Buying cars in yo 20's

[Rowleym]

anyone have any idea for me? I need an e46 m3.... but there is no way in hell i can pay 300+ a month insurance. 

and I can't wait until i'm 25 or so to own one(Currently 20).... Is my only option building one? ha. 

[Earl]

I'm not saying this to be rude, but if you can't afford $300+ a month for insurance you can't afford to properly maintain an e46 m3/s54. 

[Rowleym]

I'm not saying this to be rude, but if you can't afford $300+ a month for insurance you can't afford to properly maintain an e46 m3/s54. 

haha I can afford it. But who wants to piss away 300+ a month on insurance? It just sucks. I currently pay almost that much for my wrx and e30. 

I would have the m3 for weekends and such. Something I would heavily modify and keep as a sunny day street car. 

[tsweers89]

I'm not saying this to be rude, but if you can't afford $300+ a month for insurance you can't afford to properly maintain an e46 m3/s54. 

 

This guys speaks the truth especially on a high mileage one like that

[Rowleym]

This guys speaks the truth especially on a high mileage one like that\

maybe if I was trying to daily drive it LOL. But I have a garage and a spare shop for a reason. Storage for 10+ cars! If something breaks, you wait until you can afford to fix it. I mean, isn't that with everything? 

I just need to justify the cost lol. I need a newer bmw. Its between this and a 135i I believe. 

[patsbimmer1]

haha I can afford it. But who wants to piss away 300+ a month on insurance? It just sucks. I currently pay almost that much for my wrx and e30. 

I would have the m3 for weekends and such. Something I would heavily modify and keep as a sunny day street car. 

 

Live within your means until you can afford a nice weekend car.  You'll be better off in the long run.

[Earl]

^That is a great thing to live by. You're only 20. You have the rest of your life to get an e46 m3. 

[Rowleym]

Live within your means until you can afford a nice weekend car.  You'll be better off in the long run.

I'm simply asking how I can justify to insure it I have the means to buy it with cash, and I have the means to maintain it, I just don't want to piss away money. Id rather put that extra insurance money into paying off my house in the next year or so. 

Or maybe Ill just buy the 135i because it might be a better idea? I want to drive the car not just fix it all the time.  Oh man I don't know. I do believe I need at least one newer bmw though ha. 

 

[Rowleym]

^That is a great thing to live by. You're only 20. You have the rest of your life to get an e46 m3. 

Honestly I don't think they will ever be any close to this cheap. I don't think I could justify buying one if they would rise in price. 

[YoungCR]

They made a million e46 M3's so until most of them get crashed the prices shouldn't get crazy like e30's and e36's are just starting to.

[Earl]

I'm just saying you should use your money now to pay off your house or whatever else you can so that you can enjoy not having to do so later on. Even saving the money and investing it is a better idea since it grows and will be worth more down the road. 

[Rowleym]

I'm just saying you should use your money now to pay off your house or whatever else you can so that you can enjoy not having to do so later on. Even saving the money and investing it is a better idea since it grows and will be worth more down the road. 

only thing I currently have to pay for is my house, I have no other debt. Which is pretty cool to say at 20. But not only that, but I make more money a year that I owe on my house(20K left on it LOL) so I should have no problem with that. 

More or less, the woman graduated from school, and now makes more than I do, and she has no debt either, so we believe we deserve a nice car, and honestly a sub 10k car is very cheap for most people, even if maintenance is high. 

of all people I thought I could come here and you guys would encourage me do to anything to buy the car of my dreams haha. 

But I definitely appreciate you guys bringing some knowledge my way. Of all people I need help too haha. 

[Doorman]

only thing I currently have to pay for is my house, I have no other debt. Which is pretty cool to say at 20. But not only that, but I make more money a year that I owe on my house(20K left on it LOL) so I should have no problem with that.

More or less, the woman graduated from school, and now makes more than I do, and she has no debt either, so we believe we deserve a nice car, and honestly a sub 10k car is very cheap for most people, even if maintenance is high.

of all people I thought I could come here and you guys would encourage me do to anything to buy the car of my dreams haha.

But I definitely appreciate you guys bringing some knowledge my way. Of all people I need help too haha.

Have a older family member "buy the car" and insure with them.

Buy the car and only carry liability.....risky but shouldn't be $300 a month

Have you looked into collecter car/specialty insurance? Haggerty I believe is one

Insurance up to age 25 just stinks period. We all went thru it

[Rowleym]

Have a older family member "buy the car" and insure with them.

Buy the car and only carry liability.....risky but shouldn't be $300 a month

Have you looked into collecter car/specialty insurance? Haggerty I believe is one

Insurance up to age 25 just stinks period. We all went thru it

Could this be my father who lives in colorado? Honestly probably the only family member I would put the title in his name.

This i believe is the only hope of me owning the car. my rates have dropped in half since I bought my house and my record has become clean, but still very expensive.  

[Doorman]

Could this be my father who lives in colorado? Honestly probably the only family member I would put the title in his name.

This i believe is the only hope of me owning the car. my rates have dropped in half since I bought my house and my record has become clean, but still very expensive.

Now you're thinking!!!

All you gotta do is call insurance company and ask.

Can't see why it would be a problem.

If outta state is an issue.....how about your OGs parents?

[YoungCR]

Nobody is shaming you, just being constructive. I told my self that I'd have my student loans paid off at the end of last year but instead spent it on car parts.

Read this article on Mark Cuban earlier today about living cheaply in your 20's. http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-living-cheaply-in-20s-2015-5

I'm in a similar position as you, making a decent income for 22 with no degree. Pay off the house, invest stocks (any railroad or bigger trucking company are great investmants) and then buy your dream cars. There will always be car deals.

[B C]

I cant even afford a nice van

[Rowleym]

Nobody is shaming you, just being constructive. I told my self that I'd have my student loans paid off at the end of last year but instead spent it on car parts.

Read this article on Mark Cuban earlier today about living cheaply in your 20's. http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-on-living-cheaply-in-20s-2015-5

I'm in a similar position as you, making a decent income for 22 with no degree. Pay off the house, invest stocks (any railroad or bigger trucking company are great investmants) and then buy your dream cars. There will always be car deals.

I definitely have living cheaply on lock haha. When I bought my house I was making 12$ an hour I believe. I didn't know my woman was planning on attending school and NOT WORKING AT ALL so I definitely bit off more than i could chew, but I chewed like hell and I made it without a single credit card HA. But man I didn't buy a single piece of clothing in the last two years, I only had 2 pairs of sperry(all i wear, even to work) we didn't even have a dinner table or barely any furniture, and I've been driving shit tastic vehicles. 

But what did I get from it? Man I appreciate everything I have. Everything I've worked for. My budget is down PAT and I have very very limited bills. I learned how to live with nothing, and somehow maintained my happiness.

But where did I learn this? My parents. They definitely have made good money in there life, but were ALWAYS overcome by bills. Bills they didn't even need. My dad was paying OVER 50,000$ a year in interest for almost 10 years straight on his properties! 

What I learned is that I don't need to make much money if you don't have much to pay for ha. 

I'm a very simple man and I don't buy much of anything fancy and don't spend money on much of anything, besides tools and cars, but I believe that will pay off in the future. 

I definitely plan to build many cars for customers in my future, but I will never make more money than i will doing tool and die, so its more of a hobby plan than anything. I absolutely enjoy tool and die and I plan to stay here. I don't want to ruin my love for cars! 

But really guys. Is it really that financially Irresponsible to buy ONE 10-20K newer car in my 20's? Chances are I will keep it for a long time. Sometimes it would be nice to just hop in a car that is basically stock, and fun as hell, and just drive. 

I definitely understand investing and that is what I'm putting the majority of my money into, but man I just want 1 newer car. I sure love the 80's and I will drive e30's as long as I can, but there has always been an itch for me to buy an m3. 

[patsbimmer1]

What threw a red flag for me is your concern over $300/month for insurance.  It's not financially irresponsible to buy one if you can afford to own it but there is a difference between having the money to buy one and being able to afford owning it.  Unfortunately cost of ownership includes insurance as well as maintenance, fuel, etc.  I have read estimates for cost of ownership on an e46 M3 to be about $800 year plus insurance and fuel.  

 

You also mention you want a basically stock car but earlier you say you want to heavily modify the car.  Once again, the cost to do so is a lot greater on the e46 M3 than on some other cars that may be cheaper to own.

 

I'm not trying to discourage you from buying one.  It's not my money and whatever you do has zero impact on my life... just don't fuck up a perfectly good e46 M3 if you get one, there's enough idiots doing that already lol.

[Rowleym]

800$ a year for maintenance compared to what on normal vehicles? I don't think I've ever had a vehicle where I spent less than that per year, but sometimes you upgrade while doing maintenance.

What I'm saying is it could be something very fun out of the package for a while, but I tend to keep my vehicles, so I would eventually modify it.

There was a million made, its not like I would be screwing up an e30 m3 or any other collector. 

If I could afford the e30 m3 right now I probably would. Second option being e46 m3. 


but man, That is one hell of a vehicle for less than 10k!!

[REKIII]

It is quite obvious that you could buy the vehicle.  You seem to understand the possible maintenance and have good understanding on what you'll do if something major breaks (park it until you can afford to fix it).

 

You are mostly concerned about the insurance rates.  I would go so far to say you could probably afford the $300 a month, but don't want to because it's insane.

 

Unfortunately M3's are boy racer cars.  boy racers, buy them and smash them, thus the high insurance rates.  You should call around to see what sort of package deals you can get for your house, and multiple cars.....both those things get you discounts.  You may find that by paying a different insurance company $10 more per month for home insurance, your M3 insurance would go down $100 per month.....I've seen it happen.

 

There really isn't a magic option though.  Call around.  Also, you could justify by taking insurance off the car in winter months.  Many people do this in WI and pay a storage insurance for winter months when you aren't driving it.  

 

Look for the right care and have fun with it.

[Rowleym]

It is quite obvious that you could buy the vehicle.  You seem to understand the possible maintenance and have good understanding on what you'll do if something major breaks (park it until you can afford to fix it).

 

You are mostly concerned about the insurance rates.  I would go so far to say you could probably afford the $300 a month, but don't want to because it's insane.

 

 

Unfortunately M3's are boy racer cars.  boy racers, buy them and smash them, thus the high insurance rates.  You should call around to see what sort of package deals you can get for your house, and multiple cars.....both those things get you discounts.  You may find that by paying a different insurance company $10 more per month for home insurance, your M3 insurance would go down $100 per month.....I've seen it happen.

 

There really isn't a magic option though.  Call around.  Also, you could justify by taking insurance off the car in winter months.  Many people do this in WI and pay a storage insurance for winter months when you aren't driving it.  

 

Look for the right care and have fun with it.

Thanks for the advice!! 

Is there any way to quote multiple companies at once? 

And is it insane to have just liability on an m3? its about 1/2 the cost. 

My other option I'm thinking about is the 135/335, which are about 1/2 the price of insurance. 

I just CANNOT justify paying 300+ a month to drive it... 

[REKIII]

It is not insane to have just liability.  Just understand that if you hit someone, you are out the car.

 

If you call brokers you can have them quote multiple companies and get back to you with the best deal.  R&R is who I use.  Keener Insurance is another, northbrook insurance.  Google insurance brokers in your area and see who is local, then do some searching for reviews.  Even asking your FB friends who they use is a good way to go (if you are a FB dude).  

[suspenceful]

Here is some real life info.

I bought my 135i when I was 21 (now 23). Was making $12/hr part-time while going to school full-time. Daily drove a shitty 1996 328is with 230k and a boat load of stupid issues. Also had a turbo Miata as a weekend/fun car of 3 years. Both were paid for. I was paying $375 for rent, $100 for gas/food/other, and $50 to insure both cars with liability. Rough expenses of $550/mo if nothing came up. My parents paid my cell phone bill and bought me food or gave me a little money if needed every once in a while. They knew I appreciated it.

I was sick of driving my crappy E36 and had an idea. My renting lease was almost up and I could move home (free) after living on campus for 3 years. I could either continue paying rent or buy a nicer/more reliable car and commute. As you can see, I chose to sell both of my cars and trade my rent expense for a car loan expense. Obviously this was after a lot of thinking and research.

I found a fully loaded 6-speed 2008 135i that perfectly fit my requirements. It had 82k miles and I knew it might need maintenance (somewhat expensive). I wanted to build credit so I decided to go for it. Put $5k down on a $18k loan at 2.85% interest. Monthy payment of $232 and pay $70/mo for full coverage insurance. The car is lumped into my parents auto insurance plan wih 3 other vehicles through Allstate. I have a clean driving record and so do they.

Fast forward to now, I owe $7k on the car. The only other debt I have is school loans. I have 1 credit card that I've paid in full every month. I spent about $4k on modifications since buying it 15 months ago. Maintenance over that time has been less than $1k (installed myself or with the help of friends). All of this while living a normal lifestyle.

I graduated last week and make A LOT more money than I did when I bought the car. I'm so glad I did it because I was able to build credit without missing a payment or adding more debt. Now I plan to pay the car off before this time next year and then save to buy a house.

Words of advice:

- make sure you have a safety net for non-automotive related expenses

- make sure you have money for maintenance or a backup plan if something happens

- don't cheap out on insurance. It's not worth risking everything with only liability. Get full coverage or don't buy it. Find something with affordable full coverage insurance.

- if you're trying to scrap up all your cash to buy one car, rethink your priorities. You might be better off building credit with a loan so you can spare your capital elsewhere as long as you know you can afford it.

- if you take out a loan, you better be putting at least 15% down and be locked into a low interest rate.

- you shouldn't have to change your spending habits or live paycheck to paycheck to "afford" a car.

My situation worked out perfectly. I got the car I wanted and it was very reliable. I was lucky enough to live with my parents for free. No two situations are ever the same, but basic expense calculations go a long way. It can be done, just know what you're getting into. If you have doubts, it might be a sign. Your gut is always right.

It sounds like you have this all figured out. Just don't buy some janky old E46 M3 with high mileage. That's asking for trouble at your age. Get something that won't be a project and that's been decently cared for. Cars are never a good investment.

/rant

[i_love_cars]

there is so much fail here. 

 

I can't manage a response to this discussion without being insulting.