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Josh Wow
Feb 28, 2005

We need more beer up here!
Well my transmission ripped me a new rear end in a top hat last night at 3am. Luckily this happened when it did cause I was about to drop $500+ on having my timing belts and water pumped replaced. Problem is how the gently caress do I buy a new car?

I'm loving poor, I only want something that's in the $3000-4000 range and that means getting an older car. Apparently banks won't give you a loan for a car that's more than 7 years old, which is what I'm looking at. So yea, how do you get a loan in this situation?

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Sock on a Fish
Jul 17, 2004

What if that thing I said?

Josh Wow posted:

Well my transmission ripped me a new rear end in a top hat last night at 3am. Luckily this happened when it did cause I was about to drop $500+ on having my timing belts and water pumped replaced. Problem is how the gently caress do I buy a new car?

I'm loving poor, I only want something that's in the $3000-4000 range and that means getting an older car. Apparently banks won't give you a loan for a car that's more than 7 years old, which is what I'm looking at. So yea, how do you get a loan in this situation?

A line of credit or dealer financing are two options. If a car isn't a necessity the better choice for your checkbook would be to save until you can afford to buy without taking on debt.

Nija
Mar 2, 2003
F A C K

Josh Wow posted:

Well my transmission ripped me a new rear end in a top hat last night at 3am. Luckily this happened when it did cause I was about to drop $500+ on having my timing belts and water pumped replaced. Problem is how the gently caress do I buy a new car?

I'm loving poor, I only want something that's in the $3000-4000 range and that means getting an older car. Apparently banks won't give you a loan for a car that's more than 7 years old, which is what I'm looking at. So yea, how do you get a loan in this situation?

https://www.penfed.org is how you handle this situation.

At one point in time they were prepared to loan me $18k to buy an '87 turbo t regal. I'm sure they can throw you a few bones.

Josh Wow
Feb 28, 2005

We need more beer up here!

Sock on a Fish posted:

A line of credit or dealer financing are two options. If a car isn't a necessity the better choice for your checkbook would be to save until you can afford to buy without taking on debt.

In my situation a car is pretty much 100% necessary. I work 15 miles from my house and while the bus technically runs near my work, I work a lot of overtime this time of year and get out of work after the bus stops running or have to be into work later than the bus runs. I do have some money saved up, but basically just enough to put me back into something similar to what I had which isn't all that helpful.

Nija posted:

https://www.penfed.org is how you handle this situation.

At one point in time they were prepared to loan me $18k to buy an '87 turbo t regal. I'm sure they can throw you a few bones.

I'll definitely look into that, thanks.

On a slightly positive note since it's Thanksgiving coming up and my parents are only 3 hours away me and my dad are renting a tow dolly tomorrow and are gonna try to hobble my car back together over the day and a half I have off work while I'm visiting my parents. If I can get it running for cheap, and it'll survive the 3 hour drive back to my house I'm just gonna run it into the ground while I save up more cash and keep searching for a halfway decent car.

I've been seeing a decent amount of late 90 and early 2000 Volvos without a million miles on them for fairly cheap, is there something that fails on these cars pretty regularly that I should know about? My short list of cars I'm looking at are Subarus (that have had the head gaskets replaced since apparently they blow), volvos and hondas/acuras. I basically just want a manual transmission that gets at least 25mpg, I'm really not picky about the car as long as it seems reliable. I also don't want parts to be super expensive, or it be really difficult to work on since I want to get more into working on my own car. If anyone has suggestions for what to look for I'd love to hear em.

Josh Wow fucked around with this message at 10:52 on Nov 24, 2009

dreesemonkey
May 14, 2008
Pillbug

Josh Wow posted:

Need car

If you can't fix your car most of these would be probably fairly safe bets assuming they ran as expected on a test drive:

http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1480276272.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1479878632.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1478846155.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1478760007.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1474520460.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1473796318.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1470848774.html

I think I only went back a few days so it looks like you have plenty of options for lower priced used cars that are historically pretty reliable.

Volvo's seem to be pretty reliable, but parts on the more modern ones seem to be fairly pricey. I used to have a '98 S70, for instance, and the earlier years ('98 was the first year for the S70) were fairly prone to have failing ABS modules or something that were like $800-1000 to replace or something.

I'm a big fan of older cars, like early to mid 90s. I just don't like the idea of all these crazy electric gizmos controlling every freaking thing ever.

e: If this is not a scam, buy it. I wouldn't be put off with the unknown mileage as these things are absolute tanks:
http://athensga.craigslist.org/cto/1470344516.html

Josh Wow
Feb 28, 2005

We need more beer up here!
Yea I've been looking on Craigslist, but I'm pretty wary of getting another high mileage car. When you get up around 200,000 miles you've gotta replace water pumps and timing belts, and stuff like cv joints and bushings start needing replaced. If I can get my car running again I'm hoping to save up enough so I can get something decent that has under 150,000 or so on it. Also a lot of those you posted were automatics, and I'd rather have a manual both because of personal preference and because you generally tend to get a little better car for your money with a manual. If I can't get my car running or get into something else that I can drive for a few months I'll pretty much be forced to buy a high mileage car, but until I know that's what I have to do for sure I'm gonna hold out for something that'll hopefully last longer and cost me less with repairs.

Backno
Dec 1, 2007

Goff Boyz iz da rudest Boyz

SKA SUCKS

Josh Wow posted:


My short list of cars I'm looking at are Subarus (that have had the head gaskets replaced since apparently they blow), volvos and hondas/acuras. I basically just want a manual transmission that gets at least 25mpg, I'm really not picky about the car as long as it seems reliable.


Not only do you play in a bad I really enjoy, but you drive stick and are looking at a Subaru :swoon:

I kid, I kid

Sucks to hear about your car but you are going about this the right way at least, just try to take your time to find a car that isnt a total pos.

Grumpwagon
May 6, 2007
I am a giant assfuck who needs to harden the fuck up.

I'm in a very similar situation to Josh wow, and I have 2 questions. I'm in Madison WI, and my girlfriend is looking for a car for 2000-5000. She has been driving an automatic, but she knows how to drive a manual, so we're kind of leaning in that direction, for reliability reasons (is that a myth? I've always heard manuals have less transmission issues). We're both in school, so we're looking for something to get us through the next 3ish years with as few issues as possible.

I've never used car shopped, so I'd love opinions on what we're looking at.

Civics:

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1479787655.html - Edmunds has the TMV price at around $2400, and we wouldn't consider this if he wasn't willing to come down to around that.

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1480793860.html - Higher trim level with less miles than the last one, but TMV price is higher, so less room for negotiations here.

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1479936852.html - Suspiciously low price, might be hiding something (TMV is $3,422). If it's just the body damage, we'd be ok with that.


Edmunds "best bet" used car is a 2002-2007 Hyundai Elantra. I've had good luck with recent (2002 and forward) Kia/Hyundai cars (I drive one, and my parents have had 2, all with good luck).

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1473915113.html - Obviously well maintained. Edmunds suggests he's overvaluing the car though, they say it should be around $3,050.

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1443140511.html - Again, very overpriced according to Edmunds ($3,145)

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1461503508.html - The Kia. I currently have a 2002 Kia Rio Cinco (the 5 door). This is not a fancy car by any means, but it has been very reliable, and that's really all we're looking for.


Passat:

http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/1481332335.html - She liked the look of this car, but I've heard that VWs have some reliability issues. MSN Autos is ok with this model, but I'd love to hear opinions.



The second question is what to do with her current car? It's a 2002 Saturn L200 with 130k miles. The reason we're getting rid of it is due to a ton of electronic issues. To name a few, the headlights stay on even when the car is OFF, the windshield wipers turn on and off on their own, the car dings and flashes it's interior lights constantly, and when she opens the door, the trunk pops open. The trunk/wiper/interior lights have been diagnosed as a faulty body control module (BCM), which we were told would need to be fixed by the dealer. Our mechanic estimated it would be at the very least $500. Since that's a lot of money, and wouldn't necessarily fix the headlights issue, and this is only the most recent in a series of issues for this car, we're not going to fix it. How the hell do we get rid of a car like that? The best suggestion I've heard so far is a new car lot's "push pull or drag" sale, but we can't afford a new car.

Skier
Apr 24, 2003

Fuck yeah.
Fan of Britches
Automotive Insanity will give you more exposure then BFC regarding a potential new vehicle, but read the rules before posting.

With those Civics, remember the timing belt and water pump need to be changed every 90,000 miles. For the one with just over 100,000 miles, make certain it's been done, or budget $500 or so for it to be performed shortly after buying the car.

Anecdotal evidence from my '96 Civic says any of those are going to be pretty bullet proof. There aren't a lot of issues with those generation and no show-stoppers.

sanchez
Feb 26, 2003

Grumpwagon posted:

(is that a myth? I've always heard manuals have less transmission issues).

It's not a myth, especially in older cars that have probably been maintained poorly.

Josh Wow
Feb 28, 2005

We need more beer up here!
Well my car is back on the road. Turns out what was wrong with it is that I got a cv axle replaced about a month ago, and for some reason it held out until this past Saturday when the clip that's supposed to hold it in failed. When my dad came down to check it out he saw what was wrong so we towed it to the shop where the work was originally done and they fixed it for free. Pretty sweet. I'm still looking to buy another car since I don't want to sink $500+ into my current car for the water pump and timing belt to be replaced, but at least now I have more time to save up some money.

Backno
Dec 1, 2007

Goff Boyz iz da rudest Boyz

SKA SUCKS

Josh Wow posted:

Well my car is back on the road. Turns out what was wrong with it is that I got a cv axle replaced about a month ago, and for some reason it held out until this past Saturday when the clip that's supposed to hold it in failed. When my dad came down to check it out he saw what was wrong so we towed it to the shop where the work was originally done and they fixed it for free. Pretty sweet. I'm still looking to buy another car since I don't want to sink $500+ into my current car for the water pump and timing belt to be replaced, but at least now I have more time to save up some money.

Good to hear dude


For the most part manuals are more reliable because they have few parts that are moving. They also tend to be cheaper to fix because the parts to fix them cost less and there is alot less labor needed to replace it. Another thing is the number of people who drive stick is dropping in the US. This hurts the re-sale value on alot of your beater type cars cause who wants to learn to drive stick. I know when I got my car they where going for 11-12k for an auto in similar condition to my manual I got for 9k.

Butthole Prince
Nov 19, 2004

She said that she was working for the ABC News / It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.
How exactly do these loans like PenFed work? You go to the dealership and negotiate the price of the car after your down payment, the apply to PenFed for that amount, and if you are approved they send you a check? So then you just go into the dealership with the two checks, your personal check and the PenFed check, that equals out to the final price after all fees? I've never purchased this way before.

Also, PenFed's used car loan says this:

"For purchases of previously titled vehicles or refinances of original owner vehicles 2007 and older."

So what if I wanted to buy a used car that was 2008 or 2009?

SuperCaptainJ
Jun 24, 2005

Butthole Prince posted:

How exactly do these loans like PenFed work? You go to the dealership and negotiate the price of the car after your down payment, the apply to PenFed for that amount, and if you are approved they send you a check? So then you just go into the dealership with the two checks, your personal check and the PenFed check, that equals out to the final price after all fees? I've never purchased this way before.

Also, PenFed's used car loan says this:

"For purchases of previously titled vehicles or refinances of original owner vehicles 2007 and older."

So what if I wanted to buy a used car that was 2008 or 2009?

Yes - you finalize a price through a dealer, apply at PenFed, get a check, and take it to the dealer when you sign your paperwork.

I refinanced a used auto through Penfed -- If your auto loan doesn't fit into their "used auto loan" or "new auto loan" categories, they put it in a "general auto loan" category at the exact same interest rate and term. In other words, Penfed really doesn't give a poo poo what the situation is, as long as you are borrowing money for a car and they get the title.

SuperCaptainJ fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Jan 20, 2010

Butthole Prince
Nov 19, 2004

She said that she was working for the ABC News / It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.

SuperCaptainJ posted:

Yes - you finalize a price through a dealer, apply at PenFed, get a check, and take it to the dealer when you sign your paperwork.

I refinanced a used auto through Penfed -- If your auto loan doesn't fit into their "used auto loan" or "new auto loan" categories, they put it in a "general auto loan" category at the exact same interest rate and term. In other words, Penfed really doesn't give a poo poo what the situation is, as long as you are borrowing money for a car and they get the title.

Thanks for the info. Is there any way to pre-qualify? I'd rather avoid the chance that I finalize a price with a dealer, apply for the loan, and not be accepted. Also how long does it take to receive the check if you are accepted?

SuperCaptainJ
Jun 24, 2005

Butthole Prince posted:

Thanks for the info. Is there any way to pre-qualify? I'd rather avoid the chance that I finalize a price with a dealer, apply for the loan, and not be accepted. Also how long does it take to receive the check if you are accepted?

The first sounds like a question for PenFed to me. You can always ballpark a little under the final price and just pay the difference in your down payment.

When I applied, I had an option to expedite a check that would arrive in 2 business days.

Nija
Mar 2, 2003
F A C K
Here's how penfed worked for me.

1) Create a checking account with them so you can enter the military families program.
2) Apply for an auto loan through their online methods, a customer service person will call you.
3) Customer service called and told the amount that I was pre-approved for. I told her that I didn't plan on spending more than $25,000, so they went with that number.
4) A "loan account" or something along those lines appeared in my online banking with penfed, with a ceiling of $25k.
5) The next day I received 3 blank checks that were tied to my "loan account". Once these were in my hand, I went car shopping.
6) Found a car listed for $16,500, haggled down to $13,700 out the door. Wrote a check for $13,700 and drove off.
7) Faxed a copy of the bill of sale to penfed, the difference between the 13,700 and 25,000 disappeared.
8) A month later I started making payments towards the $13,700 I owed.

Keep in mind this was 2006ish, so money was a little bit easier to get at that point. If I remember correctly, the originally approved me for a $70k used auto loan at 4.5%, so the process may be a bit more strict now that money isn't so easy to acquire.

Boogeyman
Sep 29, 2004

Boo, motherfucker.
I just bought a car back in July and financed through PenFed. Most of what Nija said is correct, mine worked out slightly different though.

1. I figured out the maximum amount I wanted to spend per month using an online calculator, and used the loan amount ($22K in my case) as my starting point.

2. Created a savings account with PenFed, used my dad as a reference since he was in the Navy, and deposited $20 into the account.

3. I applied for a used car loan for $22K online.

4. A week or so later, a check and some paperwork showed up in the mail. The check was good for up to $22K.

5. Went car shopping. PenFed uses the NADA value of the car, plus up to 10% for taxes/registration/whatever as your "ceiling". You can find the NADA value online. Whatever the NADA value is + 10% is the most you're allowed to spend, regardless of what the check says.

6. After I found the car I wanted, I filled out the info on the check, gave it to the dealership, and they took care of the rest.

7. PenFed sent me a loan document to sign and return about a week later.

8. After all that, the loan was active and I started receiving monthly statements.

It was super easy, and I'd definitely use them again in the future.

Butthole Prince
Nov 19, 2004

She said that she was working for the ABC News / It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use.

Boogeyman posted:

PenFed

Follow up question regarding PenFed...

I found a car that I like and I'll probably move on it. The dealer asked what I was going to do as far as financing and I said I can get a 3.99% loan through PenFed. He said, "Well what if we can meet or beat that?".

I haven't actually applied to PenFed yet for the loan, but my credit score is 798 and I don't see why they'd reject me.

Is there any harm to me letting the dealer try to match it? The flip side to that is, what if they can't? I haven't applied for the PenFed loan so I can't take their check in there. Should I apply for the loan and have it just in case? But what happens if I don't need to use it?

EDIT:

Dealer says they will beat the 3.99% so I may as well just go with that.

Butthole Prince fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Jan 26, 2010

Tewdrig
Dec 6, 2005

It's good to be the king.

Butthole Prince posted:

Follow up question regarding PenFed...

I found a car that I like and I'll probably move on it. The dealer asked what I was going to do as far as financing and I said I can get a 3.99% loan through PenFed. He said, "Well what if we can meet or beat that?".

I haven't actually applied to PenFed yet for the loan, but my credit score is 798 and I don't see why they'd reject me.

Is there any harm to me letting the dealer try to match it? The flip side to that is, what if they can't? I haven't applied for the PenFed loan so I can't take their check in there. Should I apply for the loan and have it just in case? But what happens if I don't need to use it?

EDIT:

Dealer says they will beat the 3.99% so I may as well just go with that.

That's a very low interest rate for a used car. While some vehicles, generally if not entirely restricted to certified used, are eligible for manufacturer-subsidized interest rates, interest rates on used car loans are generally higher than on new cars. I would think that the dealer is expecting to make up for the lower interest rate with a higher price. Then the dealer could sell that $10,000 @ 3.5% note for the same price he could a $5,000 @ 7%. If you already have the price set in stone, before talking about financing, maybe the dealer really does have a lender desperate for prime loans, or maybe the dealer is willing to take a loss to get this car off the lot.

Boogeyman
Sep 29, 2004

Boo, motherfucker.
If they're offering to meet or beat 3.99%, and you're happy with the price you're paying, I don't see why you wouldn't want to take their offer.

If you apply for a PenFed loan and get your check, the loan isn't active until you cash the check, and the check is only good for 60 or 90 days if I remember right. You can always apply through them, get the check, and not use it if you don't have to.

melon cat
Jan 21, 2010

Nap Ghost
I have a question on "de-sludging" a car's engine. I'm sure we've all heard it before, over time gunk collects in your car's engine if you use "anything less than gold-level gasoline" and it needs to be removed. Truth, or bullshit? One of my friends who runs his own garage says it's a cash grab, and I'm inclined to believe him.

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

melon cat posted:

I have a question on "de-sludging" a car's engine. I'm sure we've all heard it before, over time gunk collects in your car's engine if you use "anything less than gold-level gasoline" and it needs to be removed. Truth, or bullshit? One of my friends who runs his own garage says it's a cash grab, and I'm inclined to believe him.

Gasoline has nothing to do with it. Oil does, make sure you change it within your manufacturer recommended interval. "Better" oils (especially synthetics) let you go longer between changes and may help clean out any sludge left over from "worse" oils/longer change intervals. I put better and worse in quotes because there is a certain amount of "oil is oil" in that any two oils with the same SAE rating and weight will function very similarly.

If you actually have real sludge issues you need an engine rebuild and theres not a drat thing you can do about it.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

melon cat posted:

"anything less than gold-level gasoline"

Octane is not a measure of quality for gasoline. If your car says to use 89 octane, and you use 93 octane instead, not only are you paying more, but in most cases you'll see worse fuel economy and usually less power due to the engine being forced to retard its timing.

I really hate that higher octane is called 'premium' because there's nothing premium about it. It's just a higher octane, for higher compression engines.

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

CornHolio posted:

Octane is not a measure of quality for gasoline. If your car says to use 89 octane, and you use 93 octane instead, not only are you paying more, but in most cases you'll see worse fuel economy and usually less power due to the engine being forced to retard its timing.

I really hate that higher octane is called 'premium' because there's nothing premium about it. It's just a higher octane, for higher compression engines.

Re-read your reply, I think you mean to say "87" instead of "93."

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

Nocheez posted:

Re-read your reply, I think you mean to say "87" instead of "93."

No, my point is, using a higher octane than what is required is not good for your engine.

If you're suggesting that higher octane would advance timing rather than retard it, because I might have that backwards. But the end result would be the same.

kimbo305
Jun 9, 2007

actually, yeah, I am a little mad
There is such a thing as really bad gasoline. Places that let the gasoline sit forever (sometimes because there isn't enough business to run through shipments regularly) can introduce water or a tiny bit of sediment into the gasoline. But in general, using the hotly advertised magic Shell gasolines don't have a positive maintenance effect on the engine.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

kimbo305 posted:

There is such a thing as really bad gasoline. Places that let the gasoline sit forever (sometimes because there isn't enough business to run through shipments regularly) can introduce water or a tiny bit of sediment into the gasoline. But in general, using the hotly advertised magic Shell gasolines don't have a positive maintenance effect on the engine.

The grocery store I used to work at had a gas station, and once they put diesel in the gasoline tank. So people thought they were getting gas, but instead were getting diesel.

The store lost a lot of money because of that, because they had to pay for the repairs obviously.

(I had nothing to do with that fiasco btw)

melon cat
Jan 21, 2010

Nap Ghost

hobbesmaster posted:

If you actually have real sludge issues you need an engine rebuild and theres not a drat thing you can do about it.
I understand that, but is "engine de-sludging" ever a part of "routine" car maintenance, or some bullshit conjured up by car dealerships and swindling garages (I'm putting my money on the latter).

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

melon cat posted:

I understand that, but is "engine de-sludging" ever a part of "routine" car maintenance, or some bullshit conjured up by car dealerships and swindling garages (I'm putting my money on the latter).

Proper engine sludge issues are never going to occur if the car is routinely maintained. Stuff will accumulate as the car ages - think 120k mi+. Not a bad idea to seafoam a car of that age once every couple of years.

In general, yes its a scam. So is the stuff like the "fuel saver" packages quick lube shops will try and sell you. Those additives don't do crap.

Nocheez posted:

Re-read your reply, I think you mean to say "87" instead of "93."

High octane gas is less explosive. If your car is designed to run on 89 then if you put say 87 in the gas may explode earlier than expected (detonation). If you put in 93 then you run the risk of the gas not exploding at all in which case it has the potential to gently caress up all your expensive emissions stuff (it probably won't). Higher octane fuels allow your car's engine to run at a higher compression ratio which has a direct correspondence to power. An engine designed to run on 87 will not gain anything from a higher octane fuel, however one designed for 91 would have to reduce its power output to run correctly on 87. Most ECUs are capable of this.

hobbesmaster fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Jan 27, 2010

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

hobbesmaster posted:


High octane gas is less explosive. If your car is designed to run on 89 then if you put say 87 in the gas may explode earlier than expected (detonation). If you put in 93 then you run the risk of the gas not exploding at all in which case it has the potential to gently caress up all your expensive emissions stuff (it probably won't). Higher octane fuels allow your car's engine to run at a higher compression ratio which has a direct correspondence to power. An engine designed to run on 87 will not gain anything from a higher octane fuel, however one designed for 91 would have to reduce its power output to run correctly on 87. Most ECUs are capable of this.

I know this. My point is that higher octane doesn't cause your car to retard timing. Lower octane pinging causes your car to pull timing.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

Nocheez posted:

I know this. My point is that higher octane doesn't cause your car to retard timing. Lower octane pinging causes your car to pull timing.

Ah. I thought it would have an effect on the timing. My mistake.

Zhentar
Sep 28, 2003

Brilliant Master Genius

CornHolio posted:

Ah. I thought it would have an effect on the timing. My mistake.

You might see some reduction in MPG from higher octane fuel, because the octane increasing additive probably has a lower energy density than gasoline. But it's unlikely that you could measure your fuel consumption accurately enough to notice the difference.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004
I was steered this way from AI in regards to my current predicament.

As of today I’ve managed to find myself in an interesting predicament in terms of my car situation. I just accepted a new job offer which is going to entail a good deal of driving throughout the week. Right now I’m leasing an 07 Saturn Ion which is up at the beginning of July. I’m about 3,000 miles short of my agreed upon lease mileage as it stands, so I’m on track to end up a bit over when I turn it in. The good news is that the job I’m accepting comes with a $600/mo car allowance to be used how I deem fit, car payment, insurance, etc. This would obviously help me with buying a car when it comes time.

My question is mostly, what would be my best plan of action? Right now I see a few possible options.
A. Keep driving the lease until it’s up and use the car allowance to pay for the overage in miles.
B. Buy a new car soon, pay for both and make sure I don’t go over on miles with the Saturn.
C. Look into turning in the lease early and see if it’d be cheaper than paying for both.

Another thing that will probably play into things is that the lease is technically in my mom’s name and registered in MI and I am currently in Florida. I know most companies will let you turn in a lease in another state, and I’m sure that because Saturn is on its way out it would make that more likely. I’m not sure how easy it is to turn in a lease that isn’t in my name though. Would I need my mom to have them transfer the lease to me beforehand? I know that most of that can be sorted out by me actually calling them, but I just wanted to see if anyone had an idea.

SlapActionJackson
Jul 27, 2006

Many car allowances come with strings attached as to what is an acceptable car. Does the Saturn meet the qualifications?

How much is the overage penalty on the lease?

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

SlapActionJackson posted:

Many car allowances come with strings attached as to what is an acceptable car. Does the Saturn meet the qualifications?

How much is the overage penalty on the lease?

From what he told me it doesn't sound like there are hard and fast rules about it, but there are things I know would be necessary, 4 doors for one and reasonable trunk space for carrying equipment. Aside from that it sounded like I'm open to choose. The saturn would be fine for now useage-wise, but I plan to get something with a little more room in the back seat for when I take clients out to lunch.

The overage penalty I believe is 15 cents/mi.

Edit for more info:
After finding my lease agreement and scouring through it, it sounds like the early lease termination would result in me paying pretty much what is left on the lease payments since I'm only a few thousand miles off from the total allowance. The good thing about paying that off is that I would not have to continue to pay insurance on it.

rockcity fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Jan 29, 2010

SlapActionJackson
Jul 27, 2006

According to Edmunds, $.15/mi is WAY more than the actual depreciation hit for extra miles on an '07 ($.03 - $.08 is the rage it seems to be pricing in). So I wouldn't go over your lease miles if you can help it.

I'd probably drive the saturn 3K more miles then park it until July. (Not literally. Drive it for 20 minutes once a week to keep it in running order - cars don't like to just sit). Once you add the second car and tell them you're basically not driving the saturn any more, the cost to insure it will drop down to peanuts.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

SlapActionJackson posted:

According to Edmunds, $.15/mi is WAY more than the actual depreciation hit for extra miles on an '07 ($.03 - $.08 is the rage it seems to be pricing in). So I wouldn't go over your lease miles if you can help it.

I'd probably drive the saturn 3K more miles then park it until July. (Not literally. Drive it for 20 minutes once a week to keep it in running order - cars don't like to just sit). Once you add the second car and tell them you're basically not driving the saturn any more, the cost to insure it will drop down to peanuts.

Yeah, that was one thing I looked into. After running some numbers though the cheapest plan of action looks to be getting a new car in April and turning in the lease then. According to the lease agreement I'd end up paying the remaining 2 payments left, which sucks, but I'd save on paying insurance all together for 2 months. Even when I throw in overage miles as a potential circumstance it still ends up cheaper than getting a new car earlier than say April because I won't be spending $600 worth of overage in a month.

I do want to limit the overage as much as possible though. My girlfriend said I can use her car here and there if I want save some miles on days that I drive more. Though she has a 50 mile round trip drive to work so it'd still add up.

The good news is that I'd still be getting my $600/mo car allowance so even though I'd pay an overage and pay out the lease, it still ends up cheaper per month than what I'm paying for the car+insurance now.

The overage price definitely does suck though. Another reason why I'll never lease again.

ok_dirdel
Apr 27, 2003

Need some advice regarding my current auto loan.

I bought a new 2008 Honda Accord V6 Coupe, EX-L trim, in March '08, and have since been paying $620 a month in car payments over a 60 month term. I have about three years left, and owe $21,800. I love the car, but knowing that I allowed myself to get reamed in this deal, coupled with the fact that I am searching for a new home, means that I'd like to sever my ties to this vehicle. Before anyone asks, I have done a budget, and I CAN afford both the car and mortgage payments, I'd just like increased flexibility of either reducing, or eliminating, this car payment.

I'm trying to decide the smartest/best course of action to take here. KBB values my car around $20k, though a quick search through cars.com shows listings as high as 24-25 for an '08. My car has 45,000 miles on it, and the exterior is about what you'd expect, with the exception of some smooth rust spots near the gas tank that I'll need to have the dealer fix, and a small chip in the windshield that was patched, but is still noticeable.

My original plan was to wait until I have the refund check from the FTHB tax credit, and then attempt to sell my car, either privately, or through a place like Carmax (assuming they don't low ball the poo poo out of me, which I'd expect). Once I sold my car, I'd use the proceeds to pay off the loan, utilizing the money from my refund, if necessary, to bridge the gap. Once this is accomplished, I will attempt to buy / lease a used car around the $10k mark. I'm looking at an '06 or '07 Toyota Corolla because they are rock solid, and get incredible gas mileage (much better than the 21-23 I average now). I figure that with the increased flexibility netted me by reducing my auto payment, which would allow me to put a good portion of that extra cash toward my home loan, and the savings from increased fuel efficiency and auto insurance, I can mitigate the extra $10k that I'd be spending by purchasing another car, rather than sucking it up and paying the $620 for another three years.

Am I crazy?

Also, I'm wondering how much I can expect the car to depreciate over the course of a couple thousand miles driven, and a few months' time? I will need to wait for the refund check to come in, and I figure that if I can't sell it for the amount I owe, I can make a few more payments to bring the amount I owe that much closer to the amount that I'd receive.

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cmears
Feb 6, 2004
My money pit of a car is going to die any day now and I'm looking for advice.

I am trying to figure out a short-term vehicle because my fiance will be finishing school in a couple years and we'll be going from single income to two income household. I was hoping my current piece of poo poo would last till graduation and then we could afford a new car on both our salaries but it's not going to. I've saved up $4k towards a vehicle and can afford $300/month.

I planned on spending around $8-9k on a used sedan but most of the vehicles in this price range are high mileage and I don't want to get screwed on repairs (my current predicament). This is also my first car purchase and I don't have a mechanic I can trust so I'm wary of buying used in case I get a train wreck worse than what I'm currently driving.

Given the fact that my income will change dramatically in less than 3 years I thought about doing a lease due to:

- Short term nature of the deal
- The factory warranty
- Drive less than 10k miles a year
- Quit smoking and clean
- Stable employment

I'd be out a couple grand on the down payment but I have good credit so I should be able to get low interest and can probably keep the payments under $300/month for a basic model. While researching leases I came across swapalease.com and it looks like it might make more sense to take over another lease.

Specifically I'm looking at http://www.swapalease.com/lease/details/2010ChevroletMalibu.aspx?salid=589003

This seems like the perfect deal for me due to:

- 35 month term
- $217/month
- $650 one time fee
- 2010 Sedan, loaded, no mention but probably factory warranty for the duration of lease
- 1,092 miles/month allowance

That monthly payment is less than what I was looking to spend and If I'm doing my math right this should come to a total $8257.95 which puts it in the $8-9k range, same as my used car purchase. In addition I don't have the risk of any major repairs on top of the $8-9k.

The two drawbacks I see are that there doesn't appear to be a buyout option at the end of the lease but I doubt I'd exercise that option. Also the car is more than 1,000 miles from me but I have friend in that state that can do an initial check to make sure the deal is legit before I spend money and go out to look in person. Are there any other concerns I should have?

If I go with the used car option I could probably get a couple thousand using it as a trade-in but I've heard the dealership will just jack the price up a couple of thousand on the new car so its a wash. It seems like a much better deal to drive a brand new fully loaded sedan for $217.37 with only $650 down for 3 years and not have the hassle of trying to resell it. Once the lease is up we'll be purchasing a long-term vehicle that I plan on driving for 10+ years.

Where's the catch?

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