Originally Posted By: Nick R
I understand what you all are saying. I don't have any idea what I would get for it. I (we) got the thing for I think a little over $16k. I think the only thing that would make sense is if my grandmother wanted to buy it from me at near the same price. And I realized something else, that if the cavalier hadn't died, then what I was paying for repairs, doesn't even come close per month to this payment.
Like I said KrisZ, I didn't really have much say in what happened. If I'd had more time to think about it, I would have gone with a used car. And as far as gas mileage goes, I wouldn't be losing much. Even with 85% highway I don't get better than 28mpg per tank. That's cruise, even if I go down to 65, 70. Doesn't do better than 28, 29 at the most. From what i've heard, most guys get what, 25, 26 in their panthers? That's in a bigger, more comfortable, safer, more powerful car that has cheaper insurance (I would guess).
The bumper is original, they just repainted it. Twice. But the big thing for me is, even I pay 7,500 for the Vic, and I owe I dunno, say $1, 2k on the focus... The monthly payment is STILL lower. The thing is, I'm the one paying my tuition bills. My parents aren't. I don't have to pay for it till after I graduate, but it's going to be unpleasant if I have both a very high car payment, AND Student loan payment.
But I agree, the only way I could do it and not be at a loss is family. My grandmother is looking to trade her old 03 cav for a new focus. Maybe I'll ask her if she'd be interested in buying mine.
Nick, perhaps my post was a bit harsh, I did not mean it to be, but you are making the classic mistake a lot of people your age make. That is, get excited about a new car after the old beater breakes up, buy it telling yourself that you need reliable transportation and all, and then after a while realize that the cost is much higher than they anticipated. Then the first bad decision (buying the new car) leads into another bad decision, trading it in for soemthing "cheaper".
I put cheaper in quates on purpose, because it only looks cheaper when you focus on monthly payments only, in reality it is more expansive. I can only see doing something like that in extreme circumstances and it only works (meaning the money lost is minimized) if you trade in that new car and replace it with somethig dirt cheap, like a 2k car maximum.
Your case makes absolutley no sense, from financial point of view.
FORGET THE MONTHLY PAYMENT way of thinking, you will only sink deaper into the dept hole. Do some hard number crunching, not just whishy-washy, half baked estimates, and stick to the results. If you crunch the numbers and they are not favorable, be mentally prepared to keep and pay off the car, but if your mind is already set on getting rid of this car, then all that typing was for nothing.
... and now, I release you! (sorry, I just watched Dinner for Schmucks)
Good luck.
