contemplating a downgrade

Originally Posted by TXSpeedDemon

I say if you're not married and have a good job you've got time to build equity and savings and it's ok to be a little selfish. Once you get married and start a family your priorities change and you don't want/have the opportunity to spend as much on stuff for yourself.

That being said, financing $37K must have a pretty large payment. Maybe stepping down to a base/sport model and saving the 10K difference would help lower your payments to a more reasonable level.

If you're not able to save 25-30% of your income each month then downgrading now would help you out a lot in the long run. That money would grow a lot more if invested in stocks, bonds or gold - especially at your age. 1K a month ($12K a year) invested for a few years in your twenties could translate to $100K+ by the time you retire.

I'm 34 now and wish I had invested more earlier and chosen smarter in my first marriage. After living beyond my means in my 20s and paying almost $25K in debt after the divorce - I'm playing catchup now. Making one of those mistakes probably would have been fine - just don't make both like I did.

Originally Posted by Notsud 13

tough one, the question is...will you be upside down on your trade in? if you buy a low 20s car, lets say 22k...and you owe another 5-6k on your 370z after the trade in...then youll be financing 28k which wouldnt make much difference on your car payment.