Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Fine Living, Home, Design & Auto › Student Car
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Student Car

post #1 of 25
11/26/08 at 3:03am
Thread Starter 
I'll need to get a car soon. I am pretty economically disadvantaged. The most luxurious things I can hope to get before I graduate from professional school is used stuff on B&S.

What car should I get? Should I lease? Should I buy used? I'll need this car for about 3.5 years. It would be my first car.

Northeast.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 25
11/26/08 at 3:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluemagic View Post
I'll need to get a car soon. I am pretty economically disadvantaged. The most luxurious things I can hope to get before I graduate from professional school is used stuff on B&S. What car should I get? Should I lease? Should I buy used? I'll need this car for about 3.5 years. It would be my first car.
If I had to pick a cheap reliable daily driver car, I'd pick an RSX. Unfortunately they are holding their value extremely well, with used examples with 50K miles selling for 4-5K less than brand new retail (Wtf?) My first car was an '01 Acura Integra. I put 70K miles on it and spent $300 in non-preventative maintenance (split hub bolt/stud). Preventative maintenance was around $20 every 5000 miles for a Mobil One oil change I did myself and around $800 for a major service including a valve adjustment. In total the car cost me around $1500.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 25
11/26/08 at 3:23am
Thread Starter 
Through what channel did you buy?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 25
11/26/08 at 3:39am
What is your budget if you were to purchase?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 25
11/26/08 at 5:04am
Get a used Civic in good condition.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 25
11/26/08 at 5:17am
Buy a certified used car. Do not buy new or leased especially if you don't have too much money.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 25
11/26/08 at 6:15am
can never go wrong with a honda or a toyota. Not gonna get you laid but will get you around cheap.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 25
11/26/08 at 6:50am
I'd buy a used car of a friend or someone you can trust. A lot of people selling their used cars are kinda shady. Most importantly KNOW your budget. That is the end all be all of your dilema. And to save money do your maintenence. Changing oil is SO easy and it takes around a good 30 min. while changing oil filter. I built my own motor without any background in cars. And I'm taking up nursing. Invest in tools, they will save you a lot of money. A cheap craftsmen 100+ set will do you good. For regular maintenence you only need basic hand tools anyways and some elbowgrease.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 25
11/26/08 at 7:50pm
I would take advantage of the 0 down 0% financing available for new cars. You could get a decent new car with all the options any student would need for about 250 a month. If you only need it for 3.5 years I would be less inclined to go this route, but I think it is an option.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 25
11/26/08 at 8:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acidicboy View Post
Get a used Civic in good condition.

+ snowtires
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 25
11/27/08 at 1:36pm
Volkswagen. If you want luxury, a mid-90s Passat will be cheap (a couple grand max) and has a lot of creature comforts. Try www.vwvortex.com.

Don't buy a new car until you're financially established, or when you have a job that absolutely requires dependable wheels. They're money pits; only worth buying when you're buying it for the car (as in, you absolutely must have that particular year and model because it is sex, and can afford it), versus buying it because you need a car.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 25
11/27/08 at 1:48pm
I am still in college and have a 98 Corolla. Yeah its not the best looking car, but I don't have to make payments on it and it gets great gas milage. They are holding their value pretty well as of now. I think when I bought it which was 6 years ago we paid 3,200 and there now worth around 4,000. But, overall there very good cars. A few things we had to replace, but nothing too serious.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 25
11/27/08 at 7:33pm
Do a TCO analysis and see how much each option is going to cost you.New car vs. used car,you'll be surprised that sometimes it is much better to buy a new car. But if I were to buy a used car,I'd just go with Toyota Camry or Corolla,nothing beats their reliability.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 25
11/28/08 at 12:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bearlydavid View Post
I am still in college and have a 98 Corolla. Yeah its not the best looking car, but I don't have to make payments on it and it gets great gas milage.

They are holding their value pretty well as of now. I think when I bought it which was 6 years ago we paid 3,200 and there now worth around 4,000.

But, overall there very good cars. A few things we had to replace, but nothing too serious.

Was it your first car? How did you get it? That would be a great price for me.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 25
11/28/08 at 2:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOHCitTOem View Post
I'd buy a used car of a friend or someone you can trust. A lot of people selling their used cars are kinda shady. Most importantly KNOW your budget. That is the end all be all of your dilema. And to save money do your maintenence. Changing oil is SO easy and it takes around a good 30 min. while changing oil filter. I built my own motor without any background in cars. And I'm taking up nursing. Invest in tools, they will save you a lot of money. A cheap craftsmen 100+ set will do you good. For regular maintenence you only need basic hand tools anyways and some elbowgrease.

Why would anyone change their own oil?

You save MAYBE $15.00, and the opportunity cost of the time you waste on it more than negates that $15.00.

Plus to be safe about it, you need to factor in the cost of an acceptable ramp.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Fine Living, Home, Design & Auto › Student Car