Thinking hard about replacing my MS3 with...

[builthatch]

heh, my ms3 was produced apr 07, the only major tsb it didn't fall under was the fuel pump(pre apr 07 lol). I will never buy a 1st year production car, no matter how much money i have. When the car is down, it WILL take time out of your day, and you will endup without a car for a period of time. don't matter if it's bmw 745 (we all know what a pain in the ass that car was when it came out), or if it's kia....

i totally believe in this mantra. i got my 97 hatch for this very reason, then as i went through the years and amassed or replaced cars, up to and including this ms3, i've totally believed that the second year is an ideal balance between working the bugs out and having enough time with the platform before it gets replaced by the next generation.

that is why i'm so curious to see what subaru does in 2010 with the sti, because that means the 2011 would be mine IF they come out with a new generation for 2010...or, if they debut the forester xti!

 

[derspi]

Yes... you are right. I do like the 370Z, but after owning the G35 I am ready for something different. I haven't seen the SS up close, but I am looking forward to it. My girlfriend (who lives with me and contributes financially) suggested I get the S5...until I told her the price! The 2 SS is still in the top running....

My, your GF sure has expensive tastes! The S5 is a beautiful car and as a matter of fact, I can give you some input into this pretty soon as a friend of mine will be taking delivery of one sometime this week. He's being a pussy though and is going to "break it in" for a couple thousand kms. he says.

My preconceived notions of the S5 is that it will have an absolutely beautiful and top-notch interior, awesome V8 grunt & burble, great highway cruiser attributes with decent handling but being somewhat porky, it could be a bit less entertaining to drive than say, a 335i. It'll probably have less than stellar reliability which is an Audi trademark but we'll see how that plays out.

In many ways, it could very well be comparable to the SS in terms of performance but obviously more luxurious and expensive.

 

[camrycev6]

My, your GF sure has expensive tastes! The S5 is a beautiful car and as a matter of fact, I can give you some input into this pretty soon as a friend of mine will be taking delivery of one sometime this week. He's being a pussy though and is going to "break it in" for a couple thousand kms. he says.

My preconceived notions of the S5 is that it will have an absolutely beautiful and top-notch interior, awesome V8 grunt & burble, great highway cruiser attributes with decent handling but being somewhat porky, it could be a bit less entertaining to drive than say, a 335i. It'll probably have less than stellar reliability which is an Audi trademark but we'll see how that plays out.

In many ways, it could very well be comparable to the SS in terms of performance but obviously more luxurious and expensive.

Yeah... the S5 is super sexy beast! Sure it only does 0-60 in 4.9, but it much more to me than just acceleration. I saw one up close and just fell in love with it. I priced a new one with the options I want... the OTD price was $64,123. That is a $1400 a month car payment over 5 years... I did just get a raise and I can afford it, but the practical part of my mind says that is just too much to spend on a car.

 

[camrycev6]

Oh...here is my list if anyone wants to check out the data of what I have considered.

 

[jred321]

if i had a monthly payment anywhere near any of those i'd have to kick myself in the nuts for being so stupid and not putting money down. those are mortgage payments not car payments

 

[diddiyo]

A few people have already taken delivery on their 2010 Camaro.

I wanted to get a 2LT/RS, but couldn't get financing since I don't have that much credit history yet. So I'm picking up a 2008 MS3 GT metro gray tomorrow

 

[funksilver07]

I guess the Camaro won't be your DD, or will it? (spin) Probably a lot of fun (in a straight line) but I would imagine the gas MPG sucks...

 

[jred321]

why does everyone assume the camaro gets terrible gas mileage? the SS is rated at 16/24mpg. the v6 is rated at 17/29mpg. neither are too crazy for a DD. i lived with an evo for 2.5 years and was at around 20mpg. i wouldn't hesitate to use an SS for a DD based on gas mileage

 

[camrycev6]

if i had a monthly payment anywhere near any of those i'd have to kick myself in the nuts for being so stupid and not putting money down. those are mortgage payments not car payments

This was just done as a comparison. It doesn't include trade-ins, or any money down. Consider it a worse case condition.

And just for the record, unless you are putting down more than 1/4 of the car's value in cash, you aren't saving that much interest. And on that note, if I have 15K sitting around for a small down payment on a car, I am not worried about a little interest.

 

[jred321]

i would argue that unless you have 15k sitting around for a down payment between trade in and cash then those cars are above your means and you should save longer before buying one. and it's not so much about interest payments as it is having that much of your monthly income being spent before you even get your paycheck. having a lower payment allows you to spend your money on what you choose instead of forcing you to spend it on one thing. but hey, potato tomato

 

[jred321]

and your spreadsheet uses an 11.9% interest rate? wtf? aren't new car rates around 5% now if your vehicle doesn't fall under the numerous 0% plans that every manufacturer known to man is offering?

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

11.9%, thats nuts.

 

[camrycev6]

and your spreadsheet uses an 11.9% interest rate? wtf? aren't new car rates around 5% now if your vehicle doesn't fall under the numerous 0% plans that every manufacturer known to man is offering?

I used 11.9 as a worse case. I did the spreadsheet a while back and when I checked online, most banks were offering 7-9% on the interest rate. If you change it to7 %, it really doesn't make a huge difference. 5% rates are for people with near perfect credit scores.

I haven't see Audi, BMW, or any of the other premium car companies offering 0%, but things may have changed since I did the sheet. (About 2 months ago.)

 

[camrycev6]

11.9%, thats nuts.

It all depends on your credit rating. I just did some more checking. If you are below 500, good luck getting anything better than 15.9. If you are below 400, good luck getting anything at all. Between 500-600, you are looking at 10.9, 600-650 the best offer was 7.9. 650-700, was a 6.98, 700-750 gets you a 5.9, and a 750+ gets you in the very special 4.9 area...

 

[jred321]

bmw was doing 0% for a little while. i don't know which models applied but they did do some special financing. not sure what deals they have going on now. luxury cars are the last to do special financing and they don't appear to like to advertise it too much but they do it, especially with the way things are now.

also if you have poor credit then perhaps there are better things in your life to spend money on than expensive cars. then once your life is in order, your debts are settled, and you've been making payments on things for a little while considering a nice car can make its way back onto the list. that's not a reference to you specifically but to people with poor credit who for some reason think they can afford luxury or sports cars just because they can make the monthly payment

 

[camrycev6]

bmw was doing 0% for a little while. i don't know which models applied but they did do some special financing. not sure what deals they have going on now. luxury cars are the last to do special financing and they don't appear to like to advertise it too much but they do it, especially with the way things are now.

also if you have poor credit then perhaps there are better things in your life to spend money on than expensive cars. then once your life is in order, your debts are settled, and you've been making payments on things for a little while considering a nice car can make its way back onto the list. that's not a reference to you specifically but to people with poor credit who for some reason think they can afford luxury or sports cars just because they can make the monthly payment

I agree with you. I would never consider purchasing this car if I couldn't afford it or if I had massive amounts of debt to pay off. That would just be a bad idea on my part. Fortunately for me, I am only considering this now based upon my ability to afford these types of vehicles. I have been spending the last few years spending wisely following a nasty child custody battle / lawyer nightmare (and if you don't think that can damage your credit --- think again.) to get to this point. That is why I have been driving around a car(s) that is less than 25K for last 3 years... I am almost at the end of the tunnel now looking at brighter things...

 

[diddiyo]

little story:
february 09, +700 score, but only limited credit history (1,5 years), first time buyer. got denied from several banks for 0% financing for a 29k dodge challenger with 9k down. i realized i'd have to find a cheaper car. found the MS3. went to my bank, applied for a 9k loan with 13k down, they still wouldn't finance me. went to a local credit union and got approved for a 9k loan, 36 months @ 5.74%. I'm happy.

 

[jred321]

I agree with you. I would never consider purchasing this car if I couldn't afford it or if I had massive amounts of debt to pay off. That would just be a bad idea on my part. Fortunately for me, I am only considering this now based upon my ability to afford these types of vehicles. I have been spending the last few years spending wisely following a nasty child custody battle / lawyer nightmare (and if you don't think that can damage your credit --- think again.) to get to this point. That is why I have been driving around a car(s) that is less than 25K for last 3 years... I am almost at the end of the tunnel now looking at brighter things...

gotcha. but why not stay above ground for a while and save for a bigger down payment while doing so instead of immediately jumping into mortgage sized monthly payments? if you put off buying another car for a year and save the $1000 that you're anticipating putting into this car payment you have $12,000 to put down and you get much more disposable income every month

 

[camrycev6]

gotcha. but why not stay above ground for a while and save for a bigger down payment while doing so instead of immediately jumping into mortgage sized monthly payments? if you put off buying another car for a year and save the $1000 that you're anticipating putting into this car payment you have $12,000 to put down and you get much more disposable income every month

All true... but then again I can afford the car now, and who knows what will happen in another year. I have waited 3 years and done some careful planning, it is time to live a little. I could be dead a year from now... and as a devout atheist, I firmly believe that you never get a second chance to live.

 

[camrycev6]

little story:
february 09, +700 score, but only limited credit history (1,5 years), first time buyer. got denied from several banks for 0% financing for a 29k dodge challenger with 9k down. i realized i'd have to find a cheaper car. found the MS3. went to my bank, applied for a 9k loan with 13k down, they still wouldn't finance me. went to a local credit union and got approved for a 9k loan, 36 months @ 5.74%. I'm happy.

I am glad it worked out for you. I have a good friend who has no credit cards, a lot of equity in her house, but very little credit history. She couldn't get a car loan for less than 14.9%...