- Aug 31, 2001
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gf wants to get a new used car (likes the previous gen accord coupe and the jetta). so ive been helping her look...contacting dealers and all. havent gone in for a test drive yet, but on my drive to work today, something dawned on me. she doesnt really need a new car...and itd be wise for her to save her money now. she currently drives an '97 altima with about 95K miles. body's a little beat up here and there but the car runs fine.
some points to note b4 u read. tiffany is her sis who's a freshman in college...drives old corolla (lola). their dad drives a relatively new elantra. corolla's prolly gonna be the first car to die. her (gf's) options are to either trade her altima in/tiffany gets dad's elantra OR give tiffany the altima when corolla dies and gf gets elantra. gf isnt too favorable of the elantra (doesnt hate it...but doesnt love it either)
this is what i emailed her. give me your opinions
cliff notes :
gf drives altima with 95K miles...wants to get a newer car (new used)
i advised her to drive altima till it breaks then get new car for reasons stated above
some points to note b4 u read. tiffany is her sis who's a freshman in college...drives old corolla (lola). their dad drives a relatively new elantra. corolla's prolly gonna be the first car to die. her (gf's) options are to either trade her altima in/tiffany gets dad's elantra OR give tiffany the altima when corolla dies and gf gets elantra. gf isnt too favorable of the elantra (doesnt hate it...but doesnt love it either)
this is what i emailed her. give me your opinions
i dont think it'd be a good idea for you to buy a car now. think about it.
---is the altima giving u all that much trouble? if not, why not use it till the wheels fall off? it has 95K miles...which isnt all that much considering there are cars out there with 300K miles and still going
---its a japanese car...it can last a while..atleast till 150K miles if u take care of it.
---u were gonna trade this car in...which means tiffany was gonna get the elantra anyways. so why not let her have the elantra when lola dies...then u buy a new car when the altima dies. true, she'll have a better car than u for a bit...but does that really matter? this way u wont get stuck in a bind when lola dies cuz u'll still have altima
---if u trade it in or try to sell it now, it wont get u that much money cuz of the cosmetic damages (mirror, scratches, dent, etc).
---u said u have about 8K in ur bank acct. do u really want to spend all that money for a downpayment on a car? keep in mind, a car is a really bad investment...it depreciates like crazy.
---if u get a newer car, ur insurance is gonna be significantly higher...that plus monthly payment will leave u with no savings..especially with the salary you're getting now...trust me...i know..i was there. and its no fun having no savings whatsoever.
---think it over. i say u invest that money u got sittin in the bank into some kinda stock market. u work in ML...u can ask around about investment options that has good returns. make that 8K grow...instead of spending on something that will depreciate and most likely be replaced in the next 5 years anyways.
---all of this is merely a suggestion. its your own money...u can do whatever u want with it. if u still want to get a new car...u have every right to...and i'll still help u get a good deal
cliff notes :
gf drives altima with 95K miles...wants to get a newer car (new used)
i advised her to drive altima till it breaks then get new car for reasons stated above