Time for a New Car
Well, it looks like I am going to have to retire Helga. My trusty 1990 Volvo 240 DL is less than trusty these days, so I need to start investigating buying a car. This will be the first time I have bought my own car, so I need to educate myself on the whole process. Here is some of the stuff I need to figure out:
How to Get Money for a New Car
I am a poor college student, but not dangerously so. At the end of this summer, I should have enough money saved up from my summer co-op to pay all of my bills and cover my expenses till next summer (short of tuition, which is covered by my Mom & Dad scholarship). However, that leaves me with little to no extra money for a car payment (plus the extra money for additional auto insurance).
- Update my resume: I updated it not too long ago, so it should just be a matter of adding this past semester’s details and my current position
- Search for jobs to do at UT during the school year: Campus jobs are usually flexible about working around class and they are often simple jobs, like proctoring a computer lab (which means time to sit around and
surf the internetdo homework)Sites I am looking at: - I’ve read about “personal outsourcing” before, where you place bids to do other people’s tasks (laundry, walk the dog, etc) Do My Stuff appears to be the only one that seems to have stuff that would be appropriate for me (some sites look like you can hire a programmer, but no dogwalkers). Any ideas?
- I have been checking craigslist looking at jobs and gigs, but nothing looks good right now
Paying for a New Car
Things to think about:
- I am a student, and I do qualify for some federal aid - can I leverage that aid in my favor here? (i.e. would the terms of a student loan be more favorable to a car loan)
- Would it be worthwhile to do any paying for any part of this thing with my credit card (getting cashback from Discover)?
- How much would additional insurance cost? (I only have liability on my current policy)
- How does an actual car loan work? Do I just get a check from the bank and I send them my title?
What Car to Get?
I am looking for something that will last me as long as possible, something that is safe and economical. I would like to be driving it for at least 3-4 years. I would love to get a car with a standard transmission, a 4 door car is where is I am leaning right now.
Here is what I know, generally speaking:
Makes to stay away from (for reliability reasons):
- Volkswagen
- Anything American
Makes to go for:
- Honda
- Toyota
- Volvo
- Saab?
Stylewise, I like later model Toyotas (Corolla) and Nissans (Sentra and Altima), but I would love to be able to pick up a later model Volvo if I can afford it.
Regardless, I am going to have to do more research to figure out what my best bet is. I’ll try to keep this blog updated with my adventures as I figure out this whole “car buying” thing.
Links To Related Content
The Simple Dollar: Is An Auto Loan Good Or Bad Debt?
The Simple Dollar: 25 Rules to Grow Rich By #20: Automotive Purchases
June 20th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Hyundai ftw!