In need of advice!!!!

Quite frankly, considering your finances, I'd go look for a clean used Corolla or Civic. Those are dependable cars that are bound to sell for about half what the used Prius is selling for

Do you have any idea of service history? Was it a salvage title? Used for a business or heavy commuting?

Not trying to scare you off a used Prius, and not trying to offend you. But the key words you used "I might be able to afford it"

To me, that means you might *not* be able to afford it

 

I'll second Jaymans answer. The Prius is a great car, but at your stage in life, you will be better served to avoid debt. As for a good deal on a used Prius, there are a lot of them out there, and there will be more when the 2010s hit the market. Save your money now and buy a Prius later.

Tom

 

Thirded! It would be financial madness to go into debt to buy a car without a job, even assuming someone would lend you the money.

 

What's your mother's story? Is she using your car because she needs one to get to work? Is she taking your car due to undesireable behavior? IMO you can own a Prius when you can afford it. If you don't have enough cash then buy something cheaper that you can afford. It's a CAR. They are out there by the million so don't fall in love with that used one.

 

I agree, if you can save up the money beforehand. To pay cash for a car, new or used is extremely gratifying AND you would be years ahead of your peers. I know it seems impossible but you can do itI One of the rewards of not having something, is the desire, anticipation, drive. fantasy to have it and very often this is more rewarding than finally getting it. You may have already experienced this in wanting and getting some other things. I applaud that you queried Priuschat members. You will always get mature and realistic advice from our members. Why does your MOM keep taking your car away from you?

 

Buying this car from a used car dealership would concern me.

What type of warranty will you get? (Parts/labor covered/not covered) Is it a Toyota-certified used car (or what-ever it's called)? Will they let you take it to a Toyota mechanic for inspection before purchasing it?
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While the Prius is a reliable and easily maintained car, at 74 K, it may be getting ready for a hefty repair bill.

In today's world, really BEFORE the recent melt-down in the financial market, lots of college students have run into nightmarish conditions with "interest free student loans." Be VERY careful before you jump into this area.

Like almost everyone else, I would suggest spending less and getting a Corolla, Civic or other car and socking anything left over into a CD or something so when you are able to afford a Prius (or equivalent), that money (with interest) is ready to help you.

 

A CD is a certificate of deposit. You can purchase a CD from a bank, an S&L, or a credit union; and this offers a specified interest rate for a fixed period of time.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificates_of_deposit]Certificate of deposit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I assume that your mother knows how to drive a manual transmission car. Perhaps she could be persuaded to teach you. It is really not a big deal once you learn how, and this is a valuable driving skill to possess.

If the old Honda needs minor tuneup work to prevent future stalling episodes, it would make more sense to have that work done, than to buy another used car in questionable condition.

Good luck with your auto purchase decision and with your schooling. I agree with the advice above that you should be very cautious about incurring debt.

 

It's not that hard. Get a good teacher to take you to an empty parking lot and practice. That's all it takes.

You don't want to learn how to drive a stick by starting in heavy traffic. That's like putting someone behind the wheel of a flying airplane and telling them to land it. Bad things will happen.

Tom

 

My advice is: never borrow money. Period. If you cannot pay cash for the car you want, lower your sights. You are very young and have your whole life ahead of you to enjoy good things. You are at a crossroads: One fork is to live in debt, always borrowing so you can have stuff before you have the money to pay for it, always struggling to pay off the loans, and paying through the nose to cover the interest. Even though the student loan would be zero-interest now, it will convert to high interest once you're out of school. The other fork is to live free of debt. You'll have less stuff, and you'll also have less stress, fewer ulcers, and a much happier life.

On top of this, you don't even really want this car: You want the plug-in car that will come out in a few years.

I've never borrowed money. My sister has lived her whole life in debt up to her ears. She always had more stuff than I had. And she's always seemed like she's living in a constant state of nervous breakdown.

My advice: Don't borrow money. If you need a car, fix the old Honda, or keep looking for a clean used Civic or Corolla.

And whatever you do, good luck to you.

 

[quote=daniel;8210

94]My advice is: never borrow money. Period.




I disagree. Borrowing money is great if what your buying is an appreciating asset. The one great thing to borrow money for is your education. Your going to school is a great thing, borrow money for that is very practical. A pricey car, even a prius, is generally going to depreciate. Additionally, higher priced cars require more in taxes, and insurance. The best thing about an older , (I wouldn't call junk) car, is saving money by only carrying liability insurance. If you do the math , the extra costs alone may be higher than the savings in fuel cost from the higher priced prius.

Search for a used car locally from a private seller, try Craigslist . You supposed to be having fun at your time of life, not stressing about not being able to afford the dream car. Do you seriously want to be working the extra hours to pay for the fuel efficient but pricey car? Perhaps so, it is your life, and you get to choose how to spend it. Again, stay away from dealerships in my view, if you don't know much about auto mechanics, bring a friend who does when car shopping. Good luck.

 

There's alot more to life than college. Learning to drive stick is a valuable and very possibly necessary life skill. Its one of life's basic skills. Your first decent job may require you to drive a stick car.
Also alot of the used cars you will be looking at are stick. Just don't learn with your mother as a teacher. She seems to know things about you we don't.

Stop looking at used Prius, Honda, and Toyota's. Those brands used around here go for top money. In fact around here most get bought up and shipped to South America. You will not be able to afford one of those that doesn't need alot of money immed. Buying a used Prius for $11,000 would be a catastrophe for you.

Buy a decent beater for $2000 like a Taurus or an Explorer. Learn to drive stick and learn how to work on cars because I think your going to have to anyway. Good Luck.

 

Quite frankly I could give a s*** what others thought about me, especially the house I live in, the clothes I wear, and the car I drive.

 

What Jayman said and I wouldn't use great gas mileage as any yardstick either. Forget gas mileage. You need a car dude. What good is a car that gets 35 mpg's if you can't afford to make the car payment or insure it. Your in college. Get a beater.
If I was looking for a great car for $3000 to 5000 I would do an eBay/My Zip code within 50 miles location search to see whats out there. Check your local Craigs list too.
I did a quick search here and found 2000 cars in the 2-4K range. I see lots of used cop cars Crown Vic's in really nice shape with 80,000 miles for $3500. I'd buy one of those in a heartbeat. There maintained & Very tough nice running cars. Fast as hell and ride like caddy. And cheap insure too.

Do an eBay Ford Crown Vic location search on eBay.

Here's one locally I would buy locally:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2004...id=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:7|39:1|240:1308

 

You might find it works out cheaper to rent a place closer to college and walk. I went to Aston University in Birmingham (UK), and lived on-campus for the first year, slightly off-campus for the next three years on a site run by the Students' Guild (walking distance), and a few miles away in my final year, on a main bus route to the campus.

UK degrees are normally three or four years long, but I had trouble with the third year of my Electronic Engineering course and transferred to Computing Science, where I had to start with the second year of that course, so five years total. We nominate the course of study before even beginning the degree course, degrees being typically very specialised (you can study Combined Honours if you want to cover two disparate subjects).

In addition, if a car is going for $8k less than its Blue Book price, there's something wrong with it. Yes, this is a down market, and Prius attractiveness has dropped as fuel prices have dropped, and there's a new model coming out, which haven't been totally reflected in used car price guides; still, a greater than 40% drop tells you there's something wrong with the car.