advice to get 2006

If this girl is this difficult before marrage I think you will not be able to live with her after marrage. They only get worst after you get married.

Get the prius and a new girl friend to go with it.

 

A new car is a luxury.
So is a fancy engagement ring.

Get a better job if you can.
Spend the money to fix up your current car or buy a relatively reliable used car that gets relatively good mileage and which will also keep your insurance costs down.

Get married if it will make you happy.
If you decide to marry, get a pretty and affordable engagement ring with some other stone than a diamond.
Do NOT get married under threat.
You might as well break up now and save yourself the divorce costs.

My overvalued 2p.

 

It certainly sounds like you are getting the car pretty much for the gas savings? Plus the fact that you have 92k miles on your focus.

How much do you rely on your car for work? If you didn't have it for a few days for repairs, would that be a huge problem.

I'd suggest looking at alternatives, like a used corrolla or camry - both are less expensive than the prius and will be very reliable and get reasonably good fuel economy.

Oh... and if she is so money conscious, don't get her a real diamond. Man made diamonds look the same to the naked eye and you could probably get something much nicer for a fraction of the cost. A nice engagement ring could cost you a nice used car if it's a real diamond!

 

If your driving style is such that you only manage 20 MPG with a Ford Focus, you would be lucky to get twice that much with a Prius.

Your financial situation, as you describe it, is too precarious to buy a new car priced at well over $20,000.

 

How are you going to get a decent car loan when you've just filed for bankruptcy?

If you want to get married, buy her a cubic zirconia.

Sounds like you need to get your act together both financially and career-wise first, then marriage, new car way down the road. If you can't work with your girlfriend to decide on major expenses together, then you shouldn't get married. She'll be your partner, not your maid. That means she should have a say in the decisions and you'll need to come to an agreement, no just override her and do what you want anyway.

 

"Planned MODS(huper optik all around,Moon/sun roof, invisible bra,ipod or ipod nano,Amsoil of course...)"

According to your math the Prius will cost you about $50 more a month than you are presently spending.

Then there are those mods you want.

Those are pretty expensive mods.

Huper Optik would be $500+

The Bra about $600-800+

I'm not sure about the roof but probably between $500-1000 and ruin the aerodynamics which would further reduce your gas mileage and cost you more in gas per month.

iPod is another $300+ expense.

And you've just declared bankruptcy?

You can't afford this car, even if Dad is financing.

If your girlfriend is also working and contributing to the household, she has an equal say in the decisions involving a major purchase whether it is a car, house or large appliances. Marriage is a partnership. And if you marry, she is legally liable for any debts you accrue and so should be part of the decision making process.

Not only can't you afford a new Prius with all those unnecessary mods, you probably can't afford to get married either.

You need to decide what you need, what you just want and what's just a nice to have.

Sure I would have liked a 2005 #6 with leather. I probably could have afforded it too.

But that would have put me in to a lot more debt than I really needed to be in.

I bought a #1.

Living in So. Cal is expensive and it's going to get more expensive.

You and your girlfriend need to have some more serious talks.

 

You need to call Tom Likas.

 

It doesn't sound like your finances are in good enough condition to consider something like this...

 

I mentioned earlier in the post about a used camry or corolla. You could even look at a new corolla - List I think is around $15k. And it gets 30-40mpg. It doesn't have a lot of the cool features the Prius has, but as everyone has mentioned, you'd be better of going with something cheap while you get into better financial shape.

You might even be better off just fixing up the focus and saving your money. In reality, someone who just declared bankruptcy, has no business buying a new car.

 

I disagree... with the $3200.00 tax credit the prius is a great buy.
the prius is a great reliable long term car which is what you need for traveling to and from work. Keep in mind that in the future every time a hurricane goes toward the gulf of mexico the gas prices will go up.
Just because gas prices are falling right now, you know they will sky rocket with any excuse they can think of in the future.
You will probably never get this tax credit offer again I say take advantage of it.

 

You're driving a 5-year-old car with 92000 miles on it and it STILL isn't paid off? And you're trying to buy a new car now? Even if your father is financing, I strongly suggest you live within your means.

Also, I'll be blunt, it is stupid to get married because someone else wants you to. Not only does it appear you're not eager to get married though your girlfriend is, but it sounds like she surprised you with her desire for marriage. That doesn't sound like a good start. A 4-year-relationship is very long but how do you feel about kids? That's probably why she wants to get married now.

Filing for bankruptcy shows irresponsibility and foolishness. If you can't pay what you owe people then don't buy that crap.

Sorry for this rant but I agree with her that you should not buy the car. There are many cars that get 30+ mpg, for example a Toyota Echo which MSRPs for $12k and gets an average of 36 mpg. Especially if you find a used one, that would be a good decision since they're very reliable.

 

I agree with Koa.

Before you have our collective permission to get married and buy a Prius, you have to call Tom Leykis.

If he says it's okay, then go ahead.

:lol:

 

The Prius IS a great buy. But just because it's a great buy, doesn't mean it's right for everyone. The tax credit does nothing to help with the initial cost. So it won't help with a down payment or with monthly payments. He just filed for bankruptcy, indicating that he wasn't able to pay his current bills. How will he afford the prius payment now? Depending on what's wrong with his car, it could be much wiser to spend $2k to get it fixed up and get through another year or so, instead of spending $20k. Or if a new car (for him) is really neded, then a used Corolla, Echo or Camry would make a lot more sense. The corolla and echo could easily be had for under $10k, making monthly payments much more affordable.

And regardless of what gas prices do, they also won't help make payments that are beyond someone's reach. If he could get 50mpg out of the prius vs 30 out of another car, at 20k miles a year with gas at $2.50, it would only be about a $650 savings over the year. That's just $54 a month. NOT Worth it for gas savings alone. Compared to his current car, it's a $1500 difference (50mpg vs 20mpg), but that's still only $125/month. Nice, but it won't cover the car payment.

 

As for me, when we got married, I had a 1967 Mercedes and we lived in an apartment. Then we bought a house. After that I got one credit card (still have only one which is paid off every month). THEN I got a new car (this was back in 1990). Now I got the Prius. I didn't declare bankruptcy to "speed up the process."

As for the $3200 tax credit making the Prius a good buy, think about this just for a second. First, the father will be paying for it so he'll be getting the credit. Now, let's say unique2006 will be paying for it. The Prius costs $27,000 (depending on the options). You'll have to pay that and get the $3200 in 2007. In the end the Prius will cost over $23,800 as it'll be paid on time If you get a used Corrolla or Camry (as suggested) which can be had for about $20,000 you'll save even more money for that unexpected expense known as children.

P.S. I got this from Jeff Foxworthy, but it seems to be true.....If she's not happy, then you're not happy.

 

You have to treat buying a Prius like buying a luxury car. Doesn't sound like the timing is right for you to be thinking of big ticket purchases.