Buying a car anyway

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Buying a car anyway
11
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 11:14am

I know everyone advised me to keep my car running as long as possible. But my step-dad and I both agree the transmission is going, and that alone could exceed the value of my car. I had the transmission looked at recently and there is no way to know until it starts acting up more, and it is getting worse the last few weeks. Can it be fixed? Yes. Will the car work well afterward? Probably. But along with all the other problems I'm having (burning smell, electrical problems) I could easily pay over $4k in repairs this year. Plus I would have to miss work or rent a car each time it was in the shop.

My financial situation is that I have $6k on a credit card, that I just transfered to a zero interest card, and $1.5k in savings. My plan originally was to pay the $6k credit card off by December, and have around $12k saved up by summer 2006 towards a new house.

I am either going to by a new civic or a used subaru, either will be around $15k. I think I can get $2k for my trade-in. Does anyone know if you can put the down payment on a credit card? I was thinking I could put $3k on a credit card and I should be able to have it paid off by March (if my tax return is good or if I wanted to use my savings) or June (if tax return is small and I don't use my savings). If I put at least that much down, then my payment will be somewhere around $175 per month. That way I only have to find an extra $87.50 per paycheck to cover the payment. I think I can do that. I will not have my other credit card paid off until spring 2006, but I could still have some money saved for a house by that next summer.

Does that sound like an okay plan? Does anyone have a civic? The good thing about that is the fuel efficiency, I drive 50 miles per day to work roundtrip, my bf lives 25 miles in the opposite direction, and a couple times per year I take trips to visit a friend of mine about 600 miles one way. The good thing about the subaru forester is it's a wagon and there is more room, and I heard the 2002 got the best off-set crash ratings. I do want a car that is safe for me and dd and I do want the extra room with a wagon, but having a new car that is more fuel efficent is probably wiser.

The really good news is that this is the first time I will be able to get a car on my own. My credit has always been so bad. The first car I bought was $1,000 and I put it on a credit card. The second car my credit was so bad they wouldn't even put my name on it, my mom couldn't just co-sign, she had to get the loan for me in her name only. The third car (my current one) my mom could co-sign and I was the primary, but I had to pay 12% interest. Now I can do it on my own and since I'm 34, I think it's about time!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 11:25am

Hi Firstamendment~

I have a Civic and I LOVE it! I would buy another one again in a heartbeat. I haven't had a single problem with it! I think your plan actually sounds like a pretty sound one, you have worked really hard to get where you are and reliable transportation is a must, especially when you have a child. And if you trade your current car in now you will get a much better trade in than if you were to wait for it to have problems and you need a car. Also if you start looking now you will be in a place of wanting to buy a car, not HAVING to buy one. You can negotiate a little better because you won't be in desperate need. Good luck to you, and let us know what you decide to do.

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 12:17pm
Civics are awesome cars. My brother has one, my sister had one until someone plowed into her. When I went to look at cars, the first car i looked at was a Civic. Iended up with a Toyota Corolla, which I love, only because I couldn't get ABS on a Civic without getting a bunch of other extras. I think you are making a good move. Car repairs add up quickly, and nothing is quite worse than that feeling of being stranded on the highway somewhere. (It happened to me...my car died on a very busy interstate on Mother's Day 2003.) Now is a really good time to buy a car. Good luck!!! Heather
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 12:53pm

The only thing I would suggest that you consider is getting a used Certified Pre-owned civic instead of brand new. I work in the car auction business where I see the wholesale costs, and the amount a new car depreciates once you leave the lot could make you nauseous. I bought a CPO instead of buying wholesale from the auction, and it was so worth it. At least you would be paying less for the car. The only way I'll ever buy a brand new car is if I strike it filthy rich or once I'm old and retired...if I can still drive!
Just something to consider.
And do shop around. You can look on edmunds.com and see the different opinions and reports on cars broken down to make, model, year.

JMHO,
slojuly

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 1:20pm
Normally I would agree with you, but why is it when I search for CPO civics the prices are about what I'd pay for a new 2005? I went online and figured out what the price for a new one would be including the options I'd want, and the 2003-2004 models are only $1,000 less for a car that is a year older and has 10,000-20,000 miles on it already. And even though I get a warranty with CPO, isn't a new car warranty going to be longer and cover more? My plan was to buy used, but the new civic prices are really really low.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 2:18pm
Yeah, they hold their value really well. We looked at used Corollas too, but our new one ended up being cheaper when you count in the very low financing that was not available on used cars. Its cheaper to get a new one unless you aren't financing.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 2:26pm

I was just looking at Corrolla's too. They start out as cheap as the Civics but it looks like the same options will add up to the Corolla costing more than the Civic, but I'm going to go drive both. Honda isn't having any specials but Toyota has 1.9% financing, so it could be cheaper than the financing on a Honda. Financing for a used car would be higher.

My problem now is going to be my credit score on one report is lower than on the other two. Depending on what bureau Toyota and Honda use, or the online financing companies use, I could get a great or just an okay rate.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 3:18pm

I noticed on another thread that you bought a car, congratulations!! What did you end up buying?

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 3:35pm

I bought a new honda civic. It wasn't very much more than a used one would have been, and a used one would have had 10-20k miles on it already. I really feel good about it. I put enough down that my payment is very reasonable ($203 per month), I negotiated a very good price (my step-dad is a car salesman and helped me over the phone), I used my savings but kept enough in there to cover a small emergency, and I put some of the down payment on my credit card but I will be able to pay it off very soon (I will put off paying down the zero interest card, but hope to still get that one paid off before the zero interest period expires, and if not I am sure I can transfer it to another zero interest card at the end of 2005 if I have to).

I got an LX (middle of the three models) so it had the things I needed, but I didn't buy any other extras - rubber floor mats or a sunroof would have been nice (I will miss my sunroof, I used it all the time - but I know I was getting what I needed more than what I wanted).

I got more for my trade-in than the car was worth. When I was driving on the highway on Saturday my old car was starting to shake. Burning smell, transmission acting up, shaking at high speeds, over 100k miles on it, and multiple electrical problems... I am absolutely sure that getting rid of it was the right thing to do.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-04-2004
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 3:45pm

That is great! I love my Honda Civic! It was stolen earlier this year and I was so upset, but thankfully the police found and all the damage was repaired! Now it is like a brand new car and I will keep it forever! I'm sure you'll be happy with it! :)

~leanne

~leanne

deciding to be happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect, but that you had decided to look beyond the imp

Avatar for mymartes
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 4:52pm

Congrats on the new car.

MYM

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