YACT: how much is needed for a down payment?

[sadb0i]

car: 1996 Honda Civic EX coupe
89K miles

sticker price: $7998

how much is normally needed to down payment? I want to do 2k dow payment and do the rest over 3 years.

so itll total in the end after all fees around $10-11K

Is $2k enough?

 

[Dacalo]

There is no "mandatory" amount for down payment. It all depends on your income and how much you are willing to pay each month

 

[OS]

That's plenty if your credit is ok.

 

[sadb0i]

Originally posted by: Dacalo
There is no "mandatory" amount for down payment. It all depends on your income and how much you are willing to pay each month

that would be nice. the lower the down payment the better. monthly it doesnt matter too much. its just hard scraping that much money together on my dorky wages.

 

[sadb0i]

Originally posted by: OS
That's plenty if your credit is ok.

I'm a first time buyer but my older brother is going with me. He's got great credit. Can he cosign? Well that = me having good credit?

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: sadb0i

I'm a first time buyer but my older brother is going with me. He's got great credit. Can he cosign? Well that = me having good credit?

That'll work fine. Of course, if you don't make the payments it messes up his credit.

 

[sadb0i]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: sadb0i

I'm a first time buyer but my older brother is going with me. He's got great credit. Can he cosign? Well that = me having good credit?

That'll work fine. Of course, if you don't make the payments it messes up his credit.

*evil smile*

 

[CTrain]

You must have pretty bad credit to pay that amount for that car.

I had an agreement for an 98 Civic Ex with 38K for $7600.
I backed out cause I found a 99 Civic Si with 65K for $9200.

I would pay no more than 6K for a 96Ex with 89K.
Of course if you don't have the money to pay in full, you're limited to what you can do.

 

[RossMAN]

A down payment of $2k sounds about right.

Definitely have your brother co-sign that will increase your chances of being approved assuming he has decent income, low debt and good credit.

Using a loan calculator.

Let's assume you're borrowing $6k at 7% for 3 years = $185 monthly payment

Plus car insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: Dacalo
There is no "mandatory" amount for down payment. It all depends on your income and how much you are willing to pay each month

If your credit's good, 2 grand is a great down payment for that car.

 

[Encryptic]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: sadb0i

I'm a first time buyer but my older brother is going with me. He's got great credit. Can he cosign? Well that = me having good credit?

That'll work fine. Of course, if you don't make the payments it messes up his credit.

He should be able to co-sign if he has good credit. It will fuX0r his credit though if you default on the payments, so be careful.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Encryptic

Originally posted by: Dacalo
There is no "mandatory" amount for down payment. It all depends on your income and how much you are willing to pay each month

If your credit's good, 2 grand is a great down payment for that car.

 

[Nitemare]

2000 on an 8000 dollar car should work even if you have crappy credit. I did a 23k car with 0 down and a 4.5% rate with not too great credit.

 

[Spamela]

i always put nothing down.

with a 2k down payment on an 8k car i'd hold out for a low interest rate.

 

[CPA]

I always put $0 down. It's all about the cash flow.

 

[Thegonagle]

IMHO, you should at least pay for the sales tax and fees with your down payment.

Also, don't pay that much for that car. My gut tells me that car should be closer to $6,000, maybe even $5,000, unless it's a cherry.

EDIT:

Also, this is at a Honda dealer, right? Make CERTAIN that the 90K mile service has been completed. That includes a new OEM timing belt, new OEM water pump, valve clearance check and adjustment with a new camshaft cover gasket, new NGK spark plugs, new coolant, and possibly even a brake fluid power-flush. If it's an automatic, the transmission fluid should be changed with Honda ATF as well (actually, that's every 30,000 miles).

EDIT 2: a quick check of some classifieds reveals that $6,000 should be fine if it's in above average condition for its age and mileage, and the above 90K service has been performed at a dealership.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

i put $600 down to cover ttl. and this is the 1st car in my name.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
IMHO, you should at least pay for the sales tax and fees with your down payment.

Also, don't pay that much for that car. My gut tells me that car should be closer to $6,000, maybe even $5,000, unless it's a cherry.

EDIT:

Also, this is at a Honda dealer, right? Make CERTAIN that the 90K mile service has been completed. That includes a new OEM timing belt, new OEM water pump, valve clearance check and adjustment with a new camshaft cover gasket, new NGK spark plugs, new coolant, and possibly even a brake fluid power-flush. If it's an automatic, the transmission fluid should be changed with Honda ATF as well (actually, that's every 30,000 miles).

EDIT 2: a quick check of some classifieds reveals that $6,000 should be fine if it's in above average condition for its age and mileage, and the above 90K service has been performed at a dealership.

I agree.

I doubt it's HONDA CERTIFIED but it doesn't hurt to ask, I think that's only on newer cars (1997 - 2002).

 

[Thegonagle]

Certified, schmirtified, that doesn't really matter. What matters is that the service has been done, or else he's looking at a $500 bill in about two weeks for the 90K mile service.

 

[mrchan]

8,000 is way too much for a 96 civic. i dont care how mint it is.

 

[amdskip]

My 96 was $6600 with 65,000 miles

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Why is that Civic so expensive???? You can get an older 300zx with similar mileage for that money.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: sadb0i

Is $2k enough?

yes
i bought a '98 minivan last summer = $7650, i put 10% down = $765, 36 month loan

 

[sadb0i]

rossman thanks for the PM

Kelly blue books lists it as $7700 so its not too bad right?

Also I will be getting an auto loan tommorrow from the bank. prob looking at 5-6% interest. The down payment money will be going into insurance and registering the car.

now that we can "cash" the car from the dealer we can bargain. ill prob say 7k...and see if we can meet at 7400. If not, theres an SI hatchback I want to get also.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: sadb0i
rossman thanks for the PM

Kelly blue books lists it as $7700 so its not too bad right?

Also I will be getting an auto loan tommorrow from the bank. prob looking at 5-6% interest. The down payment money will be going into insurance and registering the car.

now that we can "cash" the car from the dealer we can bargain. ill prob say 7k...and see if we can meet at 7400. If not, theres an SI hatchback I want to get also.

Thanks for all the advice.

Why don't you get the SI anyway?