Hello
I was thinking of buying a corvette as my first car. I'm 15 right. If I start saving when i'm 16 till i'm 18 and put that money into a saving account I can probally get a used zo6 or a new base corvette. The questions is when I talk to my dad about it.

"People buy corvettes because they have to much money on their hands" Is this true?
"People buy corvettes because it's a tax deductible." Is this true?
"The worst thing about having a corvette is that you have to park real far from other people" Is this true?

For some odd reason my dad would let me get a porsche but not a corvette...
I'm not worried about insurance cost because the money I get off my saving account would pay for the insurance.
Thanks for the info.

 

1. No.

2. No.

3. No.

It's doubtful you'll be able to make enough money between the time you're 16 and when you're 18 to do what you want. Also, insurance for an 18 year old with a Corvette will be outrageous.

Sorry, just trying to tell it like it is.

 

I'm not a parent, but that's a lot of car for any new driver.

I guess it could be tax deductible if you use it for business, but you are likely going to be claimed as a dependent by your folks and unless you have a stellar job, you'd be taking the standard deduction anyway.

More on money, if you can save for a down, will your dad cosign for you?

You can park it wherever you want, it's your car.

And, at 16, worry about insurance, I would be shocked if you could find decent coverage from an A-rated insurance company for less than $200 a month; you have no driving history.

My $.02

 

Loaded08, I meant im saving up for a corvette. Everything I earn will be put in a saving account till i'm 18. I intend to pay cash for my corvette.

 

When I was your age (44 years ago), I had dreams about cars also. My first ride that I paid for was a 2 year old 4 door Chevy Nova. I worked and paid $800 for the car. I was proud of it because I worked hard for that car. I didn't get my first Vette until I was 30. I'm now on my 6th Vette.

To be honest, if you can save the money you are talking about to buy a used z06 or new base model, I figure you would have to take home about $20k per year. For a 16 year old that may be more than a little tough. In this economy, I know many adults that are not making that kind of money.

My suggestion is to continue to have your dreams, save your money, and wait until you are in your 20s to get your first Corvette. Good Luck

 

12000 * 3 is $36000. If put that in a saving account it would be around $40k
I'm looking at this
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/ctd/1840988998.html
My grandparents and parent pay the insurance considering they have a good driving record and such. We spilt the insurance 3 way.

 

1) People buy Corvettes because they are passionate about the car and it's the best bang-for-the-buck deal on the planet.

2) Mine is tax deductible because I'm self-employed so when I do drive it to work, I can deduct a percentage of the operating costs/insurance based on business miles. If you have to drive a 'work car', why not make it a Vette?

3) Anyone who has a nice car doesn't want it dinged up in a parking lot by some moron door slammer. So picking your parking spot is based on your desire to keep the car unblemished. This is not unique to Corvettes.

The massive torque available from a Vette can be a handful to control at any speed and this makes them more dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced driver. Your sister's cute little P-Boxter is not nearly as brutal so that may be influencing your dad.

You are seriously underestimating the cost of insurance, but it would be higher for a Mustang with similar HP. And if you start getting tickets, forget it.

Another $.02.

 

If (from the age of 15 to 18) you can keep up with your education, work and save enough money to buy a Vette that's great. That being said and having kids aged 14, 18 and 21 I would not let any of them buy a Corvette or a Porsche as their first car. As a parent I don't think it's a wise move.

To answer your questions...no, the majority of Corvette owners do not buy a Corvette because they have too much money. Corvette owners come from all walks of life and I'd say the vast majority worked hard to earn the money for their car.

It would be nice but buying a Corvette isn't tax deductible. The sales taxes paid may help lower your tax burden and there could be some tax angle for business useage or a leased car for a business use but there's no tax advantage unique to a Corvette...these would apply to any make car.

You can park a Corvette any where you want. Some Corvette owners opt to park away from other cars simply because they don't want another car to park next to them (fearing they'll open their door and hit the car).

Considering the meager interest banks are paying on deposited funds, if you can earn enough interest from your savings account to pay for your car insurance more power to you. If on the other hand you're talking about depleting your savings account to pay your insurance, I'd caution you to save something for the future. I know it's hard to imagine when your a teenager but someday you might be glad to have a little $ stashed away. Good luck whatever happens!

 

Richmen:

You are 15 now. Are you telling me that you have a job that you take home $12,000 per year? If yes, then God bless you.

If you are making that kind of money now, by the time you are 40, and you save & invest your money, you could be an easy millionair.

btw, at your age, I was lucky to make $1000 per year.

 

Good for you! That's a worthy aspiration and it's good to see that even at your young age, you recognize the value of setting goals. I applaud you!

That said, the other posts above reflect a true story of the challenges that you're likely to face. If you want a Corvete badly enough, you'll get it and probably love it like the rest of us do ours.

My advice, for what it's worth is to set off on your proposed journey to get your Corvette, but in the meantime while all that money is growing in your bank account you can hang out on this forum, ask others about their own experiences, costs of maintenance, insurance etc and put a picture of your dream Corvette on the refrigerator door so your dad can see it, see you set goals and have a plan for achieving it. Speaking as a father (and a grandfather, for that matter) I think the maturity of your plan and related actions and progress will win him over and show him you've got the right attitude to succeed in life.

As for his comments? Well, dads are like that sometimes. Don't let them discourage you. There are a great many young men like yourself who have no idea of what they want out of life yet. Indeed, your own dream might very well change by the time you have the money and find the right car. Nothing wrong with that. Priorities change. The important thing is to set the goal and have a plan to achive it, no matter how difficult it may seem.

The process will do far more for you than the car will when you get it.

Have fun with this...

I'll look forward to the ocasional progress report from you.

 

last901:

Great post. Yes, those plans can change once he discovers girls.

 

I wouldn't worry about it.
I will be when i'm 16. I would save my money till i'm 40 but you got to remember, you only live once, everyday your taking a risk. I'm pursuing a career in medical. I will become a nurse then a doctor. During senior year of high school, i'm taking a class where I actually work with doctors and nurses in a hospital. So i'll have a headstart in my career. If I become a nurse first I can offset the cost of becoming a doctor.

 

I appreciate your fortitude to set a goal and work hard to achieve it. I think this whole concept is lost on many of the youth of today, so you have a good attitude from the start. Work hard and do not expect any hand-outs - that is a really good place to start, IMHO.

As far as the career as a doctor, by the time you pay for medical school and residency and all that - if Obama-care is really implemented how it was architected and intended, you will have a very hard time making a decent living. But time will tell on how that will change over time and as different people are put in charge of the lawmaking....

 

It's nice to see someone have goals at your age. I think your career choice will serve you well. As far as saving for a corvette for your first car, let me provide you with a little data.

Let's say you do save $36,000 over the next 3 years. You can do this making $8/hour and 40 hours per week if you save every penny you earn. Sure, you will have enough to buy a used corvette. Did you factor in regular maintenance for your car? Oil changes for a corvette are about $100 each if you go to the dealer (the oil is the most expensive portion). When you need new tires, there goes another $1,200. Brakes? There's another $300 at least, and that's just pads. Throw in rotors and you're probably up to $1,000 (I'm just estimating this, someone else may have a more accurate cost for brakes). Obviously these are not things that you will be paying for all the time, but the costs add up. For a young man just getting started, it's a significant costs that you have to consider before purchasing a car. Take a look at some car sites and look at the average cost of ownership for a corvette over five years, and you will see that the cost of the car is only about 65% of the total cost of ownership over a five or six year period. Bottom line, you are probably looking at another $20,000 over five years for maintenance, gas, and insurance. This comes up to about $330 per month.

Now, let's say you take that $36,000 and invest it. At a 10% rate of return, and investing that $330 per month and adding it to the $36,000 you already saved, if you retire at age 60, you will have accumulated well over $2,000,000. TWO MILLION DOLLARS!!! That's a lot of money. This is a basic future value calculation you can do with an excel sheet or a financial calculator.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, because I think it's great to have goals, but I think you need to be realistic with how much you can save at your age, and how much this car is really going to cost in the long haul.

My advice, save your money, but a reasonably priced used car, and once you have your med school bills paid for, then think about saving for your dream car.

One last note, you made a comment that you're not worried about insurance because the money from your savings account will cover this. What money? Once you pull out the money to pay for your car, your savings is gone.

Good luck...

 

Im not THAT much older then you but DO NOT get a corvette as a first car...

#1 - friends at that age will get you to do stupid S**t or do so to your car

#2 - even if you drove 30k miles per year from 16-18, you still would lack the experience to handle a base vette, let alone a z06
(i want a viper, i can get a viper but i dont have th experience to drive a viper...)

#3 - I DD (daily drive mine) you dont have any space, gas isnt cheap and tires are at minimum 1k per set.. for anything sticky (grip) youre looking at around 1500 a set

#4 - mods.. they arent cheap. exhaust costs 500+ just for catbacks

#5 no.


you didnt ask for advice but heres some anyway... something i learned the hard way when i went from a neon to my first stang...

start small with a v6 stang.. the new ones make 300hp, thats a great start for all the opposite reasons stated above (cheaper, gas, space...)
log a good 2-4 years in a lower hp, rwd car then make your way up to the big leagues.

 

If I spilt my insurance cost 2-3 way with my parents and grandparents. Let say insurance is around $600, I would either pay $200 or $300 a month. You can become a nurse in 2-3years. A average nurse makes around $50k a year. If you said 5 years I will have more then enough money to fall back on and insurance rates would be lower. I'm using my corvette as a weekend driver and maybe drag racing.

 

Hey that was good money back in 1962...

 

I was 11 when I bought my first new Corvette. And, like you, I too paid cash for it.

The overall experience was great. The only problem I had is that one of the cute girls at a local topless car wash scratched the paint with some of her jewelery. You have to be careful with these cars. You can't let a girl sit on it just because she hopes you will take her picture and give her a ride in your car. Oh, and don't buy a black car like me either because you have to have it washed all of the time.

Age was no problem because I was able to get a "license" at a local flea market. It only took about 5 minutes and you could also buy "insurance documentation" and an extended warranty for a few dollars extra.

Your Dad is 100% right about buying a new Porsche, though. Several of my 5th grade friends bought a Porsche at the same time and they had better luck with girls and less stink about wearing gold chains and having a mid-life crises. Whatever you do, don't buy a BMW like your Dad.

Anyway, I wouldn't let the old farts on the Forum or your parents hold you back!


EDIT:

You guys really think these are serious questions from a 15 year old?

 

Nah, don't hold back and don't listen to some of the bad advice. It's easy to tell which is which.

I think you've gotten some good pointers above here. Keep thinking and dreaming. As last90 says, the journey to your goals of work and car may be more than even the achievement of getting there. And goals are a good thing to have!

Stay on here, read, ask questions like the ones you posted. Almost all of us are here to help, or at least give you an opinion or experience.

 

i'm 16 and i have a corvette