Welp, I think MY CAR IS TOTALED (details and future plan, reply #25)

[kirksnosehair]

You've obviously got yourself talked into this so I won't try to talk you out of it, but based on what you've told us about your financial situation, I guess I'll be the buzz kill and tell what I think a lot of people who are reading this are thinking:


This is a terrible idea with a ton of risk and very little reward.


But, hey, good luck with it.  I hope it works out for you. 

[Chino]

You've obviously got yourself talked into this so I won't try to talk you out of it, but based on what you've told us about your financial situation, I guess I'll be the buzz kill and tell what I think a lot of people who are reading this are thinking:


This is a terrible idea with a ton of risk and very little reward.


But, hey, good luck with it.  I hope it works out for you. 

Please elaborate. Seems pretty solid with very little risk to me...

[kirksnosehair]

Come on, dude.....young college kid living at home with parents working part time job making about, what, $15k year, generously speaking....so, you're going to lease a vehicle that is probably got a sticker price that is $10k more than what you make in a year.  This is a car that's going to depreciate by about 15% to 20% the second you cross from the lot onto the street.  But you think there's "very little risk" to you?


Like I wrote above, you've got yourself talked into it.  It's cool, I was 23 once too you know, of course, we rode horses back then, but still 


If I were in your shoes, I'd take about 75% of the money I got on the insurance settlement, buy a decent used car and then drive that until I got out of school and got a decent job where I could actually afford a $25,000 car. 


Theoretically, your plan could work, sure.  It assumes you'll never touch a dime of that money you put away for making the payments.  It assumes you only exceed the mileage by 5000 miles per year, it assumes gas prices remain completely static over the next two or three years, it assumes you never get into any kind of accident, it assumes you never have to pay for any kind of maintenance, and well, just way too many assumptions in there. 


Look, don't get me wrong.  I know exactly what you're feeling right now.  Been there.  Done that.  More than once.  The temptation is captivating.  So, I guess you just have to go do it.  Experience it for yourself.  Hey, it could work out the way you outlined it.






And I could....well....you know......CALLING CLEOPATRA!!!! 


Seriously, bro, I hope it works out for you.  I really do.   


I guess I just tend to be much more conservative when it comes to things like this.  Like, you know, I would never purchase a $200,000 Lamborghini, but YOU buying this car right now, given your finances, is the same as ME making a purchase like that.  It's reckless and irresponsible.  And I think any competent financial adviser would tell you the same thing.


I'll shut my pie hole now and -sincerely- wish you the greatest success and enjoyment with whatever car you end up with.    

[Chino]

This is a car that's going to depreciate by about 15% to 20% the second you cross from the lot onto the street.  But you think there's "very little risk" to you?

Look up the resale value of Mini coopers and come back to me.

you're going to lease a vehicle that is probably got a sticker price that is $10k more than what you make in a year.

Again, I have over two thirds of the payments already covered, and up until a couple of months ago, I had virtually the exact same car payment... There are no issues there.

Theoretically, your plan could work, sure.  It assumes you'll never touch a dime of that money you put away for making the payments.  It assumes you only exceed the mileage by 5000 miles per year, it assumes gas prices remain completely static over the next two or three years, it assumes you never get into any kind of accident, it assumes you never have to pay for any kind of maintenance, and well, just way too many assumptions in there. 

The money from the accident will be in a separate bank account strictly for this. I have at least 25 months worth of payments covered. There is no issue there. I could exceed the mileage by 50,000 miles and it doesn't matter because my plan is to buy it out. Gas prices? I highly doubt they are dropping, and even if they do, so what? As for an accident, I'm completely covered by insurance, don't see an issue there. Maintenance is covered by the dealer for the duration of the lease, and after that, like I said earlier, I will be in the real job market well after the lease ends. You could argue that maintenance will be the least of my worries. Buying a used car, I have no idea what could go wrong. Look at the guy who hit me. He was driving a car from the lot that was for sale and the brakes failed... At least buying a new one of these will give me a solid 5 - 6 years of not needing maintenance.

[kirksnosehair]

Like I wrote above, you've got yourself talked into it.  It's cool, I was 23 once too you know

[ich bin besser]

I didn't read all of the posts (sorry, Barry!  ), but I'll just say: driving a MINI is sooooo much fun! 

[Scorpion]

Yeah, I agree. My parents have one, and it's a great feeling.

[Chino]

Like I wrote above, you've got yourself talked into it.  It's cool, I was 23 once too you know

But the thing is, this is nothing new for me. I have had a $220+ a month payment since I was 17. It's not like this is the first time I've had to pay by month for a car. To me, the pros out weigh the cons. When I bought my Passat in 2006, I blew a head gasket within the first 90 days. The CV joints failed, 2 window motors went, water pump died, and the timing belt snapped, all before 100,000 miles. Sure I could go spend $9,000 on a "good" used car. But honestly, I don't trust anything for that price. To feel comfortable, I would need to purchase a car that is at least $13,000. With the amount/distance I drive, and the money I make during the school year, I can't take the risk of some big component failing.

I really don't see what qualifies this as a "terrible idea". You say "it's cool, I was 23 once too you know", as if I'm making a poor decision because my age. No. Purchasing a 5 year old Passat when I was 17 was a terrible mistake. Purchasing the 5 year old Mazda when I was 20 was a terrible mistake. Both cars had a clean car fax and were approved my my mechanic prior to purchase. Yet, I'm 2 for 2 on used cars costing me a shit load of money unexpectedly. At least by buying a new car I know I am not going to have to go through any of those headaches, at least not anytime soon. And again, I have 2/3 of the payments already paid for. For the first two years, all I have to do is put $29 bucks a week into my car bank account. That's the money I'm going to be saving on gas alone. So if you think of it that way... for two years, I'm putting away per month (instead of paying) half of what the car payment actually is, and it's not really going to cost me anything when compared to what my previous car payments have been due to the money I'll be saving on fuel.

[Orbert]

I don't know, it sounds to me like Chino has all the bases covered.  Depreciation isn't an issue, maintenance isn't an issue, and making the payments isn't an issue.  The only real risk is getting into an accident inside the first year or so, but there's always that risk.  Other than that, I don't see the problem.

[slycordinator]

Unless Connecticut is as goofy as it sounds, your insurance shouldn't have anything to do with it.  It's all on him.  And how'd you come up with the $3900 number?

With the collision insurance, you don't have to wait for the court date to get stuff worked out for your end. They cover the damage and then sue the other guy. Otherwise, you have to get a rental car, go to court, then find out that the other party only has to pay for the damage to your vehicle.

[DebraKadabra]

I don't know, it sounds to me like Chino has all the bases covered.  Depreciation isn't an issue, maintenance isn't an issue, and making the payments isn't an issue.  The only real risk is getting into an accident inside the first year or so, but there's always that risk.  Other than that, I don't see the problem.

I agree - Chino's definitely got his head screwed on straight about this.  I wish I'd been as savvy when I was his age.

[Cedar redaC]

As far as used cars go, Carmax is a great place to get a used car. I hate to sound like a commercial, but the customer service is great and I've never had a problem with a car from them.

[Chino]

So I had to get the car cleaned out today as my insurance company is hauling it away tomorrow. It was sad It was also a real pain in the fucking ass. I had a ton of stuff in the trunk. A lot of barbecue stuff, kayak gear, etc... The trunk lid was now molded into the frame and body, couldn't access it that way. Come to find out, neither of my back doors would open! They weren't damaged on the outside, but the locking mechanisms must have been damaged some how. I had to get everything out of my trunk through the front doors. Damage looked a lot more intense this time around. I'm still amazed I didn't feel a thing the next day.

My insurance check will hopefully be here on by next Monday or Tuesday.

[DebraKadabra]

I remember going to get all of my stuff out of my truck after it was totaled - I also had that surreal thought of 'Wow, I could've been seriously hurt/killed.'

[Chino]

Heading to the Mini dealer tomorrow

Need input. Number 1, 2, or 3??

[DebraKadabra]

Black and white cars show dust/dirt the worst of any car colors IMO, so I'd say 3.

[Orbert]

3

[slycordinator]

I'd go with 3 as well.

Also, if anyone says "don't get a red car, you'll stand out more and get tickets easier" it's bullshit. In fact, a tv show covering myths like this had a major city police department pull their record of tickets given out and only look at color of the vehicle. Red cars were slightly less tickets were handed out to drivers of red vehicles than one would expect in a random sample.

[Dark Castle]

2, it's so beautiful~

[Scorpion]

We (my family) have number 3. It's pretty cool.

[Chino]

Black and white cars show dust/dirt the worst of any car colors IMO, so I'd say 3.

I've always found white cars to be the easiest to keep clean. Black looks filthy a day after waxing it.

[Rattlehead]

Hey Chino - just wanted to say I read your story and I am sorry to hear what happened and glad that you are ok. I hope everything works out 

[DebraKadabra]

Black and white cars show dust/dirt the worst of any car colors IMO, so I'd say 3.

I've always found white cars to be the easiest to keep clean. Black looks filthy a day after waxing it.

That's actually a good point.

So... how did everything go today?

[Chino]

Black and white cars show dust/dirt the worst of any car colors IMO, so I'd say 3.

I've always found white cars to be the easiest to keep clean. Black looks filthy a day after waxing it.

That's actually a good point.

So... how did everything go today?

Everything went Well! Didn't go exactly according to plan, but I'm very happy  I went with the red with black stripes combo and ended up getting a bunch of stuff I wasn't really planning on. I also decided not to go the lease/buy out route. I ended up adding automatic climate control, auto wipers, auto headlamps, a dual pane sun roof, and heated seats. I also ended up getting extended maintenance and coverage to 6 year/100k miles thrown in as well! That's pretty sweet seeing as oil changes, anything brake related, transmission maintenance, etc... are all covered for free by mini. The only shitty thing about this is that it takes 6-8 weeks to build a mini. The salesman ended up finding a car that was started but bailed on. I just took over that order, but that's the reason why I ended up getting the extra options. I got a deal on the options, but my monthly payment is about $25 more that expected. The upside there is that I should have the car in 4 weeks instead of 6-8.

[Cedar redaC]

 

[DebraKadabra]

Sounds excellent.

[Chino]

 

Took home the new whip today!

[Orbert]

Sweet!

[Rattlehead]

Very nice 

[ich bin besser]

Welcome to the family! 

[DebraKadabra]

Ooo, pretty!