Yeah, you're right. That's the kind of thing you would never forgive yourself for.

 

Bought my **** 10k cash n im only 20 years old.....whats good (i aint no trust fund kid either)

 

Maybe I have just been lucky... but what is with the $100 per month in parts and maintenance to keep the Vette going?

I have a 1986 with 52,000 miles on it... It cost me $5000... I bought it in Late April time frame... to date I have done the following to it... oil change, radiator flush and fill - because I didn't know when the previous owner had done them last... followed by gas, and drive.. then gas... then drive... then gas... then drive... I think it needs gas now...

I drive it almost everyday to work... I have 3 kids and a wife... and its totally impracticle... (I also have a mini van, and a pick up truck) It didn't make much sense on my end either... but it makes my commute more fun... and I don't balk about having tio run a few errands in the car after work... in fact I volunteer to run and get some milk... (my wife knows I take the long way to the grocery store)

Stop scaring the kid away from a Vette if that's what he wants...
I know parts cost more and repairs too for the vettes... so keep some $$$ in a find just in case... mine needs a few things too... but I'll get to the minor cosmetics when I can...

I could buy more trains, or more music equipment, or more pinball machines and arcade games...but right now I'm into the vette...

I don't have lots of money either... I just know what I like to do... and I like to have some fun... my digital dash needed work...so I researched the problem... fixed it myself... total time about 3 hours... total cost $0... saving me the $300-600 repair of sending it out to get it fixed...its transportation and a hobby all in one... and my wife knows right where I am...

I know the Vette is worth more than I paid for it... and it will be tomorrow too...

so I say go buy the Vette and if it doesn't work out... sell it and get your money back...

 

SHO me the money.
Joe

 

I just financed my 96 with my Credit Union. Put nearly half down, and they carried the rest for 3 years @3.8%. They never batted an eye. Best bet....if you have decent credit, join a credit union. If you have an established history with your bank, ask them...you may be pleasantly surprised!

 

Amen Brother!

 

Get over yourself. Did I even quote your or say "Jon Hekking, claiming big baller status or even refer to you at all?" My original post wasn't even to you but the guy who did a drive by spamming of this thread and took off when OT didn't come back him up. Again...its not all about you.

 

wachovia financed my 96; good job and substantial down payment sealed the deal. and yes, interest was high, but with the principal reduced by the down payment, the monthly payments were reasonable. paid aggressively, always more than the monthly; paid off loan in approximately two years. the bottom line? I have a 96 LT4 for the price of an used Toyota. The moral of this story? GO FOR IT !!!

 

Not True!!!

 

Yes that's true it does. But with economics, just living makes us a slave to our job.

(but I know what you mean and I agree)


Here we go baby here we go. hell what difference does it make. I think it's commendable the guy wants to do his part for the economic recovery act.

 

Yeah I've dealt with them. They were just bought out by Wells Fargo. Just as an FYI

 

Charge EVERYTHING and ask Obama to forgive it.

 

It's not a bad idea, IMO...I financed mine through my work credit union. I put 25% down, and with have the balance paid off after around 2 years. And since it's a relatively small amount, if the need arose I could pay it off with savings.

To me it makes more sense to finance an older Corvette than a new car, from a value perspective. If I decide to sell mine shortly after I pay it off (albeit for another 'Vette), it is still valued at what I paid for it...There aren't many other cars that you can say that about after 2 years and adding 40K miles to.

Naysayers will tell you that the car is too old...A '96 is still worth $10K-15K easily. However, people wouldn't think twice about financing a new Kia at about the same money. Which one is going to be worth more (let alone the same) after 6-12 months?

 

Bought my 95 in october with cash I withdrew from my IRA anuity mutuall fund no penalty just paid income tax, right after that stocks did a rebound my fund got back to where it was before withdraw,don't know where it is now . As far as I'm concerend I got my life long dream at 58 ,yes the fund would be worth more but thats not the way I look at it.

 

I think there are two sides to this financing story. Both sides are right.

If one looks at the OP as a "financial entity", not unlike a corporation, then what we are evaluating is their risk profile. Different people, just like different corporations, view risk differently which in turn affects their decision making.

The negatives:
- Financing in the long run is more expensive. If your net worth, or looming financial obligations, are more important than the car, then you should wait.
- If the OP is newly married or starting a family, financing a car that has no warranty leaves the possibility of significant costs if something goes wrong. While many point to their individual cars as examples where things have not gone wrong, the risk profile of a 14 year old car suggests that you should at least plan for the contingency.
- The economy itself is, these days, obviously a risk. The OP needs to assess the potential risk of loosing his income stream.
- Substitution effects - are their better uses for this money? Further education may lead to higher income streams later in life. Is the trade-off a $10K Corvette today versus a $50K (or more) Corvette tomorrow.

The positives:
- Like the 58 year old who finally can afford to utilize his saving to fund the purchase - you get to drive a Corvette now. For some, there is no value in waiting for tomorrow.
- A young single guy may like the associated benefits of driving a nice car. Sometimes those benefits are hard to quantify, but are none-the-less important.
- Even if a financial debacle ensues, young people can bounce back from problems easier than older people simply because they have more time in front of them.

On the whole, the only person who can make this decision is the OP. Either way it is live and learn. I bought both of my current Corvettes with cash and have no debts of any kind. That is my personal risk profile. But when I was 22, I bought my first Corvette borrowing $1000 from my sister and paid it back in 4 months.

 

Clearly, nobody on CF should ever buy a used car of any sort since we are all quadrillionaires.

 

Just chill, you were responding to my post, so I thought you were directing at me. Also, for the record, his thread in OT was locked because he cross posted, before the lock he was getting support.

Rants are not required, state an opinion and move on..............

 

Now that is the way to buy a vette. Got it for free!

 

Sarge I like the way you think, If my wife thought that I would go for another one.

 

That's backwards thinking. If anything, based on what happened to his 401K, he paid too much! If he waited until the stock was back up, he would have also walked away with the appreciation on the funds removed to purchase the Corvette. Jeez.