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: 03-28-2003
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 5:48pm
Congratulations!!! I'm glad you love your car!!! (And that you don't feel bad about the car payment) That's when you KNOW you did the right thing....when after it is all said and done, you are still happy with the decision you made!!! Heather

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