So reading the stickies, i've got the gist that you need to get rid of debt first. So, I found a seller for my s2k of which I owe 16.9k. Now if i go do that, i don't have a car. I do have another car that i can carpool with my wife but there are times where I have to drive out in the field. And that's where the problem lies. I might have to get into a car for me to do my job. And that means possibly pulling out a small loan. I've been looking at cars less than $5,000. But i'll be back into debt, smaller, but still debt. And that's where the catch 22 lies. Thoughts?

 

If the car is a necessary part of your day to day life, the S isnt exactly your practical car. I would sell the S for now, buy a cheap car like what you're looking at. Pay your loan off. Save some money for an S in the future if you do like the car that much.

You will be reducing your debt essentially by moving to the cheaper vehicle. Also make sure when you do purchase your replacement that you check to see what your resale value is going to be like. For example a Jeep TJ or YJ at this point seem to maintain their values pretty well. I drive a TJ during the winter and I chose it specifically for its resale value holding steady.

In terms of getting a loan, interest rates are expected to rise in the next 6 to 12 months so I would lock in an interest rate today and sit with a bank financial advisor to pick a time frame that makes the payments easy for you.

 

Hard to give finicial advice with knowing almost nothing about your current situation, goals, life ect.

Having debt is never a great thing but 17k isnt much if thats all you owe. Now I suppose that is relative to your income or if you are planning on making a large purchase in the near future (house?) or going back to school where your income will be reduced severely.

Why are you looking at getting rid of it?

I've down graded vehicles a few times in my life but the most significant would have been when I bought my house. I sold my 2005 duramax and bought a 1989 Chev Beretta for 300$ lol. So don't worry you wouldnt be the first guy to shed some debt to drive a pos car

 

Exactly, I'm trying to purchase a house. But I'm roughly 20k in debt with C.C and 70k in Student loans. I make decent money at 80k/yr. I'm buckling down to pay off credit cards first as I don't mind having student loans. That's the reason why I want to get rid of my car, to pay off the C.C. If I owe 16.9k, i made the decision that the money should go to the C.C.

I'm 26, and the goal is to be C.C debt free by 29.

Makes me feel good that someone out there went through the same thing. lol.

 

You are doing the right thing. Get the cheapest, most reliable car you can and baby it until you are above water.

 

Like what was already stated - get out of your S2000 and into something reliable and cheap. It's exactly what I did. It's not even that I couldn't afford my S2000. I was easily paying more than the minimum on my monthly payment, I carry next to no CC debt, and I was still putting some money aside into savings. I just came to the realization that I wanted to save MORE money now and have fun later. There will always be cars. There will always be something that I can buy later in life that will give me the same joy that the S2000 did (maybe another S2000). So I sold my car for more than what I owed on it, took $2,000 to buy a 1998 Honda Civic (auto), paid off the remaining CC debt I had, and pocketed the rest.

I am now in a car that cut my insurance nearly in half, saves me gas, saves me money for tires, saves me money on maintenance parts, etc. I bought a car that I KNEW I wouldn't even want to put money into. It has a radio that plays music from my iPhone and that's about the only enjoyment it gives me. I drive it and forget about it. Heck, I didn't even wash the car for 12 months ($20/year on car washes for my car - not bad!). It's dead reliable, smooth, quiet, and zippy enough to putter around town in (even though most of my driving is commuting on the freeway to work). I am saving money hand over fist! Am I bored to death of it? Sure, but I also know that this is just temporary.