[Ross29]

Backstory, Im 23 years old and living at home. Make 20k a year and have 27k in the bank that I have saved up over the years from my part time job. No student loan debt or any other payments. I currently drive a 1993 Toyota.

Now, I realize none of that information belongs in a question about cars, but Im just wondering if its crazy (financially) for me to consider getting a 2010 Forester (I'd go non-turbo, and premium...gotta have that sunroof!).

I'd love to buy used, but I am 6'7 and just dont fit in any of the models before 2009 correctly. Can someone talk me out of this? Talk me into this? I keep driving buy the Subaru lot drooling, I lurk on this forum every day!

Thanks and hope you are all having a blast with your Foresters today!

Edit: I should add that my height severely limits what cars I can consider to purchase, and at some point I would like to buy a small sailboat that fits well within the Foresters towing capacities. It just seems like the perfect car for me.

 

[BAC5.2]

Welcome.

Whether it's a bad idea or a good idea is a call you have to make.

You can't live at home forever, so you need to evaluate your expenses for when you jump out of the nest. Can you pay cash for the car? Should you? Should you invest the purchase price of the car in an account that yields higher than the interest rate?

Choices you have to make. First, you need to find out what you can reasonably afford every month for a car payment, then find out how much insurance, fuel and maintenance are going to cost you, THEN go to the dealer and start getting quotes.

If the numbers don't jive, then don't do it. It isn't worth eating Ramen for 60 months just to get a new Forester.

You should also go look at other vehicles. Evaluate your wants and needs, narrow down a list of 5 to 10 cars that suit those needs, and then go sit in them all. I like going to Carmax for this kind of thing. Just get a salesperson to walk around with you and sit in every car that you come across. Just be nice to them and go on a VERY slow day (Tuesday mornings are typically very slow). No since in stealing them from sales just to sit in cars.

 

[Ross29]

Welcome.

Whether it's a bad idea or a good idea is a call you have to make.

You can't live at home forever, so you need to evaluate your expenses for when you jump out of the nest. Can you pay cash for the car? Should you? Should you invest the purchase price of the car in an account that yields higher than the interest rate?

Choices you have to make. First, you need to find out what you can reasonably afford every month for a car payment, then find out how much insurance, fuel and maintenance are going to cost you, THEN go to the dealer and start getting quotes.

If the numbers don't jive, then don't do it. It isn't worth eating Ramen for 60 months just to get a new Forester.

You should also go look at other vehicles. Evaluate your wants and needs, narrow down a list of 5 to 10 cars that suit those needs, and then go sit in them all. I like going to Carmax for this kind of thing. Just get a salesperson to walk around with you and sit in every car that you come across. Just be nice to them and go on a VERY slow day (Tuesday mornings are typically very slow). No since in stealing them from sales just to sit in cars.

Thanks for the quick response! Sadly, outside of reward checking accounts finding a bank paying more than 2.9% interest just isnt possible.

I have a list of about 5 other cars, but I keep coming back to the Forester. I wish we had a Carmax in the area, that is a great idea and we have some dealerships that have a wide variety of used cars. I've actually done the "walk around and sit" routine at those dealerships and found a few surprises. For one, I cant fit in the Element due to poor steering wheel placement which was shocking, but I fit perfectly in a Santa Fe.

Sometimes I just feel that the amount Im spending on matienece keeping my 93 Toyota running would just about cover a car payment! :biggrin:

 

[snajper69]

I would say no if your maintaince on your Toyota is not higher then yearly payment you would be paying. Financily speaking ( I am an accountant) you should never spend more than 10-15% on your car so since you making 20k 10-15% should be your total car payment this include tax, insurance, I usually don't factor in fuel cost as this is kind of given but a good idea. It's a good idea to drive old car that is paid off for as long the maintaince cost dose not exceed yearly payment amount of the car you thinking purchasing, plus you will be saving on taxes and insurance cost. So think about it. If I would be you I would stir away from new car in this economy for as long as I could. I had no choice my old civic blew engine and growing family mendated new car, other than that I would be still driving my civic if it wouldn't be because of the blown engine. I still regret the decision but you live you learn.

 

[Papa_D]

Cars are not a good investment and using repairs on an older one as an excuse to get a new one along with a car payment may be kidding yourself. If however you will derive pleasure beyond the utilitarian aspects of an A to B vehicle, then it might make sense from an "entertainment" perspective but certainly not from a financial one.

People use all sorts of excuses to justify purchasing a new vehicle but in the end they are as much an expensive hobby as anything else and financially speaking, it will always make more sense to buy a cheap used car and throw it away when it breaks beyond cheap repairs but most folks don't want to sacrifice safety, comfort or convenience in order to be fiscally responsible and they prefer to live the High Life instead.

Good luck with your decision and by the way, get the turbo. :biggrin:

 

[Ross29]

Cars are not a good investment and using repairs on an older one as an excuse to get a new one along with a car payment may be kidding yourself.
If however you will derive pleasure beyond the utilitarian aspects of an A to B vehicle, then it might make sense from an "entertainment" perspective but certainly not from a financial one.

People use all sorts of excuses to justify purchasing a new vehicle but in the end they are as much an expensive hobby as anything else and financially speaking, it will always make more sense to buy a cheap used car and throw it away when it breaks beyond cheap repairs but most folks don't want to sacrifice safety, comfort or convenience in order to be fiscally responsible and they prefer to live the High Life instead.

Good luck with your decision and by the way, get the turbo. :biggrin:

Great points, right now my car has one airbag, no anti-lock brakes and a crumple zone that was designed 18 years ago. The safety factor in a new car purchase is big for me.

Haha, I have two close friends with turbo Subarus and they keep telling me Im crazy for not considering it.

 

[Sagebrush57]

Consider leasing. Your payments will be much less because instead of financing the whole price of the car you're basically just paying on the difference between the price now and what it's deemed to be worth at the end of the lease. For example, say you negotiated a price of $25,000 on your Forester. If you did a 42 month lease for 12,000\year, your payments would probably be in the low $300s - hundreds less than if you financed it unless you put a huge amount down.

Cars like the Forester make good lease candidates because they hold their value better than most.

 

[adc]

Consider leasing. .

IMHO leasing it the worst move possible. Good for businesses but not for JoeSixpack.

Show me a financial loser in my neighborhood and I'll show you someone who leases.

Run the Toyota into the ground...unless you intend to continue to live at home and never marry/have kids (which is actually a good plan)

 

[TC2000]

I say go for it.. Id put down 6-8k cash and whatever they give you for your trade in and drive away in a new Forester. You only live once, so why not drive a nice car. Your young and still living at home so the payments shouldn't be too hard on you. Just try to pay it off as quick as you can.

 

[Real Lyte]

IMHO leasing it the worst move possible. Good for businesses but not for JoeSixpack.

Show me a financial loser in my neighborhood and I'll show you someone who leases.

Run the Toyota into the ground...unless you intend to continue to live at home and never marry/have kids (which is actually a good plan)

+1, Buying any new car is technically a poor investment, leasing is just throwing away money.

Lol at JoeSixpack reference...

 

[pleiad7]

Run the Toyota into the ground...

^^This.

If you don't have any debt currently, you're ahead of most anyone else. Keep it that way... sit on your savings, live within your means, drive a beater. Times are going to get worse.

 

[Papa_D]

^^This.

If you don't have any debt currently, you're ahead of most anyone else. Keep it that way... sit on your savings, live within your means, drive a beater. Times are going to get worse.

In reality, the future likely holds some pretty serious inflation and inflation favors the borrower, not the saver, so sitting on money in an average savings account holds little allure and it would make more sense to put it all into actual gold and buy a safe to put it in rather than saving it in an interest bearing account.

If you don't spend the money the Fed will spend it for you by devaluing it faster than you can calculate by circulating more of it than the economy can absorb efficiently and I suppose you can do what my brother in law does, invest in guns, they always seem to climb in price and are getting very popular these days and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

By the way, make sure they are the turbo model guns. :biggrin:

 

[2.5x_sleeper]

When I was just a bit older than you, I was thinking about a house & now is a great time to get a very low interest loan on a house or property. When tax time comes around, you can use the interest you pay to reduce your taxes!

As to a Forester, I'd suggest getting an earlier model, which can be had for far less moola. As your first MOD, install STi seats, which will sit around 2" lower. :wink:

IMHO, a vehicle is a poor investment, so if you can't pay cash for it, you should pass on it. :smile:

Bobby...

['07 FSXT MODding Journal] ['03 X MODding Journal]

 

[stevemac829]

That 27K took a long time to save up. Personally, I'd hate to spend such a wad on a car if I didn't have to. I mean, how long would it take you to save another 27K?
I wonder if a used full-size pick up truck wouldn't fit your needs? But in the end, it's your money, and your call. Good luck,
Steve
09 2.5X AT

 

[theeulogy]

You have to look at where you are going to be in 5-10 yrs. Are you in a career that you will likely advance in the next few yrs? At the age of 23 your number one priority should be investing for retirement in the form of a 401k or similar. Next you should look at housing and other basics, and finally wants.

My wife and I have set our lifestyle below that of our means after the last couple yrs of economic instability, and will likely remain that way.

That being said when I was 24 I bought my first new car, a 2004 GTO, and lived with my parents and still do not regret it.

You are just going to have to do what you think is best. But if it were me I might just go for it, as this car should last you well into your late 30's.

 

[The Black Box]

There's too many variables but basically spending more on a car than you make in a year is foolish.

Leasing because you have to to afford a car is foolish.

Anytime you make payments on something because you have to you can't afford it.

There's nothing like being debt free. You can look at the driveways of most Americans and see that a new automobile is one of the major causes of the middle class' financial woes.

 

[Sagebrush57]

+1, Buying any new car is technically a poor investment, leasing is just throwing away money.

Lol at JoeSixpack reference...

Any money spent on a car is essentially throwing money away since it's the biggest depreciating asset anyone is likely to have. But if you like to stay under warranty coverage and\or drive something new every few years leasing makes sense since it lets you put the money you save on financing into any number of appreciating investments.

 

[Ross29]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Some say its a bad move, some say go for it. I think I realize that its not a wise move financially, thats why I havent purchased yet But, at the same time I really want it and would benefit from the increased safety features and not having my car constantly in the shop.

Its a tough choice, but thankfully I've been smart enough with my money in the past that I am able to be in a position to make this choice! :banana:

 

[stevemac829]

height

Ross: just occurred to me: the advice you're getting here is coming mostly from people of average height. I'm 5'9" myself. I have no idea what it is like being 6'7". That is the variable in the equation that may well trump everyone's advice, however well-meaning. Good luck,
Steve
09 2.5X AT (gotta love the headroom!)

 

[Papa_D]

Ross: just occurred to me: the advice you're getting here is coming mostly from people of average height. I'm 5'9" myself. I have no idea what it is like being 6'7". That is the variable in the equation that may well trump everyone's advice, however well-meaning. Good luck,
Steve
09 2.5X AT (gotta love the headroom!)

This is an extremely good point and were it me, I would definitely get the power seat so as to be capable of as many comfort adjustments as possible and I happen to be 6'1" and it is very comfortable for me with the seat leaned well back.

I did however find the comfort level of the naturally aspirated model to be unbearable and therefore a turbo model will also be required due to your height. :biggrin: