Yea, I'm trying to finance as little as possible. I DO realize that at 17, maybe 18 when I get the MINI, I will not want debt....and that will be much easier to pay for insurence and gas. So I'm waiting now.....to be happier and better off later. Sucks....but I think it'll pay off in the end.

-Cody

 

My insurance for the mini was 250 a month. I sure hope 17-18 y/o guys isn't much more than that. I financed 17k, and it was about 350 a month with 5.9% interest. I refinanced around 15k with 7% interest (on my own credit instead of my parents), extended the loan a little and got it down to 330.

That's about 600 a month. So lets hope you make more than 6.50 an hour and work atleast 30 hours a week, and don't pay for anything else. :P

 

`

 

Surely you jest ... a MINI is frivolous???

Sacrilege I say

 

LOL! well right now I make $6.60 (will change tomorrow!) and I work 35hours a week, while doing 35hours a week at school. I have WAY too much stress in my life at 16.....I hope I will relieve all of it when my MINI finally comes.....someday!

-Cody

 

oh hell man...do what you have to do. if you really want the car, understand how life changing a commitment like this is, and feel that you can handle the payments then buy the mini. life is way too short and unpredictable to wait on something as fun as a brand new car, especially a mini. just be responsible and make your payments on time.

in my case, i own a 2005 element that i purchased brand new and i just purchased a 2003 cooper s for just under 18,000 with 20,000 miles. i put 4500 down for the mini and took a 72 month loan. my payments are low but, my plan is to pay as much as i can as fast as i can. probably 600 a month, if all goes well, if not i fall back on my 350 a month. pretty safe bet really. fast forward to my point, im going to turn my 03 mcs into whatever i want. turbo upgrade, suspension and all that. the beauty of tuning a car is you make it into what you want. you can take a used mini and make it better than a brand new one. if you cant afford new, buy used, just make sure you get a good warranty.

do what feels right. everyone on this board has valid points but, they are not you. again, do what you feel is right.

good luck.

 

Im sorry but this is another perfect example of the attitude that has drawn so many contrary responses. First off the guy is in High School still, there is no career path....what you want to be and what you actually become are two VERY distinct things. At this age one mis-step can dramatically alter the course of his entire life.... I personally can't believe that there are so many adults who ought to know this, advising a kid so irresponsiblly.

And, finally ....If your dream is a car. Such a sad dream... Cars are great things, but they are just things, dreams should not be made of things!

 

Hey! I don't feel my comments are at all irresponsible. He intends to be a fireman, he stated so in a post early in this thread. ONCE AGAIN, if he finds that the MINI is hard for him to manage, he can sell it. Nothing wrong with enjoying a great, safe, and fun car, "even" when one is young. Aren't you a bit over the top saying that dreams should not be things? Plenty of folks have dream-cars....I say, lighten up.

 

I think everyone with a MINI has THE dream car.

 

I see we're still at it.

The dream is in the mind of the dreamer, kind of like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Without a dream or idea, there's no goal, and if there's no goal there's nothing to work for. Work could be a job or the effort expended to build or develop something. He needs to learn to make decisions on what he wants to achieve or get (like being a fireman) and then earn it.

I think a lot of young people will want a car. Who doesn't? I did. I didn't get it until half way through college, but eventually I got it. I HAD to have it. I needed to get to my job to help keep me in college.

I think one can achieve what he wants if he decides he wants it and make a plan to get it. Whether a car or a career. In Jr. High I decided I wanted to be an architect. Have been since 1991, registered, and in the business for over 20 years. I hope he achieves the firefighting career he wants, it's an admirable career.

Now for a thread jump - today I went to the University I graduated from for an association meeting. After 25 years of change, the biggest I notice was . . . . . . all the students walking around holding a cell phone in their ear. Now, what's up with THAT?

 

well i am 17 currently 18 in a month and i have a payment of 450 a month and yeah i know i am going to work alot for this car.........but all that seems to fade when gas pedal hits the floor and tach reads 6k

 

Well, I do all the time, if didnt have it I would be lost. How do you coordinate a Friday night without one?

 

I do, too! Keep the dream alive!

 

I wasn't in college that long ago (graduated in '03) and uhhhhh... I just personally spoke with my friends to coordinate Friiday nights -- and any other night, for that matter!

 

Yeah, we all just knew where to be or go to meet up.

We didn't even have email! Yes, I'm more "experienced." Actually, the PC hadn't even been developed yet. Ever hear of punch cards?

I think the cell phone is a great safety device for family on the road or away somewhere, but with all the calling, text messaging, downloading ring tones, internet access, and so on, it's awfully expensive. I'm trying now to see if I can plug my Pocket PC/Cell into the MINI with USB. But don't ask me to talk to friends on it, uh huh. No way. I'll see them at the usual watering hole.

 

OmToast wrote "yes, I enjoy instant gratification and I'm willing, when feasable and worth it to me, to do what it takes to get it. If it ends up being a bad idea, then maybe I pay the price" ...

It isn't immature to consider that we could each be hit by a bus tomorrow after lunch; it's quite pragmatic. If we can't live life to the fullest, whatever that means to us, then there isn't really any point in living it, now is there?"

okraD La wrote

Everyone is always talking about saving, mutual funds, CDs...But what if you were to die tommorow? Why deny the pleasure of driving around a MINI now.

I happened to stumble upon this today and will just throw it on the table http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...ey/P145775.asp
The issue is the US abysmal saving rate of MINUS .5 percent.

"People who are younger just really believe that nothing bad can happen to them ...

Popular culture plays a part as well. 'People watch TV and think they have to live the life of characters on their shows ...

What our parents saw as luxuries, people our age see as little indulgences," Davis says. "My mother would never spend $5 on a coffee. Some people do this every day." She adds, "My parents are appalled at the way I justify my spending. I think, 'Why work and make money unless you're going to enjoy it?' That's a fine theory until you're 60, homeless, and with no money in the bank." ...

Others defend their spending, even in a financial crisis. "They have to have cable TV, a cell phone, and their nails done," ...

When they get a raise or bonus, the first thing most think about is how to spend it, not how much they can earn through savings and investment."

Just food for thought.

 

Amen!

 

In your opinion it is an immature perspective, but, this kid is going to be a FIREMAN...THEY STILL HAVE PENSIONS....as for me, I have been saving for retirement since I was 21.....I just have not let SAVING MONEY rule my life...
Besides, I think some of the most rewarding experiences are actually bought with MONEY...Trip to Europe, Trip to the Dragon, Nice Car, New house.... Call me shallow but I am a product of good ole American Capitalism....

 

I know I was just kidding, its no tthat hard, but ill admit I am addicted to it. Before you have one, it seems like a luxury, after you have one and youre in High School, it seems like a necissity.

 

BTW, I'm sure everyone remembers 9/11. I surely do, not only for the terrrible tragedy, but for the tremendous financial loss I suffered as a result of "SAVING". My retirement account tanked out so badly, that it set me back about 10 years....(I was back to square one when I started)
Yes I had a pretty diversified portfolio but it still took a crap...so all that money I made dissappeared...
One of the UNPREDICTABLE events...Any one else's funds take a crap after 9/11? I still havent recovered what I lost...
Go get the MINI flannelhippie...do the "IRRESPONSIBLE" thing...

 

Good effort, Chow, but I think some people are on a diet, or maybe just not hungry.

 

Since it hasnt been 10 years yet, I don't know how you can say that. Since we dont know what your "retirement account" means, its hard to say ... if your strictly talking diversied stocks in say 401K, yes they are just now back up there pre 9/11. S...t happens.

However, if your young, you know your in this for the long haul, not for small fluctuations cycling within a single decade. If you keep looking at stock prices in the short term, you be a nervous wreck. Your supposed to just forget about them and look in 30 years.

 

Again it is an immature perspective because your time horizon is so short.

Pretty much the Definition of maturity is the ability to step outside emotion and look LONG into the future and make decisions TODAY that contribute to those goals. Your perspective on the market confirms this....By the way you haven't lost money until you sell....there has not been a 10 year period in the history of the stock market that you would have lost money....including the great depression

 

Hmmm. DJIA is roughly where it was in 2000 and NASDAQ is 20% higher; both are double where they were in '96 (10years ago)
I hear lots of anecdotal stories of people (including my near-retirement in-laws) losing big time because of the internet bubble, but I don't understand it. The bubble was just that, a bubble. It went up high and burst, it didn't vaporize the market. Unless you bought big into tech in '00 for the first time, you only lost money you 'made' in the bubble. The numbers referenced above and shown below show that the drop was a blip in the long term (DJIA), as happened in '75. NASDAQ was hit harder, but at the trough was still 2X the value 10 years before. A diversified portfolio should reflect that.
Maybe I got lucky, but my 401K is 50% higher than in was in Dec '01 (with no additional funds added.) My 'investment' account definitely took a powder in '02, dropping 50%, but it is now 3x the low, and up 50% from '00 levels.
The whole point of long term (retirement) investing for younger people is that over the long term, you make money - the short term is irrelevant. Note that the 'rules' are different for older investors.

Now, back to discussing flannel's decision...

 

It set me back 10 years as in I had the same amount in the account at age 31 that I had at age 21. And I generally only checked my portfolio quarterly sometimes 2 times in the year. But it's hard to ignore when you lose $22,000 in 2 months time..
BTW planeguy, some people have short time horizons due to health issues, such as myself. I do not subscibe to your definition of "mature". I agree with MINIclo "Lighten Up".