What constitutes a "liveable wage"?

That's a shitty thought, IMO. If you are traveling a lot, having a new car is nearly essential. And you shouldn't have to get a crappy car if you don't want to.

 

Only true if you're single, young and just a few years removed from college, live in an affordable area, or you're wife also works and makes that much or more. Not true if you're married with a kid and your wife doesn't work. And, frankly, even $50,000 combined income is hard on a couple that maybe has a kid and pays a mortgage. It is true what they say about the middle class being squeezed out, and journalists who don't have a spouse as the bread-winner, sadly, are often on the low end of middle class.

And I fully agree with what Buckweaver just said.

 

Fuck every one of you. I didn't bust my ass for four years in college to drive a piece of shit car and eat fucking mac and cheese at night for dinner. And I've done both before. And you'll rip me, but whatever.

 

But not a car that costs 1/5 of your pay. My car is an 02. I pay less than $200 on it (am less than 6 months away from paying it off). It has more than 100K on it and it runs fine. I'd travel with it.

And no one is asking you to drive a piece of shit car or eat mac and cheese every night for dinner. I think what's being said is that you can find a better deal than $300 a month. Get a car that's not an 07. Get a car that's maybe an 05. It's still going to be a nice car. Just two years older.

And be fucking sensible. I have full coverage insurance, too, and mine costs me $75 a month.

 

LOL. Anybody who buys a new car instead of a newer-used car needs to do some research on wasting money on new cars, IMO.

 

Ahh, the wisdom of youth. Entitlement to the max.

Good luck with that.

 

My first car, which lasted me roughly two years, cost $800. My second car, which lasted me three months, cost $250. In those two years and three months, I saved every penny I could to purchase a good car.

I've yet to make a "real" payment on the car. When I purchased it, I had $4,000 saved for it. I put a grand down on it, and used the rest to pretty much pay for the first full year.

Fast forward to '08. With my tax return and some extra non-essential savings, I've saved up another 12 payments and don't have to make a real payment (out of my income) until next April.

If you're smart about it, you can get anything you want in this world. I have a great car, which saves me a TON in gas prices (35 mpg) and have paid off two whole years without ever dipping into my income.

So to say it's a stupid choice to make to go with a new car is only true if you're stupid about your purchases. I'm not, and frankly, I think it's the smartest thing I could do.

I'm only a year or so removed from college, have no credit, and by the time this car is paid off, I'll be one step closer to building a solid future for myself.

 

Yeah, good luck with that partner. Coming from a guy that bought two crap cars, let me tell you something: there's a reason they cost more. They don't suck and die on you two months after you bought it.

 

I didn't say used cars, I said newer-used cars, as in those still under warranty, etc.

 

Good for you, schiezainc, but you could have saved yourself a lot more than that if you bought a car that was, say, two years older.

You pay $800 for a car, you're damn right it's going to crap out soon. That's not a smart purchase (which I'm sure you know by now.)

But new cars aren't even worth the extra status you get by owning a status symbol. They depreciate like *that* the second you drive it off the lot.

 

Yeah, and that's good advice. But the car I wanted, an '07 Corolla, was nearly identically priced new and used. Look it up. Those fuckers hold their value, mostly because they're ---get this--- dependable.

Barring something unforseen, I should be able to push my Corolla to at least 200K miles with proper care and maintainance. By the time I move on from this vehicle, it will have practially paid for itself.

As for the "don't buy a new car" crap, trust me, when you've been through the things I went through with those other pieces of crap, you'll go new. It's just worth it for the peace of mind.

 

And I'll be there by that person's side saying: "It DOESN'T have to be brand new to be dependable."

I bought my car used with 28,000 miles on it after having two clunkers. It's at 100,000 now and no issues outside of upcoming maintenance crap. I paid significantly less for it, and it's worth the same, if not more, than the person who bought that model year brand new. That's all I'm saying.