The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support Morrison Fabrications
Please Support Morrison Fabrication

First Time Financing: 2003 Evo VIII Possibly?

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Why not finance something a little more realistic for a first car? My first finance was $5k for a ford focus. Yippee right? But my payments were like $135 a month and my full coverage insurance was like $160 because I was 16.

That's another thing to think about, what is full coverage a month on that car? You have to have it with a loan.

I would personally do a loan on something to build credit, I just don't know if it would be a 15k car at 9% interest... that's about $325 mo + insurance.

Also, don't shy away from the interest rate being a first buyer, at first it sucks but if you make your payments on time for 6-8 months you can refinance it at a lower rate. I bought a vw passat at around 9.5%, after 6 months exactly I went in and got it lowered to 1.9% but kept my payments the same amount ($295 on 13k loan) they will give you the option to fully rewrite the deal with lower payments, or just change the rate.
 
I appreciate all of the input everyone. I think I have figured out what I am gonna do. Considering I already have the GSX as a hobby, and a neon to dd. I don't particularly need a new car. It's more of a want thing. What I think I'll does kinda start a car payment to myself every month into an account to get it saved up. Once I establish a decent amount, I'll start looking into different options as far as another vehicle goes. Would definitely like to have a truck. I feel the "car payment to myself" will be a good way to simulate having a payment, all while putting the money towards something I may want to get in the future. I'll probably just ride the dd out for a while, and focus on others things that the military throws my way.

Again, I thank those who gave valuable and helpful tips and information.
 
Ugh, the itch came back for wanting to purchase a new car. I had to come back to this thread and be reminded that I just need to keep the DSM and put the money into it!
 
Financing a car is stupid unless its your only option and really need a car to get around. But in this case you already have what, 2 cars? I'm a Financial Advisor/ Finance Coordinator and its not a good financial decision. Even if you make more than enough to make the payments you shouldn't. Because if you are making more than enough to make those payments, then you are making enough to be able to save up that amount of money and pay cash and not be in debt. Yes it may take time. But then once you have saved up all your hard earned pennies, look at that money and ask yourself if that's what you want to spend it on. Chances are if you saved up 15K of your own money and had it sitting in front of you to see, you wouldn't want to blow it all on that car anymore.

It may seem like a great idea right now, but a couple months after owning that newer car it'll get old to you, and the monthly payments will get even older!!
 
Financing a car is stupid unless its your only option and really need a car to get around. But in this case you already have what, 2 cars? I'm a Financial Advisor/ Finance Coordinator and its not a good financial decision. Even if you make more than enough to make the payments you shouldn't. Because if you are making more than enough to make those payments, then you are making enough to be able to save up that amount of money and pay cash and not be in debt. Yes it may take time. But then once you have saved up all your hard earned pennies, look at that money and ask yourself if that's what you want to spend it on. Chances are if you saved up 15K of your own money and had it sitting in front of you to see, you wouldn't want to blow it all on that car anymore.

It may seem like a great idea right now, but a couple months after owning that newer car it'll get old to you, and the monthly payments will get even older!!

Solid Opinion.
 
I appreciate all of the input everyone. I think I have figured out what I am gonna do. Considering I already have the GSX as a hobby, and a neon to dd. I don't particularly need a new car. It's more of a want thing. What I think I'll does kinda start a car payment to myself every month into an account to get it saved up. Once I establish a decent amount, I'll start looking into different options as far as another vehicle goes. Would definitely like to have a truck. I feel the "car payment to myself" will be a good way to simulate having a payment, all while putting the money towards something I may want to get in the future. I'll probably just ride the dd out for a while, and focus on others things that the military throws my way.

Again, I thank those who gave valuable and helpful tips and information.

Smart man.
 
Great decision. If you do that every month, down the road you'll be much happier with what you have saved compared to a car you don't need. And by then your interests may have changed. I'm in the same boat you are. I have a very cheap but reliable daily driver, for me it's by choice. If I can get a good reliable car for $1500 why pay $20,000 for one? That's 20 grand I could put towards my fun car or family. When it comes to someone's dream car I can understand doing it. But not just for another car. The only car I would ever go into debt for would be a mk4 supra. But that is my ultimate dream car.
 
Great decision. If you do that every month, down the road you'll be much happier with what you have saved compared to a car you don't need. And by then your interests may have changed. I'm in the same boat you are. I have a very cheap but reliable daily driver, for me it's by choice. If I can get a good reliable car for $1500 why pay $20,000 for one? That's 20 grand I could put towards my fun car or family. When it comes to someone's dream car I can understand doing it. But not just for another car. The only car I would ever go into debt for would be a mk4 supra. But that is my ultimate dream car.

Agreed. I've also toyed with the idea of an EVO... but then that would take money that would go towards the DSM. I also have a REAL HARD time thinking about paying 15k+ for a 10+ year old car that was beaten into the ground. So, I still drive around a $1000 eclipse as a daily beater, and funnel the "fun" money into the Talon. There are a few pluses to a cheap daily, too:

1. If someone hits it, it doesn't matter
2. Same deal as above with door dings, hitting potholes, ect.
3. Less upkeep on the paint, since it sucks anyways
4. No guilt about driving an already rusting car in the winter
5. No need for full coverage insurance.

As long as the matainence is kept up to keep it running great, that's all you have to do to it! It's actually kinda liberating... LOL!
 
Last edited:
You got it! I have a friend that argues with me saying buying new cars is the only way to go. His reasoning is, well its all new and if something breaks or needs fixed its under warranty. Sure that's nice to have, but when you buy a beater out right with cash you don't have any monthly payments. SO instead of spending say $25,000 on a new car, you spend $1500 on a decent beater. Guess what??!! that leaves you with $23,500 to fix anything that could possibly ever go wrong with it. Which obviously you would never spend anywhere near that much just in maintenance on it. And like you said, cheaper insurance too, and if something major happens to the beater, who cares. Find another one. Mean while it leaves you with alot of extra money for your fun car.
 
I have the same conversation with my friends who think it's better financially to buy a new-newer car because of a warranty. With the depreciation they lose the second they drive the car off the lot, I could rebuild the entire drivetrain in my Talon.

I've also struggled with the urge to finance a nicer car. The urge is usually strongest when something breaks on my Talon. I actually almost bought a truck for $25k last month but decided to pass on it.

The best advice I can give is to get a pen and paper and find the entire expense, principle+interest+purchase tax+property tax+insurance, for the whole term of the loan. It astounded me to see the real cost of a newer vehicle. For me, the number on the paper was almost enough to payoff my modest home, which made the decision very easy for me.
 
Wow, I would love to be able to purchase a vehicle for $25k+ outright with cash but, you know, I have bills and a mortgage to pay. Even if I were to take the monthly payments I make now and put it away to save, it would take about 5 years to save enough to pay for my DD outright, not including taxes.

As long as you understand the terms and don't let yourself get hosed by hidden fees and high interest rates, financing a vehicle is NOT an unsound decision. Sure, it increases the total cost of the ownership, but if you go in with your eyes open, it beats the bus. By far. Take the dealer by the nads and make them work for you. Let them know that if you don't get the car, you really don't care because they're a dime a dozen out there.

Mortgages are in the same pile. If you buy when there's a demand boom, and then a recession hits (not unlikely.. we've had two recently already), you're potentially out tens of thousands if not more -- depending on the size of house.

Would I finance a used car? It would have to be really worth it, and well within budget. However, you'll get pwned by interest rates there..
 
Spending $25k in cash for a car isn't that much better of a financial decision than financing it. My point was that money spent on a more expensive car can be better spent elsewhere, like a $5k truck functionally does the same thing. Or in the op's case, his DSM or whatever else he could use $10k for.
 
I'm trying to get this idea through to my wife too. Right now she has a 2010 chevy aveo. She still owe's "we still owe" like $2500 on the car which isn't bad. But the payments are $350 a month. And with all the other bills we have its hurting us every month. So i'm trying to get this car paid off asap so we can have an extra $350 in our pockets every month. Then she'll have a great running car and no payments. But she wants to go trade it in for a newer car and just try and get lower payments. I said NOOOO, so close to paying your car off and being out of debt. We ARE NOT going to trade your car only to put us under another several thousand dollar loan.. NOT gonna happen.
 
Haha smart man catching yourself on the "we still owe" part. My dad saved for 2 years and just paid cash for his new challenger which definitely beat the hell out of instant gratification and taking a loan out to get it two years sooner. Most of the time if you need to finance a car for over half the value you probably can't afford it, or you are just being a good American and going into debt :D
 
Man, either everybody's rich or financing terms are worse in the USA than up here..
damn that's a lot of disposable dough floating around down there. LOL
 
Easiest cheapest way to build credit scores is to have a credit card and pay it in full every month. If cash flow is limited just use it for groceries. I'd say no on the loan for the 99k Evo. But I'm an old fart so there's that.
 
Nothing wrong with financing a nice DD. That's what I did recently after getting a nice new job/career. I found a nice used truck I wanted, put some money down and financed the rest. It wont see any crazy mods, just daily commuter and house/toy duty. This was my first financing, the payments are cake, I had a 735 score and full coverage is cheap.

I do agree with a lot about not financing a "toy". Just doesn't make sense to me.
 
Just making my routine visit to this thread. Currently looking at a 2008 X and it's a struggle to not want to pull the trigger on it. Something about that wicked white! Somebody talk me out of it.
 
Just making my routine visit to this thread. Currently looking at a 2008 X and it's a struggle to not want to pull the trigger on it. Something about that wicked white! Somebody talk me out of it.

Money > Things

Always. Read books about personal finance. Or listen to them on audiobooks. Find them for free via the library, online, wherever. Hearing multiple people tell you this will make it stick in your own head. Extending yourself to buy an EVO will not lead to success. Focus on what matters. PM me if you'd like. I'm pretty big into this whole 'Build wealth, being somewhat frugal, enjoy life' mantra.
 
Just making my routine visit to this thread. Currently looking at a 2008 X and it's a struggle to not want to pull the trigger on it. Something about that wicked white! Somebody talk me out of it.


The only time in my life when I had excess cash and lived like a "baller" was when I got out of cars. I still drove a brand new car, but the whole modding thing really does make you go broke 5 and 10 dollars at a time. Don't think for a second that every trip to autozone doesn't affect your bottom line. (And our old cars warrant autozone trips for all the damn maintenance alone.) My point is buying those expensive mods are not the only thing emptying your wallet.

I know life is short and everyone wants to have some fun. BUT, you still need a plan. I had a lot more fun in life as I got older. Income usually increase with age. I spent most of my early and mid 20's blowing money on cars. Had I not or had I saw the light even a year or two earlier, I would be in an even better position than I currently am.
 
Money > Things

Always. Read books about personal finance. Or listen to them on audiobooks. Find them for free via the library, online, wherever. Hearing multiple people tell you this will make it stick in your own head. Extending yourself to buy an EVO will not lead to success. Focus on what matters. PM me if you'd like. I'm pretty big into this whole 'Build wealth, being somewhat frugal, enjoy life' mantra.

Sent you a PM.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top