TSB: I have had credit cards shoved at me in college, Had them compete for my business. And the worst happened. 2.75 years ago we had to file chapter 7 bankrupcy. This was back when the MINI had just came out and I was working as a Chiropractor. Yes a DOCTOR who made $2,000 a month, Though I was bringing him in about $35K a month. I couldnt afford the credit cards, rent, food, and student loan payments.

Many trials and well bottom line my MINI will be built in the next week or two.

A word on "Free" Credit reports. ANY credit report that is not written on paper asking the credit bureau directly for FICO scores doesn't contain TRUE FICO SCORES! It also holds true for any credit report that comes over the web or via E-mail. These web companies do this for cash and the two credit bureaus that offer FICO scores over the web play that same game. They give you bogus scores.

Another thing is the fact that you have linked your credit to your dad's creditwith your MINI. This will give you false scores untill you secure your own credit.

C4 and Edge gave you TRUE wisdom. I also like the comment from resmini about recording the sounds of a MCS.

Samantha you realy should get on your knees and pray to your god giving thanks for the MINI you have.

I know that it is less than a year away but rent and renters insurance are going to take a HUGE chunk of your income. Imagine if you were not as attractive and did not have that cushy job. Say perhaps you only worked at McDonalds and had to pay rent as well as pay for the car payment. You probably would have been in 15-20 year old Honda Hell.

I say this as someone who has been there, been through far worse than what he wanted to go through, a friend, and soon a fellow MINI owner.

 

If you're really interested in getting people's advice, learn from my experience:

I've had a car payment for the past 6 years now, and by the time my MCS is paid off, I will have spent something like $48,000 on car payments in the ten years since I've been out of college. Had I stuck with one car from the beginning, I would have a lot of money in the bank right now and have a lot more flexibility to do more things.

I know you like cars, and I believe I know what it's like. I'm thrilled with my MCS, and there's nothing I would trade it for, but I have handicapped myself by switching cars on a regular basis. I never thought much about what I was spending on cars because affording a monthly payment was never an issue. When I finally did the math and I realized what I was spending, it was too late to do anything about.

Seriously: keep your Cooper, put some money in the bank. Once you've saved some, you can make an intelligent decision about what to use it for. Maybe you'll buy a used MCS, maybe a new 07 turbo, maybe you'll be married and spending all your money on formula and diapers. Whatever it ends up being, at least you'll have money available to you instead of sitting in the driveway depreciating.

And don't forget, you'll still be driving a great car in the meantime!

 

time to chime in again...

i think i'm very lucky to have what i do. the ONLY reason i posted about this, and saying i want to trade "up" is because i'm seeing S's starting to go for about what i paid for my cooper. Since i already have that budget set aside, it wouldn't be a big deal to just get one for about the same as mine costs right now.

side note:this is my first car with a car payment. my miata was a 91, and i didn't save almost any money, and my insurance was cut in half and i didn't have any payments... i spent it all on mods. booo. i had a t-bird before that, and spent all my money on clothes when i worked retail. i've disciplined myself alot into saving, cause i know i have obligations now. this is the best i've ever handled my money.

And again, i'm just debating it. I want to test out a few before i decide anything, but IF i can find one for the same i'm paying for mine, i want to make it an option.

 

We need more people representing the underdog! Keep the Cooper. I know you said you wanted to avoid modding your MINI, but...

My Cooper with some brake and suspension work can pass a stock S on a somewhat tight racetrack. I know because I've done it... twice. And for next track season I'm going to get a second set of light wheels with something like Falken Azenis tires, and probably camber plates. As long as you avoid straight line speed contests, a Cooper is every bit as capable as an S.

And, for noise, the Borla exhaust on the Cooper sounds great. Many S owners are envious of the sound of a Borla-ed Cooper. And if you don't mind being "more show than go" a Cooper with a Borla and a noisy intake, like the Pipercross Viper, sounds nice and loud (but no my cup of tea).

Keep the Cooper, perhaps do a high-performance driving school, and be happy knowing that the underdog can win. If you decide that modding is okay, you can really make S owners look silly.

 

So basicaly you want the S. If you can find the S for the right price you are going to buy the S. So go out and find your S.

 

What he said. I too wish I had wisdom in my youth. Instead of trading up and up for no real good reason. For what? ... a DEPRECIATING asset. Despite all the wonderful stuff about how well MINIs retain value, they are still a depreciating asset.

If I were your age, I would drive it until the wheels fell off. Why? Because you have NO idea whats in your future. Two years from now you could be married, living in another state, with a husband who likes "brand X", kids on the way, expenses to pay you never even thought off.

It happens ALL the time. You might think "Oh, I will never marry someone who doesn't like MINIs". Haha, guess again. When love hits you for real, a car will be the LAST thing on your mind.

Think very carefully about making such a decision (the second most expensive decision a person can make besides a house). Think about saving for a down payment on a house rather than throwing it away on something that Depreciates. In the long run, you will be much better off.

Ive "heard" that the current generation wants "instant gratification". Problem with that is that if you get it, you don't get the things that might really matter in life.

Just an old man's thought.

 

Buy the S if that's what you really want (Electric Blue )....especially if you can get it for the same payment you're making now. The only recommendation I would make that's different than previously stated is to buy a car that you plan on holding on to for a while. I've discovered that holding on to a car until it's paid for means I get to keep that one and buy another. So, where I used to only be able to have two or three cars, I now have six cars. Indulge yourself if you can do it....you never know what tomorrow will bring.

 

Amen brother!

Here's a little Excel assignment (or have you done this already???):

Write down what your total cost of ownership on the MINI is (including insurance), and project it assuming you will keep the car for 5 years. Include insurance, pick a gas rate you pay right now and project the mileage as well. It's easier to calculate an average cost per mile, then multiply by the number of miles your likely to drive. You might even consider adding in mods. Make sure to somehow separate what you currently owe, etc...

On a separate part, do the same for what you think an 'S' will cost you. Keep in mind interest rates (estimate around 9%), and what kind of down payment you're likely to put in. Plus the lower mpg (wont make much a difference, perhaps $2,000.00 dollars). Subtract the cost of the current MINI, what you expect to get after tax, and how much of that is actually yours (do you have it on loan??).

Make sure you leave your insurance rate constant. The overestimation should give about 50-100 buffer. You may want to estimate repair costs, as the out-of-warranty MINI repair is $$$$.

Then, do a living expenses estimate for when you move out.

Figure in your income to all of that, assuming you are able to keep your current job - or replace it with a similar amount on income - for the time you have to pay the 'S' off.

Then, depending on how college is being handled, add in any loans, etc... Figure out how long you'd like to be tied to those.

If you can make any sense of the above, by all means become an accountant .

But seriously, do the math. It'll only take a few hours, and will make the whole situation clear. Or muddled, but you'll be able to convince others it's a financially wise decision because they won't be able to make heads no tails of it!

 

This doesn't work out - even if your monthly payment is the same, you're going to be making more payments with the MCS than you are currently making.

For example (not that this complicated): If you are paying $200/month and have 36 payments to go right now, you will spend $7200 and own the car in 3 years. If you start over at $200/month, but have 60 payments to go: you'll spend the same $7200 in the next 3 years, and still have another $4800 to spend in the 2 years after that before you own the car.

Your monthly budget isn't any different, but down the road is a different story. Stick with the Cooper and 5 years from now you'll have $4800 in the bank. Get the MCS and you'll have $0. (All numbers for example purposes only. Actual payments may vary. May not be legal in all states. Some restrictions apply.)

It's the mistake I made. Being able to afford a car payment every month is not the same thing as being able to afford a car! Yes, you can fit the payment into your budget, but whatever you are spending on your car is money that you will not have in the future.

I don't see that happening in this case!

 

good point. its always greener on the other side...

sounds financially like you should stick to the MC.

if you were going to get an S, i would order an 06 and get what you want. Used S's will be pricey and likely out of an oft needed warranty.

i could have afforded the S over the MC, but that extra 3500 is needed other places...

 

Just dream for a while, SB. My philosophy is that you don't buy something if you can't pay for it. ESPECIALLY for a depreciating asset (no matter how low the depreciation is.) Go to the dealer, drive a used S. Look in the paper (oops, showing my age there) er, I mean go online and find a few local S models for sale and drive them. Make friends with a local S owner, and make them drive everywhere. Set a median goal - i.e. when your car is half paid for (or whatever) you can make the move. Factor in all the costs of switching cars (sales tax , registration, inspection, etc.) Find out what it will cost you to live once you get 'kicked out' and make sure that there is enough left in the paycheck to afford that payment (AND maintenance, if you're getting an older car.)

And, most importantly be VERY happy that at 20 you get to drive a Cooper!

 

OK, how about a little advice from an old man. It's free, so take it or leave it, but you seem like a nice kid and I'm always glad to try to help out another MINI owner.

Rule #1: NEVER borrow money unless you absolutely HAVE to.

I realize that there are times when you have to, most of us don't have the cash to buy a house. I'll accept that one, but instead of trying to figure out what you want this month, you should be double-upping your payments and getting all the bills paid off. If you get on that credit treadmill too hard when you're young, you'll be spending the rest of your life trying to get off.

Remember Rule #1. If you don't have the cash in your pocket, you don't need it.

I could have paid for an S, but I liked the MC better. An S is too easy. No finesse. You have to work a little to get the best out of an MC, and when the S's pull away from me on those long straights, that's cool, I'm having just as much fun as they are. You already own a great car.

You might want to trust what your Dad is telling you.

 

Life is expensive Sam. You're 10 months away from finding this our for real. Up until you have to pay for all of your food, clothing, home/apartment plus the incidentals like washing/cleaning/home maintenance/insurance (medical and homeowners, etc.) you just don't really have a firm grasp on how fast the money goes out of your account. I'd caution you to keep your MC for at least one year after beginning to pay for your independent life, that way you will be in a much better financial position to evaluate whether or not you can afford to move up to an S.

 

lotssss of info to take in!

i'm still new to this.. so bear with me. A big factor in all of this is how much i could get for my cooper, and being able to find an S that's similarly priced (which DiD's is)

If i can get 17k-ish for my Cooper, that's money in my pocket that i can throw down on the S that i've already paid down on the car... making the payments drop on the S, correct? I plan to save up some to either throw down on the current car, or throw down as a d.p. on the S... or just keep in savings

Since i'm a big baby, i'm going to have a roomie when i move out. If not 2 roomies. Luckily, we can split the costs. I've been asking around for help on what i should expect when i move out (what costs/repairs may pop up, etc.) and my dad throws out random advice all the time. Everyone's been a HUGE help. I dont want to strap myself down, and i try to think about the future as much as possible. Heck, i'd still be in my miata, even after the accident, if my dad didn't bring that mini by my work and i bought my t-bird for 500$, and never did a lick of maintenance to it, and it ran down to the ground. Most of my friends own 500$ cars, moving out on their own before they're ready, and working crap jobs. I think i'm VERY fortunate. I have great parents who put a roof over my head, a nice car parked outside, and a nice job that pays for everything.

I'm still going to sit on it. Just as an FYI: dad's taking his name off my loan in March, so that's when i'll HAVE to have my own loan. By then i will have paid quite a bit down on the cooper. I'm sure people have been thinking the same as me... selling their cars while they're still worth quite a bit and moving up. I only want to do so if i can get a bit for mine, and find a new one in the same range.

 

Re-phrase that...

And, most importantly be VERY happy that at 20 you get to get to drive your Cooper!

Another thing that you can do is to mod your Cooper. I don't just mean more Napolean Dynamite stikers either. Get a MTH Chip. Do a Cat Back and CAI to get that sound. Heck MINIUSA even offers a JCW sound kit(1,100) for the 2006 MC. It changes the intake, and exhaust to give it the MCS sound. It also includes a Chip. Check it out, I bet that they have one for your MINI.

 

Help me understand here, I've read back thru this thread but I'm still not sure. Do you still owe money on your Cooper?

 

So basically, DrDiff, you're saying i should spend thousands to make my car sound nice... but i STILL won't have a black and pink mini with a supercharged whine?

Or i could trade up for an S that's the same amount i paid for my cooper, leave it stock, and put some pink on it.

 

I owe money, yes.

 

So if you sell your Cooper for 17 large, yes, you could put that down on an S, but you still have to keep making the payments on the Cooper, plus whatever payments you have to make for the S. Now you have 2 payments. Any S you could find for 17 wouldn't be as solid as your nicely maintained Cooper.

Why don't you just get yours painted pink?

 

Ok you lost me. If she owes sells the car for 17K than she would use that money to pay off the loan and any thing on top of that she would keep to use as a down payment. I don't see how the finance company would let her get away with not paying them off first before she goes for a new car. She would still only have one payment. Now if she is "upside down" then she would have to pay that off, but if that is the case then, from what I have read, I dont think she would trade up. I don't see where the second payment is coming in. Even if she traded the Cooper as a down payment for the S and was upside down they would just roll the remaining ballance into the new loan. (P.S. Don't do this at home boys and girls) Still one payment.

 

True, but she had made the statement that "If i can get 17k-ish for my Cooper, that's money in my pocket that i can throw down on the S". I was just trying to make sure she understood that she wouldn't actually have 17, since she still owes on it. One payment or two, she isn't going to come out ahead.

 

Another important thing to remember that the used car market has just been flooded by those who got in on employe pricing. Granded MINI did not play that BS game. The big three just killed those who want to buy a used car. They de-valued the new cars thus hurting most folks who owe on their cars by making them even further flipped in car debt. (car worth even less now than what is actually owed on it.)

The only time to trade up is when the resale value of your car is worth MORE than you owe on it. Granted MINIs have legendary resale value.... Ultimately it is TSB's Decision. I do applaud her for asking the opinions of others here before jumping into something new.

BMW has factored quite a bit of Emotion into the MINI. Emotion is the last thing you need when considering financial matters.

 

HEY, better watch it.

my S was $17,800. its an 04, one owner car. its an early 04. 32k miles, DS/W, cold weather, DSC, fogs, a few other goodies.

KBB calls it $21k still.

So, whats your reasoning behind not being able to find a solid, nicely maintained S for the price of a cooper? My payment went up a whole $15 dollars. Sure, i lost the tax on my original cooper, but it was well worth it.


Go for it Sam! If you want, I can talk to my MA at Classic and see if he can find you the car that you are looking for in your price range.

 

My honest advice:

Keep what you have. Life is a lot more expensive than it will seem to be when you're under someone else's roof. Your credit score will likely be in the mid-to-high 600's (not bad, not excellent) and building. With such a short history, you will almost certainly need a cosignor to apply for any kind of financing. Or, if you can get it through your credit union, you'll probably be looking at APR's over 10.

In addition to keeping the car, you should hold onto for 2 or 3 credit cards (up to about $5000 total extendable credit) and keep them at a zero balance. I did that in my last year of college, and by the time I'd been working for a year, I had a 700 score.

Also, I saw some misinformation. If your car was bought as a cosign, it is completely yours. The cosign means that you bought the car, but due a lack of credit, your father is culpable for any defaults. Basically, it's saying "I have no credit, but I know someone with good credit who trusts me and will act as my collateral." The fact that you own the car should increase the maximum credit lines available to you. Just don't exceed more than a few thousand dollars in combined limits, don't open more than 3 or so cards (too many cards and/or too much available credit can be interpretted as a negative thing) , and don't put more on them than you can easily pay off within a month.

Bottom line of what I'd have to say has already been said: take a good look at where you are now and where you want to be in a few more years and see if a new car really fits in with the rest of your priorities. From the opening post, I don't think it does. IMHO.

Good luck.

 

Yep. This is all IMHO. Rednwhite, you caught a good deal, but I'll bet you're a little shrewder than you were when you were 20. Ya think TSB can pull it off? My bet is that the finance guys are waiting for her. We're just trying to help a kid stay out of trouble until she can get moved out from home, establish herself, and learn to pay for what she has. No offense intended. I've seen way too many people go down the credit tubes.