Financing a car?? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

tbomachines · #16 03-06-2014, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P.C.

*And contact your insurance agent with the VIN of the proposed new car for an insurance quote before you buy. Not only do you have to maintain collision insurance on a financed vehicle, but some new vehicles are less insurance friendly than you might think, particularly if you live in a metro area and are under 30.

When I was 29, I had my eye on a late model Ford Mustang 5.0. I had a clean insurance record, but decided to price coverage before I bought the car. My insurance company said that they would cancel my policy if I bought the car, and after shopping around several companies, I found one that would provide me coverage through an assigned risk pool for just 4 times the cost of my then-current premium. No thanks - I bought a Buick Le Sabre instead.

Yep, agreed. I'm actually NOT registered where I currently reside, partially because the insurance will go up, also because I am buying another car soon (lol BMW reliability) and the other state will basically have me pay ZERO sales tax on it, whereas if I changed and then bought it would not only be a headache but its about a 10% tax on auto purchases...easily a $3k or more savings. Soon as that goes through though I've gotta change it.

barry12345 · #17 03-06-2014, 01:22 PM

Not all solutions are for everybody. Since you are getting married a factor may be how you will run your joint finances. Talk to the future wife to be. A lot of your generation are buried in debt. At your financial level you have to watch out for errors.

Harder to recover from them is the issue. That is the reason I will not sell a used car to a young fellow unless I am pretty positive it will last many years yet in all likelihood. I will have it scrapped first otherwise.

Inflation saved us or made life easier in many ways long ago because wages rode upward fast with it. Inflation is always there at usually a reasonble rate. We may be entering a heavier inflating period. It is yet to be seen if wages will rise in a somewhat lockstep pattern with it.

Would I buy a tdi? No way for several reasons. We have purchased one tdi loaded new. Can I write a cheque for one? Yes.

Right now the Japanese label cars are doing just fine. They are what they are with no suprises. They have some resale value as well. Our way of doing things is not for everybody again though.

An earlier poster on this thread is buying a ford with the 1.6 double turbo engine. Same as one of our daughters did last year. That is fords current engine that is reputed to have problems. I have no ideal of the percentage that do or what the exact problems are. I have heard this mentioned more than once.

daw_two · #18 03-06-2014, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

If a person is worried about breakdowns, 2 old cars are the solution. Odds are good one will be driveable and two old cars are far cheaper than one new car.

Actually, 3 old diesel Mercedes are sometimes required. I've been there before.

pj67coll · #19 03-06-2014, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daw_two

Actually, 3 old diesel Mercedes are sometimes required. I've been there before.

Yes. And I hope to be able to be there myself within the next couple of years.

- Peter.

P.C. · #20 03-06-2014, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry12345

Not all solutions are for everybody. Since you are getting married a factor may be how you will run your joint finances. Talk to the future wife to be. A lot of your generation are buried in debt. At your financial level you have to watch out for errors.

Harder to recover from them is the issue. That is the reason I will not sell a used car to a young fellow unless I am pretty positive it will last many years yet in all likelihood. I will have it scrapped first otherwise.

Inflation saved us or made life easier in many ways long ago because wages rode upward fast with it. Inflation is always there at usually a reasonble rate. We may be entering a heavier inflating period. It is yet to be seen if wages will rise in a somewhat lockstep pattern with it.

Would I buy a tdi? No way for several reasons. We have purchased one tdi loaded new. Can I write a cheque for one? Yes.

Right now the Japanese label cars are doing just fine. They are what they are with no suprises. They have some resale value as well. Our way of doing things is not for everybody again though.

An earlier poster on this thread is buying a ford with the 1.6 double turbo engine. Same as one of our daughters did last year. That is fords current engine that is reputed to have problems. I have no ideal of the percentage that do or what the exact problems are. I have heard this mentioned more than once.

Actually, the car is equipped with a 3.5 liter Ecoboost engine, not a 1.6.

TheDon · #21 03-06-2014, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry12345

Not all solutions are for everybody. Since you are getting married a factor may be how you will run your joint finances. Talk to the future wife to be. A lot of your generation are buried in debt. At your financial level you have to watch out for errors.

Well she is college debt free and I only have 4k in student loans. Other than the mortgage which we pay an extra 3 payments a year on. We're both pretty debt free and like staying that way. She bought the town home from its owner in a short sale and got it way under market value. I think the one next to us went for $200k....she said the mortgage is already down into 5 digits. Winning?

I never would buy a first year car, look at the ecoboost issues. I'm still watching how the Cruze diesel will do and there are reports Ford might bring over the Focus with a diesel. I'm a diesel die hard and really want to get back into one. But I. Honestly tired of having to be on top of my cars so I can get to work. I want to tinker with them for fun, not stress out if my repair is going to get me back on the road.

SwampYankee · #22 03-06-2014, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

Yep, agreed. I'm actually NOT registered where I currently reside, partially because the insurance will go up, also because I am buying another car soon (lol BMW reliability) and the other state will basically have me pay ZERO sales tax on it, whereas if I changed and then bought it would not only be a headache but its about a 10% tax on auto purchases...easily a $3k or more savings. Soon as that goes through though I've gotta change it.

Tax cheat.

Simpler=Better · #23 03-06-2014, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerry

You don't. I'm 60 yrs old and I've never done it. I feel no duty to make bankers richer.

Correct.

That payment hurts, and your insurance will be high.
Plus, how would you feel driving around in a $20k car with the other crazies on the road around you? Shopping cart ding or nervous breakdown?

macdoe · #24 03-06-2014, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

I financed a car initially because I was tired of fixing the old benz. The whole "driving an old benz that never breaks down" is unrealistic, I needed something reliable. My 300E has been good but that was tied up with the DMV for some time and still, its 24 years old now so stuff wears out and needs wrenching. If you do not have the time and space to do your own wrenching (like Philly), owning an old Merc is not the best choice. Also owning a turbocharged 300-400hp sports car with a dual clutch trans is fun to say the least!!

key points:
* know your credit
* know your spending limit, both monthly and overall
* if you were to lose your job, in your current situation, how long until you ran out of money? Add in that extra payment?
* Finance as little as you can with the above criteria

Really, your old Benz is'nt reliable?.....maybe it could be chalked up to a "mechanic's error" for some of your troubles. Are we absolving ourselves of any errors in repairs or maintenance of said "unreliable old Benz" ? Was it doomed before we got it?

It's a given they are old and things are worn out, that's redundant since most of the time the parts that are worn out have lasted for 30 years...change it out and go another 30 years...try that with this new junk. Just don't use Chinese parts. (In my opinion, suspension parts that are copied from an original design using inferior chemistry should be against the law and are unsafe for everyone on the road)

I felt the same way as you TBO about our fleet until recently, I figured something out...twas my own fault for ASSuming a system was in check when it was not. To be totally honest, the 2 old car advice has helped us out on many occasions while learning about these cars....from none other than this here forum.

O.k.... so as a revision...two old benz's are better than one new car? They are cheaper to insure where we are. 10 bucks/month for one car and 50 bucks for the other. 1 New car is at least over 110 bucks per month...thats nearly double the rate for half the car(s)....enter the law of averages. 2 is better than 1

Mölyapina · #25 03-06-2014, 02:44 PM

@macdoe: I think Tom threw $2000+ at his 'SD before selling it to me because the transmission blew.

tbomachines · #26 03-06-2014, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macdoe

Really, your old Benz is'nt reliable?.....maybe it could be chalked up to a "mechanic's error" for some of your troubles. Are we absolving ourselves of any errors in repairs or maintenance of said "unreliable old Benz" ? Was it doomed before we got it?

It's a given they are old and things are worn out, that's redundant since most of the time the parts that are worn out have lasted for 30 years...change it out and go another 30 years...try that with this new junk. Just don't use Chinese parts. (In my opinion, suspension parts that are copied from an original design using inferior chemistry should be against the law and are unsafe for everyone on the road)

I felt the same way as you TBO about our fleet until recently, I figured something out...twas my own fault for ASSuming a system was in check when it was not. To be totally honest, the 2 old car advice has helped us out on many occasions while learning about these cars....from none other than this here forum.

O.k.... so as a revision...two old benz's are better than one new car? They are cheaper to insure where we are. 10 bucks/month for one car and 50 bucks for the other. 1 New car is at least over 110 bucks per month...thats nearly double the rate for half the car(s)....enter the law of averages. 2 is better than 1

I thought old mb's were to be very reliable and indeed, compared to other cars of the era they are vastly better. However, picking one up with 200-300k on it after 30 years of use and abuse? Not so much. Here are some of the things that a lot of people see: transmission issues (I had 2 die on me), AC leaks and compressor seizing, RUST RUST RUST, tired rubber seals, vacuum lines everywhere that are old and degrading, timing chain stretch/breaking, etc etc. That's just off the top of my head. From there factor in you're driving 30 year old tech, 30 year old safety standards.

I've been in the 2 (even 3)-old-benz group for quite a while and it didn't work. One rusted out, so I replaced that...that car blew its transmission (now Jooseppi has it), while my 300E started having air/fuel issues because of a pesky vacuum leak that was near impossible to track down with that bosch AFM system.

Factor in that the only parking around here is street parking and it is illegal to have inoperable cars parked on the road. Its also illegal to work on them -- and dangerous. I'm done troubleshooting a 30 year old car jacked up on the side of a road while people whizz by me just inches away. Pay for a mechanic? There goes any semblance of savings.

Also factor in that I work 11 hours a day. That doesn't leave too much time to wrench. And if I don't get to work, I don't get paid. I'd rather be driving my car than working on one all the time.

tbomachines · #27 03-06-2014, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

@macdoe: I think Tom threw $2000+ at his 'SD before selling it to me because the transmission blew.

Between that white car and the one before it I had well over $2k into it, luckily I was able to move all of the parts I bought over to the white car so they weren't flushed down the drain...there's that having time thing again though

tbomachines · #28 03-06-2014, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

Tax cheat.

hehehe I'm still back and forth enough to where it makes sense.

spdrun · #29 03-06-2014, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry12345

Harder to recover from them is the issue. That is the reason I will not sell a used car to a young fellow unless I am pretty positive it will last many years yet in all likelihood. I will have it scrapped first otherwise.

So if I'm young, want what you're selling, and have the money to pay your asking price, you'd refuse to sell it to me? I'd probably flip out if someone told me that, and they'd be lucky not to get a sudden nosebleed. Having someone trek out to see a car, then refusing to sell it to them is frankly unacceptable.

spdrun · #30 03-06-2014, 03:12 PM

I don't know -- I have one old 240D. Sure, it's needed some work, but not even close to the cost of a car payment or lease over 3.5 years. Technically illegal to work on cars on the street, but no one actually cares as long as you're not making a mess and leaking fluids all over the place.

The car has never failed to start or get me where I needed to go over the time I've owned it, which is more than I can say for quite a few friends' newer cars.