Getting A 30k Loan For A Daily. Good/bad Idea?

[sleptema]

Trying to gain some perspective on the situation at hand, and some advice from others who have hopefully been in the same or similar position may help.

Basically my 96 mitsi magna daily is run down: Old (330+kms), leaks oil and coolant, noisy, mouldy, dented. BUT, has been reliable. Only hasn't started once in nearly 3 years of ownership and that was because the starter died.

I am looking at buying a house in the next 6 months. I can buy this car, and pay it off in 1-2 years, as well as buy and afford my house, without sacrificing my lifestyle. (Had an accountant look at my finances)

My head says I should keep my magna until it starts to become costly, but I would really like to buy a nicer car to drive around in.

Opinions?

Edited June 5, 2015 by sleptema

[GTR-N1]

I've been in supertight money situations in years gone by.

1) Maintain a budget plan for your home

2) Have a leftover budget for your car

3) Get ready to buy a replacement car on the assumption that your existing car is going to cost more than it's worth. And sell this car privately asap.

3) Make up a list of reliable cars that will depreciate minimally and have low Kms and don't cost much to maintain.

4) Choose the cheapest of those on the basis of upfront cost and running costs eg fuel. Wait for your supercar some other time

5) Test drive with level headed knowledgeable friends who have a list of things to scrutinise.

6) In years down the track, try and locate cars that can hold their value. If it's a grey import but not a collectible, don't be afraid to sell it early and don't overcapitalise along the way. I made that mistake with my EVO 8MR.

[GTR-N1]

Me? If I've had a good run with the Magna, I'd move on.

I wouldn't put that much money into a daily myself.

Once you're operating a home loan, get the car loan incorporated into the home loan. It's much lower interest on the home loan than a personal loan.

If you're operating a business, then get a loan for your tax deductible car and that car might be a good'un that you want to do up so long as the business is doing well to support that.

[djvoodoo]

I'd question the 30K for a daily. There are plenty of mid/late 2000 vehicles available for 15-20k.

A few that come to mind.

V35 sedans

Lexus IS200 (and some newer 250's)

Mazda 3/6 etc

Plenty of nice E90 3 series BMW's for sale under 20K

MY07-10 Impreza etc

You dont need 30K :-)

[WantGTR]

If you are looking good at buying a property soon why would you tick up money for a depreciating asset?

Also if you are ready to buy in 6 months you obviously have money. Why borrow? Spend 10 or 15 of your own money.

Just be realistic about your purchases. If you can't afford it don't buy it. Top many people these days spend money they don't have.

[GTR_JOEY]

You would be out of your mind to be spending that kind of money on a car if your looking at real estate soon.

My brother is now in the same boat, except it was a 15 grand loan, and now is going on a 7k holiday.. Needs a whack on the head!

I personally am looking at buying a property soon as well, it has been my plan for a while so even though I still have the GTR (which I own) I bought myself a VT commo for 1100 bucks as a daily. People get too hung up on what car they use to get around in. I can easily afford a brand new expensive car, but for what purpose, To impress other people? I don't need that crap.

Suck it up and buy and buy a cheap daily.. Maybe 3-4k max

[DJBarnstar]

5k is a real sweet spot for a daily.

[Sklyn]

only you can decide how to spend your money. comes down to how much you WANT to get this new flash car.

Financially its not a good move but if its what will make you happy spend up =)

I am in a similar position and was considering selling both our cars (focus and r33) and buying one to suit all our needs (xr5 turbo) for 20k.

worked out that keeping the 2 cars would be cheaper than converting to 1, even considering insurance, rego etc,

Its the WANT factor that you need to control, weigh that against affordability and long term need/want.

[mr skidz]

buy a nugget.

I bought a Z4 BMW and it was to be my daily, it was immaculate but after seeing door bangerz leave marks on my car from car parks in just the first 2eeeks I did the maths and this car was not going to look pretty after 12 months people will destroy it the nicer it is the harder they'll hit your car people are jealous grubs no respect these days moral of the story by a shitter.

[Kinks]

Depends what you're earning, and depends what you want in life. If you can afford it, do it. Life is a compromise - you either have a flash car now or you sink all your money into your home loan to pay it off early. If you live for now, get the car. If you live for 20 years in the future then drive a shitbox and pay down the mortgage.

One of my mates is determined to pay his mortgage off early and is busting his hump to do it. Good for him. I am paying off a little more than I have to which will shave a few years off. I could work a lot harder to earn a bit more money and get it done sooner but I don't want the added stress.

[pol1on1]

There's a lot of good info to consider.

My 2c kinks.

1. If you like holidays go for 1 now before you buy that house. Mistake I did.

2. Don't buy a cheap daily they end up costing you, in a long run.

3. Don't buy a expensive daily my mistake. I got a 2011 Prado with 50k loan over 5yrs only got 30k to go wife's car.

4. You want a daily. OK. that looks half decent. Drives ok and will support family.

Give great thoughts on a 2008 hyundai i30 1.6l crdi with 85k on clock for about $9k

Seriously I have one work car, and love it. my lead foot gives it shit burns only about 6l diesel or less. Insurance is cheap and self servicing cheap too only needs oil filter n oil change 2 times a year. Its not fast but will give a vs commodore run for its money. Oh and it stops at 195km/h

4. After that buy house or buy dream car . Remember after you buy house it's really hard to save up.

I may want a r34 but I think r33 is on my list and I really need a mining job if I want a car or kids yes I over borrowed on house 500k in the shit.

It all comes down too your personal income and how u spend.

Edited June 6, 2015 by pol1on1

[R31 drift pig]

My wife and i did the same thing 12 months ago, although we've owned our current house for over 5 years.

I was driving my 33 daily, and her 2000 model magna had over 250K km's on it and things were starting to break.

Walked into a nissan dealer, bought her a new Dualis for $24990 on road, and I bought a Demo Navara with 500 Km's on it for $30K

Dont Regret it for a single second.

Great Daily, Tow's the 33 without flinching, Don't worry bout police etc. Anything goes wrong... it's all under warranty. And the wife works in the city, so the Dualis is great for her. Big but not too big etc. All that jazz.

As long as you can afford it without making your life hard, and you feel comfortable spending that amount of money i say go for it.

I won't ever buy a second hand car as a daily ever again. Depreciating asset yes, but Im comfortable with the money I've spend on it for the ease and peace of mind.

JMHO.

[GTR_JOEY]

He doesn't own a house yet mate, that's the point of this thread

[r32-25t]

We bought the misses a newer car and borrowed 20k of it 12 months before purchasing our house. We don't even notice at all and are living very comfortably, but we crunched all the numbers before we did it as well.

[BAMR33]

Less than 10k can get you a nice car like a Mazda 6 with under 100k on the odo. Why would you spend 30 if you're looking to buy a house... might be the difference between having to pay mortgage insurance or not. And if i were buying a cheap daily I'd stick with common makes and models that are known for reliability i.e. falcon, Commodore, most Japanese cars.

Why not r3X skyline they're reliable and economical if you don't modify them and can be bought for less than 10

[hardsteppa]

i'll just point out, a car is very rarely actually an asset in the true sense of the word, in that it costs you money rather than makes it. If you've done your sums and can afford that much then go for it, but if it's for a real daily driver then wow that's a lot of money to spend on something to just get you there and back.

[r32-25t]

a car is never and asset, it's a luxury but having something nice to drive around every day is rather nice. Especially when it comes to a long trip

If you can afford it and it's not going to effect your life style or house purchase, then I say go for it

[Hertz Donut]

$30K is a project budget, not a daily driver.

I smash around in a 1996 Commodore I bought 16 years ago that currently has 291K on the clock, goes 8 years between oil changes and doesn't cost a cent in bodywork, because try as I might I just don't care about the aesthetics. I've spent about $1500 on replacement parts in the past 4 years to keep it in good mechanical shape and it'll still dip well below 9l/100km on the open road despite being driven like a rental. It'll never get stolen because it looks like it was dragged out of a wrecker's yard, and even if someone does nick it I won't care, because it's not worth anything anyway.

[GTR_JOEY]

This ^

[R31 drift pig]

He doesn't own a house yet mate, that's the point of this thread

I know that... I pointed out that difference in the first sentence.

Was simply trying to say what a few others have said that if you can afford it and are comfortable doing so, then go for it.