I found out that I am eligible for a deferred-payment loan up to $20,000 that has to (oh, darn) be used on a car (career starter loan from USAA for soon-to-be comissioned military officers). I started thinking, and $20k + my '98 Civic should put my right in the running for a lightly used '02, with maybe 10-15k miles on it. Gotta be Red...or maybe yellow. Sounds too good to be true. So I figured I'd better call my insurance company to hear the bad news....going from ~1300/yr to ~1700/yr. $400. Who cares?? So now the hard part, finding my dream car, or doing the smart thing and waiting until the spring when the snow is gone. I don't know if I can make it....



Soon to be Red/Black owner

 

No, buy your car now. Many S2000 owners will be getting rid of their MY00-MY03's for MY04's and convertibles don't sell good in the fall and winter. I'd say get a MY02. You can find one for about $23k-$25k with less than 20k miles.

 

You should easily be able to get into an '02, don't wait, do it now, your trade-in is depreciating while you wait.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nastinupe1
No, buy your car now.

 

Is your deferred-payment loan also subsidized (or whatever the correct terminology is)? In other words, is your loan still collecting interest while you aren't making payments? If so, you may want to consider if this is really a good deal or not.

 

I'd say wait until December or January. Cars don't sell well that time of year and by then you are more likely to find people that have been trying to sell theirs for several months but have not had luck do to the season. The realization that spring is a while away should help to motivate them. I bought my '03 during December. I'm convinced that part of the reason I was able to get a good deal was that the dealer didn't like the prospect of holding on to the car for several months until spring rolled around. Yes, your car is depreciating so it will be worth less, but the S2000 that you buy is depreciating at a faster rate.

 

I have pretty much decided I need to wait until the spring. It would kill me to drive my new (to me) S through the snow in the first few months I had it, plus it would be a struggle to afford the snow tires that I know I'd need. Also, my parents currently pay my insurance (don't bitch, I go to college pretty much for free so they help out with things like that) but that will come to an end when I buy a sports car.

Also, I think that an extra 4 or 5 months of depreciation on my 5 year old Civic will be less than the ammount an 02 or 03 S would depreciate in the same ammount of time. I might lose a few hundred $$$, but it might make the difference between getting an 02 and an 03 for me. We shall see.

At least this give me something to look forward through the winter.

 

Keep us posted!