A good rule for finances is this:

Rent/ Mortgage should be 1 week to 1.5 week's wages
Car payment should be 1 weeks wages max

Left over monthly wages for savings, utilities, food, etc

I purchased my STI at MSRP and did my homework for a long time to find a good dealer that wasn't price gauging. So, DONT PAY OVER MSRP!!! The only exception is if the dealer marks up the car by selling you a $999 lojack or some other useful option.

You should really plan on putting 25% of the car cost for down payment. AND....

DO YOUR MATH!!!

Every car manufacturer's website has finance calculators so you can figure out what your monthly payments would be. First, go to a website like www.myfico.com or to one of the major credit bureau's websites and pay $30 for a online copy of your credit report and FICO score. This is very useful information that no one should be without. Then you can see where you rank on credit risks.

These same websites usually will have FICO score simulators too where they suggest things that will increase your score. Also, you can simulate how making extra payments to your credit cards, etc will affect your FICO score. Its pretty cool stuff.

And..the most eye-opening part is that you can simulate what kind of loan rate you'll receive based on your score. Then the simulator will tell you what your monthly willl be with your current credit rating and how much you'd save say if you were in a higher credit rating bracket.

So, if you can live the monthly payment and have at least 3-6 months Emergency Cash left over in your bank account then do it!

Oh...as for me, I'm 31 and the STI is my first new car ever. Its only going to be used as a weekend car as I have a daily driver. And I own my own business and make well over 100k per year.

But still....save and count every penny cuz you never know when bad times will hit!

 

There's some good advice for the younger people on this board in this thread. It's really hard to resist the temptation to spend beyond your means but in the long run you're going to end up with a used (and depreciated) vehicle and a ton of debt.

If you have even the slightest doubt save your money and wait 2-3 years and pick up an STi for <60% of what you would pay today.

-Gerlando.
www.enjoychuck.com

 

thanks deejay, although prior to my current job i have an internship with a financial advisor, i do learn teh basic of finance and do have some investment in the market...i do understand the principle of money but like i say, "one cannot scratch one's back."