god hand

Here's the story. I'm 19 and at the end of the year I will have more than 20K in cash. I was going to get a Trans am, but they have to high of a resale price, so now I'm saving for a C5 98-03. I live a home so I dont pay any bills. I work 4-5 days a week and with OT my check can get up to a 1,000. I plan on getting a vette around March, April, or May. By then I should have 25K in cash.

When people ask me if I got a car I say no and they say What the hell? Why not? I tell them I plan on getting a vette then they say What the ****? Do not waste your money on a car it has no value u wont like it 2 months later blah blah blah u should get a kia or a civic and open up a business lol. I dont know anything about opening up a business lol.

Anyways I wanted to here what's your opinion on this. Do u think I should get the car of my dreams? Or do u think I should by economy car and saving whats left over. What would you guys do?

Stangkiller

I'm 22, i look back and realise i've probably got close to $50,000 wasted in my car. On one hand i've enjoyed every minute of it, and on the other i realise how much farther that cash could have gotten me.

I personally say do it, and enjoy it! But just be carefull to look over your personal situation first to make sure you can truly afford the car. There are many more costs than just the purchase and gas.

Anyways, best of luck in your search!

Chris

Taldir

Haha. If your 19 and live at home.. save your money and move on your own. No car is worth being stuck at home friday night with no girlfriend.

I bought my first Vette at 20 - but I've had everything from a Trailblazer on 22's to a Trans Am WS6.. I also moved out at 18 and bought my first house the day I turned 20.

It's all personal though.. do what you wish - not other people. Just take their wisdom and think it thru.

god hand

What do you mean? I throught this was a reliable car?

god hand

I'm not trying to make u angry, but when people say stuff like this, its usually because they have nice RICH parents.

ja03c5

They're very reliable. Chris speaks of a "terrible" disease we here at CF like to call "modding."

I'm 22, I've had my Vette for about a year now and I wouldn't ever change my decision if I had the chance. I love it. Go for it. Having a Vette at 19 would be awesome...just remember that owning a Vette does carry more than just driving a very nice and powerful vehicle. You have to respect it.

VLVETTE

He might be thinking of insurance not gonna be cheap for a 20 year old in a Vette Did you earn the money? If so do what you want I say go for it

69dodgecharger

Im 21, i have an 01 zo6, and I love it. You only live once, have fun just done be stupid.

NAVY08

I bought mine almost outright in cash when I was 19, and it was twin turbo before I turned 20. Now im soon to be 21 and I'm soon to pass the 20k point in mods, Your insurance will be through the roof, and you will get pulled over just for being young, trust me. if you havent had a fast car before this, you may want to start on something small, I progressed my way up, my vette was my 4th car. TA's are alot of fun too, and you will definately find a nicer TA for 20 than you will a Vette, and Vette you find for 20k will be a early year tons of miles car. Good luck with it though, and stick around you will learn alot

TYSON1997

Bought mine on my 19th birthday. Best decision I ever made. Decided to get a 97, looks the same as 2004, and cheap. Sure there are advantages to a 2004 but not worth the money imo, also advantages to a 97 too. Got mine w/ blown up tranny for $15k w/ 53k miles. Also I personally think you would be making a mistake if you pay cash for a $20k car and live at home. Everybody has this big preoccupation with paying everything off. If you were to do what I did and say invest this $20k mildly aggresive and finance the $20k for the car, especially since it sounds like you can make a $400 a month payment, your interest off of the $20k investment will return way more then your interest on the loan, and depending on how you invest is almost enough to make your payments on a yearly basis. It just something else to worry about but its almost like free money. Or consider what taldir said real estate really is a great investment. Bottom line either way buy a vette, you wont be sorry.

enginerd

dont let your money sit in savings for the next 6 mos!! get a financial planner or someone who knows a bit about investment....a simple ING account will get almost 5%...way better than typical savings.
if you can pay cash then go for it, but realize you worked hard for that money and make sure you're doing what you want with it. i'm 24 and have had a vette for a while now, but realize that if I dumped that $ into my 401k i could probably retire 10 years earlier...i already put 15% plus 2 grand into stocks/mutuals each month, but there has to be a line where you dont live so tight that you dont have any fun, and you dont live so careless that you have no money for the future. what happens if you get hit by a bus tomorrow?
i'd save at least 8000 for an emergency fund...typically 3 mos income. this is just to fix things that go wrong with the car and other expenses and to cover your but if something goes wrong at work. you may want to actually finance some of it just to build up some credit

Ta-taaa

Ooooooooooohh Hell yeah.. Sorry for the H word.. But a vette is not cheap to keep going... Good Luck!

GrayC5

Reliable? Yes. But, you need to factor in costs for regular maintenance and replacement of normal wear items - tires, etc. Also, insurance for a C5 can be quite expensive for someone your age.

Good luck with the decision.

god hand

Every single penny! Except the 300 bucks my aunt gave me for graduating

Taldir

My parents are rich.. but $0 dollars went into my living past 18. I earned every cent of my Vette, house, ec.

Stangkiller

Just about.

But...just to answer his question....hidden costs are things like the oil...have you seen the prices of that crap...40 dollars to do it yourself

Also tires, although lately a few new models are available, tire prices for these cars are a bit steep as well, depending on the brand. Tire's don't last as long either since they are performance tires.

When the car does break, it's MUCH more expensive to fix than a regular econo car. I broke my transmission and differential at the drag strip, on street tires, before i was making much HP. Just a new differential and repaired transmission cost almost 2200 bucks.

Please don't take this as me trying to talk you out of it. I bought mine when i was 17. I love that choice and i would probably do it again, although i doubt i would have gotten so heavy into the modding. <that's a slippery expensive slope>

The decision is totally up to you and your position, everybody has slightly different situations.

Best of luck in your research, and purchase of your first Vette!

Stangkiller

Insurance on a C5 should actually be cheaper than an Fbody, Mustang, the performance imports ie. the neon.

NAVY08

ooh and owning a vette wont make you the man, if you think that, dont bother, and it wont get you girls either, well at least if wont get you the kind of girls you want to pick up, and more people will think you are a tool or that your parents bought it for you than will think you are cool, so be prepared for that, have some good friends, of some thick skin, and dont take it to college, thats just asking to have it vandalised. thats my advice too

NAVY08

Actually it was cheaper than my WRX

SeaBass2001

im only 17 and i have my '01 vette and a '97 viper in my name and only pay about $140 a month so i think it just all depends on the area you live in and i think you should i got mine on my 16th birthday and never regret it and like some of you may think im not that little rich azzhole with a vette my parents got me the car and make me pay for it every month and i pay for my mods so its not that hard as long as you find a SWEET deal
GOOD LUCK,
SeaBass