contemplating a downgrade
 

I bought my Z not too long ago. It's an 09 nismo, #0025. I am a recent college grad and had no money saved up. I put down only a couple grand and financed the rest (about 37k). I am able to make the payments, but I feel like I should be saving money to invest and build my future. I was thinking of selling it and getting a cheaper car in the low 20k range. Possibly an 06-07 STI or maybe something else.

I need help deciding if I will regret selling it, so I am making this thread for opinions. On one hand I feel like I will miss the plethora of compliments I get from friends and random strangers (I have gotten TONS. Gotta say it feels pretty good when random people stop to tell you your car is awesome). But on the other hand I feel like I need to save money so I can start investing and be able to afford an even nicer car in the future.

Idk what to do. I know you are all strangers, but I just want to hear what you think!:tup:

car hobby starts with a garage (aka your house). :p

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.

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.

Thanks, you make some good points. My payments are not too bad, they are slightly under $600... but this is because I got a 6 year loan. And the idea of paying for this car for 6 years is starting to bug me. If I really cut down on all other spending I could probably pay 2k-2.4k every month and pay it off in the next couple years, but I would not have any money left over to save after my other expenses

At this point I owe about 34k on the car. I would just do a private sale and hopefully find a buyer for close to that much. I know a trade in would be a ripoff

Ya :iagree: Without more info, we won't be able to give you a good response. Make sure you take into account that you need to pay taxes on your used car, loan vs resale value, depreciation (both the Nismo and Sti) over the period you intend to keep the Sti, interest difference in the loan, mpg cost difference, insurance difference, maintenance, etc. I wouldn't do it unless I was saving at least $10,000 over a 5 year period.

yea, hate to admit it but Rui Z is right...i traded in my 2011 Tacoma that I had for 6 months for my Z....lost a couple of grand there.

You will probably be able to sell a 2009 Nismo for $29K, meaning you'll be upside down $5K. That means you will be paying $22K used car + $2K taxes + $5K upside down in loan = ~$29K. You will probably only save like $5,000. NOT WORTH IT!

I would not buy from a dealer this time around for precisely that reason. Screw taxes. I will just go to my bank and get pre-approved for a loan and then buy from a private seller. And unless I find a buyer who will pay close to 34k I will just keep the Z.

I just looked at some 08 Evo's on ebay and some are in the low 20's. I think I am starting to convince myself to just make an autotrader ad and see if I get any interest

You do realize you still have to pay taxes when you buy from a private seller. When you register your used car with the DMV, they will ask how much you paid for the car and then send you a tax bill. Death and taxes!

f*ck


Edit: nope that is not the case in GA. No taxes paid if you purchase from an in-state private seller

2004 C5 Z06. Maintenance is dirt-cheap, the car has a rock solid drive-line, it will impress you performance-wise. It looks similar enough to the C6 so as not to appear to be "last year's model" too bad (like the C4 does...)

I'm in the same boat as you. Bought a new C6 Z06, put down about 10K, would rather have a house by the time I'm 30 instead of a paid-off Z06. I'm stepping down into a 370Z. Stepping up, interior-wise, though, lol :roflpuke2:

You can eat depreciation over a few years, or you can eat it all at once when you trade a vehicle in. You lose the same amount if you buy a car today, trade it in tomorrow, as if you kept it for 6 years. Either way, it's money OP is going to lose. Might as well save an extra $150/mo while losing it.

well, tbh, just thinking about being responsible and saving/planning for your future puts you ahead of a lot of folks right there.

I'm always of the opinion house/savings/investmenst etc>car. Now, if you have a good paying job right out of college, maybe you could swing keeping the car and still save for the future. However, you shouldn't compromise your lifestyle (quality/quantity of food, amount you save, where you live etc) just to be able to own x vehicle. IF you are doing that, then I'd seriously look into getting into something less expensive with the knowledge that in time, you'll be in a better position to get something nice like a nismo Z or whatever floats your boat in a few years.

Hey man, on the same boat with you. My payments aren't nearly as much as yours, but i know what your getting at.

I have seen a ton of STI's on CL & EBAY for under 12K. Yeah-They have 80k miles on them, but at the same time you get to drive a fast car and you can easily mod it for way under a new car. & if anyone asks what happens to your NISMO, just tell them you wanted to try and build something yourself!

Unless you're thinking about a serious downgrade (think econo-box) it's not worth it at this point to sell the Z unless you break even. If you really like the car, I would take the route of trying to pay it off sooner and seriously look at your finances. You'd be surpised at how much the little things add up. Spending $10 on lunch every day for example, add up to about $2,600 a year. Throw in other stuff you don't really think about and you get the idea. Break down your spending and really look at how this car is straining your income.

Also, depreciation sucks, but it's not just about loosing money. You're using the car in the mean time.