...but it's a god damn Dodge Viper!!!!!

[Furore]

Need opinions.

I was planning on grabbing my first car for up to $10,000 (as I suck at driving and figured a cheaper car + bomb insurance would be handy) and then I saw a '94 Dodge Viper RT10 (red, black leather with red stitch interior, covertible, manual) for roughly $120,000 AU. Now I *could* buy the Viper, but it'd pretty much eat all my savings and I'd want decent insurance which'd likely cost an arm and a leg on top of that.

I could take out a loan instead of paying cash, but I'm not really a fan of loans, particularly when the interest is so high as it usually is these days. Should I grab the awesome car going broke for a while, or just grab a cheaper car and bomb insurance like I was planning on doing which'd mean my high interest bank account would still be going strong?

[The Dark Crystal]

...but it's a god damn Dodge Viper!!!!!

I knoooow!! I would have a hard time passing that up as well, but if it wipes out your savings I would say no.

For one it always seem like when you spend money you think you can afford to spend, something else major pops up you could of used the money on.
(Or maybe that's just my luck!)

If it was me I would ask the buyer to give you a little more time, which will more then likely happen, if they are not offered more money from someone else.

Then I would save up for another month or two, just to have some back up money.

I'm not a very big fan of loans either, and as you said the interest rate will be high, which will just shaft you in the long run! So I would stay away from a loan.

So what I guess I am trying to say is wait til you can pay in cash, but still have backup money for unexpected problems. It's always better to be safe, then sorry!

Hope this helped.

[Che]

Imagine you buy the car by taking out a loan, then this happens and that happens and you're paying for the loan+repairs. You're basically stuck to the commitment of paying off the car. Whether or not that seems like a good idea to you now, it's not.

Viper's suck anyway.

[OceanEyes28]

The right choice seems obvious to me.

But then, I'm indifferent to cars. I've never understood cars being "panty droppers." If some girl gets all creamy over a guy because of his car.....


If you do get your ridiculous car, I don't want you making any threads complaining about the loan you're paying back.

[Furore]

Viper's suck anyway.

Yeah well, Ferraris are a bit out of my price range.

I can buy the Viper with cash, but my savings would pretty much be completely depleted. I mentioned loans as I figure I could pay most of it off and use the loan to retain some money for whatever comes up but I hate the idea of paying that much interest.

Main reason I'm seeking advice is this would be my first car, never bought one to drive myself and I hear an awful amount about hidden costs. (Did help a mate buy a car, but that was only helping him with the initial price).

[Che]

Buy a used 10,000$ car, save for a while longer, and then see if you still wanna buy it.

[Rhaps]

I concur with Che, buying the really expensive one wouldn't pay off for you in the end, but buying the cheap one and seeing where it goes would. Also, what are the specs? Mileage would be my biggest concern, or are the gas prices stable in Australia? sorry for being uncultured lol

[Furore]

Yeah, I'm leaning toward my original plan (sub $10,000 car), but I'm still a bit torn as you don't often see a car like the Dodge on the market around here at that kind of price. I'd mainly be getting it for the aesthetic value and I've always loved convertibles (if I wanted a chick magnet I'd buy a puppy).

I'm not too worried about the price of petrol as it is fairly stable (though always gradually getting more costly slowly) and Security pays well here/some companies pay fuel costs as a car is required on some shifts.

[Pete]

Get the shit car.

High performance vehicles + bad drivers= funerals.



Oh, and you completely lost me at "Dodge"

[Maridia]

Don't get the viper. A guy I work with like many others was in his early 20s when he got a mustang. He had shit credit and they raped him at the dealership cause they saw he'd do anything for the car. Of course it was a convertible which is great cause it snows 5 months out of the year. This thing also didn't hold heat. In the end it broke down alot ( ford sucks) and he ended up working 7 days a week for it just cause he even admitted it seemed bad ass and looked great.

On the other hand you can buy a used shit box. Something like an old Honda since those things never die. And drive forever with them plus at your age it's not like you don't have time later to get something cool. Wait til the mid life crises though when the finances are there. Anything else is just silly.

[Che]

Yeah, I'm leaning toward my original plan (sub $10,000 car), but I'm still a bit torn as you don't often see a car like the Dodge on the market around here at that kind of price. I'd mainly be getting it for the aesthetic value and I've always loved convertibles (if I wanted a chick magnet I'd buy a puppy).

I'm not too worried about the price of petrol as it is fairly stable (though always gradually getting more costly slowly) and Security pays well here/some companies pay fuel costs as a car is required on some shifts.

Also, another thing Silver.

If you really have 120,000$, buy your 10,000$ car, then put the rest down on a house payment. Owning a house is >>>>> renting as rent money is just wasted money, but paying towards finally owning a house that has resell value is +++.

Once you're 30 and you own your house you can start saving for a nice car if it's still appealing to you. But don't buy a Viper.

[Furore]

Get the shit car.

High performance vehicles + bad drivers= funerals.

A very good point, though I am more prone to cruising around than racing. Not really a huge fan of the thought of getting splattered or whatever else...

Oh, and you completely lost me at "Dodge"

Is there seriously something so bad about them? I've heard that at least twice on TFF. :/

Che, I doubt I'll be buying a house too soon. I get the feeling $120,000 is a good deal more in the US then it is here as there are smaller houses in This suburb going for over $250,000 and this isn't exactly a high demand area.

I was planning on getting the car and then renting a place near wherever my contracts were. Means if the money is ever better interstate, conveniant move.

Maridia, it never snows here and some days in winter are over 30 degrees celcius. I'd be more worried the black soft top would attract heat when up making things less pleasant.

Thanks for the feedback though people. I'll very likely be grabbing either a decent car for $10,000 or less and bomb insurance or maybe just a nice car under $40,000 with decent insurance, both options seeming fairly safe financially.

[Che]

A very good point, though I am more prone to cruising around than racing. Not really a huge fan of the thought of getting splattered or whatever else...



Is there seriously something so bad about them? I've heard that at least twice on TFF. :/

Che, I doubt I'll be buying a house too soon. I get the feeling $120,000 is a good deal more in the US then it is here as there are smaller houses in This suburb going for over $250,000 and this isn't exactly a high demand area.

I was planning on getting the car and then renting a place near wherever my contracts were. Means if the money is ever better interstate, conveniant move.

Maridia, it never snows here and some days in winter are over 30 degrees celcius. I'd be more worried the black soft top would attract heat when up making things less pleasant.

Thanks for the feedback though people. I'll very likely be grabbing either a decent car for $10,000 or less and bomb insurance or maybe just a nice car under $40,000 with decent insurance, both options seeming fairly safe financially.

Yeah but you could put a large downpayment on one!

[H4rry]

If the car is really cheap why don't you buy it now and drive for a bit or until you've "had your fun" and then sell it on for a bit more, or at least the same price you got it for.

It's not really a good option for a first car though. Personally, i would stick to a cheap one for now.

[BigWill]

Yeah but you could put a large downpayment on one!

Seriously, and you'd avoid paying on it for the next 40 years.

[Pete]

1. Even if youre just cruising around, a Viper is A LOT of car for even an experienced driver to handle.

2. Dodge is essentially the quintessential "shitty American car." They had some sick muscle cars in the 70s, such as the Challenger and Charger, and the Hemi is an awesome engine, but that's about it. Today, they break down very quickly and are cheaply made, even for cars today. They're all plastic.

3. Really, the house idea isn't a bad one. Even if you bought a small place for yourself, and could knock the mortgage out in a few years, you'd already be far more established than most people. Plus it's one less expense for you to worry about in the future. Say you wanna get married and have kids, you can sell the house you already OWN, not have to worry about other bullshit, and use the equity you have to knock out most of the payments on the new pad.

[Treize]

I don't know that much about cars, but I would go for a cheaper car. $120,000 is a lot of money. That is about half the cost of a house where I live. A nice house at that. Also, that would pay for almost 20 years of rent where I live right now... (I'm pretty sure I did the conversion right.)

If that wipes out all of your savings, and you are hurting for money later, it might be hard to resell the car as well. I wouldn't take the risk and just get something cheaper. Again, I don't know that much about cars, but you can get a nice car for a lot cheaper.

[chrono]

Buy strippers and coke and then put your d-----oh wait wrong thread wrong forum.

Save your money and get what you can afford you will find yourself in the poor house trying to "stunt" as the teenagers around my way say.

[Rocky]

Cars are bad investments to put lots of money in. They cost a lot, depreciate quickly, cost money for repairs, and you never will make more then what you paid for on the car altogether. I'd stick with the used $10,000 car tbh. If you wanted a more solid investment, then it sounds like you can afford to spend a little extra money if you find a good deal on a car.

[midgetbob]

Viper's suck anyway.

instead? this

[RamesesII]

A little rotary that has no guts paaaalease.@midgetbob

Silver silver tsk tsk surely you of all people should know that you will never make money on a car, a car is almost a material item now days and are one of the biggest items of depreciation, so definitely go for the viper wait I mean just get a cheap 4 cylinder that way you save yourself fuel and insurance, considering I pay just under 700 a year on my insurance on a 4 cylinder and I am on rating 1 just think of the exponential amount of insurance you will have to pay not to mention the shit load of fuel you will go through with what 5 litres v10 I think they are.

Personally my advice is go cheap to start off with besides which what happens if you maybe might meet the girl of your dreams one day and decide to have a family what good is a V10 coupe going to do you, you may just have to sell it in the long run and loose money on it.

[Josh_R]

Don't do it... Dodge sucks big ballz. My cousin had a brand new Dodge Viper, damn thing broke down in less than a month. They are very unrelible vehicles.

You can find a nice Chevy, or Ford for a fraction of that price. They reliable cars that will last you a while.

[midgetbob]

... Rotary's are amazing.

I prefer the 2nd Gen TII (what I had before), but most people don't find them as sexy looking as the 3rd Gen.

The rotary problems? Apex seals... about every 60k-75k miles. :'( but thats only if you get on it hard all the time.

[Tiffany]

A little rotary that has no guts paaaalease.@midgetbob

Silver silver tsk tsk surely you of all people should know that you will never make money on a car, a car is almost a material item now days and are one of the biggest items of depreciation, so definitely go for the viper wait I mean just get a cheap 4 cylinder that way you save yourself fuel and insurance, considering I pay just under 700 a year on my insurance on a 4 cylinder and I am on rating 1 just think of the exponential amount of insurance you will have to pay not to mention the shit load of fuel you will go through with what 5 litres v10 I think they are.

Personally my advice is go cheap to start off with besides which what happens if you maybe might meet the girl of your dreams one day and decide to have a family what good is a V10 coupe going to do you, you may just have to sell it in the long run and loose money on it.

This kind of happened to my guy. He definitely wasn't driving a Viper though! He was driving a Supercharged Cobalt SS, it was a cute sporty lookin' thing, leather seats that had blue leather in the inside to match the blue paint on the outside (factory issued), 2 door. He loved that car.

Then I got pregnant, and he swore up and down that he wouldn't sell the car and it'd be fine. Well, that lasted about 6 months. Although he did try to get back part of the car that he liked so much. Now we have a 4 door Turbocharged Cobalt SS. It doesn't look as sporty as the previous one, but he feels a bit better about having to trade it in.

Moral of the story: Life can change pretty quickly, and having to get rid of something that you personally like is pretty tough.