Refinance my car? Or...

Seriously people, I have until the end of tonight to decide what I'm going to do about my car!

I don't even know where to begin!

Okay, My monthly bills are $940.

$475 - Car Payment
$90 - Insurance
$110 - Gas
$65 - Cell Phone
$200 - G5


Now, my mother said that we can trade my car in and get her an SUV of her choice and boom, I'm out of a car payment, insurance and gas payment (for awhile) leaving me a chance to save a nice down payment and get myself a nice used car for cheap.

But, problem is basically I don't have a ride to work and such. Which would be a pain until I save.

Basically I make at least $150 a week but up to $400 a week. Average I would say is $300 a week.

So anyways, do you guys think I should let my mom take the car and releive some of my stress or just deal with the car payments for another 4 years until I pay it off?

It's a 2002 Cougar C2 only 9 months old and has 20k miles on it which is another point, i drive sooooo friggin much the car's value will decrease to like, $2,000 when I pay it off

Also, if I got me a cheaper car, I could quit driving so much because I would just stick with my regular job and just live on my $600 a month.

*sigh* I don't know.

Help me out people!

sKaD

Ouch.. hmm.. my opinion is that you need to make a choice and stick with it. You're going to be faced with decisions like this all your life and as I think it's good to get other peoples opinions.. you can not depend and rely on them, because ultimately.. you are the one that has to live with the decision...

Whatever choice you make will be the best choice and remember that, you have to remember that.. even if it was a bad choice, you'll learn so much more than if you would have made the right choice.. which ultimately.. the choice you made regardless of what you choose.. is the best choice.

Hopefully that helps a bit and hopefully you appreciate my advice

Murlyn said:

Whatever choice you make will be the best choice and remember that, you have to remember that.. even if it was a bad choice, you'll learn so much more than if you would have made the right choice.. which ultimately.. the choice you made regardless of what you choose.. is the best choice.

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Good judgment comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. lol

sKaD, are there any expenses you can cut before the big ones? Like food, eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Or get a different phone plan. Mines $40/mo with verizon. Cut insurance down to just liability (although, usually when a car is being financed that might not allow that)

Anyway to make more money? Maybe sell some stuff off on ebay. Mow yards on the weekends. Donate plasma

just my $2x10^-2

Good advice

Okay, things have changed a little.

My mother said she will take my car and make my car payments for me and she's going to let it sit in the garage for awhile before she trades it in (I have a crap load of miles on it for how old it is) thus leaving me without a car. She said she will rent me her car for $275 a month! If I just keep my car I'm only paying $375 a month after it gets refinanced.

Anyways, she's trying to **** me over. Literally, my mother chooses money over family and she'll try and get you from behind.

I think I might let her take the car but I'm NOT taking her car, I'm going to see if I can borrow my cousin's car (some Honda) and pay her $100 month or so until I save enough to buy me another car.

Basically the reason I want to get out of this other car is because I want to move out when I'm 18, not have a **** car payment making me live paycheck to paycheck, broke.

If I keep my car I will have payments until I am 22!!! I owe on my G5 until I'm 19.

My cell phone can be taken down to $50 a month, no lower and I'm debating that.

I can't get liability because there's a loan on the car, I can pay liability if I get me a used car, thus making my insurance cheaper :shrugs:

So anyways, I don't know, I hate how quik I have to decide this.

sKaD

sKaD said:

Okay, My monthly bills are $940.

$475 - Car Payment
$90 - Insurance
$110 - Gas
$65 - Cell Phone
$200 - G5

It's a 2002 Cougar C2 only 9 months old and has 20k miles on it which is another point, i drive sooooo friggin much the car's value will decrease to like, $2,000 when I pay it off

sKaD

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Either you cut expensive and/or get another job. If the car is two years old then 20k is not bad, considering the average mileage is 15k a year. From what I see you can reduce your cell phone plan, cut done the your driving which will reduce gasoline cost.

One of the other thnig you can do is sell the car and get least expensive car, that is if you own the car out right. Take your mother out of the picture and handle your business.

If you plan to move out, you need to save some major money for rent (housing) and food. If you plan to date, you will need even more money.

Also, no matter what you do on the average the car will decrease in value, just enjoy the car.

First of all, DO NOT sacrifice insurance for money. It just doesn't make sense. Insurance is worth every penny you can put into it. Second, you have that many bills and you aren't even 18 yet? AND you drive a 2002 vehicle. Man times have changed and I haven't even broke 30 yet Also, your cell is quite expensive. I get 2 phones with their own lines for that price. Try to cut that down a little. It's not much but it'll help.

I don't own the car out right. The car is 9 months old, it's a 2002 but it was baught in November or something like that. I don't remember, but trust me I should have about 12k miles on it max.

I don't know what I'm going to do. My dad thinks I should just keep the car. Being 22 and paying off a car isn't that bad. But still, it'll be 5 years old and it'll be worth caca.

Yes, I'm not 18 and I have a lot of bills and I have a new car. I pay for all of it though. My parents haven't paid for any of it.

It just seems so ruff right now, I don't have to decide right away, I guess. I don't know. And my mom said it's 275 a year for me to drive her car? or something like that. I don't know. I need to buy me a cheap car for a couple hundred that's somewhat dependable. *sigh* i'm screwed people, I realy am.

sKaD

I didnt even get my first car until about 23 or so.. had a motorcycle before that I still have that car also, it's my only car.. a 1980 honda hatchback.. The way I look at it is that all the driving you do is the reason why you have a car.. that right there is the worth of the car.. Why are you so worried about what the car is going to be worth? Do you absolutely have to drive that much? Are you driving that much because work is quite far away? That is quite an expensive phone bill also.. I pay $99 and I am a business! I have to pay that much because it gives me unlimited anytime minutes.. if I wasnt a business.. I would be going very very cheap..

It looks like you are living outside of your means.. you're going to have to figure out your priorities and sacrifice.. sacrifice is a part of life.. wait until you can afford certain things before getting them..

rman said:

If you plan to date, you will need even more money.

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Amen. LOL

Im 20, live on my own, have a fairly new car (99 jeep cherokee). and am completely financially independent. so its possible. the only bill i had through high school though was a $1200 85 volvo i bought from my boss at the time and $60/mo insurance. a cell phone and new car would have been nice, but through saving for all those years, i can have nice stuff now while im in college. it helps to have a really good paying job too!

Yes, work is far away, about 60 miles so that's 120 miles a day, minimum!

The cell phone is out off this, I mean, really saving $20 a month isn't going to solve my problems. Not that there are "real" problems here people.

I'm not going under, I can afford this car, like I said I average $300 a week x 4 weeks in a month = $1200 a month. So yah, I got a little over $50 a week to blow on whatever I want, plus that's average, I sometimes make more than that leaving me with more money to blow.

The reason I braught this up is I turn 18 in 6 months. I'm sure with what I make and the sacrafice of my new car and getting a nice used car (prefferably a Honda (they last forever and engine swaps are cheap even if it decides to die) I can afford to move out on my own closer to my work making my gas bill cheaper and insurance cheaper making it liability since I should own the car outright.

See what I'm getting at?



sKaD

Ahh ok.. i see.. man wherever you are.. I probably would like to be.. what you make in a month.. is how much rent is down here

Yeah same here... Wait until you gotta start paying rent/mortgage and all that goes with it. Ouch, it sucks

If you plan to move out you need to save some money for first and last rent payment, also the security deposit. That can easily end up as $2500 the first month. That $20 you mentioned can cut your cost of gas down to $90.

Well, I guess from the argument me and my mother just had I'm keeping the cougar and I'll just suffer for awhile, just until I get myself another job at AOL or something.

Thanks for the help guys. Maybe I can cut down my expenses, I'll see.

sKaD

btw - if I had gotten another car I could afford with just my GM paycheck, I would of quit the job that's 60 miles away, making my gas bill about $50 a month, maybe less..

How many jobs do you have? And how would you work for AOL? Is there a corporate office near you?

I have two jobs.

And there's an AOL Call Center here. So nothing big, another peon job.

sKaD

I live in Europe, pay everything in Euros and didn't understand half of the problems described above... crazy americans.
I should go and visit the States someday. Seems like a whole different planet.

Stanley said:

I live in Europe, pay everything in Euros and didn't understand half of the problems described above... crazy americans.
I should go and visit the States someday. Seems like a whole different planet.

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lol