Another Stupid Car Question

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Okey dokey,
Here it goes.
I am thinking of upgrading my tired 1991 5.o mustang hatchback. I want a brand new car, one that has no problems that I might inherit from the previous owner. who around here is gonna be some white trash redneck shit that thinks he is the next best thing Since jeff gordon, and drove his car acordingly. so I was thinking (yes newbies can think) why not go with something new and exciting. a 2001 Dodge Durango 5.9 R/t nice comfy can tow anyhting i decide to tow, leather fnord seats for up to 7 people. and for the low low price of 32 thousand bucks.

now that I have told you about the car I want, I will let you know about me. I am 20 years old, have a steady job that pays well for my age group for the area (about 1000 a month)
I live at home while Im gonig to college and have only my cellphone bill. I would like some opinions of what I should do. the insurance on it will be 200 a month, I have no idea whatthe payments will be, I havent priced loans and such yet.

2

fnord,

I don’t think it’s such a great idea for you to spend that much right now. $32K with 9% interest spread across 36 months would mean that you won’t be able to afford the insurance or even the gasoline with the leftovers from your salary. New cars are great, new cars are fab, but step back for a moment and think about what you might have to sacrifice for that particular car.

3

Shush, Tymp. I’ll be able to get that truck at a great price after it’s repossessed!

4

i have too many connections to have it repossesed, unlike linda blair, anyways my dad said he would pick up any payments i couldnt make then pay him back

5

BTW, fnord, here’s a great place to begin research on new and used cars.

6

Unless you won the lottery i would say buy it used. Even if you buy it “slightly used” it means some other sucker took the hit by driving it off the lot. Oh yeah go through a private party if you can. Most(maybe all) warranties can be transferred if the warranty is still in effect.

Good Luck!!

7

Don’t bother getting the 5.9. I will tell you that with much vehemence. The smaller V-8 gives you only a few less horsepower, and you’ll get better mileage.

I say this with authority. I’ve got a Ram. I’ve got the 5.9. I get 12-14 MPG, and at 2 bucks a gallon, it ain’t cheap to go anywhere. When I stand at the pump, and drop $50.00 for a tank of gas, I cry. It is so awful that I’ve started carpooling.

And, how often are you going to tow anything? Wherever you are, I would pretty much guarantee that you don’t have the hills that we do here in Colorado. The smaller one will do you fine.

I personally think that leather seats in a 4x4 are about as useful as tits on a boar hog. Reevaluate your thoughts on that.

Use your head when buying a car. It won’t help you get laid as much as you think it will :smiley:

8

its not necisarily the 5.9 that i want, but its the options, leather seats and the interior is just soo nice i am disgusted at the sport and slt versions.

9

Well, Fnord, let’s make some ‘best case’ assumptions:

  1. You find a zero interest loan (yeah, right!) and spread the payments over 5 years (terrible idea!). Your car patment is $533.00 per month.
  2. You quote insurance at $200/month. We’re up to $733.
  3. Let’s assume one tank of gas/week - Mr. Cynical quotes a fill up at $50. That’s $200/month. We’re up to $933.00 per month.

Enjoy your $66.00 per month disposable income.

Spending roughly 3 years salary on a vehicle is just not a good financial move.

10

Fnord1966, correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you the guy with the gripe about fixed-up Honda’s trying to race your Mustang?

It seems to me that you’re a speed kind of guy. So, why not go for another Mustang? A 2000 Mustang GT is about $20,000. It’s got a 4.6, V8, 260HP engine. If that’s not good enough, you can always go for the Mustang Cobra, which is about $25,000 to $26,000. It’s still a 4.6, V8, but the HP is boosted to 320.

And besides, you’re 20. You don’t need to be driving around in an SUV. Get a muscle car. Impress your friends. Dazzle the ladies.

11

Hey ChiefBeer, what exactly did you tell the guy who took the pic of you this morning?

“Some gals from the internet wanna hot pic of me, so let me stand in front of this here big bad plane and look really cool. Here, you swabbie, take this camera and get a good shot of me, be careful now and get it in focus, or I will kick much ass!” Inquiring minds wanna know. :wink:
gratuitous extra smiley :smiley:

12

two browser windows open here. My dumb fat finger mistake.

13

fnord1966: An SUV? Just how much time do you expect to be towing anyway? And off-roading? Really?

Remember how much fun that Mustang was when it was running good? Remember the acceleration? The handling? Well, you can just keep on remembering it, because your big, badass SUV won’t remind you of it very much. An SUV does not have the on-road capability of a car. It has a higher center of gravity. It has a great deal more mass (and therefore a much poorer power-to-weight ratio). It drives like (surprise, surprise!) a TRUCK!

A lot of people buy SUVs because they want the room of a minivan without the stigma of driving a “momcar”. Trust me, an SUV is a momcar, and it has less room, too. True, it’ll have more room than your Mustang, but do you really want to drive the vehicle of choice for suburban moms?

Towing? Well, just what do you plan to tow? With the expense of owning & operating your Durango, you won’t be able to afford to tow much of anything. Certainly, you won’t be able to afford to buy anything else, so what do you own now that needs towing?

You’re 20? What you need is a vehicle that says: “I’m young and virile and sexy and can afford to take you to expensive restaurants (amongst other things)”. You want a vehicle that makes beautiful women want to have wild, sweaty, passionate sex with you even before they think to ask your name. Somehow I don’t imagine many women seeing a Dodge Durango and thinking “Ooh, sexy! Who’s that guy in the Durango?” Please tell us you’re going to rethink your logic before you do something you will regret for the rest of your life (or at least until you can pay that beast down enough to make it worth something as a trade-in).

I call upon all the young (and young-at-heart) women of the SDMB to advise fnord1966 what cars (if any) make your heart go flutter. Please help him overcome the delusion that an SUV is particularly useful for any purpose other than hauling the crew out to the oil rig or towing the horses to the auction. Help him to avoid automotive oblivion.

To further assist your decision-making process, I provide the following links to resources that may help you make a more intelligent decision:

[ul]The Ultimate Poseur’s Sport Utility Page

Cars.com – Road tests & reviews of new and used cars (amongst other things)[/ul]

I hope and pray you choose something you can both afford and enjoy driving. Please keep us posted.

~~Baloo

14

2001 cars are here already? AT priceline.com you can submit the price you want to pay for a car…reasonable one that is.

Here is what a Durango looks like for the curious:
http://www.bestoffer.com/buyers/search/detail.jsp?v=219875&Pos=1

Its a 1998 at 18,500 bucks, what a saving. Plus complete report top to bottom on it.

15

fnord1966, just curious, but are there really car stores that would give you a loan like that if you only come in with $1000 per month [that after taxes?].?

16

Something for you to think about.I’m not going to advise you one way or another.But will tell you about a guy I once knew.
His name was Jim. Big time jock went to school in the town next to me. A year ahead of me. We went to work at the same place.
To make a long story short he decided to buy a new car. He was very practical about it. It was a nice car.
I decided to buy a newer model used car. I paid mine off after 2 years and bought another This time it was a 65 mustang.Still used.I was getting in too much trouble with the muscle cars.
Jim still had his buick.
I then bought a 69 mustang.
Jim still had his Buick.
I came to find out he was able to afford it but nothing else.Sooo he refinanced it.While I was buying three cars he was still paying on the first one.By the time he had it paid off the plant We worked in moved leaving us there. I had a three year newer car than he did and it was paid off.

17

$66 disposable income a month? I wish. my payments would be almost 800 a month, gass of 200, insurance 240, that leaves me at about negative 240. sucks ass, but hey, i can alwayus go with the cobra GT, i think ill look into that one tomorrow maybe bring the payments down to like 400 or 300, then i think i can get it. well i have other posts to post to, much more important than this one.
although i will let yall know what i come up with

18

fnord1966: Keep in mind that shopping for a car is the most fun you can have with your clothes on if you do it right (it’s buying a car that can suck). Test drive everything you can, even if you don’t intend to buy one.

Test drive a PT Cruiser if they’ll let you (and let me know what it was like – I can’t afford one yet, but the used market will eventually have them). Test drive all the cars you think will be challenging you to a stoplight-to-stoplight race and make sure your choice will actually beat them (and by how much). Test drive every car that someone will ask you “Why didn’t you get a _____ instead?” You’ll be able to tell them REAL reasons you bought what you did. “The steering feels numb on that model and the transmission hunts between 2nd and 3d” doesn’t sound as lame as “I didn’t even look at one. I don’t like the style”.

Make sure you bring a notebook and write down every car salesman cliché you hear. When the salesman says “I’ll have to ask the manager” you can look at your list and say “Hmmm… Number five and moving up fast.”

Let us know how the search goes. Personally, I like cars a lot and love looking for a new one. Due to current circumstances, I won’t be able to look for a new vehicle for about a year, so I’m living vicariously through your experience. Keep us posted.

~~Baloo

19

Well, the nearest dealership that carries the 2001 Mustang Cobra Gt is in Sactamento (about 2-3 hours away).
There are no Pt Cruisers around, and its like a 14 month waiting to get a new one, IF you already are going to buy it.
I can just see the look on the salesmans face when I pull up next to a camero or somehting and race em, take it up to 140 (mph for all you Canadians) Smoke the tires off through the first 3 gears in the middle of rush hour traffic.

Ohhh I have an even BETTER idea, take my insurance guy with me. That should go over well. haha.