Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Forum - View Single Post

Corran9 · 08-12-2010, 09:19 AM

I've been reading the Camaro5 forums for a while now, but today I finally registered to begin posting. So first off, Hi! Nice to be here.

As for the reason for THIS post, I'm in the process of saving up money for Camaro. My goal is to have enough to have $10k for savings and investment, and $10k for a downpayment on a 1SS. That is the amount I'll need to put down on the car to bring the monthly payment down to what I am ready to pay each month.

I am also working on building/restoring my credit.

I expect the process for both of these goals to take about a year to a year and a half. My dilemma is this: my only means of transportation at the moment is a motorcycle. This served me fine for the last 2 years as I was in tech school for the Air Force and lived in the dorms and was basically a prisoner anyway. Then I was in the dorms on my base, and right now I'm deployed. But when I get back to the states in a couple months, I'm finally moving out of the dorms and will finally be back in an apartment. Living off base will be difficult with only a motorcycle, so I intend to get a car. My question for all of you, is what is the best combination of financial soundness and enjoyability for buying a car to only keep for a year or so.

Option 1: Buy a late third gen or early to mid fourth gen F-Body with high mileage for $3 - $5k cash. Obviously won't be the best condition, but it seems like there's a few out there that are decent. I could drive it for a year, then try and sell it for as close to what I paid for it as I can.

Option 2: Buy a slightly used mid-sized car (i'm thinking like an '07 Altima or something.) These are generally going for around $12-13k. To do this I would put a down payment on the car and then get a loan for the rest. So I would be paying interest, but I would have a more reliable car. Then in a year or so, just like in option 1, sell it and hope that it hasn't depreciated too much.

Option 3: I dunno.

Multiple times over this deployment I have changed my mind about which path I would like to take. I would love to have an F-body again (I had an '89 IROC that I sold when I was 19) but on the other hand I'd like to have something in nice condition that I can take on road trips, and is a bit newer.

So what I'm looking for is thoughts from other people. Any advice or ideas you have will be appreciated.

08-12-2010, 09:19 AM	#1
Corran9 Drives: 2011 RJT 2SS/RS Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 47	Looking for advice and opinions I've been reading the Camaro5 forums for a while now, but today I finally registered to begin posting. So first off, Hi! Nice to be here. As for the reason for THIS post, I'm in the process of saving up money for Camaro. My goal is to have enough to have $10k for savings and investment, and $10k for a downpayment on a 1SS. That is the amount I'll need to put down on the car to bring the monthly payment down to what I am ready to pay each month. I am also working on building/restoring my credit. I expect the process for both of these goals to take about a year to a year and a half. My dilemma is this: my only means of transportation at the moment is a motorcycle. This served me fine for the last 2 years as I was in tech school for the Air Force and lived in the dorms and was basically a prisoner anyway. Then I was in the dorms on my base, and right now I'm deployed. But when I get back to the states in a couple months, I'm finally moving out of the dorms and will finally be back in an apartment. Living off base will be difficult with only a motorcycle, so I intend to get a car. My question for all of you, is what is the best combination of financial soundness and enjoyability for buying a car to only keep for a year or so. Option 1: Buy a late third gen or early to mid fourth gen F-Body with high mileage for $3 - $5k cash. Obviously won't be the best condition, but it seems like there's a few out there that are decent. I could drive it for a year, then try and sell it for as close to what I paid for it as I can. Option 2: Buy a slightly used mid-sized car (i'm thinking like an '07 Altima or something.) These are generally going for around $12-13k. To do this I would put a down payment on the car and then get a loan for the rest. So I would be paying interest, but I would have a more reliable car. Then in a year or so, just like in option 1, sell it and hope that it hasn't depreciated too much. Option 3: I dunno. Multiple times over this deployment I have changed my mind about which path I would like to take. I would love to have an F-body again (I had an '89 IROC that I sold when I was 19) but on the other hand I'd like to have something in nice condition that I can take on road trips, and is a bit newer. So what I'm looking for is thoughts from other people. Any advice or ideas you have will be appreciated.