Tell Taylor What To Buy 2k17

[WRXtranceformed]

The obvious answer is do none of this and buy a really nice watch.

Everything else will be bestowed on you because people will assume you're a baller.

:lol: :lol:

Yes yes, come HERE and let us help you spend your newfound post-college wealth for you

[Senor_Taylor]

This is why I made this thread. All very good advice, and I know I'm really just throwing darts at the wall, but I'm a long time away from pulling the trigger on any decision. I do think it's a good idea to sit and save, as I plan to do, but I also think the truck should be traded out sooner than later for something more practical that I can essentially buy straight up with the cash.

I'd really like to buy a 4Runner. (Paging Cabell) I passed one on the way back from class just now and started fantasizing. I think a Miata and a 4runner would check a lot of boxes. Towing, comfy road trip vehicle, offroad capable, practical. I'd miss the usefulness of a truck bed( and before you say anything, yes I use my truck for truck stuff.) My concern with tracking the miata is not I don't want to track "this" miata, I have concerns about tracking "a" miata. No matter what, I'm a big dude and I don't fit well in it. Before anyone shoves an example of someone bigger than me making it work, please spare me. We all know that it's not the best. I guess with the Miata I can throw a roll bar on it and track it a few a year (with my head well above the roll bar) and then see how I like it.

I feel like I'm growing more patience now that I've owned a car for more than 6 months with this new Miata.

Also I'll add that through the miracle of poverty, grants have covered a lot of my schooling and rent to where I have less than $25k in loans.

[Senor_Taylor]

The obvious answer is do none of this and buy a really nice watch.

Everything else will be bestowed on you because people will assume you're a baller.

:lol: :lol:

Yes yes, come HERE and let us help you spend your newfound post-college wealth for you

Actual image of me in 5 months after buying watches.

[Sully]

I cant imagine buying a car right now (even though I desperately need to) I'm sure I don't make what most of you will out of school but I also don't have many bills yet. I overpay my student loans each month to try and get rid of them and avoid paying interest. And they aren't that big to begin with. I guess I should just pay the absolute minimum so I never actually pay them off but id like them gone. And although my savings account was going strong, the second half of the year has taken a big chunk of it. (to where, I do not know) but I'm really hoping to rent no more than a year or two before I buy a house so I guess that's another reason I don't want a car payment although I'll probably need one soon anyways. So everyone get ready for my car buying thread since I can't afford anything I actually want and don't want a beater. But for real, I know better than to start one of those lol

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[WRXtranceformed]

I cant imagine buying a car right now (even though I desperately need to) I'm sure I don't make what most of you will out of school but I also don't have many bills yet. I overpay my student loans each month to try and get rid of them and avoid paying interest. And they aren't that big to begin with. I guess I should just pay the absolute minimum so I never actually pay them off but id like them gone. And although my savings account was going strong, the second half of the year has taken a big chunk of it. (to where, I do not know) but I'm really hoping to rent no more than a year or two before I buy a house so I guess that's another reason I don't want a car payment although I'll probably need one soon anyways. So everyone get ready for my car buying thread since I can't afford anything I actually want and don't want a beater. But for real, I know better than to start one of those lol

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If your goal is to buy a house, start saving as much cash as you can. Don't buy a car if you don't need one. Mortgage payments are easy, the down payment is what takes time to save. Especially if you are in NoVA

[.RJ]

You can buy your first house with 3% down, too.

[Apoc]

Don't buy a house unless 1) you know the market will price you out if you wait, or 2) you're going to raise kids there.

Sincerely,
Someone who said he'd never own again after the first two houses... then bought the third when we decided to reproduce

[JPolen01]

You can buy your first house with 3% down, too.

You'll be paying PMI for a long ass time though

[D_Eclipse9916]

Don't buy a house unless 1) you know the market will price you out if you wait, or 2) you're going to raise kids there.

Sincerely,
Someone who said he'd never own again after the first two houses... then bought the third when we decided to reproduce

:lol:

Thread started: What car can I buy, turns into "dont buy a house unless XXX"

I can't imagine the bill on three houses in that little time. I don't want to sell a house just for what it costs to sell a goddamn house and my house is up 38% since I bought it. Home ownership isn't what people make it out to be.

[Apoc]

House 1
Purchased: 2002
Price: $225k
Sold: 2006
Price: $385k

House 2
Purchased: 2006
Price: $546k
Sold: 2012
Price: $389k

If you like math, you'll see we broke even after 10 years of ownership... which I'm 100% okay with given the market.

House 3
Purchased: 2014
Purchase Price: $575k
Current Value: ~$750k

We go through houses about as fast and Lee or RJ go through cars.

If pattern holds, we're going to lose a shitload of money on our fourth house.

[Apoc]

P.S. - The single greatest thing that happened to set me up for my position in life is likely graduating with no debt (thanks mom and dad). If you youngins' do nothing else, live a modest life until you're debt free.

[Scott]

I say track the miata till you realize Miatas aren't fun anymore in the current HPDE crowd. Or slough your way through HPDE and go racing Spec Miata as soon as possible. Seriously, these aren't the days anymore where a miata "makes it up" in the corners.

^this is how I started racing. I had gotten to the point where HPDE's were boring as I got rolled down every straight in DE3. My choices were to quit, sell the Miata and buy a M3/Z06 etc, boost the Miata, or try racing. I decided on the racing route and lately, I've been looking at other classes as I've been racing the same Miata since 2008. That being said it's hard to find another class that offers 50+ cars in the same class every event.

Oh my vote? Sell the Taco and daily the miata for a bit. It won't kill you to save some money and then decide if you "really" want to go HPDE/Racing.

DJ is a smart man. Sell the Taco, daily the Miata and save money. Even in all this snow my truck hasn't left the garage and I've been driving the "beater" Miata with snow tires.

[Scott]

Do nothing until you've actually been working and paying bills for six months.

quoted for truth.

I was going to say "buy furniture"

Don't, your future wife will throw it away anyway :lol:

Also the truth.

. I do think it's a good idea to sit and save, as I plan to do, but I also think the truck should be traded out sooner than later for something more practical that I can essentially buy straight up with the cash.

Yes. Save. Sell the truck and save the cash.

.My concern with tracking the miata is not I don't want to track "this" miata,

So make "this" Miata your daily, or sell it and buy another track car.

. I guess with the Miata I can throw a roll bar on it and track it a few a year (with my head well above the roll bar) and then see how I like it.

Bolt the seat to the floor. A Miata is a great starter car for DE's. Do a couple then make a decision from there.

[Senor_Taylor]

Waaahhhh, you're not telling me what I want to hear! Boooo!

Really though, this is all good advice and I'll look at it from all of the angles. I do know I never felt comfortable wrenching on stuff when I only had one car. I think I can effectively swap the Taco for a 4Runner with little to no cash on top and be comfy and still save money. No way I want to have JUST an NA Miata. That'll leave me with 2 cars that cover all of my needs that are paid off and both reliable.

I do enjoy this housing discussion though.

[Scott]

I do know I never felt comfortable wrenching on stuff when I only had one car.

That's understandable, it's also nice to have the option of walking away from it when you get aggrivatd and it's in pieces.


[quote="Senor_Taylor" I think I can effectively swap the Taco for a 4Runner with little to no cash on top and be comfy and still save money. [/quote]

Why not just keep the Taco then? Return it to stock and drive it. At least you know it's history.

[Senor_Taylor]

I do know I never felt comfortable wrenching on stuff when I only had one car.

That's understandable, it's also nice to have the option of walking away from it when you get aggrivatd and it's in pieces.

I think I can effectively swap the Taco for a 4Runner with little to no cash on top and be comfy and still save money.

Why not just keep the Taco then? Return it to stock and drive it. At least you know it's history.

It's really really bad for my back. Tacomas are really odd cars to sit in and there's no returning it to stock without losing money. It's not practical at all because the inside is tiny and the bed is only useful for things that won't blow away when it's dry. It's an anemic motor and can't haul anything. The interior is very lacking and it doesn't check any of the proper boxes except being the best platform to off-road with.

4th gen 4runners came with a big reliable V8 that can be almost 300hp in some years and gets better gas mileage than my truck with 4 doors and a huge trunk area. Comfortable seats and it will soak up highway miles. Just look at how pleased Cabell is with his. 3rd gen 4runners are 90% the same as a taco. 4th gens are essentially Land cruisers.

[.RJ]

You can buy your first house with 3% down, too.

You'll be paying PMI for a long ass time though

Yes and no. There's programs that minimize PMI for FHA loans. My mortgage didnt require PMI, but it was an ARM, not FHA. Assume nothing, there are so many more programs out there than a standard 30-year. Banks want to lend you money.

I have 0 regret about buying a house, but you have to be smart about the location & timing, its not always the answer. I think my home value is up about $70k since I bought in 2011. I could cash out my equity and buy a new 911 turbo :thumbup:

[WRXtranceformed]

I'll +1 for homeownership being overrated, and it's really not as great of a long term investment 99% of the time (the 1% being the positive housing bubble sale that Chris mentioned) You sink a LOT of costs into a house that you never get back. The average long term rate of return on a residential home is only 1%. But it is nice having a place to call your own that at least you take some valuation out of when you sell it (hopefully, unlike Chris' second example).

PMI is not that big of a deal really, you can always pay down your mortgage to 20% equity if you want to quit paying it. The PMI on our loan is less than $100/month. I also just read that it's 20% equity based on the home's original appraisal value. Nice! Our home appraised for $20k more than we paid for it before we even closed on it, so that gets me closer to 20% than I expected! (I put down 10% on this home)

[.RJ]

I'll take 101% over 0% (renting) most of the time.

[JPolen01]

I don't agree with PMI not being a big deal. When we bought our house 2 years ago there were no options to us without PMI. The reason the PMI is there is because you don't have 20% down so I'm not sure how likely it is for someone to pay extra every month to get rid of it quicker.

My bigger beef is that it's bullshit that banks are requiring the homeowner to insure their loan incase of default. Maybe if banks lended responsibly it wouldn't be a thing but that's a topic for another thread.