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Cars with a professional look at a college price

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soccerballtux said:
leasing is throwing money away.
How many miles is your commute?
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Leasing isn't really throwing money away if it's getting you what you need, a always in warranty nice car. Personally my commute is a minimum of 30 miles a day, sometimes more sometimes less. Depends on the contracts. I average 10-12000 miles per year for work.
 
heymrdj said:
Yeah and as I told the poste I love them, but the price range is too high 🙂. But since this thread is a thread of generals that could actually work for someone else.



I have actually looked into it and like what I see. For about 2k in and 235 a month on my credit I can lease a 12 ! Soul fully loaded. That would give me enough time to get my cash up to get an even more awesome car later while letting me reap the benefits of going from 12.5mpg to a little over 30mpg, which at the 3.70/gal that gas is today is very helpful. The savings alone are about 95$ a month just in gas, and that's only work related gas.



That comes a bit back to the warranty issue I was talking about.
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2K down on a Kia lease? Hell no!
 
heymrdj said:
That comes a bit back to the warranty issue I was talking about.
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Just because a car is out of warranty doesn't mean it is going to cost you a lot in repairs. I know people with late 80's Accords and Camrys that are still going strong and have never needed a single major repair.

Given the cost savings of getting a used vehicle you could easily afford a cheap rental while it is in the shop in the event something does happen to it.
 
Puddle Jumper said:
Just because a car is out of warranty doesn't mean it is going to cost you a lot in repairs. I know people with late 80's Accords and Camrys that are still going strong and have never needed a single major repair.

Given the cost savings of getting a used vehicle you could easily afford a cheap rental while it is in the shop in the event something does happen to it.
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It's the culmination of costs that's the issue. It's like my truck, a full suspension job is 2 grand. That's a huge chunk of change for a vehicle that's worth 6k. It's dimenishing returns. You keep putting a band aid on somthing with older technology, with more miles and decreasing reliability, and less comfort.

To alot of people of the garage who enjoy wrenching, obviously these details of dimenishing return are alot smaller than to those who don't enjoy or cannot wrench on the vehicles. But the same can be said on those here who buy new computers. Many people would be fine going to a mom and pop shop selling a 2006 age Dell for 100$ and using that. Does it take longer to boot (point A to point B) yes. Does it have increased chances of failing? yes. Does it have a warranty? no. Does it do good enough? Yes. But do people here want to use a single core dell from 2006? No most won't..they'll waste their money buying something newer.
 
heymrdj said:
There's not many college students that can get any lease without money down that I'm aware of. We're talking only paying 7400 out of a 25k car on over 2 years, that's not bad in terms of depreciation.
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My Mazda6 has depreciated about 10% in 2 years. Nothing beats buying recent-year used cars in terms of getting your money's worth.
 
heymrdj said:
There's not many college students that can get any lease without money down that I'm aware of. We're talking only paying 7400 out of a 25k car on over 2 years, that's not bad in terms of depreciation.
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Or you could buy a car outright for 8-10K with the 2K down and own it. $7400 in two years for a Kia is just a waste of money.
 
I leased my 2008 GTI for 0 down, 300/mo with tax my senior year of college.

No one batted an eye when I said I wanted to put 0 down, shrug.
 
angry hampster said:
My Mazda6 has depreciated about 10% in 2 years. Nothing beats buying recent-year used cars in terms of getting your money's worth.
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This.

I bought mine 2003 Mazda6 as my first "decent' car after college for 16k. Owned it for almost 5 years, and sold it for 10k. The only money I put into it was maybe 1.5K, which included new tires, replaced rotors/pads, and a freak cracked oil-pan issue. Net cost, after financing and repairs was <$20,000 minus the $10,000 sale. $10k for 4.5 years. Loved the car (except the darn rust issue!).
 
OP - I still say get a 15-20k dependable car loan that still has a good year or so of warranty left (maybe even 2). Get used, and you could always sell it in 2 years for something better...
 
heymrdj said:
It's the culmination of costs that's the issue. It's like my truck, a full suspension job is 2 grand. That's a huge chunk of change for a vehicle that's worth 6k. It's dimenishing returns. You keep putting a band aid on somthing with older technology, with more miles and decreasing reliability, and less comfort.

To alot of people of the garage who enjoy wrenching, obviously these details of dimenishing return are alot smaller than to those who don't enjoy or cannot wrench on the vehicles. But the same can be said on those here who buy new computers. Many people would be fine going to a mom and pop shop selling a 2006 age Dell for 100$ and using that. Does it take longer to boot (point A to point B) yes. Does it have increased chances of failing? yes. Does it have a warranty? no. Does it do good enough? Yes. But do people here want to use a single core dell from 2006? No most won't..they'll waste their money buying something newer.
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So to avoid possibly blowing 2k on repairs you are going to guarantee blowing 7k on leasing a Kia? Sorry but I've never known anyone to be so concerned warranty coverage when it comes to cars. Just buy a good vehicle, maintain it properly and you will be fine.

The computer analogy isn't valid at all. I could pick up a used G35 for $12k that's faster, better looking, and more luxurious than your new Kia. Heck there are hundreds of different used models to chose from that are better than a car like the Soul in every way.
 
heymrdj said:
Well yeah that goes back to earlier if your cash and credit are good enough to pay 25% down and get a decent rate 🙂.
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In 2009 I bought an 07 Fusion for $10k. Put 1k down and drove it for a year of 35000 miles til my brother totaled it, and I got $11.7k back from insurance (true market value, owed 7k still)


If you're smart about the cars you buy, you can have minimal depreciation or no effective depreciation at all
 
I'm making 60k, still live at home (25) and am having a hard time convincing myself to spend 15k on used car.

25k is crazy. You can't go by what you see around you... most of America is driving cars way out of their league.
 
Insomniator said:
I'm making 60k, still live at home (25) and am having a hard time convincing myself to spend 15k on used car.

25k is crazy. You can't go by what you see around you... most of America is driving cars way out of their league.
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depends on where your priorities are. for me, cars and motorcycles are a hobby, so i'm willing to dump money into them.

for other people, a car's just an appliance, and they just want the cheapest most reliable thing they can get.

i got my car for 23k OTD, and i put 4k down. i have 0 problems meeting all of my financial obligations (i rent a house w/ friends).
 
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