bringing home more than $3800/m. You should be getting closer to $5000. Do you have 401k/insurance being taken out?

As far as the car, for $20k id probably wait for the focus to come out. The sedan is going to start at $17k and should give you more room and comfort than the fiesta.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/focus/2012/

I make around 60 and take home ~2900 a month, so it seems inline to me.

revengeanceful
Sep 27, 2006

Glory, glory Man United!

Jealous Cow posted:

I'm terribly risk adverse...
I'm sorry, but this is something that's been bothering me in countless threads in BFC. The phrase is "risk averse", as in "I have an aversion to taking on risk", not "risk adverse" which really doesn't mean anything. :eng101:

As for the car, yeah, you can probably afford it, but like another poster pointed out, you should probably work on getting that credit score up. Do you have any credit card debt you could pay off before going to get the car loan? That should help get you a better interest rate. And you might consider putting more than $1000 down on the car, since you make double what your monthly expenses are, that should also help keep your monthly payment and total overall costs down.

|Ziggy|
Oct 2, 2004
I have been looking into new cars and want something ~$20k that will last as well as my 4-Runner has. I have driven a few vehicles from Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, and Honda. Out of those I like the Nissan Altima the best so far. I tried to check out Toyota, but something came up and I had to leave before driving anything. Does anyone have any specific suggestions on reliable cars with decent gas mileage for ~$20k? I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy new because I will be driving it for a while (5+ years) and it won't have problems or will be under warranty if it does.

I currently have a '97 Toyota 4-Runner with ~142,000 miles on it that I'll be getting rid of after I get this new vehicle. My dad seems to think I could get ~$5k for it, but it has some interior cosmetic problems and a few exterior problems. Other than that it still runs well and has fairly new tires (3 months or so). I was thinking that anything $3.5k and up would be good. Anyone have experience selling their own cars? How feasible would it be for me to get $5k? How long could this process take?

Jealous Cow
Apr 4, 2002

by Fluffdaddy

Don Lapre posted:

Even though this is unrelated, you should be bringing home more than $3800/m. You should be getting closer to $5000. Do you have 401k/insurance being taken out?

Yea I have 5% 401k and about $43 total per week in insurance. I also live in New York so my taxes are retarded.

Don Lapre posted:

As far as the car, for $20k id probably wait for the focus to come out. The sedan is going to start at $17k and should give you more room and comfort than the fiesta.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/focus/2012/

drat. That's everything I want in the Fiesta but better.

revengeanceful posted:

I'm sorry, but this is something that's been bothering me in countless threads in BFC. The phrase is "risk averse", as in "I have an aversion to taking on risk", not "risk adverse" which really doesn't mean anything. :eng101:

As for the car, yeah, you can probably afford it, but like another poster pointed out, you should probably work on getting that credit score up. Do you have any credit card debt you could pay off before going to get the car loan? That should help get you a better interest rate. And you might consider putting more than $1000 down on the car, since you make double what your monthly expenses are, that should also help keep your monthly payment and total overall costs down.

Yea I meant averse :)

I have $1600 on an Ikea card that I'm carrying interest free. I have about $6000 of total credit, so the utilization isn't that bad.

My credit is where it is because I have 3 collection accounts:

1) $130 from a cable bill from 2007 that (here comes the excuse) I didn't know about because I never got the final bill.
2) $104 from a gas bill from 2007 (same situation as above)
3) $93 Verizon charge off from 2005 that I can't get any information on. I'm a current Verizon customer in good standing and no one knows anything about it. I've disputed it but it gets verified every time. Verizon in Folson, CA is verifying it but says it's been sold.

Jealous Cow fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Oct 14, 2010

the_reading_rainbow
Dec 20, 2009

Friends to know, and ways to grow, a Reading Rainbow.

Cortel posted:

So I'm a dumb college kid that has (some) money (from a job) that wants a new car, specifically a green Kia Soul, manual. My credit union denied my application for a 16k$ loan for it because I have no credit history.

You're in school, have "some" money, and think you need a $16,000 car? You need to be looking for a ten year old Honda or Toyota and plan on driving a $4k ride until you're a few years out of school and earning a steady paycheck.

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

|Ziggy| posted:

I have been looking into new cars and want something ~$20k that will last as well as my 4-Runner has. I have driven a few vehicles from Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, and Honda. Out of those I like the Nissan Altima the best so far. I tried to check out Toyota, but something came up and I had to leave before driving anything. Does anyone have any specific suggestions on reliable cars with decent gas mileage for ~$20k? I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy new because I will be driving it for a while (5+ years) and it won't have problems or will be under warranty if it does.

I currently have a '97 Toyota 4-Runner with ~142,000 miles on it that I'll be getting rid of after I get this new vehicle. My dad seems to think I could get ~$5k for it, but it has some interior cosmetic problems and a few exterior problems. Other than that it still runs well and has fairly new tires (3 months or so). I was thinking that anything $3.5k and up would be good. Anyone have experience selling their own cars? How feasible would it be for me to get $5k? How long could this process take?

I dont know how ~ close to $20k you want. But the subaru outback invoices at $21,600. and gets 30mpg highway. If you can find a 2010 model left over you could probably get a great deal on it.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

Leperflesh posted:

The Fiesta is a great car and sometimes a smaller car is exactly what you want.

I think you can probably afford it. You should work on that credit score though, 670 isn't terrible but it could be better.

Y'know, once our situation stabilizes, I'm seriously considering trading in one of our cars for a new small car like the Fiesta or Fit. Seriously, in the past few years the amount of fantastic small cars that have come out is insane. Gone are the J-body Cavaliers and Neons, now we have Fits, Fiestas, Coopers (don't hit me), soon the Fiat 500s ( :swoon: ) and even the Kia Rio looks pretty nice.

I blame the popularity of the Mini Cooper.

Carnival Rider
Apr 23, 2006

Oh god, wrong forum. I was meaning to ask this anyway. Being without a car is getting to be a pretty huge hassle and a money drain on me. I'm sitting on 17k right now with fairly low expenses, about 300 a month including everything, making 1,940 a month. The cars I'm looking at are in the 5,000-12,000 and I was wondering if it would be a better choice to plop down cash and not worry about payments or pay a decent downpayment and just pay off a car in a year or so. I uh, don't know my credit but I don't have any credit cards or anything other than a few bills and a college debt that I've already payed off. I was thinking downpayment/payoff so I could build up my credit. Is that a good idea?

Carnival Rider fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Oct 14, 2010

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Jealous Cow
Apr 4, 2002

by Fluffdaddy
After some reflection, even though the Focus looks pretty sweet, it'd be at least $3k more, if not $5k for all the toys. I really don't want to spend more than $20k and I need to draw the line somewhere.

$25k is only $5k away from a new 128i.

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