Ask Oppo: How does your car impact your finances?

"RyanFrew" (ryanfrew) 03/30/2016 at 09:54 • Filed to: Finance

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Personal Questions incoming! In the hunt for a new car, I’m struggling to contextualize how sound of a financial decision my purchase would be, in comparative terms. Plus, I think that responses to these questions from this community would be kind of interesting anyways. So, here are my questions:

What year is your car, and how many miles does it have?

If you have a car payment, what % of your monthly pay is represented by that payment?

If you own your car, did you buy it outright or finance?

I think we could get some interesting responses here.

RyanFrew > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 09:56

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I’ll start:

My DD is a 2005 Mini Cooper S with ~130,000 miles

I own my car. I bought it used as a Freshman in college and financed over 5 years, which is a mistake I will not make again. The longest that an auto loan should ever be is 4 years, in my opinion.

Nibby > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:02

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Mine’s a $270/month lease so it’s not been bad.

E92M3 > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:05

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2011 M3

19k miles

Saved for years, sold my 2005 M3, and paid cash.

I hate payments, and some would argue I’d be better off investing that money, and take advantage of a lower interest car payment. Example 4% APR car loan, and an investment that returns 8%. There’s risk involved, and no guarantee that investment won’t go down 8,10, 20%. Personally I sleep better with no debt.

A financial advisor rule of thumb is your car expenses (payment, insurance, and gas) should be no more than 15% of your take home.

Nisman > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:06

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It doesn’t. 2007 Honda Civic Si. 115k miles. Taking it to the stealership to diagnose a misfire cold start and under load, will probably set me back a few hundred. Bought it off a buddy for $4500. It’s been perfectly reliable for both of us. Only cost is oil and premium.

yamahog > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:06

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2015 Camaro SS 1LE, custom ordered and bought brand new in April 2015, now at 10550 miles. I financed it, and my payment is maybe 10% of my monthly salary.

My 92 K1500 Blazer has 102k and is owned outright. It cost almost half of the down payment I put on the Camaro.

Justin Hughes > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:08

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2014 Subaru BRZ, just rolled past 30k miles. I financed it, then refinanced with my local credit union for a better rate. My minimum payment is only about 9% of my monthly income. I try to throw more at it when I can, but if I’m running tight one month I can fall back to the minimum payment to get by.

Part of my reason for financing was to build up my credit rating. I hadn’t played the credit game for years, and since getting a steady job with decent income (rather than the irregular contracting I’d been doing), it seemed a good chance to do that. My plan worked, and now I’m using that credit to try to buy a garage with a house attached .

I also have a dead 1988 Jeep Comanche with eleventy zillion miles. Obviously I bought that outright.

Nothing > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:08

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2015 Toyota Tacoma DoubleCab TRD Sport with 5700 miles on it. Purchased new in April 2015.

Payment is 5% of takehome pay. APR% is 0%.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:10

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2013 Scion FR-S, has just over 40k miles on it right now. Financed it in July 2015 w/ 4.1k miles on the clock for $23.5k OTD, financed through my credit union with nothing down.

$413/mo, which consists of probably a larger percentage of my monthly income than it should but is still very manageable.

RyanFrew > Nisman 03/30/2016 at 10:10

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$4,500 for an ‘07 Si is a steal!

Future next gen S2000 owner > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:12

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Mrs. Something-Clever-Here and I have two vehicles plus a motorcycle. Her Saab payment was under %10 of our net take home. It was cheap and we put up a fat downpayment, think 50%. It had 45K-ish when we bought it and is a 2007. Now it has 124K and should survive until probably 200K or so. The bike payment is ~3% of our combined net take home. It is a 2009 Dyatona 675, it had 11K when I bought it in 2014. We just purchased a ‘16 Tacoma. It is ~8% of our net take home. It is a 6 year loan but we pay at a rate to pay it off in 5, which is my preferred method. It is always nice to have the ability to go lower in the future should the need arise. Plus loans are dirt cheap right now.

I wouldn’t go anymore than 5 years on a loan, won’t make any payment on a vehicle that is more than 10 years old, and won’t go above 10% of my take home for car/toy loans.

Mercedes Streeter > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:14

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2012 smart fortwo passion coupe - 105,000 miles.

Payments are 10% of my monthly income.

Leased first, financed at lease end. :)

Not including maintenance items (tyres, spark plugs, etc) $300 spent on repairs (lifetime total).

Master Cylinder > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:15

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I have a 1987 944S with 200K+ miles. I own it outright, and the purchase price was low. The cost of maintenance is slightly higher than average, probably about $800 per year or so, but the cost of restoration and mods has been much higher. Still, those costs will taper off eventually and even then, I’m only in it for about $4500 (excluding the cost of regular maintenance) at this point anyway.

Edit: also have a motorcycle, a2003 Suzuki DL1000 that I own outright as well. I got a great deal on it and paid cash. Aside from a few hundred bucks for a tuner box and luggage, it has cost me practically nothing in upkeep beyond oil changes.

I tend to buy cheap vehicles with cash and fix them up / mod them the way I want. I have no car payment, but buying parts and mods can add up to more than what a regular payment would be on an average newish car.

RyanFrew > Master Cylinder 03/30/2016 at 10:17

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I have a ‘89 944 NA with 35,000 miles at home. Most underrated car there is.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:19

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2010 with 44500 miles.

No payment but I pay about £100 a month in fuel and average maybe another £100 a month in other costs. Has a fair impact because I don’t earn a lot until I’m into full time work again.

Paid in full when I bought the car.

Nonster > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:19

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I’ve never financed a car (or anything besides my college education) or had a car payment. I’ve always bought them outright, but the most I’ve ever spent on the purchase is about $5k

Current car is an 1985 Toyota MR2 with 120,000 miles. I bought it for about $3k and have probably put that much into it.

I’ve often thought about buying a nice shiny new car, but even if I can handle the car payments, the lump sum just seems like a lot of money to me. Especially when I think about all the racecar parts I could get

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:20

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2010 with ~79500 KM.

Nope. Unless you count insurance, then about 9% or so. Because young white male in Toronto. I’m lucky enough not to have a ton of other expenses, so I can take it. You may not...

Paid up front. Don’t like payments.

Nibbles > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:20

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2 of my 3 vehicles are owned outright.

1987 Saab 900 - 348,000 miles, owned outright, cash purchase
1995 Dodge Dakota - 192,000 miles, owned outright, cash purchase
2010 Volvo S40 - 74,000 miles, payment. The payment is 6.4% of my monthly gross.

twochevrons > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:20

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2015 VW GTI, purchased as certified used with 20,000 miles. Financed at 4% over 5 years, mainly because I want to build some credit history.

My payments are around 10% of my monthly take-home pay, but I’m putting in a bit more than the minimum.

Mid Engine > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:20

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Bought my used 2007 Porsche Cayman five years ago, financed ~ $10k and paid it off in less than two years. The car has 60,000 miles on the odometer and is cheap to insure. Bought a new 2013 Jetta TDI for $24k (now worthless, thanks VW), put $10k down and financed the rest over 3 years @ 0% interest. The Jetta has 18k on the clock and is also paid for, I really much prefer having no monthly payments.

Party-vi > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:21

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2002 3-Series, 175k miles. Paid $12k for it includes tax/tags/title ($1,500 too much now that I think about it), and put down $5k cash and financed the rest at 9% because a used auto loan on a decade-old German car is laughable to most banks.

The wife has a ‘11 Insight, and purchased it for around $20k with nothing down. She financed the entire purchase at 2.99% IIRC, and it’s costing us about 6.9% of our monthly take home pay.

Master Cylinder > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:25

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Ooh, minty. A 944 with low miles like that may actually start to be worth something sooner rather than later. I can’t leave anything stock, though, so I went looking to a well-used example so I wouldn’t feel bad about collector value.

They’re definitely awesome cars that don’t get the attention they deserve, although that does keep prices low which is nice for tightwads like me!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:26

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I’ve got two finances cars, 06 R500 which has 85k now and 01 E55 which has 133k now. I know they’re older and some would say that’s a bad idea but I don’t care because I have no issue taking care of any problems they have. Financed the E55 mostly just to build credit even more.

My income can vary every month by quite a bit depending on how busy the shop is, but at my lowest payments are about 15% of that. Most months we pay more because payments are usually more like 10-12 percent.

Definitely don’t want to add any more payments, even though I want a bike really really bad, but we’re doing just fine.

TheRealBicycleBuck > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:27

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This is a bit of a touchy subject, especially since you are asking how much we make a year. Sure, you aren’t really asking that, but it is easy to figure out when you include % of income which is applied toward car payments.

That being said, we have three vehicles, one which I haven’t made payments on in 15 years, and two that are less than three years old. The 2013 Explorer has nearly 60,000 miles on it (my wife uses it for work) and my 2014 WRX has 24,000. Both will be paid off ahead of schedule and we won’t incur any new vehicle payments for a while. Well, we might if Subaru decides to build a new WRX hatch. Then the wrecked WRX will get traded in.

We will have two driving-age teenagers soon. This in a state with some of the highest insurance rates. We don’t plan to finance any cars for them.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 03/30/2016 at 10:28

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Along with gas and insurance it’s right at about 15% of my monthly net.

Now if you factor in race car parts, track days, track insurance, and autox/rallyx entrees it comes out to quite a bit more, but I classify those expenses under a different category. ;) Plus, I’ve done a fairly good job at getting solid deals on all the parts I’ve picked up (used market FTW!). If I need to liquidate some stuff, I should be able to get at least what I payed on all of the parts. Could possibly make a little bit of money on some of them.

Dru > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:29

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I bought a 7 year old Grand Cherokee in 2011, because solid axles. Took a 5.5 year loan at 7% and paid it off in 4.5 years. Insurance isn’t too bad, taxes about 100$ per year. Wife has a 2011 Kia we bought from her dad with a 47 month loan at 2%. Credit unions ftw. Will be paid off sometime next year. Payment is less than 10% of our take home, and my wife has no income right now. I prefer to stick with 4 year loans, but cars are expensive as hell so I will stretch to 5, perhaps 6 for the right car. But I couldn’t do 7. My philosophy is you can always pay extra towards the loan, but you can never cut it short.

Milky > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:32

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2004 with 160,ooo miles on it.

6.4% of my monthly income.

I financed it when I was in college and broke, so not sure if this is helpful. Just about paid off.

Dru > Dru 03/30/2016 at 10:34

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Also, bought it with about 75K miles, current has 135K. Only real downside is it's a gas guzzler and has several fluids to keep up with.

RyanFrew > Master Cylinder 03/30/2016 at 10:35

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I agree that they might be worth something soon-ish. A friend of mine collected Porsche 356's when they were still cheap. He has over a dozen. The guy is just a neighborhood mechanic, but he’s a millionaire now.

My parents got the 944, new, the year they got married, and it got me into cars growing up, so I’ll never sell it even if it does go up in value. Having a low mileage 944 is such a waste....

cazzyodo > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:36

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2013 Focus ST bought new and currently at about 28k miles.

Financed it for I don’t even remember right now but somewhere between 7-10% of my monthly take home right now.

Bought my motorcycle outright.

Nibby > TheRealBicycleBuck 03/30/2016 at 10:38

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We all know you make 7 figures annually. Don’t lie.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:39

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Car 1.

1998 Nissan sentra, 1.6, 5mt, 230k miles. Bought in cash, parts so far are several times purchase price.

Car 2.

1985 alfa romeo gtv6, 156k miles, 2.5, 5mt. Bought non running in cash, project car.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:40

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2014 Fiesta ST, 35,000 miles, payment is ~10% of my monthly income.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:43

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I inherited an ‘87 Benz for “fix it and it’s yours” from a relative, and have been driving it for... I guess upwards of 8 years. 400k-ish miles. So, I am not of help here. My project car represents a large amount of my monthly pay some months, however.

Danger > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:44

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2005 120k no payment financed in 2014 then paid off quickly.

4Runner 4x4 V8

1987 44k no payment purchased outright in 2012

Buick Grand National

Danger > Danger 03/30/2016 at 10:45

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I also have a 2014 KTM moto that is financed.

RyanFrew > Milky 03/30/2016 at 10:48

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I was there not too long ago. The nice thing is, I fell in love with the car, and it was pretty worthless by the time I got it paid off, which means it’s easy to justify keeping it, even if/when I get another car.

Quadradeuce > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:51

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2011 Sierra with 75k miles. Financed new, but paid off in 3 years.

2008 Saab 9-7x with 95k miles. Bought used with cash.

Both vehicles are super easy and cheap to maintain in my own garage.

Cars are depreciating assets, and are always a poor financial decision. However, we need transportation, and that costs something. It sort of depends on your threshold for lighting $100 bills on fire via depreciation.

I personally subscribe to the idea that your debt payments should be a small portion of your monthly budget. If that means you can’t afford that bigger house or nicer car, so be it. My mortage is about 15% of my monthly budget. I sleep very well at night.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Nibby 03/30/2016 at 10:58

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Only if you include the decimals - both of them.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 10:59

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2004 Mercedes S600 85,000 miles.

About 6.1% of my monthly income bc prior to buying this car, I had very rarely used credit for anything outside of college and mortgage, so shitty credit.

I put about 40% down and went with an aggressive financing plan so it would be payed off pretty quick.

I bought the car for $17,000 in June and have since spent $3800 in upkeep.

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:04

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I currently have a 1989 Peugeot 505 with around 400.000 km. I bought it 10 years ago with a melted wiring harness for 600€. I bought it outright.
I also have a 1987 Mitsubishi Pajero, around 250.000 km. Got it from my father 2 years ago after we restored it over 7 years.
A 2004 Mazda RX-8, 80.000 km, bought it outright 2 1/2 years ago for 6500€.
A 2006 Audi A4, 80.000 km, bought it end of december for 9000€.
I might buy a 1960 Chevrolet Bel Air on saturday (I know at this point I look like a hoarder).
My rule is not to start financing cars, as I probably would make some awesome, but bad decisions.

Meatcoma > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:04

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2010 Camaro RS v6 6spd, bought used, 139,000 miles (55k when bought)

13% of my monthly income.

Financed, 1 year left, 4 year loan.

Maintenance is low:

Oil changes every 2 months(I drive 110m a day for work)

Tires

Significant service was:

Timing chain replaced at 80k(Chevy covered almost all of it)

TSB: clicking when taking off from rear wheels, dealership installed some spacers that eliminated the noise under warranty.

Other than those items it has been completely problem free.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Justin Hughes 03/30/2016 at 11:07

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Eleventy zillion seems low for that year, has the odo rolled over with a previous owner forgetting to tell you?

Future next gen S2000 owner > Quadradeuce 03/30/2016 at 11:09

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This. Why the bank will allow your monthly to be upwards of 33% of your monthly gross is beyond me. I like having money to spend on things besides my house.

Meatcoma > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:09

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My wife and I bought an 86 944 when she was preggers. She drove it for awhile and when my son was about 3 it had some issues and we parked it. It sat unused for 13 years and then we got some items fixed on it, my son and I replaced the carpet and fixed some more items and then gave it to him. He drove it for about 2 years until someone slammed into the back of him at 70mph while he was stopped. Totaled it, I should have bought the car and pulled all the parts I could from it. It only had 105k on it and 0 cracks in dash, no rips in seats, paint was quite faded but was straight. Was sad to see the hauler take that one away.

Justin Hughes > Future next gen S2000 owner 03/30/2016 at 11:13

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Entirely possible!

RPM esq. > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:15

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2014, just under 20k miles, purchased used. I made a down payment of around 10% of the purchase price and financed the rest. The payment is around 6% of my pre-tax monthly pay, although I intend to pay down a chunk of it when I sell my previous car and refinance to a shorter term, and the payment will probably go down a little bit. Since I still have two other cars sitting around, it’s the insurance, not the car payment, that feel like the major burden.

I thought a lot about the financial aspect and am happy to try to help you work the transaction out.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:15

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2015 Q5, leased new in late 2014, currently at 14,500 miles and the payment represents .007% of our monthly income.

Quadradeuce > Future next gen S2000 owner 03/30/2016 at 11:21

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NEVER borrow what the bank is willing to offer. Never let the bank set your budget.

I really wanted to buy a new car last time around, but we decided to buy used and I have never regretted it. Especially the lack of a car payment.

RyanFrew > Meatcoma 03/30/2016 at 11:25

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Whoa. 84,000 mi in 3 years? Nice work.

finn's arm > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:28

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Save beforehand, build a large safety net if you don’t alr& have another account saving up for the car and pay it out of that.

$100/mo Ins, $200/mo Gas, $2K/yr maint/upgrades on the Germans (not inclusive of tires).

Car 1: 2001 528iT (177K Miles): $3K cash (inclusive of tax/title). Regular maintenance & OEM+ upgrades now and then.

Car 2: 1999 323is (214K Miles): $1.2K cash. That amount multiplied a couple have gone into the car so far and an S52+ZF will make it’s way in... once that M52B25 dies. Currently on jackstands being refreshed on the top end and front of engine

Car 3: CPO 2010 CTS Wagon (30K Miles): $28K. Financed @ 0% over 3 years. $800/mo, equates to .3% of my take home pay (Paid out of an account where it was saved up. Couple months left)

$6K a year for the BMW’s and $9.6K for the CTS. So on paper.... “2/5” of my take home (& post tax moves to savings/investment accounts) pay goes to cars? 30% to mortgage. On paper I am living dat paycheck to paycheck life. In reality, I saved up for both car & house purchase beforehand so no stress.

Chasaboo > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:47

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2015 Honda Fit. 4,100 miles/ Paid outright. Love the thing.

Every time I drive it, I know I’m saving money.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 11:52

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2012 VW GLI, 46,550 miles
no payment, we bought it outright in the summer of 2014
I only pay to gas it up occasionally, so it’s really cheap, unless I’m upgrading/doing maintenance, because that regularly excedes $300...
yay for being a teen

Milky > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 12:00

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Haha thats where I’m at now. Looking at more impractical cars to buy next and keep my Crossfire as a winter beater. Since its “pretty worthless”.

 > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 12:43

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2003 Crown Vic. 136000 miles.

Bought it about 6 years ago with 55k on the clock. Paid $3200.

When I got it I had to repaint the roof and replace windshield wipers. Spent maybe $300 to do that.

Over the last 6 years I haven’t had to do any major repairs. Mostly just oil changes. The only issue that I’ve had with it was a pinion seal leak. $15 part and I replaced it myself. I did pads and rotors on it last year and replaced the tires. I have maybe a grand into it as far as repairs go. Brakes were around $350 and tires around $500. I bought a set of Mustang wheels that had nearly new tires on it.

DanZman > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 13:09

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‘09 C6 z06 purchased in November with 32k mi. Now has about 36k. Cost is just over 10% of monthly income. Which is too high. This is my second c6z and the first one had payments about half of this.

I also have a ‘14 Silverado 1500. But I sold it to my business and no longer pay for it out of pocket. It's got about $50k on the clock. When I was making payments on it, they were about 7% of income.

Meatcoma > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 13:18

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well 550/wk for say 50 weeks for 3 years is 82500. That’d be w/o driving it on the weekends and 2 weeks a year for sick/vac. yea that’s about right. Dang I need to work closer to home... OR FROM HOME! I’d lose 2 hours of drive time to/from work, but I’d gain 2 hours of drivetime wherever the F i want to drive! DEAL!

Correction for above, it was dealership installed ‘washers’ not spacers for the technical service bulletin.

BLCKSTRM > E92M3 03/30/2016 at 13:18

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I’m even more risk averse than that - got a low rate loan despite the fact that I had the cash for it. It wasn’t about making more money somewhere else, it was about liquidity and “what if.” I’d rather have what amounts to a no-cost loan and cash in the bank.

CaptDale - is secretly British > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 13:19

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2006 Pontiac GTO

bought her last February with 9,700 miles for $20,000. I pay 10% of my monthly on it. I have a few big repairs coming up, which of course all stacked up at once and I am moving which is making it harder to afford, but every time I think of selling, I know I shouldn’t. Financed 1 year down 4 to go.

Jayhawk Jake > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 03/30/2016 at 13:23

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If it’s your hobby then it’s a reasonable expense IMO.

E92M3 > BLCKSTRM 03/30/2016 at 13:29

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Yeah, it’s not wise to tie up all your cash. It’s a good idea to have an emergency fund that will cover at least 6 months of living expenses.

RyanFrew > DanZman 03/30/2016 at 13:38

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When you say that 10% is “too much”, what do you mean? Does it stress you out? Do you regret it?

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Jayhawk Jake 03/30/2016 at 13:44

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Agreed.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 14:00

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Well I DD a Honda CRV because it just never has issues with scheduled maintenance. I bought that 2006 (grandma owned from new, very clean 68k miles) for $11k and I financed it and paid it off in a year. I was paying $300 a month for it but I always paid more, then paid it off in a chunk at the end. I can tell you classics randomly throw surprises at you! I’ve been slowly restoring and modifying a 71 240Z. It’s pretty much at the point where it just needs to be repainted, but to do that properly is too much right now. I have a W123 Mercedes diesel and it’s pretty good but every now and then an original part goes kaput and it isn’t always cheap. I just had to do some wheel bearings, engine mounts and the brakes had to be flushed, a few things changed. I had a small loan to get the Z started and then I paid it off pretty quick, I have done car projects and paid off loans for better credit.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 14:17

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I bought a brand new 2013 Mini Clubman S in December 2013.

The payment is 7.8% of my monthly income, annualized from my 2015 tax returns.

I also financed it, because it was the end of the model year and I got a 0% APR loan for 48 months.

I currently have 30,047 miles on the clock. I also have other cars to drive, so my mileage is less. This means that if I really wanted to, and could get a short lease for a commute car, I could be under the mileage limitation for those.

EDIT: Technically I also have the Silverado (Paid for. Bought it for $8.5K cash) and the BMW (Smaller payment than the Mini at 3.5% APR), along with the Audi (Paid for, paid $2K for it) and the Triumph (Paid for, bought it for $3.3K)

The house is also only with a HELOC (no first mortgage), and I used that to renovate my kitchen. Also useful for racking up interest to deduct from my income at tax time (Because when you are male, single, and no dependents, you get screwed on taxes).

BLCKSTRM > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 14:23

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Ok, I’ve never done this before so this should be fun.

1998 M3/4/5: bought it for $5k in Nov 2009 with 120k on the clock, while jobless, paid cash. (Quite the story: http://jalopnik.com/why-do-i-love-… ). Costs me about $2k/year in wear items / long-term maintenance / upgrades. Sometimes all at once (just blew this year’s $2k all at once on a new LTW flywheel / clutch / SSK / shift pin refresh when my clutch died).

I usually wait until it needs to be replaced before I upgrade something (see the above flywheel example). I run the car’s budget from July-July because I do a lot of work when my family heads north to escape the Texas summer. If I’m under my $2k “budget” when I get to June I’ll spring for cosmetic or other non-urgent issues (like replacing my worn seats), and do the work while my family is out of town.

And it’s true that ANY E36 M3 is a $10k car - it’s just a matter of whether you’ll buy it done or do the work (and buy the parts) yourself.

I’m about done with it, though. The final upgrade thing/s to do are cams/injectors/3.5" intake, and that will probably wait a while. It is very well sorted, and doesn’t at all feel like it has 204k on the clock. So the $2k annual number may go down to $500-1000 for the next couple years.

I bought a 2005 CTS-V with 20k miles in August 2010 for $25k. I honestly don’t remember how much I put down or what my rate was. I had cash, but got the loan (from the same credit union) because I preferred to have liquid assets. Paid it off at some point when it was low enough compared to my savings account to not worry about it. Sold it for $20k in 2012 to buy the Escalade when kid #4 came along. Only ever had a minor warranty issue, motor mounts, and a bad diff bushing.

2010 Escalade w/ 60k miles purchased in late 2012 for $40k or so. After the V, loan was for about $20k. Payments are about $330 / month. Again, I could pay it off but prefer to have liquid cash instead of a paid off car. Payment is substantially less than 5%.

To demonstrate the wisdom of getting a loan even if you have the cash, the M3 clutch died at the same time the AFM oil manifold in the Escalade took a dump. $3500 worth of repairs and both cars out of action at the same time. If the little you may pay in interest bothers you, there are lots of safe places to invest so so it’s zero cost. Or you can just consider it insurance.

DanZman > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 14:45

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It’s just more than I would like. My situation is a bit unique. I live on only about 25% of my income, so the car being nearly half of my monthly expenses makes it seem wasteful. Its a far cry from when I was 19 and I had a brand new 350z that was 40% of my income. In fact that payment was even bigger than the one for this current Vette.

John > RyanFrew 03/30/2016 at 16:00

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HA, awful question.....my payment for my 2014 VW GLI is 11% of my income....but that by no means encompasses the cost of my car.....I think I have a diagnosible disease...

John > DanZman 03/30/2016 at 16:02

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Do you mind me asking what you bought the Vette for, or what the payments are? If not no worris, but Ive really been looking for a C6 Z06 lately and depending on where I look, some prices seem WAY too high compared to some places that seem WAY too low. Ive been debating an auction actually.

DanZman > John 03/30/2016 at 17:23

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I paid $39k for a 2009 with 33k mi. I paid a little more than I could have if I really tried. But, this car was local, one owner with great documentation and was the color I wanted.

The thing about these cars is that they are actually pretty easy to find with very low miles. Some owners are emotionally attached and think they have some collectors item.

The only thing to think about is that they have a known issue with the valve guides in the heads. If you do your homework you can easily prepare for it. Expect $2-3k for basic work. If you want to spend more, you can make a ton of extra power wile you are in there.

Other than that they are very reliable and cheap to own. My last one I had for just under 3 years and over 18k mi. It never had anything other than scheduled maintenance. I didn’t even do brakes or tires in that time.

I love the cars, and recommend them to all that ask. You simply cannot get a better combination of fast/reliable/good looks for this price.

Nisman > RyanFrew 03/31/2016 at 08:28

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I know! Johnny gave me a deal. The dealership reported back. A bad motor mount is causing a misfire like symptom which is kind of bizarre. $500... The thing also needs struts so I think time for Coilovers! I could sell it tomorrow though and still make a profit hah.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > RyanFrew 03/31/2016 at 11:07

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Whatever you do don’t get in over your head. I’ve been there and it is fucking terrible. when I was 25 I bought a brand fucking new Challenger SRT8 and rolled in some negative equity into the loan in order to get it. The car ended up being $63 grand.

I was making at the time $2700/month after taxes and the payment was $823/month about 30% of my income. but then there was insurance of $200/month plus copious amounts of gas ~$500/month. By the time you factor in all that stuff I was paying well over $1500/month just on a car. 55% of my income dedicated to a fucking car.

Every time I got behind the wheel all I could think of was how much it was costing me so I was never able to actually enjoy it.

Now 5 years later I drive a Ford Fusion 1.6L ecoboost that is $440/month insurance is $94/month and at the very most I spend about $120/month for gas. so all in It’s costing me about $650/month to drive.

So it’s costing me about a 3rd of what it did before and now 5 years later my income went up about 35% so it makes it MUCH MUCH more affordable.

I’d say spend no more than 20% of your take home income on a car and this is including ALL expenses (EX: insurance,repairs,fuel,ect)

As jalop as I am there are more important things than cars. You might want to buy a house one day you don’t want your car to interfere with that.

Now I have a nice house with a 3 car garage and the fusion and some disposable income that I can play around with old cars on my spare time.

Stapleface > RyanFrew 03/31/2016 at 12:28

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I own a 2015 Civic with about 17.5 on it that I purchased new. My payment is roughly 13% of my monthly take-home pay. The rest of my pay goes to other annoying things like mortgage and student loans.

I'd like a different car, but the Civic is cheap and practical, so it stays.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > RyanFrew 04/01/2016 at 10:19

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Model year 2013 / 29,000 miles / bought outright. My expenses include insurance, maintenance, and fuel.

John > DanZman 04/01/2016 at 13:20

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Awesome advice, I really appreciate it. Thats actually less than what Ive seen them for, and more to what I wish they were haha. I’m not super ready to change the car in Im driving now, I still have less than 30k on it, but i would really like to go the C6Z route. Basically for all the reasons you said. Plus I do think that V8s are going to go away, Im young yet, so Im sure i will watch them disappear. I want to enjoy one when I can.

Thank you so much for the advice, definitely gave me the right direction to look, and its much more affordable than I thought, only a little bit more than the car I’m driving now.

DanZman > John 04/01/2016 at 14:06

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Happy to help! These cars are amazing. You should get an insurance quote, it is probably cheaper than what ever you are currently driving. I'm remember that mine dropped by about 30% from my 350z.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > RyanFrew 04/01/2016 at 15:32

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All of my current cars were bought outright.

But for my 1998 F355, the purchase price is just the beginning......