New Car: Honda Fit vs Toyota Yaris?
- Thread starter 85 Cutlass Brougham
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I'll be honest, you lost me with the 180+200-30=4x6 stuff. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the beer I've been drinking while watching the game. 😀 Anyway, you would only pay $400 for a brand new car and insurance a month? Wow,That seems real cheap to me. The last new car I even considered buying was a STi.
Well, it's a $13,950 car, with $5,000 down meaning $8950 plus tax financed over 60 payments. (The STi is a $30k car with super-high insurance costs and high maintenance to boot.) The Fit is also not a performance car, it is an economy car with a 5 star NHTSA crash safety rating and ABS which also cuts the insurance down. I also was going with my own financing via the internet so as to use the competitive free market to keep the interest rate down over the dealer finance guy who gets paid more if he gouges you on interest. I was then putting an additional $6000 on the principle of the loan later in the year, leaving me with just $2950 financed by around the 6th or 7th month of the finance term. Using $200 a month as an easy number, $3,000/$200=15 months worth of payments to pay it off. Add in roughly 7% interest for a year, and the total finance charges would be less than $400, or another 2 payments by Jan, 2010 when I needed to be done with the payments. It is a complicated scheme, but I use complex theories and mathematical models in order to make things work. I like trying to figure out what I refer to as "Economies of Efficiency" in which I take into account a matrix of variables in order to achieve the maximum amount of lifestyle for a minimum of cash outlay. If I didn't, I would be renting a room in a trailer somewhere and buying cars at "Buy Here, Pay Here" lots. I don't even make $25k a year so I gotta put all the variables in play in order to get the best life for my income level. Sometimes I try to do "Quantum Leaping" whereby I use short term sacrifices to lower overall expenditures and the amount of time required at work to maintain my lifestyle, thus living better through economic and chronological efficiency. You just gotta remember that my whole idea was to have a better lifestyle than now with a reduction in cost of $400-600 a month by the year 2010, and I am trying to juggle as many things as possible to reduce costs and buy more crap with the money.
Another thing I look at is commuting time and cost. I used to drive 20 miles each way to work, and it took 30 minutes each way. So really, that was an hour spent on work that I was not paid for. So, if you get paid for 8 hours of work at $10 an hour (Chosen because it's a nice easy number), you really make ($10*8)/9hrs, or just shy of $9 an hour! Also, at a cost of $3 a gallon at the time and a truck that gets 20 mpg, it was costing me $6 a day to go to work that had to be subtracted from the amount earned every day. Doing more math, we get: $80-$6= $74/9hours, or $8.22 an hour. So, the commute made me lose $1.78 an hour! Something to think about when you analyze your own finances.
Another thing I look at is commuting time and cost. I used to drive 20 miles each way to work, and it took 30 minutes each way. So really, that was an hour spent on work that I was not paid for. So, if you get paid for 8 hours of work at $10 an hour (Chosen because it's a nice easy number), you really make ($10*8)/9hrs, or just shy of $9 an hour! Also, at a cost of $3 a gallon at the time and a truck that gets 20 mpg, it was costing me $6 a day to go to work that had to be subtracted from the amount earned every day. Doing more math, we get: $80-$6= $74/9hours, or $8.22 an hour. So, the commute made me lose $1.78 an hour! Something to think about when you analyze your own finances.
WTF? I can't help but beat a seemingly dead horse, so I went to look at the Yaris on Toyota's website, and found that in the price were dealer fees of $775, and destination fees of $699!!!! What exactly does the dealer do for it's almost $800 fee? These two fees raise the price of a $11,610 car to over $13,000!!! I mean, I would consider it after selling off two of my cars if it would have been around $12,000. But why all the fees? Is it just another scam to make the price appear artificially low?
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
used honda > used truck
I was driving an ef this summer getting 40mpg city, nothing is better than 400 miles on 40$ of gas.
it sure beat the 15mpg I was getting with a 96 cutlass supreem sl.
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
You haven't figured in the income tax also paid out of this wage. You're making less than you think. Are you keeping track of your mileage and writing it off of your taxes? Or are you being reimbursed for it?
I really don't see how the purchase of a new vehicle will help you reach your goal. If you were using some type of tax strategy to depreciate the new vehicle I might be able to see it but it still doesn't add up to me.
$400-600/month in fuel seems like a lot. I see you are getting 20 mpg for mileage on the p/u and $4/gallon fuel cost. Throw in some repair costs of what? $100-200/ month. Maintenance should be a wash right?
Using the $500 average that is 125 gallons of fuel and the $150 for upkeep. I would guess insurance for the p/u would be less than a new vehicle so this would cover the maintenance or am I wrong? This gets us to the estimate of you traveling 2500 miles each month on average. So lets get to the new vehicle getting 40 mpg for a nice round number that happens to double your mileage cutting you fuel cost in half. This would cut the fuel cost to $250/ month saving $250 in fuel cost. Does this cover the cost of the new car payment? What about the depreciation of the vehicle?
Plus the hassle of the thing getting dinged in the parking lot, the risk of getting crushed in an accident, and the uncool factor(J/K I had to throw that in 😀 ).
Does it really make financial sense? Might for you. I haven't had a new vehicle since '98. I've never owned a foreign make and have had only one wrong wheel drive(I'll probably never buy another).
I say run what you got and save up for when it bites the dust. Car payments suk.
The example in the quote is for the job I held previous to the one I have now. I was a General Manager for Domino's Pizza previously, but drive for another company now. I quit that job because of it's demands on my time and life, and very low pay. I could not have gone back to school while a GM for Domino's, and I found another company closer to home which paid it's drivers better that would let me make similar money with half the hours. However, everything I do now is part of a broader strategy to get out of the restaurant industry in general, and into the field of Mechanical engineering with either an Aerospace or Automotive specialization. If I do Aerospace, Florida is a good place to do it as a little government agency called NASA is facing a loss of engineers due to retirement and they need to find new blood. It probably wouldn't happen for me, but...maybe.
As for taxes, yes I do itemize it all and take a huge deduction off the 43 cents a mile. I drive 2700-3000 miles a month, and also go to school. I bought my current truck new in 1998, and it just hit 300,000 miles. As for maintenance and upkeep, I have averaged $500 a year in repairs for the last 3 years, and less for the preceding 7. Tires and oil changes add another $500 a year (1 set of tires a year, and oil changes every 5k). I am concerned about the future reliability of the 300,000 mile truck as I can't afford the down time. I have had my Cutlass paint prepped for a month now, and can't find the time to paint it despite having 3 days a week off because school takes so much time. I also want to be able to drive to New York to visit friends and not have to worry about breaking down. Will it die? Maybe not. In a way, I just want a new car. I am probably not getting rid of the truck I drive now as I decided I am too attached to it to see someone else ruin it. Plus, it's useful to have a truck. I'm still undecided on what to do as my options are all predicated on me getting a refi loan on my house to save money on my mortgage ( $120 less a month), and a personal debt I owe my family ($100 a month). Hopefully, if I succeed in getting the loan and selling the other car ( $5,000 estimated sale price), I can have $10,000-11,000 in the bank by this time next year to put down on a car. This means I can lower my bills while I go to university. It may ultimately be more money, but the reduction in monthly bills during my time as a full time student (via reliability and increased fuel economy) will reduce the amount of time I need to work each week, and give me extra time to concentrate on my education. That ultimately will pay the biggest dividends as the job I can get with my degree will pay double or triple what I make now, and I will make back the money spent quickly thereafter. I will try to pay off whatever car I buy fast so that I do not need to work for the payment every month, only the insurance. The reduction in bills from what I am trying to work out now will drop me from $1100 in basic expenses now to $800 then ( exclusive of gas, as that fluctuates with hours worked, miles driven and OPEC's mood that day). In that $800 is my mortgage, car insurance, electric and water. It's all a gamble, really, but one that I think is mathematically realistic. Plus, if I fail at this there is no real negative consequence as all it means is I continue my miserable existence as a pizza delivery driver.
As for taxes, yes I do itemize it all and take a huge deduction off the 43 cents a mile. I drive 2700-3000 miles a month, and also go to school. I bought my current truck new in 1998, and it just hit 300,000 miles. As for maintenance and upkeep, I have averaged $500 a year in repairs for the last 3 years, and less for the preceding 7. Tires and oil changes add another $500 a year (1 set of tires a year, and oil changes every 5k). I am concerned about the future reliability of the 300,000 mile truck as I can't afford the down time. I have had my Cutlass paint prepped for a month now, and can't find the time to paint it despite having 3 days a week off because school takes so much time. I also want to be able to drive to New York to visit friends and not have to worry about breaking down. Will it die? Maybe not. In a way, I just want a new car. I am probably not getting rid of the truck I drive now as I decided I am too attached to it to see someone else ruin it. Plus, it's useful to have a truck. I'm still undecided on what to do as my options are all predicated on me getting a refi loan on my house to save money on my mortgage ( $120 less a month), and a personal debt I owe my family ($100 a month). Hopefully, if I succeed in getting the loan and selling the other car ( $5,000 estimated sale price), I can have $10,000-11,000 in the bank by this time next year to put down on a car. This means I can lower my bills while I go to university. It may ultimately be more money, but the reduction in monthly bills during my time as a full time student (via reliability and increased fuel economy) will reduce the amount of time I need to work each week, and give me extra time to concentrate on my education. That ultimately will pay the biggest dividends as the job I can get with my degree will pay double or triple what I make now, and I will make back the money spent quickly thereafter. I will try to pay off whatever car I buy fast so that I do not need to work for the payment every month, only the insurance. The reduction in bills from what I am trying to work out now will drop me from $1100 in basic expenses now to $800 then ( exclusive of gas, as that fluctuates with hours worked, miles driven and OPEC's mood that day). In that $800 is my mortgage, car insurance, electric and water. It's all a gamble, really, but one that I think is mathematically realistic. Plus, if I fail at this there is no real negative consequence as all it means is I continue my miserable existence as a pizza delivery driver.
"What exactly does the dealer do for it's almost $800 fee? These two fees raise the price of a $11,610 car to over $13,000!!! I mean, I would consider it after selling off two of my cars if it would have been around $12,000. But why all the fees? Is it just another scam to make the price appear artificially low?"
What's the matter, free-market ideology getting you down??
Vote for REAL CHANGE.
What's the matter, free-market ideology getting you down??
Vote for REAL CHANGE.
No, go to a different dealer as not all charge the same fees. I do not mind paying a fair price for a car or other good or service. What I do mind is what is called "sliding", where additional fees or charges are slid into the stated price in an effort to charge more than the price quoted on the sticker. And I am voting for real change-Mc Cain-Palin 08! Change away from stifling government control and being forced to pay for things I don't wish to pay for-like heath insurance. Besides, no candidate is running on a platform of reforming new car dealer fees. I know you commie libs think that Obama will be the savior of us all by controlling every aspect of our lives, but he can't fix everything, and won't even fix what he promises to.
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