I agree with everyone. So far I have yet to pay more then $800 for a car. Most have been low mileage gems that needed a little TLC and provide me with years of service, with little work. You just gotta watch the paper and don't be in a hurry to buy. Good deals are out there.
Thanks for the info I agree going in debt isnt good but for me Im about establishing credit for the future so I can get bigger and better things (a house). Im just getting kinda bored going 18 seconds in the 1/4 mile. I cant really do anything til I sign up and start basic training anyways...Im just exploring my options.
There is a very simple way to build credit - Only buy things on a credit card when you have the money to pay for them....and pay off the bill immediately when the bill arrives. If you don't have any credit cards, there are banks that will give you a "secured" credit card. this means you deposit a certain amount (say $200) into their bank and then you have $200 credit on their card. The key here is to NOT buy anything thinking you can pay it off over a few months. ONLY buy things on the card if you have the money to pay for it immediately. For years I didn't have a credit card because I saw every one of my friends graduate, get a job, and then get themself into THOUSANDS of dollars of credit card debt and I swore I wouldn't let that happen to me. Then times changed and you couldn't book a plane flight, rent a car or hotel room without securing it with a credit card - and I needed to do those three things for work !! I applied for a card and got denied - not for bad credit, but for NO credit !! I had ZERO credit history at age 30. So...I did what I described above - got a secured line of credit and within a year had an excellent credit history, every card wanted me at much lower rates than the secured card.....and I have kept my credit perfect to this day - 14 years later - buy never being late and rarely carrying a balance from month to month. My friends who 14 years agom had thousands in debt ?? STILL have even More thousands in debt and no hope of escaping
Good Advice, but not True! :Smarty: Credit is a GOOD thing, IF you use it the RIGHT way! :Smarty: I buy EVERYTHING on Credit, because I work WITH (but, NOT "for") THE Largest Bank/Credit Card company in the WORLD! :TU: You MUST "start" somewhere, and a Car Loan would be a good thing to help you to establish credit, IF you are "responsible" enough to make the payments (most importantly) ON TIME! :Smarty: If you have ANY "debt" (home loans, car loans, student loans, ANY loans), the BEST place to put them is ON "CREDIT CARDS"! :Smarty: Why? You ask. Because you can make payments at "0.00%" (That means you pay NO interest, AT ALL!) Example: Would you RATHER pay a $3,000 loan A) at 20% interest for 5 Years? B) at 0% interest, until it's COMPLETELY PAID OFF? (Hint: B is the correct and ONLY answer!) :Smarty: Get the loan, transfer it to a credit card, and PAY IT OFF! :Smarty:
If you're waiting to go into basic, then my advise as an Active Duty Air Force member with over 14 years in is to WAIT a bit longer. I know EXACTLY how you feel! When I came in, before Desert Storm, I drove this POS FWD 85 Cutlass Ciera wagon...GOD I hated that car! I wanted something nicer & HAD to have something with more power than that 2.5L 4-banger. When I went to basic, had to leave everything at home...Tech School was at the same base at Lackland AFB, San Antonio Texas, so my car & belongings stayed at home. I couldn't pick them up until 4 months after I finished basic training. I was able to take a little leave enroute to my first duty station to visit home & get my belongings shipped out & to pick up the car. What you don't realize is exactly how POOR you're going to be just starting out in the military. Even if you live in the dormitory & are eating for free at the chow hall, it is pretty hard to get by on what you initially make. Your first year of service, you'll have an allotment going out for your GI Bill (about $100 a month out of your pay) and taxes SUCK! Honestly, you can't afford to make a car payment & full coverage insurance on what you'll be stating off at...I did it & I lived paycheck to paycheck, BARELY scraping by. I didn't have money to go out, to buy anything cool (I didn't even own a TV for over 2 years), or to drive my Trans Am (which is what I replaced my Olds with) any kind of distance (like home on leave). My Trans Am broke down on me 2 months after I bought it when the dealer I got it from decided to go joyriding with it & punched a hole in my oilpan...they tried to braze it over, but it didn't hold...while driving to lunch after just picking it up, I smelled oil & suddenly the car just died. I checked the dipstick & there wasn't ANY oil in the engine. I had to wait 8 more months to drive that car while I tried to save for another engine! The dealer denied everything & base legal just didn't care to help me out, so I took it in the shorts on that one! :af: My advise to you is to get by as cheap as you can & DON'T BUY ANYTHING until you get established at your first duty assignment (what happens if they send you to Japan, like me now, and you can't take your car with you?) and see exactly how much you have to work with. Don't ever spend over 30% of your take home pay on a car payment, no matter how much you like the car. Save your money & pay cash for what you want. You'll get your credit, trust me, just don't be in a hurry. Get a $500 signature loan from your future bank & pay it off like within 4 or 5 months. A very good way to establish SOME credit. The military Base Exchange has a credit card system based on your monthly base pay, everyone gets one of those if they want one. The base club also has a credit card which is fairly easy to get when you become a club member. All of those base related ones have good APR's, which you WON'T be able to get through a regular credit card company or bank at your age & with the money you'll be making. Don't worry about credit at this point. You will need to be VERY focused on your training & upgrading your job proficiency once you get to your first duty assignment. Once you get there, you still have more studying & books (like homework!) to complete over the next year to upgrade your skill level. These are called CDC's (Career Development Courses) and you have to complete each volume within 30 days & be tested on it as well. They will require a lot of your spare time. You DON'T want to fail one of those pre-tests & definately don't want to do badly on your End-of-course exam. Just do your time & stay focused on the job...by the time the worst is over, you'll have another stripe & will be making a bit more money. If you come in on a 6-year enlistment, you can enter service as an E-3 & already be making a bit more than the rest of your flight in training, otherwise you'll start out as an E-1 & it is pretty rough financially. What kind of job are you trying for? DON'T come in Open General, where the military picks your job for you. You'll most likely be sucked in to Security Forces (I used to do this, and it sucks!), Services (cook), or a Maintenance related job (either ground or aircraft related)-which are pretty tough on their new troops (they seem to "eat their own"). If you have any questions, please PM or E-Mail me. Good luck!
Credit From an Old Man! Credit! Don't do it! Pay CASH! I wish someone had taught me this 40 years ago, I'd be racing Pro Stock now. Buying cars on credit is the worse thing you can do. There are all kinds of cars out there and deals of all kind. Stay away from car dealers. In 2002 I bought a Regal LS loaded, leather and all that stickered for $26,400. I bought this car for $12,000 6 months old with 10,000 miles and a "good title". Yes it had some wreck damaged that had been repaired by and friend who bought the car from a rental company. Now 2 1/2 years later it has 83,000 miles and is worth about $10,000. If I had bought it new it would be worth the same but I would still be making big payments. I have a 87 Olds Cutlass that I bought last year for $300. that needed the trans fixed. $50. dollars for parts to fix the trans and I'm on the road in a one owner car with 100,000 miles. It has cold air, cruise, good radio and new tires. I've driven it over 10,000 miles and don't have $600. in it with taxes and ins. and repairs. I drive it to work each day to set out in the weather while my Regal sets home in the garage protected and clean for Sunday driving. The point to all of this is there are good deals around and you can save thousands by not throwing away money on car payments. I throw money away drag racing, but all my stuff is paid for and I'm not making some fat cat banker rich. My 2 cents. Jim N.
thank you Hey thank you for the advice....I have decided to just hold up and pay cash which makes it alot better in the long run.
Oops, I missed this one! Disregard my previous advice, as you are NOT "ready" to buy this car, at this time! :Smarty: A few points: Establishing credit IS important, yes, however, if you are joining the Military, then buying a car is NOT something you will need right now, anyway! If you want to "establish" credit, start SMALL! Go buy a TV, VCR, Stereo System at Best Buy, for 90 Days Same as Cash, in YOUR name! Make your payments, until it's paid in full, and THEN you'll have a "reference" for a BIGGER loan, if you need one. (Been There, Done That. Believe me!):Smarty: If you "don't have it" ($8,000), then DON'T DO IT! I agree with most of the guys here, that it's not worth it, right now, anyway! :TU: I AM a "Financial Planner", so I am "qualified" to give you advice about "loans, credit, low interest (or NO interest, even!) payments", however, you have to be in a "financial situation", FIRST, before you can qualify for a loan! Don't get discouraged, though, because, as the saying goes "GOOD things come to those who WAIT", and I believe that to be TRUE! :Smarty: :TU: As I said above, Start SMALL (but, START)! :TU: :bglasses:
