Roid -- Between your recent paint scratching incident, rising fuel costs and your oversight on the "mechanical" side of things, you're going to drive yourself into a paranoid mess.
I take it you're younger? Is the MS3 a little higher than what you'd like to be paying for every month? That might have been your first mistake.
I don't think you should start doubting yourself on things, and I'd certaintly stop overthinking your decision regarding the MS3. Most people who would buy such an amazing car like an MS3, then saying they'd rather go to a Prius, sounds like someone who can't afford the car and is living beyond their means.
I'm only calling it like I see it, and because I recognize some of the things you're doing as things i've done myself.
Relax bro..it'll all be good. Atleast you're not in my shoes, paying 20 gallons of Premium only to be getting 12 mpg. But i'lll ****** smoke you in the quarter!!!! lololz
I feel the exact same way as you do. The problem with me is that i can afford it, easily....but i dont WANT to afford it...not sure if that makes sense or not. My money can go to other, better things. This is only 1 of my hobbies.
Like I said, it's nothing personal. I just see some things in what you're saying that I used to be like or think like.No it's not that. I payed cash actually. So it's not a payment problem it's more of a $4 problem that has me paranoid, that and the food price problem. I know it's not the ms3s fault that our economy is crumbling beneath our feet.
P.S. I know the paint will buff out and the transsmision oil thing is fine now it's not stressing me. I am just stock on the gas thing really.
Yea I know. I can technically afford the gas costs but I am just a tight person with my money. That's how I had 22k cash to spend on a car I like to save more than I spend.
i have 20, xxx miles on mine and am problem free. i absolutely love the car and if i could go back to when i bought the car and gotten that or something else, i would have gotten the ms3 again. i average 25mpgs and drive about 100 miles a day. i am very glad i bought he gt package too. i love all the little bells and whistles it comes with. when you drive as much as me the little things really go along way
Like I said, it's nothing personal. I just see some things in what you're saying that I used to be like or think like.
Gas is gas, and you're not the only one that's struggling. But just remember that someone would LOVE to be in your shoes, even on your worst day. I'm paying alot more than you are bud, and i'm tryin to downsize it by getting the MS3.
I'm not questioning your judgement with money, but I don't think saving $20k plus then tossing it into a car is a smart financial decision. You sound more like someone who just doesn't like having payments.
Of course, i'm entitled to my own opinion, but that's coming from a financially-smart (and conservative) person to another.
That hoarded cash will will end up going to the same nursing home I'm at when your old and eating the same baby food I'm eating. Only difference is I've enjoyed my earnings. You'll regret not stomping on the loud pedal in your younger days. When you are 96 years old and that pretty nurse is changing your diaper.
I have been driving ultra conservatively by shifting at 2k and I am pretty happy with the results with my mileage. I know that people will say why buy a performance car to drive it like a grandma but most of the time I am in traffic and can't really womp on it. I realize that saving up 20k to drop on a car isn't the most financially savvy move. I guess I just don't know enough to play the stock market so I tend to hoard my cash.
Part of me is regretting my decision to get the MS3. Mainly do the the reality of $4 gas prices on the horizon I am wondering if I should have gone with a prius. I got a new plan though I am gonna start shifting at 2000rpm and see if I can get respectable mileage that way.
Roid -- Between your recent paint scratching incident, rising fuel costs and your oversight on the "mechanical" side of things, you're going to drive yourself into a paranoid mess.
I take it you're younger? Is the MS3 a little higher than what you'd like to be paying for every month? That might have been your first mistake.
I don't think you should start doubting yourself on things, and I'd certaintly stop overthinking your decision regarding the MS3. Most people who would buy such an amazing car like an MS3, then saying they'd rather go to a Prius, sounds like someone who can't afford the car and is living beyond their means.
I'm only calling it like I see it, and because I recognize some of the things you're doing as things i've done myself.
Relax bro..it'll all be good. Atleast you're not in my shoes, paying 20 gallons of Premium only to be getting 12 mpg. But i'lll ****** smoke you in the quarter!!!! lololz
No it's not that. I payed cash actually. So it's not a payment problem it's more of a $4 problem that has me paranoid, that and the food price problem. I know it's not the ms3s fault that our economy is crumbling beneath our feet.
P.S. I know the paint will buff out and the transsmision oil thing is fine now it's not stressing me. I am just stock on the gas thing really.
Nothing wrong with saving for and buying a car outright. That's awesome because you are saving a don of $$ in the long run by not having payments with interest! You probably saved at least 10k depending on how good/ bad your credit is.
The recipe for good mileage in the MS3, and any car IMHO, is to drive thoughtfully. What does that mean? Accelerate like you're in no hurry at all (watch the computer and you'll see how much gas pedal uses how much gas). Shift at 3000 rpm. Watch ahead and decelerate well in advance of that stop light/queu of cars instead of, like most drivers out there, racing from light to light. This might piss alot of people off but you can just wave to them as you roll past them since you caught the light from a 2nd gear roll and they have been sitting there waiting for the light to change. Stay out of boost as much as possible. I can go a long time without boosting the car.
Regarding taking your time from light to light, and coasting (in gear - uses NO gas), I laugh at the insanity of the people as they race past me with an irritated look on their face, only to repeatedly see them again, light after light with me (as I said) rolling past them. I time things so I rarely have to stop. I guarantee that tactic alone saves lots of gas.
That's been my philosophy for the last several cars. It's fiscally smart and saves TONS of money. I don't feel like I've missed out on a thing.
I hate to assume, but this technique is reminding me too much of an 08 Escape Hybrid that took 1/2 of a mile to get up to 45mph. And he also had a license plate cover that said "First one to the red light loses!.
Just because gas is bad, doesn't mean you have to hold up traffic either. I say get up to the posted speed swiftly and comfortably. You don't have to haul ass, but don't be a dick and hold up traffic either.
Traffic = Taking longer to get places = More gas wasted.
I'm a complete advocate of driving in respects to conservation. I plan my routes and trips accordingly, and try to make the best of my trip and traffic. I know when I have the MS3, i'll plan on timing as many lights as I can on my route to work everyday (as I do anyways). But I also let it be known that I get in the right lane if I am going to, and let whom ever pass me. I cannot STAND the people who pace next to someone else doing the exact same speed limit.
But there's an old saying - "It takes Money to make Money".
If all your money is spent on a depreciating, replacable item, how is that smart? If it took you 5 years to save $25k, and you cashed out on one single item, that's not considered a financially smart move.
Consider companies like Toyota and Nissan. Most of the American facilities they are investing in, are actually not being bought. Why take $20 million and invest it into one location? Things could totally change in 5 to 10 years and the Japanese auto makers are smart and know that. They know they want the freedom of being able to pull out if necessary without any financial obligations. Sure they pay taxes and interest, but the amount of principle they're making back out of that facility, pays for it in the end.
Too many people look at much money they have to spend per month as a means of "getting ahead". Those same people live paycheck-to-paycheck. Which is why I made the assumptions I did on previous posters. Just because you're not spending $300-500 a month on a car payment doesn't mean you're that much richer. Unless you're putting aside $300-500 a month in a savings account. THEN you're doing the right thing. Otherwise, all I see are a bunch of people cashing out MORE useless dollars on mods. Your $20k investment just turned into a total loss. It's like keeping a garbage can clean. It's a garbage can, it gets dirty!
What i'm trying to say is, if I had $20k just sitting there. I'd invest $15k in high yield money market accounts, and put the $5k down on the car. This way my payments stay relatively low and so does the interest. Meanwhile, i'm making 5% on my $15k through UBS Financial. So the interest I make back will help compensate to build my $15k back up to $20k within time.
And then if I want to make a business investment, or a financial partnership, I have that money in my back pocket to bring forward to the table.
If tomorrow my friend wanted to start a business together, and we both had to bring $20k to the table, atleast I'd have it. Instead of saying "Naw man...I own a car now...it's gonna be atleast another 4 to 5 years until I get that kind of money again". By then, the dream is gone, and the opportunity is lost.
Kinda see what I mean? Like for example, right now is a great opportunity. I'm shopping for a home, and houses are cheap as hell. If I didn't have the money, i'd be missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thankfully, I do. And i'll be able to get my MS3 and the house and continue to build, now that I have equity in a home that has reached rock-bottom and has only UP to go.
