Let's go way back to 2008... I was 19, I was making decent money, and the whole world seemed to be okay. I decided I needed to purchase my own vehicle. I had 6 grand in cash as a down payment. I felt it was a necessity to own a new vehicle. After searching for weeks, I had found my car...A 2009 Corolla LE. It was beautiful. It was new and fresh. The car only had 48 miles on it. The price tag was a mere 16 grand. Flash forward several weeks later...I've decided to purchase the car. It was all set in stone. The loan would be 14k at 8% interest. Without thinking I signed the papers. A 72 month haul with a payment of 248$ per month. I was ecstatic, I was the proud owner of a new vehicle.
Three years later... This bastard car has had so many problems. I now have 113k miles on it. It had been hit several times by bastard citizens that decided it was in their best interest to walk away and not leave a note. The AC condenser and compressor are shot. The Florida heat has killed me this year. I'm still making decent money, but after putting thousands more in repairs into this vehicle, and having other financial woes, I begin to question my decision in 2009. I'm no longer in school because I simply cannot afford it any longer. It is all building up.
This evening...10/7/11... My iPhone was stolen two months ago, and I've been waiting for the iPhone 4S. I finish my annual credit report to find out that I owe 7.5k still on this vehicle. I check my payment book and realize there are only 17 -payments left. "AWESOME!", I scream in joy...But why does the 7.5k not match the 4k I believe I owe? After doing some research, I read my booklet and it says,
If your loan is for more than 60 payments, an additional coupon book will be sent to you after the due date of your 60th payment.
I dropped to my knees in disbelief. The entire time I had thought the interest was included with the payment, but it wasn't. I had fooled myself. My hope to pay off the car and move back to New york suddenly became only a once-dream. It would take me a lot longer to pay this car off, and I wasn't sure how long it could hold on at this rate.
I'm sitting here wondering why I was so naive to think that I could purchase a new vehicle. I had no taken into consideration the decay that would occur in those short years. With 3 years of payments left, I feel demoralized, I feel as if I let myself down, but most of all I feel that I've sold myself out. My desire to own this car had completely overtaken me. I now realize at 22 that it was a huge mistake. Not only was it a mistake, but I had fooled myself over the past 3 years that there were only 60 payments, not 72 and that it would be paid off by next year.
I'm not quite sure how to approach this. A lot of things were revolving around paying this car off, and now it feels as if it'll never happen.
Ironic: I spelled stupidity wrong. Can a moderator please change the spelling before I look like a complete idiot Edit: 1:57 am
Sounds rough, I dont see the reasoning behind getting a 16 grand car when you could get a much cheaper used car. That or take transit as possible. Having a 14k loan sounds scary!
What does coupon book mean? I guess I would probably plan to buy a car at some point in the future so are there some pointers you could give about the whole process?
On October 07 2011 15:06 Emporio wrote: Wow that sounds really crazy TT
What does coupon book mean? I guess I would probably plan to buy a car at some point in the future so are there some pointers you could give about the whole process?
Don't buy a new car unless you have 75% cash at least. Negotiate a lot. Try to get a deal on the previous year (2011) instead of a 2012 (they are out now) because they will want to get rid of last years model faster. DO NOT EVER EVER EVER lease a car. Make sure you have good credit because interest rates will kill you. Buy a stick shift (it was 3k cheaper, but i was stupid). Honestly, buy a crappy beater until you have the cash for a new car. I wish I had purchased a used car for 6k.
On October 07 2011 15:07 TOCHMY wrote: ouch man :/ That sounds awful. And here i thought I had much to think about... Good luck man!
It sounds so silly that this is working me up so much now, I mean i've paid the payments on time for 3 years, but I honestly had so many plans around getting rid of this thing and now i'm stuck lol
Ahh, me too. I bought a car at an Auto Auction 3 months ago for 1.4k, it drove alright for a while but constantly needed little repairs. They added up and I ended spending about 500 bucks on it and now I just got hit with an engine problem. Its pouring out smoke from the exhaust like craaazy and it's definitely not suitable for the road. I asked some guys and they said it'd be about a 800-1000 dollar job to fix it and even then the engine could still have problems.
So now I'm looking at other cars, found a 2002 chevrolet cavalier with only 90k on it for 2.5k so I might just buy that and send my old car to the wreckers.
Sorry for hijacking your blog, not sure what to do about your situation but it seems like you should just keep at her as long as you're relatively happy. Good luck!
On October 07 2011 15:10 Chrispy wrote: Ahh, me too. I bought a car at an Auto Auction 3 months ago for 1.4k, it drove alright for a while but constantly needed little repairs. They added up and I ended spending about 500 bucks on it and now I just got hit with an engine problem. Its pouring out smoke from the exhaust like craaazy and it's definitely not suitable for the road. I asked some guys and they said it'd be about a 800-1000 dollar job to fix it and even then the engine could still have problems.
So now I'm looking at other cars, found a 2002 chevrolet cavalier with only 90k on it for 2.5k so I might just buy that and send my old car to the wreckers.
Sorry for hijacking your blog, not sure what to do about your situation but it seems like you should just keep at her as long as you're relatively happy. Good luck!
Tldr cars are jerks.
yeah. I hear you. Cars can be such a bitch sometimes. Toyota wanted 2800$ to fix my AC. I laughed and I've been dealing with the heat all year. I'd really look into some corollas or hondas around your pricemark. I don't trust cavaliers.
You shouldnt have bought it (or any car for that matter) in first place, it looks like you are kinda strapped for money (even if you hadnt bought the car).
If i were you i would sell the car and get back to school. I assume you cannot repay the loan in one lump sum?
On October 07 2011 15:24 icydergosu wrote: If i were you i would sell the car and get back to school. I assume you cannot repay the loan in one lump sum?
This is probably your best option, although I doubt its possible since its how lenders make their money, but you should check the contract anyways.
8% is actually good for someone that young and in the middle of the financial crisis.
I got 6% with my parents' great credit co-signing for me in 2006. After getting on my own feet and having great credit of my own as well as my parents' only getting better credit at that point in 2008, when I thought about replacing my Honda Accord with an Element, I was offered 8% as well for the difference in my loan.
In any case, I think many people end up having the same remorse buying their first new car. I personally have sworn off new cars as well. I remember getting my first brand new car, and it got keyed up parked overnight, in none other than the Bronx, NY lol. It was a long streak, that I see every day. It got less painful overtime. Being in FL, you should kind of expect that. I mean I don't know, I don't live there, but a lot of my friends tell me it's pretty crazy like in NY. I've seen so many times when people "make room" for themselves by pushing another parked car up or down. Also, you put 60k miles on it in 3 years? No wonder it's getting busted up.
I'm a little confused. You said you had 6k in your pocket, the car cost 16k, but you took a loan for 14k? Did you not put all the 6k down? Did you take an extra warranty + heavy taxes + features?
Also, why didn't you get the Scion TC instead? I believe it was priced at like 12k at the time?
To Chrispy: Don't get a used Cavalier. Really, it was probably used by its 4th owner, some 16 year old girl bought by her parents because they knew she was going to drive it like crap. And decided to try and drive it like a manual using D1 2 3, etc. If it still has the pink fuzzy dice on it, get out quick. In all seriousness, try looking into a Honda or Toyota for a cheap and used car if you can. They're kind of hard to come by because of high demand but if you can find one, it's probably worth it. I've seen so many pre-95 Hondas/Toyotas with over 250k miles on it still trucking along. There's like community forums out there of people with odometers that have stopped working before their Hondas/Toyotas did.
On October 07 2011 15:24 icydergosu wrote: You shouldnt have bought it (or any car for that matter) in first place, it looks like you are kinda strapped for money (even if you hadnt bought the car).
If i were you i would sell the car and get back to school. I assume you cannot repay the loan in one lump sum?
I could, but I don't have 7k to put down. I have maybe 2k?
On October 07 2011 15:34 jacosajh wrote: 8% is actually good for someone that young and in the middle of the financial crisis.
I got 6% with my parents' great credit co-signing for me in 2006. After getting on my own feet and having great credit of my own as well as my parents' only getting better credit at that point in 2008, when I thought about replacing my Honda Accord with an Element, I was offered 8% as well for the difference in my loan.
In any case, I think many people end up having the same remorse buying their first new car. I personally have sworn off new cars as well. I remember getting my first brand new car, and it got keyed up parked overnight, in none other than the Bronx, NY lol. It was a long streak, that I see every day. It got less painful overtime. Being in FL, you should kind of expect that. I mean I don't know, I don't live there, but a lot of my friends tell me it's pretty crazy like in NY. I've seen so many times when people "make room" for themselves by pushing another parked car up or down. Also, you put 60k miles on it in 3 years? No wonder it's getting busted up.
I'm a little confused. You said you had 6k in your pocket, the car cost 16k, but you took a loan for 14k? Did you not put all the 6k down? Did you take an extra warranty + heavy taxes + features?
Also, why didn't you get the Scion TC instead? I believe it was priced at like 12k at the time?
To Chrispy: Don't get a used Cavalier. Really, it was probably used by its 4th owner, some 16 year old girl bought by her parents because they knew she was going to drive it like crap. And decided to try and drive it like a manual using D1 2 3, etc. If it still has the pink fuzzy dice on it, get out quick. In all seriousness, try looking into a Honda or Toyota for a cheap and used car if you can. They're kind of hard to come by because of high demand but if you can find one, it's probably worth it. I've seen so many pre-95 Hondas/Toyotas with over 250k miles on it still trucking along. There's like community forums out there of people with odometers that have stopped working before their Hondas/Toyotas did.
The car was 16k base + fees and all that other crap it was more like 20k. I took the loan out for the difference which was 14k, and that turned into 18k after interest. Which means I've paid 24k for a car lol :/
Yeah, it's not as bad as NY, but people down here don't have insurance most of the time and their cars don't need inspection. This person backed into my car and messed it up bad and drove off.
Anyways, I think this is kind of a 'You live, you learn' type experience. You won't ever make that same mistake again. Yea it sucks, but it's a good learning tool. You'll be much more vigilant in your big expenses from now on because you know what to look for.
protip: Make two payments on a car per month, first the normal payment, second one will be principal only. You'll pay the car off in half the time with MUCH less interest accrued. This could be done with a house as well. You can pay a 30 year mortgage off in like 5 years doing this.
Anyways, I think this is kind of a 'You live, you learn' type experience. You won't ever make that same mistake again. Yea it sucks, but it's a good learning tool. You'll be much more vigilant in your big expenses from now on because you know what to look for.
protip: Make two payments on a car per month, first the normal payment, second one will be principal only. You'll pay the car off in half the time with MUCH less interest accrued. This could be done with a house as well. You can pay a 30 year mortgage off in like 5 years doing this.
Does that mean I send in 2 book payments with it? I don't understand. For a while I was paying 2 payments, and then I stopped and saved up some money.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b354/bmxliveit2/IMG_0047-1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b354/bmxliveit2/IMG_0046.jpg)
